On June 8, 1883, an enraged lynch mob pulled Ike and Bill Barber from the Waverly jail and hanged them in Murphy’s Grove. Local authorities had been holding the brothers on charges of horse theft and murder, but Fayette County citizens decided justice would not wait for the courts.
Ike Barber, born in Illinois in 1855, moved with his family to a farm near Randalia, Iowa, before younger brother Bill was born in 1859. Their father, Leafy E. Barber, enlisted in the 37th Iowa Infantry during the Civil War and never returned, leaving his widow with seven children and few resources. Ike and Bill spent time in a Cedar Falls orphanage but soon escaped and drifted back to the family farm.
The boys grew up hard. Drinking, gambling, and horse theft became their way of life. By the early 1880s, they were known across northeastern Iowa and into Illinois. Their reputation turned deadly after Illinois authorities accused them of murdering wealthy farmer Charles McMahon and two hired men, offering a $5,000 reward for their capture.
In Fayette County, lawmen made repeated attempts to bring them in. Deputy Marion Shepard of Westfield Township confronted the brothers near Wadena on September 7, 1882, but was shot and killed by Ike. The brothers fled, vanishing for nearly a year while working on railroads and farms as far away as Missouri.
They resurfaced in June 1883, intending to visit their mother near West Union. When spotted, Sheriff Farr raised a posse, but the brothers escaped again after a gunfight at their sister’s farm. On June 5, a German farmer near Tripoli reported their presence, and authorities finally cornered them. Even then, the brothers shot five members of the posse—killing one—before surrendering.
Held in Waverly jail, the brothers claimed they would argue self-defense. Fearing mob action, officials briefly moved them to Janesville, but brought them back to Waverly on June 8. That night, a crowd led by Deputy Shepard’s brother stormed the jail. The mob dragged Ike and Bill Barber to Murphy’s Grove and hanged them from a tree—ending the saga of two of Iowa’s most notorious outlaws.
