	Barber was a member of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature from 1838 to 1839, serving as Speaker of the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives in 1839. He was again a member of the Legislature serving in the Wisconsin Territorial Council from 1840 to 1844. Barber was a member of the Whig Party. He moved back to Simsbury, Connecticut. In 1850, he served in the Connecticut House of Representatives as a Whig and was a probate judge. Barber was also a historian and wrote books about the history of Simsbury, Connecticut.