Draft:Sybil Harber
Early Black Pioneer of Oregon
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Sybil Harber (c. 1852 – November 10, 1918) was an early Black resident and midwife in Lakeview, Oregon. She was one of the subjects of an exhibit by artist Jeremy Okai Davis featuring portraits of Oregon's Black pioneers.[1] Harber provided nursing and midwifery services to the community until 1915, when she was hospitalized in Salem, Oregon, where she would remain until she died.[2] [3]
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Biography
Harber was born in Missouri during December, sometime between 1852 and 1856.[3] She moved from California to Oregon as a single mother, widow, and midwife.[2] She first traveled to Lakeview, Oregon, in 1877, the year after its founding.[3] Harber and her son, Bert, traveled throughout the area until Bert, aged fourteen, moved permanently to Lakeview in 1886 to work at a sawmill.[3]
Harber would join her son in Lakeview in the spring of 1888.[2][3] In addition to working as a midwife and nurse, she also provided general housework and cooking for locals. She started a bakery that was lost to fire in May 1900 and reopened as a boarding house, operating for about one year.[2][4] Harber opened a nursery in 1902, across the street from her former boarding house and would continue to provide nursing and midwife services until 1915 when she was hospitalized long-term in Salem, Oregon.[2] She remained there until her death in November of 1918.[2][3]
Legacy
Portland-based artist Jeremy Okai Davis included Sybil Harber in his commissioned collection, "ReEnvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of Our Black Ancestors," on exhibit at the Bush Gallery in Salem, Oregon, in 2025.[1]