Biographical sketch extracted from:

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887. p. 696-699.

WILLIAM F. BARCHMAN, farmer, Chester Township, was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1821, son of Frederick and Ragena (Shlagel) Barchman. His parents were also natives of Pennsylvania, and of German ancestry. His mother’s grandparents were from Germany, and her mother was born on the ocean. The parents became acquainted in Luzerne County, and were married in Northampton County, the mother’s birthplace. They first settled in Luzerne County, and afterward removed to Butler County when William F. was in his third year. They bought land in Butler County, and added to it from time to time until they had 140 acres in one tract and fifteen acres in another. The country was then very wild, and their experiences were not always pleasant. The father died January 22, 1858, and in June of the same year William F. sold the place and came to Indiana, locating on 160 acres of land he had previously purchased in Chester Township. His mother came the same season, but went back to Pennsylvania again. Two years later she returned to Indiana and made her home with William F. for about twelve years. October 22, 1875, her clothing caught fire and she was fatally burned, living only forty-one hours. She was taken back to Butler County for burial. When our subject came to his present home it was entirely new; not a stick had been cut. Although he sold one farm of eighty acres, he still has 175 acres of excellent land, of which over ninety acres are cleared. It is tile-drained, and cannot be excelled in Wells County. Politically Mr. Barchman affiliates with the Republican party.