In 1837, Barker held the office of Alderman for the 5th ward and lived in a mansion on Hudson Street. He was selected as acting mayor on December 21, 1837, after Josiah Trowbridge resigned. He immediately took to trying to calm the unrest in the city due to the Canadian revolutionary movement, or "Patriot War". His term ended in 1838 and sometime after 1841 Barker left Buffalo and moved to Natchez, Mississippi. He died at age 79 in Natchez Mississippi