James Barbour (1734–1804) was a prominent planter and member of the

Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

representing

Culpeper County Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Cul ...

(1761-1765).

Early and family life

Born in 1734 to the former Sarah Todd and her husband James Barbour (1707–1775). His father had patented (claimed) land in

Spotsylvania County, Virginia Spotsylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the July 2021 estimate, the population was 143,676. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse. History At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that b ...

in 1731 and 1733, some of which would later be located in

Orange County, Virginia Orange County is a county located in the Central Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,254. Its county seat is Orange. Orange County includes Montpelier, the estate of James Madison, the ...

and

Culpeper County, Virginia Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Culp ...

after those counties were created. Another of his father's sons,

Thomas Barbour Thomas Barbour (August 19, 1884 – January 8, 1946) was an American herpetologist. From 1927 until 1946, he was director of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) founded in 1859 by Louis Agassiz at Harvard University in Cambridge, ...

represented

in the

in 1769 and was the father of

James Barbour James Barbour (June 10, 1775 – June 7, 1842) was an American slave owner, lawyer, politician and planter. He served as a delegate from Orange County, Virginia in the Virginia General Assembly, and as speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates ...

(18th

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

and 11th

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

) as well as of Philip P. Barbour ( U.S. Congressman from Virginia and an Associate Justice of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Career

This James Barbour Jr. served in the

, representing

alongside John Field in the assembly of 1761–1765. As an ensign in the Culpeper militia in 1756, under Col. Thomas Slaughter, James Barbour Jr. "marched on an expedition against the Indians above Winchester." In 1775 (the year of his father's death), James Barbour Jr. was county lieutenant of the Culpeper militia. He served as an officer (colonel) on the Virginia Continental Line for at least three years (all eight years by one account) of the American revolution, raising men and provisions. In the 1787 Virginia tax census, Barbour owned 15 enslaved adults and 22 enslaved teenagers, as well as 16 horses and 53 cattle in Culpeper county. Beginning in 1782, Barbour began purchasing land across the Appalachian mountains in then-vast Lincoln County,which became part of the Commonwealth of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

upon its creation in 1791. Based on his military service, Barbour received a land grant of more than 3500 acres in 1785 in what was then called Kentucky County. Barbour ultimately moved to

Garrard County, Kentucky Garrard County ( ;) is a county located in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the county's population was 16,953. Its county seat is Lancaster. The county was formed in 1796 and was named for James Garrard, Governor ...

, where he moved before 1800.

Personal life

He married Frances Throckmorton and had children, including Mordecai Barbour (1764-1844), who also served in the American Revolutionary War but ultimately moved to Alabama.

Death and legacy

Barbour died in 1804 near Lancaster, the Garrard County seat.DAR Lineage book vol.40 available at https://books.google.com/books?id=kWcZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA289&lpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbour, James Jr. 1734 births 1804 deaths American planters Barbour family House of Burgesses members People from Garrard County, Kentucky People from Spotsylvania County, Virginia Virginia colonial people