John Strode Barbour Sr. (August 8, 1790 – January 12, 1855) was a nineteenth-century slave owner, politician and lawyer from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He was the father of John Strode Barbour Jr. and the first cousin 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 ...

and Philip P. Barbour.

Early and family life

Born at "Fleetwood" near

Brandy Station, Virginia Brandy Station is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Culpeper County, Virginia, Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census ...

, Barbour attended private schools as a child, then the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

, from which he graduated in 1808. He married Elizabeth Byrne and had two sons ( J.S. Barbour Jr. and Edwin Barbour) and two daughters (Sallie and Elizabeth Bryne Barbour Thompson).

Career

After reading law and being admitted to the bar in 1811, Barbour commenced practice in Culpeper, Virginia. He served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

as an aide-de-camp.

Political career

Barbour was elected and re-elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

, serving from 1813 to 1816 and again from 1820 to 1823. Barbour was elected a Crawford Republican and Jacksonian to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in 1822, serving from 1823 to 1833, when he was succeeded by fellow Whig

John M. Patton John Mercer Patton (August 10, 1797October 29, 1858) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia. Patton served in the United States House of Representatives representing two different Virginia Districts and was the acting gove ...

of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The elder Barbour was a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1829 and 1830, and returned to the House of Delegates for the final time in 1833 and 1834. He helped found Fairfax Academy in Culpeper in 1844. Three years later his son John S. Barbour Jr. was elected to represent Culpeper County in the Virginia House of Delegates, continuing his father's tradition. Barbour Sr. was chairman of the Democratic National Convention in 1852 and afterward resumed practicing law

Death and legacy

Barbour died at his estate called "Fleetwood" near Culpeper, Virginia, on January 12, 1855. He was interred on the estate in the family cemetery. In 2000, Virginia erected a historical marker noting the former family mansion, Catalpa, the birthplace of his son discussed below. Barbour's family supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War. In 1863 Fleetwood Hill was part of the

Battle of Brandy Station The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9, 1863, aroun ...

(land acquired by the Civil War Trust in 2013, and expected to be restored and interpreted). The Barbour family lost their slaves in the aftermath, but regained political prominence after Reconstruction ended. His son John S. Barbour Jr. (who had served in the Virginia House of Delegates beginning in 1847) and had become President of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in 1852, helped organize the demise of the

Readjuster Party The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readj ...

and establish a Democratic political organization which retained power in Virginia for decades (J.S. Barbour Jr. serving in the U.S. House of Representatives 1881–1886, and in the U.S. Senate from 1889 to 1892). His namesake J. S. B. Thompson married his daughter Eliza Byrne Barbour in 1850, worked for various railroads (including the Southern Railway), Eminent and Representative Men of Virginia and the District of Columbia (Brant and Fuller 1893), p.578 available at https://books.google.com/books?id=_iRPAAAAYAAJ&dq=john+strode+barbour+thompson&pg=PA578 and continued to exercise political influence (helping Thomas S. Martin win election as U.S. Senator in 1893 and accused of corruption in 1911). His grandson John Strode Barbour became a prominent lawyer, newspaper editor and Culpeper's mayor (although he later moved to Fairfax County, Virginia).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbour, John S. Sr. 1790 births 1855 deaths People from Culpeper County, Virginia Barbour family American Presbyterians Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia lawyers American planters American slave owners College of William & Mary alumni American military personnel of the War of 1812