Barton C. Pope (1813 – after April 5, 1862) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Life
Pope was born in
Georgia in 1813 or 1814. Pope moved to the
Florida Territory sometime between 1827 and 1844.
In 1844, he purchased 200 acres of land from Henry Sapp in
Madison County, Florida
Madison County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida, and borders the state of Georgia to the north. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,968. Its county seat is also called Madison.
History
Located ...
.
Pope became a prominent a lawyer in Madison County. In 1849, he was nominated by
state senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
William P. Moseley of Madison County to be the
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
for Florida's
Middle Judicial Circuit Court; however, Pope lost the nomination vote to former state representative
Samuel B. Stephens of
Gadsden County
Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...
.
He was also a
Freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, becoming a high-ranking member of the Madison County's
Masonic lodge, serving as
Grand Orator in 1851 and as the
Lodge Master from 1853 to 1855.
In 1854, Pope was elected to represent Madison County as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
in the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
, serving until 1855.
Pope was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the
for
Florida's at-large congressional district. Though he was the early frontrunner for the nomination, he was defeated on the 12th ballot at the party convention by
Robert Benjamin Hilton
Robert Benjamin Hilton (' Smith; 1821 – January 10, 1894) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor, soldier, and Confederate politician who served in the Congress of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.
Biography
Hilton was bo ...
, the clerk of the Florida House of Representatives.
At the outbreak of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Pope enlisted in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
as a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
, joining Company F of the
1st Florida Infantry Regiment
The 1st Florida Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised by the Confederate state of Florida during the American Civil War. Raised for 12 months of service its remaining veterans served in the 1st (McDonell's) Battalion, Florida Infantry f ...
on April 4, 1861 for a 12-month service. He was mustered out at the same rank on April 5, 1862. It is from this point that Pope disappears from the historical record.
Family
Pope had a brother named
W. Henry Pope who represented
Jackson County, Florida in the Florida House of Representatives in 1856.
Pope was married to a woman named Fanny, who was 10 years his junior. They had at least five children: four sons named Clifford (born 1844 or 1845),
Frank, Hunter, and Randall (latter three were born after 1850); as well as a daughter named Anna (born 1846 or 1847).
Frank, Hunter, and Randall Pope all became prominent attorneys. Frank later became a
Florida state senator
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopte ...
while Hunter was murdered by a family friend, John Cason, following a dispute regarding a
billiards game.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Barton C.
1810s births
Date of birth unknown
Year of death missing
Place of death missing
Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
Confederate States Army soldiers
19th-century American legislators
People of Florida in the American Civil War
People from Georgia (U.S. state)
People from Madison County, Florida
19th-century American lawyers
American Freemasons
19th-century Florida politicians