Ashbel Holmes Barney (September 2, 1816 – December 27, 1886) was an American banker and

expressman An expressman (pl. ''expressmen'') refers to anyone who has the duty of packing, managing, and ensuring the delivery of any cargo. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an expressman was someone whose responsibility it was to ensure the sa ...

who served as president of

Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

in 1869-1870.

Early life

Barney was born on September 2, 1816 at

Adams, New York Adams is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. Named after President John Adams, the town had a population of 5,143 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Adams. The village and town are south of Watertown. Hi ...

in Jefferson County. He was a younger son of John Barney and Sarah (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Grow) Barney. His father was a farmer in

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United Stat ...

, when Ashbel and his older brother Danford were born. He was a descendant of Jacob Barney of Bradenham, Buckinghamshire, England, who settled at

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, in 1630. Educated at Belleville Academy in his native county before going to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, in 1842 with his brother Danford where they engaged in business as forwarding and

commission merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...

s under the name Danford N. Barney & Company.

Career

Barney remained in Cleveland when his brother Danford moved to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, in 1849 and was elected to succeed

Edwin Barber Morgan Edwin Barber Morgan (May 2, 1806 – October 13, 1881) was an entrepreneur and politician from the Finger Lakes region of western New York. He was the first president of Wells Fargo & Company, founder of the United States Express Company, and di ...

as president of Wells Fargo & Company in 1853, serving until 1866. Morgan had resigned the presidency upon his election to the

U.S. 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 1857, Ashbel moved to New York City, where Danford had located the previous year. On November 17, 1859, Ashbel Barney was elected a director of

in place of James McKay, who had resigned. Barney served as a director of the

New York Elevated Railroad New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

(founded by his brother and under the presidency of

Cyrus West Field Cyrus West Field (November 30, 1819July 12, 1892) was an American businessman and financier who, along with other entrepreneurs, created the Atlantic Telegraph Company and laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858. Early ...

), and served as president, at various times, of Wells Fargo, the

United States Express Company United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, and the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...

."Monthly Record of Current Events", ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'', European edition, March 1887, p. 651. He was vice president of Wells Fargo from the beginning of 1867 until 1869 when he succeeded

Louis McLane Louis McLane (May 28, 1786 – October 7, 1857) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, a member of the Federalist Party and later th ...

as president. During his presidency,

Lloyd Tevis Lloyd Tevis (March 20, 1824 – July 24, 1899) was a banker and capitalist who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company from 1872 to 1892. Early life Lloyd Tevis was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, the son of Samuel and Sarah (née Greathouse) ...

acquired a controlling interest in Wells Fargo. Barney stepped down as president of Wells Fargo in 1870 and was succeeded by William G. Fargo that year and by Tevis in 1872.

Later life

After

Frederick Billings Frederick H. Billings (September 27, 1823 – September 30, 1890) was an American lawyer, financier, and politician. He is best known for his legal work on land claims during the early years of California's statehood and his presidency of the ...

was forced to resign the presidency of

on June 9, 1881, Barney was chosen to briefly serve as interim caretaker of the railroad from June 19 to September 15, when

Henry Villard Henry Villard (April 10, 1835 – November 12, 1900) was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway. Born and raised by Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard in the Rhenish Palatinate of the Kin ...

was elected president by the stockholders and Barney was elected a director. After 1881, Barney was practically retired from business. He retired from the board of directors of

in 1883 with Colonel

Charles Frederick Crocker Charles Frederick Crocker (December 26, 1854 – July 17, 1897) was vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Biography He was born in Sacramento on December 26, 1854, the eldest son of Mary Ann and Charles Crocker. He was educa ...

elected in his place.

Personal life

In 1846, while at Cleveland, Barney was married to Susan Hester Tracy (1818–1882), the daughter of Gardiner Tracy, an abolitionist and publisher of the '' Lansingburgh Gazette'', and Catherine (née

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

) Tracy of

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. Their children were: * Gardiner Tracy Barney (1849–1856), who died in childhood. *

Charles Tracy Barney Charles Tracy Barney (January 27, 1851 – November 14, 1907) was the president of the Knickerbocker Trust Company, the collapse of which shortly before Barney's death sparked the Panic of 1907. Early life Charles T. Barney was born on January 27 ...

(1851–1907), who married Lucy Collins "Lily" Whitney, sister of

William Collins Whitney William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent descendant of the John Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Clev ...

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

. * Helen Tracy Barney (1853–1897), who died unmarried in New York City. Barney died at his residence, 101 East 38th Street in New York City, on December 27, 1886. His funeral was held at his and conducted by the Rev. Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church. The pall bearers were

Thomas Collier Platt Thomas Collier Platt (July 15, 1833 – March 6, 1910), also known as Tom Platt

Grosvenor Lowrey Grosvenor P. Lowrey (September 25, 1831 – April 21, 1893) was a 19th-century American corporate lawyer who served as counsel to numerous powerful interests such as Thomas Edison, Western Union, Wells Fargo and the New York Metropolitan Railway ...

, Samuel N. Hoyt, James C. Fargo (president of

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

), Hiram Barney, and George F. Crane. Also present were Barney's son and daughter with Morris K. Jesup, Theodore Wood, Salem Howe Wales,

Darius Ogden Mills Darius Ogden Mills (September 25, 1825 – January 3, 1910) was a prominent American banker and philanthropist. For a time, he was California's wealthiest citizen. Early life Mills was born in North Salem, in Westchester County, New Yor ...

, Benjamin Brewster,

Parker Handy Parker Handy (April 24, 1809 – April 8, 1890) was an American banker who was "one of the best known dealers in bullion and specie" in New York City. Early life Handy was born in Paris Hill in Oneida County, New York on April 24, 1809. He was a ...

, Dr. T. Gaillard Thomas, Peter F. Baker, Duncan Cryden, Charles Atterbury, Hugh Murdock, Louis Murdock, James H. Thompson, Charles H. Adams, George C. Magoun,

Russell Sturgis Russell Sturgis (; October 16, 1836 – February 11, 1909) was an American architect and art critic of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870. Sturgis was born in Baltimore Count ...

(son-in-law of Danford N. Barney), Appleton Sturgis (son of Russell Sturgis), A. Bancroft and W.P. Seymour. Interment was at Woodlawn Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barney, Ashbel Holmes 1816 births 1886 deaths People from Adams, New York Wells Fargo American bankers 19th-century American businesspeople American people of English descent Businesspeople from Cleveland Businesspeople from New York City American corporate directors American bank presidents People from Murray Hill, Manhattan Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)