Ashbel Holmes Barney (September 2, 1816 – December 27, 1886) was an American banker and expressman who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company 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, 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, 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 merchants under the name Danford N. Barney & Company.

Career

Barney remained in Cleveland when his brother Danford moved to Buffalo, New York, 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 Wells Fargo & Company 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 ...

, and the Northern Pacific Railroad."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 acquired a controlling interest in Wells Fargo. Barney stepped down as president of Wells Fargo in 1870 and was succeeded by

William G. Fargo William George Fargo (May 20, 1818August 3, 1881) was a pioneer American expressman who helped found the modern-day financial firms of American Express Company and Wells Fargo with his business partner, Henry Wells. He was also the 27th Mayor o ...

that year and by Tevis in 1872.

Later life

After Frederick Billings was forced to resign the presidency of Northern Pacific Railroad 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 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 Wells Fargo & Company 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 educate ...

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) Tracy of Utica, New York. Their children were: * Gardiner Tracy Barney (1849–1856), who died in childhood. * Charles Tracy Barney (1851–1907), who married Lucy Collins "Lily" Whitney, sister of William Collins Whitney, Secretary of the Navy. * 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 Charles Henry Parkhurst (April 17, 1842 – September 8, 1933) was an American clergyman and social reformer, born in Framingham, Massachusetts. Although scholarly and reserved, he preached two sermons in 1892 in which he attacked the poli ...

of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church. The pall bearers were Thomas Collier 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 Morris Ketchum Jesup (June 21, 1830 – January 22, 1908), was an American banker and philanthropist. He was the president of the American Museum of Natural History and was known as a leading patron of scientific research and an eminent art ...

, Theodore Wood,

Salem Howe Wales Salem Howe Wales (October 4, 1825 – December 2, 1902) was an American journalist, politician, and philanthropist who held various leadership offices in the government of New York City, served as managing editor of the ''Scientific American'', ...

, Darius Ogden Mills, 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 George C. Magoun (August 25, 1840 – December 20, 1893) was, in the late 1880s, the Chairman of the Board of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Magoun was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received a public school education, then ...

, Russell Sturgis (son-in-law of

Danford N. Barney Danford Newton Barney (March 4, 1808 – March 8, 1874) was an American expressman who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company from 1853 to 1866. Early life Barney was born in 1808 at Henderson, New York, the son of John Barney (1775–1863 ...

), 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)