Bradley Barlow (May 12, 1814 – November 6, 1889) was a nineteenth-century banker and politician who served as a
U.S. Representative
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 c ...
from
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
.
Early life and career
Barlow was born in
Fairfield, Vermont
Fairfield is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States, chartered in 1763. The population was 2,044 at the 2020 census. President Chester A. Arthur was born in Fairfield in 1829, and lived there for the first three years of his life. A ...
, son of Colonel Bradley and Deborah (Sherman) Barlow. Barlow attended the common schools and then engaged in mercantile pursuits in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
with his father until 1858, when he moved to
St. Albans, Vermont. Barlow began his banking career in St. Albans as a cashier.
Originally 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 ...
, and later a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, Barlow was a delegate to the Vermont State constitutional conventions in 1843, 1850, and 1857, and was acting assistant secretary in 1843. He was a member of the
Vermont House of Representatives in 1845, 1850 to 1852, 1864, and 1865. He engaged in banking and in the railroad business from 1860 to 1883. He was chairman of the school committee in St. Albans and president of the village corporation and treasurer of
Franklin County from 1860 to 1867. Barlow served in the
Vermont Senate
The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...
from 1866 to 1868. In 1878 he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress at a time when Vermont elected only Republicans to statewide and national office, and lost to
William W. Grout
William Wallace Grout (May 24, 1836October 7, 1902) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont.
Biography
Grout was born in Compton in Lower Canada (now Quebec), the son of Josiah and Sophronia (Aye ...
. Barlow then ran as a "National Republican" with Democratic and
Greenbacker support and won the general election, serving in the
Forty-sixth United States Congress
The 46th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879, ...
, March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1881. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1880, and began to suffer business setbacks, largely engineered by Republicans including former
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
J. Gregory Smith, who were part of Vermont's business and banking community and resented Barlow's insurgency against the dominant Republican hierarchy.
Scandals
Barlow was implicated
in the
star routes mail scandal of 1876 in which he was identified as one of the most successful mail contractors in the country.
He was called to testify before Congress several times regarding the scandal. One of his first was in 1876, where he was accused of bribing Congress in 1872 with $40,000 to stop the initial investigation of the forty-second congress.
Later years
Barlow was President of the Vermont National Bank in
St. Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...
when it failed in 1883 as a result of an unsuccessful attempt to sell his
South Eastern Railway of Canada and an economic downturn. He declared bankruptcy, assigned all of his personal property to the bank and reported that he was penniless. The bank failure had severe repercussions for the town. He was also accused of refusing to pay Vermont state taxes that year.
In 1885, a judge in
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
, Canada rendered a judgement against Barlow and others for $1,550,929 for unrecovered promissory notes relating to the South Eastern Railway.
His house, known as Villa Barlow, was taken over by the
Congregation of Notre Dame
The Congrégation de Notre Dame (CND) is a religious community for women founded in 1658 in Ville Marie (Montreal), in the colony of New France, now part of Canada. It was established by Marguerite Bourgeoys, who was recruited in France to creat ...
based in Montreal, which had established a convent and school in St. Albans in 1869.
In 1903 the American-born
Eliza Healy, whose mother was a slave in Georgia, was appointed
mother superior
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...
at the convent and school, both of which she managed for 15 years.
Barlow later lived in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
with one of his daughters. He died in Denver on November 6, 1889, and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans, Vermont.
Personal life
In 1837 he married Caroline Farnsworth. They had six children: Deborah Barlow, Helen K. Barlow, Joanna F. Barlow, Laura Barlow, Charlotte Barlow and Anna Barlow.
References
External links
The Political Graveyard: Barlow, Bradley (1814-1889)*
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: BARLOW, Bradley, (1814 - 1889)Govtrack.us: Rep. Bradley Barlow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlow, Bradley
1814 births
1889 deaths
People from Fairfield, Vermont
American people of English descent
Vermont Democrats
Vermont Republicans
Greenback Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont
Members of the Vermont House of Representatives
Vermont state senators
People from St. Albans, Vermont