George Barstow (June 19, 1824 - September 9, 1883) was a professor, lawyer, historian, and politician who served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

in the 1860s and 1870s. He was elected

Speaker of the Assembly Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 1862, becoming the first Republican to hold the post. He briefly left the legislature but returned in 1877, this time as a Democrat.

Life and career

Barstow was born in 1824 in New Hampshire and studied at Dartmouth College, before moving to Boston, where he studied law and wrote ''The History of New Hampshire'', a book about New Hampshire's history. While writing the book, Barstow played a part in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, when he contacted a friend, John Wentworth, asking for information about the Mormon faith. Wentworth then forwarded the request to the movement founder Joseph Smith, who sent a letter back to Wentworth which outlined the principles of the religion. This list of principles became known to Mormons as the

Articles of Faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

. While living in Boston, Barstow was a failed

Democratic 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 ...

candidate for the Massachusetts General Court and for the U.S. House of Representatives. He married his wife, Emily E. Shipley, in 1844. He then moved back to New Hampshire and then to New York City before he arrived in San Francisco in 1858 where he was a professor of medical jurisprudence at the

University of the Pacific University of the Pacific may refer to: *University of the Pacific (Colombia) *University of the Pacific (Ecuador) *University of the Pacific (Peru) * University of the Pacific (United States) *University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh * University of ...

. He was elected to the

from the 8th district as a Republican in 1861 and was elected

in 1862, being California's first Republican Assembly Speaker. While he was Speaker, Barstow was known as "Little Ironsides" due to his short stature. Barstow left the Assembly in 1865, but was re-elected from the

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...

district as a Democrat in 1877, holding the office until 1879. Barstow died in San Francisco in 1883.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barstow, George 1824 births 1883 deaths Speakers of the California State Assembly