James Barbour (February 26, 1828 – October 29, 1895) was a Virginia

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, planter, politician and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

officer. He represented Culpeper County, Virginia, in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, as well as in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 and the Virginia secession convention of 1861. Barbour also served among Virginia's delegates to the

1860 Democratic National Convention The 1860 Democratic National Conventions were a series of presidential nominating conventions held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The first convention, held from April 23 t ...

, and as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

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 ...

during 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 ...

Early life and education

Barbour was born on February 26, 1828, at

Catalpa ''Catalpa'', commonly called catalpa or catawba, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of North America, the Caribbean, and East Asia. Description Most ''Catalpa'' are decidu ...

Culpeper County Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Culp ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Among the First Families of Virginia, his family had been prominent in the area since colonial times, when his namesake great-grandfather (and grandfather) settled in Virginia's Piedmont region. He was among the sons of

John S. Barbour John Strode Barbour Sr. (August 8, 1790 – January 12, 1855) was a nineteenth-century slave owner, politician and lawyer from Virginia. He was the father of John Strode Barbour Jr. and the first cousin of James Barbour and Philip P. Barbo ...

, Member of 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 ...

from

Virginia's 15th congressional district Virginia's 15th congressional district is a defunct congressional district. It was eliminated in 1853 after the 1850 U.S. Census. Its last Congressman was Sherrard Clemens Sherrard Clemens (April 28, 1820 – June 30, 1881) was a ninetee ...

, and his wife Ella A. Byrne. Barbour attended Georgetown College from September through December 1840. and then the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

between 1841 and 1842. Barbour read law under John Tayloe Lomax in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

, and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1844.

Early political career

In 1850, voters from the central Piedmont district that combined Culpeper County, as well as Greene,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and Orange Counties elected Barbour among their three delegates to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850, along with Robert A. Banks and John Woolfolk. In the decade before the

, Culpeper county's voters elected James Barbour to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

for the 1852–1853 session (where he succeeded his brother

John S. Barbour, Jr. John Strode Barbour Jr. (December 29, 1820May 14, 1892) was a slave owner, U.S. Representative and a Senator from Virginia, and fought against the United States in the Confederate Army. He took power in Virginia from the short-lived Readjuster ...

to the part-time position). However, voters selected Perry J. Eggborn in the next two elections. Barbour resumed the seat during the 1857–58 session, and was re-elected to the 1859–60 and 1861 (January) sessions. Swem 1918, p. 345 By the 1860 census, James Barbour owned 13 slaves and also hired two older slaves to assist with his plantation while he practiced law. Barbour was among the delegates representing Virginia at the

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. A year later, Barbour became Culpeper County's delegate at the 1861

Virginia secession convention The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, to govern the state during a state of emergency, and to write a new Constitution for Virginia, which was subsequent ...

Marriage and children

Barbour married Fanny Thomas Beckham, daughter of Coleman Coals Beckham and his wife Mary C. Beckham, on September 1, 1857. They had seven children: * Ella B. Barbour Rixey (born February 27, 1858) m.

John Franklin Rixey John Franklin Rixey (August 1, 1854 – February 8, 1907) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. Congressman from Virginia's Virginia's 8th congressional district, 8th congressional distric ...

(1881) * Mary B. Barbour Wallace (born 1860) m. Clarence B. Wallace (1890) * James Byrne Barbour (1864–1926) * John Strode Barbour (August 10, 1866 – May 6, 1952) m. Mary B. Grimsley (1894) * Edwin Barbour (January 2, 1868 – March 5, 1902) m. Josie McDonald * A. Floyd Barbour (born July 1868) * Fanny C. Barbour Beckham (born January 1874) m. Benjamin Collins Beckham (1899) Barbour and his family lived at Beauregard near

Brandy Station Brandy Station is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 191. Its original name was Brandy. The name Brandy S ...

in Culpeper County, Virginia.

American Civil War

During the

, Culpeper County voters again elected James Barbour to the Virginia House of Delegates; he served during the sessions 1861/62, 1862 (April), 1862 (September), and 1863 (January). However, John H. Rixey succeeded him for the session which began on September 7, 1863. After Virginia's secession, Barbour volunteered to serve in the

and was commissioned as a

on the staff of General

Richard S. Ewell Richard Stoddert Ewell (February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872) was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee ...

. After a dispute with General

Jubal Anderson Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his U.S. Army commissio ...

, Barbour resigned on January 30, 1863. Other sources cite ill health as Barbour's reason for resigning. About six months later, the Battle of Brandy Station, perhaps the largest cavalry engagement of the conflict, took place on and around the Barbour family's estate. Beauregard mansion is now colloquially known as the

Graffiti House The Graffiti House, located at 19484 Brandy Road in the eastern end of the town of Brandy Station, Virginia, is believed by the Brandy Station Foundation to have been built in 1858. It is one of few dwellings in the village built before the Amer ...

because it contains

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

inscribed both

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

and

soldiers.

Later life

After the war, Barbour acquired a controlling interest in the Richmond Daily Enquirer and Examiner on July 15, 1867, and became its editor. Barbour owned the newspaper until January 30, 1870, when it was acquired by interests affiliated with the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. In 1877, Barbour returned to the

, succeeding his relative Thomas B. Nalle for one term, after which fellow Confederate veterans

Jonathan C. Gibson Jonathan Catlett Gibson, Jr. (1833 – after 1893) was a nineteenth-century Virginia lawyer, farmer and Confederate soldier who represented Fauquier County in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868 and later Culpeper County in the Vir ...

or Jacob S. Eggborn held the seat. In 1885, Culpeper's delegate Daniel A. Grimsley resigned and Barbour returned to the remainder of the session (March 1887) and then won election again for 1887/1888 session.Leonard p. 525, 541, 545

Death

Barbour died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at Clover Hill near Jeffersonton in Culpeper County, Virginia on October 29, 1895.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbour, James 1828 births 1895 deaths 19th-century American newspaper editors American planters American Presbyterians Barbour family Confederate States Army officers Deaths from pneumonia in Virginia Georgetown College (Georgetown University) alumni Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Culpeper County, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Editors of Virginia newspapers Virginia Secession Delegates of 1861 American male journalists American slave owners 19th-century American politicians