John Strode Barbour Jr. (December 29, 1820May 14, 1892) was a slave owner,
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 ...
and a
Senator from
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 ...
, and fought against the United States in the
Confederate Army. He took power in Virginia from the short-lived
Readjuster Party
The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readj ...
in the late 1880s, forming the first
political machine of
"Conservative Democrats", whose power was to last 80 years until the demise of the
Byrd Organization in the late 1960s.
Early life
Barbour was born on December 29, 1820, at
Catalpa, near
Culpeper, Virginia, the son of Virginia delegate and future U.S. Representative
John S. Barbour.
He had two sisters and a younger brother. Barbour attended the common schools and graduated from the law department of the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
at
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
.
He married Susan Dangerfield, daughter of a prominent family in
Prince George's County, Maryland. His wife died in 1886.
Career
Following his father's career path, Barbour was admitted to the Virginia
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
in 1841 and began his legal practice in Culpeper. Five years later he ran for and won election as a member of 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-number ...
, serving (part-time, along with his private legal practice) from 1847 to 1851. Barbour became president of the
Orange and Alexandria Railroad Co., serving from 1852 to 1881.
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 ...
, Barbour was a Confederate officer, as was his younger brother
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
. The family's Fleetwood Hill hosted General
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...
after the Confederate victory at the
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign.
Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...
, but the June 1863 engagement with Union forces, the
Battle of Brandy Station
The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9, 1863, aroun ...
(perhaps the largest cavalry battle of the war) was considered a draw.
After the war, both John and James resumed their legal careers, but while John concentrated in railroad matters, James bought the
Richmond Enquirer
The ''Richmond Examiner'', a newspaper which was published before and during the American Civil War under the masthead of ''Daily Richmond Examiner'', was one of the newspapers published in the Confederate capital of Richmond. Its editors viewed ...
and became its editor. After the restoration of civil rights to Confederate officers, John Barbour was elected as 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 ...
to the 47th and two succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1881 - March 3, 1887). He succeeded
Eppa Hunton II, a fellow
Shenandoah valley lawyer who declined to seek renomination. Barbour served as chairman of the
Committee on the District of Columbia (48th and 49th Congresses). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1886, months after the death of his wife (and the year after his brother James was elected to Virginia's House of Delegates).
In the late 1880s, Barbour joined with other Conservative Democrats and opposed the
Readjuster Party
The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readj ...
, a coalition of blacks and Republicans led by
Harrison H. Riddleberger and
William Mahone
William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician.
As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...
. He helped form the first
political machine of
"Conservative Democrats", whose power lasted 80 years until the demise of the
Byrd Organization in the late 1960s.
In 1888, Barbour ran to succeed Senator Riddleberger when he declined to seek re-election (and died the following year). Elected as a Democrat to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
Barbour served from March 4, 1889, until his death.
Hunton was appointed to serve until the election for the remainder of the term, which he won but declined to seek a full term.
Death and legacy
Barbour died at his home in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on May 14, 1892. He was interred in the burial ground at "Poplar Hill",
Prince George's County, Maryland beside his wife Susan.
His brother James' son,
John S. Barbour, briefly became a newspaper editor, and later lawyer and mayor of Culpeper, although he moved to
Fairfax County, Virginia.
See also
*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)
Sources
*
* Memorial Services for John S. Barbour Jr. 52nd Cong., 2nd sess., 1892–1893. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1893
* Quinn, James Thomas. "Senator John S. Barbour, Jr. and the Restoration of Virginia Democracy, 1883-1892." Master's thesis, University of Virginia, 1966.
External links
*
John S. Barbour Jr.at
Encyclopedia Virginia Virginia Humanities (VH), formerly the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, is a humanities council whose stated mission is to develop the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of the Commonwealth of Virginia by creating learning opportunities f ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbour, John S. Jr.
1820 births
1892 deaths
People from Culpeper County, Virginia
Barbour family
American Presbyterians
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
Democratic Party United States senators from Virginia
Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
19th-century American politicians
Virginia lawyers
University of Virginia School of Law alumni
American slave owners
United States senators who owned slaves