Levi Barber (October 16, 1777 – April 23, 1833) was a surveyor, court administrator, banker, and legislator who served two non-conservative terms in the

United States 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 the early 19th century.

Early life and career

Levi Barber was born in Simsbury, Connecticut, the son of David Barber and Sarah Lawrence. Levi moved to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

where he was a surveyor in the employ of the federal government. His name appears on early survey records in what later became

Monroe County, Ohio Monroe County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Ohio, across the Ohio River from West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,385, making it the second-least populous county in Ohio. Its county sea ...

. He also surveyed many other places in Ohio, for example his name is listed as the surveyor in 1802 in Bethel Township in Miami county, Ohio, according to the original source document. On February 15, 1803, in

Washington County, Ohio Washington County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,711. Its county seat is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for George Washington. Was ...

, Levi Barber married Elizabeth Rouse of

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. They had at least four children: David, Elizabeth, Austin and Levi, Jr. (Levi Barber, Jr., was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

from Ohio in 1868, casting his ballot for

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

.) He was appointed Washington County surveyor in November 1805 and served until July 1816. He was commissioned receiver of the United States

land office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Ma ...

, on April 1, 1807. Levi Barber was elected from Washington County to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

in 1806. He served as clerk of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

and the court of Washington County from 1809 until 1817, when he resigned to take his seat in Congress. He also served as a Justice of the Peace and performed civil marriages. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Levi Barber was an aide to Governor

Return J. Meigs, Jr. Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. (; November 17, 1764March 29, 1825) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the fourth governor of Ohio, fifth United States Postmaster General, and as a United States senator. Early life Meigs ...

Congress

Levi Barber was elected in 1816 as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

from

Ohio's 3rd congressional district Ohio's 3rd congressional district is located entirely in Franklin County and includes most of the city of Columbus. The current district lines were drawn in 2011, following the redistricting based on the 2010 census. It is currently represent ...

to the

Fifteenth United States Congress The 15th 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 the Old Brick Capitol in Washingto ...

. He was unsuccessful in his 1818 bid for reelection. In 1819 Levi Barber was again elected from Washington and Athens counties to the Ohio legislature and held the certificate of election. But the seat was contested by Sardina Stone, who was seated. In 1820, he again ran and was elected to the Seventeenth United States Congress. But after that term, he was unsuccessful in his run for reelection in 1822.

Later career and death

Levi Barber was appointed Trustee of

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

in Athens, Ohio in 1822 and served until his death. He was also the fourth president of the Bank of Marietta, the first bank chartered in Ohio.The Miami Exporting Company was chartered April 15, 1803. While not strictly a bank, it soon exercised the powers of banking after it began operations in 1804. The Bank of Marietta was the first regular bank incorporated in February 1808. see : Levi Barber died in Harmar, Ohio (now a part of Marietta) and was interred in Harmar Cemetery.

References

* Walker, Charles M. History of Athens County, Ohio : and, incidentally, of the Ohio Land Company and the first settlement of the state at Marietta. Cincinnati: R. Clarke, 1869, 614 pgs. * Andrews, Israel Ward. Washington County and the early settlement of Ohio. Cincinnati: P. G. Thomson, 1877, 83 pgs. * Taylor, William Alexander. Ohio statesmen and annals of progress : from the year 1788 to the year 1900. Columbus, Ohio: Press of the Westbote Co., state printers, 1899 (©1898), 458 pgs. * Summers, Thos. J. History of Marietta. Marietta, Ohio: Leader Publishing Co., printers, 1903, 338 pgs. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Levi 1777 births 1833 deaths American surveyors Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Politicians from Marietta, Ohio Ohio University trustees Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio