William Taylor Barry (February 5, 1784 – August 30, 1835) was an American slave owner, statesman and jurist. He served as

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

for most of the administration of President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

and was the only Cabinet member not to resign in 1831 as a result of the

Petticoat affair The Petticoat affair (also known as the Eaton affair) was a political scandal involving members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet and their wives, from 1829 to 1831. Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, these wo ...

History

Born near

Lunenburg, Virginia Lunenburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Lunenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 165 at the 2010 census. The community is also known as Lunenburg Courthouse or Lunenburg Court House. Geography ...

, he moved to Fayette County, Kentucky, in 1796 with his parents John Barry, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

veteran, and Susannah (Dozier) Barry. He attended the common schools, Pisgah Academy and

Kentucky Academy Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in Woodford County,

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

at Lexington and graduated from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

in 1803, after which studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1805. He commenced practice at Jessamine County, Kentucky and then at Lexington. William T

Political life

Elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1807, Barry became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1810 to 1811, then served in 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 ...

. From 1815 to 1816, he became a U.S. Senator from Kentucky, then won election to the Kentucky Senate and served from 1817 to 1821. During his time in the Kentucky Senate Barry wrote to former President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

seeking support for a plan of subsidizing public education across the state; Madison responded enthusiastically and included in his letter of August 4, 1822 the often-cited observation: "A popular Government, without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both." Meanwhile, Kentucky suffered from the

Panic of 1819 The Panic of 1819 was the first widespread and durable financial crisis in the United States that slowed westward expansion in the Cotton Belt and was followed by a general collapse of the American economy that persisted through 1821. The Panic ...

and Barry became a leading figure in the debt relief party, which was successful in the elections between 1820 and 1824, although less successful when creditors challenged the relief laws in the courts. As a lawyer, Barrry argued in support of those laws, which the Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned in 1823. Barry also became the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (1820 to 1824), then served as

Secretary of State of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...

(1824 to 1825). He resigned that position to become Chief Judge of the

Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. Th ...

(the predecessor to the

Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of ...

) for the 1825 term during the Old Court - New Court controversy. Although the Old Court party won the 1826 elections, Barry ran for

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-e ...

in 1828. Barry became U.S. Postmaster General in

's administration, serving from 1829 to 1835. While Postmaster General, he outlawed the mailing of William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist newspaper, '' The Liberator.'' He was the only member of Jackson's original Cabinet not to resign as a result of the

Petticoat Affair The Petticoat affair (also known as the Eaton affair) was a political scandal involving members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet and their wives, from 1829 to 1831. Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, these wo ...

, which involved the social ostracism of

Margaret O'Neill Eaton Margaret O'Neill (or O'Neale) Timberlake Eaton (December 3, 1799 – November 8, 1879), was the wife of John Henry Eaton, a United States senator from Tennessee and United States Secretary of War, and a confidant of Andrew Jackson. Their marr ...

, the wife of Secretary of War John H. Eaton by a coalition of Cabinet members wives led by Second Lady Floride Calhoun. Barry, like Jackson, had sided with the Eatons.

Appointments and awards

He was appointed ambassador to Spain, but died before he could take office en route to his post, while stopped in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

August 30, 1835. He was originally interred and a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

still stands at St. James's Cemetery, Liverpool, England; he was reinterred in 1854 at

Frankfort Cemetery The Frankfort Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located on East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery is the burial site of Daniel Boone and contains the graves of other famous Americans including seventeen Kentucky governors and a ...

, Frankfort, Kentucky.

Barry County, Michigan Barry County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 62,423. The county seat is Hastings. History Before the present era, the Michigan peninsula was long occupied by bands of the Potow ...

Barry County, Missouri Barry County is a county located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 34,534. Its county seat is Cassville. The county was organized in 1835 and named after William Taylor Barry, a ...

, Barry, Missouri, BarrytownPostal zip 12719

Barrytown, New York Barrytown is a hamlet (and census-designated place) within the town of Red Hook in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is within the Hudson River Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and contains four notable Hudson River V ...

and

Barryville, New York Barryville is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Highland, Sullivan County, New York, United States. Previously known as "The River," the hamlet was renamed for William T. Barry, postmaster general under President Andrew Jackson. History ...

are named in his honor.

Societies

During the 1820s, Barry was a member of the prestigious society,

Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences (1816–1838) was a literary and science institution in Washington, D.C., founded by Dr. Edward Cutbush (1772–1843), a naval surgeon. Thomas Law had earlier suggested of such a soc ...

, who counted among their members former presidents Andrew Jackson and

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical, and other professions.

Personal

Barry was an uncle to Kentucky Governor Luke P. Blackburn.

References

Biography

External links

William T. Barry
at Find A Grave * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, William T. 1784 births 1835 deaths American military personnel of the War of 1812 American slave owners Burials at Frankfort Cemetery United States Postmasters General Lieutenant Governors of Kentucky United States senators from Kentucky Mason family Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky state senators Ambassadors of the United States to Spain College of William & Mary alumni Kentucky lawyers Transylvania University alumni Secretaries of State of Kentucky Democratic-Republican Party United States senators People from Lunenburg County, Virginia Jackson administration cabinet members 19th-century American diplomats Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century American politicians Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals United States senators who owned slaves