Samuel Kimbrough Barlow (December 7, 1795 – July 14, 1867) was a pioneer in the area that became the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and was key in establishing the

Barlow Road The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...

, the most widely chosen final segment to the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

Biography

Barlow was the son of William Henry Harrison Barlow and Sarah Kimbrough, born in

Nicholas County, Kentucky Nicholas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,135. Its county seat is Carlisle, which is also the only incorporated community in the county. Founded in 1799, the county is named f ...

.* Barlow, William (1912)
Reminiscences of seventy years
''

Oregon Historical Quarterly The ''Oregon Historical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed public history journal covering topics in the history of the U.S. state of Oregon, for both an academic and a general audience. It has been published continuously on a quarterly schedule by th ...

''. He trained as a tailor, and in 1818 moved to Bloomington,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, where he married and started a family, perhaps in 1822. He and his wife, Susannah Lee, had six children: Sarah, James, John, Eliza Jane, Eli, and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. Barlow was convicted of manslaughter in August 1827, for killing George Matlock with an ax on October 16, 1826. He was sentenced to one year of hard labor. Scores of people, including the victim's brother, pleaded for Barlow's pardon and quashing of his sentence since he did it to prevent harm to his wife and children. Indiana Governor

James B. Ray James Brown Ray (February 19, 1794 – August 4, 1848) was an Indiana politician and the only Indiana Senate president pro tempore to be elevated to governor of the state of Indiana. Ray served during a time when the state transitioned from per ...

pardoned him on December 6, 1827. In 1845, when he was 53, Barlow's family arrived in Oregon. His party of seven wagons joined

Joel Palmer General Joel Palmer (October 4, 1810 – June 9, 1881) was an American pioneer of the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He was born in Canada, and spent his early years in New York and Pennsylvania before serving ...

's group of 23 wagons and explored and, after considerable difficulty, blazed a wagon trail over the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, which became the Barlow Road in 1846. They arrived in

Oregon City, Oregon ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

night. Along the way Barlow made an early ascent of

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

, though he did not reach the summit; he and Palmer were scouting a way for their wagon train to cross what is now Barlow Pass. On October 7, 1845, to see over trees and get a westward view to find a way off the mountain, they climbed to the 9,000 foot level of the mountain. In the summer of 1850, Barlow was appointed

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

(which was much larger then) by acting Governor

Kintzing Prichette Kintzing Prichette (June 24, 1800 – April 12, 1869) was an American politician. He was primarily a political appointee within the federal government's various departments, which at the time included U.S. territories. He is best known as the las ...

. On September 17, 1850, Barlow purchased the

donation land claim The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Preem ...

of Thomas McKay, which he later sold to his son William. The land eventually became the town of

Barlow, Oregon Barlow is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 135 at the 2010 census. The mayor of Barlow is Michael Lundsten, as of the most recent election in 2018. History Barlow is named for William Barlow, the son of Sa ...

, named for William, not Samuel. In 1854 Barlow, along with

Cyrus Olney Cyrus Olney (October 11, 1815 – December 12, 1870) was an American politician and lawyer in what would become the state of Oregon. He was the 6th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving while the region was still the Oregon Territory. A nati ...

, Granville O. Haller,

Thomas J. Dryer Thomas Jefferson Dryer (January 8, 1808 – March 30, 1879) was a newspaper publisher and politician in the Western United States. A member of the Oregon Territorial Legislature in 1857, Dryer is best remembered as the founder of ''The Oregonian, ...

, Wells Lake, and T.O. Travailliot were reported as making the first ascent of Mount Hood, though the report has been disputed. Barlow is buried beside Susannah Lee Barlow at Barlow. There is also a high school east of Gresham, Oregon,

Sam Barlow High School Sam Barlow High School is a public high school in Gresham, Oregon, United States, in the Gresham-Barlow School District. It was named after the Oregon pioneer Sam Barlow. Teacher Stephen Corkett received the University of Oregon's high school ...

, named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlow, Sam Kimbrough 1867 deaths People from Nicholas County, Kentucky History of transportation in Oregon Oregon Country Oregon pioneers 1795 births

Biography

See also

References