Washington Barrow

Washington Barrow
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 8th district
In office
March 4, 1847  March 3, 1849
Preceded by Edwin H. Ewing
Succeeded by Andrew Ewing
Member of the Tennessee Senate
In office
1860–1861
Personal details
Born (1807-10-05)October 5, 1807
Davidson County, Tennessee
Died October 19, 1876(1876-10-19) (aged 69)
St. Louis, Missouri
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Anna Marian Shelby Barrow
Alma mater University of Nashville
Profession

newspaper editor ambassador

lawyer

politician

George Washington Barrow (October 5, 1807 – October 19, 1866) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 8th congressional district.

Biography

Barrow was born in Davidson County, Tennessee son of Wylie and Ann Beck Barrow, his father's second wife, on October 5, 1807. He attended Davidson Academy and in 1826 became one of the first graduates of the University of Nashville. He read law and was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1827. In that same year, he married Anna Marian Shelby, daughter of Dr. John Shelby, one of the state's wealthiest men.

Career

In 1837, Barrow served a term in the Tennessee House of Representatives. From December 28, 1841 to February 24, 1844, he served as the U.S. Minister to Portugal.[1] He also worked as a newspaper editor.[2]

Barrow was elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth Congress, but he was not a candidate for renomination to the Thirty-first Congress in 1848. He served from March 4, 1847 to March 3, 1849.[3] Returning home in 1849, Barrow was a delegate to the Nashville Convention of 1850. He also founded and served as the first president of the Nashville Gas Light Company.[4] He worked as a businessman and was a member of the Confederate faction of the Tennessee Senate in 1861 and 1862. He was captured by Union forces and charged with treason. He refused to take an oath of allegiance, but was later paroled in an exchange of prisoners. He served as a private in the Army of Tennessee in 1863. During the American Civil War, he was imprisoned at Ohio and Mackinac Island, Michigan, which gravely weakened his health.

Death

Following the war, Barrow died at the home of his brother in St. Louis, Missouri during a visit on October 19, 1866 (age 59 years, 14 days).[5] He is interred at the family vault of Dr. John Shelby, his father-in-law, at the Mount Olivet Cemetery Nashville City Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

Barrow was the half-brother of Alexander Barrow, a U.S. Senator from Louisiana, who was the son of Washington Barrow's father and his first wife.

References

  1. "Washington Barrow". United States Department of State. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  2. "Washington Barrow". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  3. "Washington Barrow". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  4. "Washington Barrow". Tennessee Historical Society, Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  5. "Washington Barrow". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
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United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Edwin H. Ewing
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 8th congressional district

1849-1851
Succeeded by
Andrew Ewing
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