Henry Dwight Barrows
Encyclopedia
Henry Dwight Barrows was an American teacher, businessman, farmer, goldminer, reporter, United States Marshall, Los Angeles County School Superintendent, manufacturer, writer, and a founder and president of the Historical Society of Southern California.
, February 23, 1825, a son of Joshua Palmer and Polly (Bingham) Barrows. The early years of his life were spent on a farm a village known as South Mansfield, or Mansfield Center. He received his education, in the public school, and later in the high school at South Coventry
Afterward he spent several terms in the academy at Ellington
When he was seventeen, he taught school for four years, and devoted considerable time to music, joining the local band, of which he became the leader, and taking lessons on the organ at Hartford
.
His first business experience was clerking in New York
in 1849. The next year he went to Boston
, where, as entry clerk and then as bookkeeper, he worked in the dry goods business of J. W. Blodgett & Co. for over two years acquiring business experience. While there he enjoyed the books, lectures, music, and opera., which that city afforded.
from New York on the steamer SS Illinois
to Aspinwall
, crossed the isthumus of Panama
, then took the connecting steamer SS Golden Gate to San Francisco. Soon after arrival, he went to the northern mines, going as far as Shasta County; but, as the dry season had set in, he returned down the valley, working at haying at $100 a month on Thomas Creek, near Tehama
. He returned to San Francisco, July 31, with chills and fever, which the climate of that city only aggravated. He then went south to San Jose
, where he raised a crop of wheat and barley which in 1852 to 1853 sold at a very high price. In the fall of 1853 he went to the southern mines, working at placer gold mining near Jamestown
.
Later Barrows obtained an engagement as teacher of music in the Collegiate Institute in Benicia, remaining there until October, 1854, when William Wolfskill
, one of the earliest American pioneers of Los Angeles
, hired him to teach a private school in his home at Los Angeles, from December, 1854, until the latter part of 1858. His pupils, were the sons and daughters of Mr. Wolfskill, the sons of his brother, Mathew; the children of Lemuel Carpenter
, J.E. Pleasants, and others.
Additionally, from 1856, for nearly ten years, he was the Los Angeles correspondent of the San Francisco Bulletin, then one of the most influential newspapers in California. In 1859 1860 he again turned to farming, cultivating a vineyard near the city on the east side of the Los Angeles River
. On November 14, 1860, Barrows was married to his former pupil, Juanita Wolfskill, daughter of William Wolfskill and Magdalena (Lugo) Wolfskill, giving him family connections to several influential Californio families.
Henry D. Barrows was a Whig
when he voted for Fremont
in 1856. He voted for every Republican candidate for president thereafter till 1900. During Lincoln's election campaign, he was chairman of his Los Angeles County committee.
By President Lincoln's recess appointment on April 9, 1861, he became the United States Marshall for the southern district of California, holding the office for four years. He replaced James C. Pennie, who had been removed from office. His appointment was confirmed by the Senate July 22, 1861 and was again appointed and confirmed by the Senate January 2, 1866.
On April 10, 1862, as the federal Marshal for Southern California, Henry D. Barrows, wrote to Brigadier General George Wright
, commander of the Pacific Department
of the Union Army, headquartered in San Francisco, complaining of anti-Union sentiment in Southern California. The letter says such sentiment “permeates society here among both the high and the low,” and reports:
Brought before Colonel Carleton, A. J. King was made to take an oath of allegiance to the Union and was then released. King unlike the members of the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles
, was true to his word and did not flee to the Confederacy and in 1862, he was married to Laura Evertson, and remained in office as Undersheriff to 1865.
Also while Marshall, Barrows successfully petitioned the to have the anti-Lincoln, pro-Democrat and pro-secessionist newspaper The Los Angeles Star banned from the use of the mails in October 1864 which ended its long existence as the city newspaper.
Barrows wife, Juanita Wolfskill, died January 31, 1863, some months after giving birth to their daughter, Alice Wolfskill Barrows, who was born July 16, 1862.
in San Pedro Bay
April 23, 1863. She died in Los Angeles March 9, 1868, leaving two daughters: Ada Frances, born May 21, 1865, and Mary Washington, born February 22, 1868, and died in infancy. Barrows third wife was Bessie A. Greene, a native of Utica, N.Y. They were married November 28, 1868, and had a son, Harry Prosper Barrows; born December 14, 1869.
For many years prior to the 1880s Barrows took an active part in public education. For much of the time during fifteen years he served as a member of the school board of Los Angeles. In 1867 he was elected city superintendent, and in 1868, county superintendent.
Barrows wrote on many subjects for the local press, and especially on financial questions, including resumption of specie payment and bimetallism
. He contributed an essay to the contest in 1889 by M. Henri Cernuschi on International Bimetallism.
Mr. Barrows administered a number of large estates, including that of William Wolfskill. He was appointed by the United States district court
one of the commissioners to run the boundary line between Rancho Providencia
and that of the Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando
. Also, by appointment of the superior court, he was one of the commissioners who partitioned the Rancho San Pedro
, which contained about 25000 acres (101.2 km²).
In 1868 he was president of the Historical Society of Southern California, of which he was one of the founders, and to the records of which he contributed many valuable papers of reminiscences. Barrows was also one of the charter members of the founders of the Society of Los Angeles Pioneers. He wrote about one hundred sketches of early pioneers of Los Angeles, most of whom he knew personally, for the Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, issued in 1889. He also wrote the text of the Illustrated History of Central California, published in 1893.
Barrows voted for every Republican candidate for president till 1900, when he voted for William J. Bryan. He believed that it had departed from its earlier dedication on behalf of universal freedom, and "to the happiness of free and equal men." Henry Dwight Barrows died on August 7, 1914 in Los Angeles.
Early life
Henry D. Barrows was born in MansfieldMansfield, Connecticut
Mansfield is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,720 at the 2000 census.Mansfield was incorporated in October 1702 from the Town of Windham, in Hartford County. When Windham County was formed on 12 May 1726, Mansfield then became part of that county...
, February 23, 1825, a son of Joshua Palmer and Polly (Bingham) Barrows. The early years of his life were spent on a farm a village known as South Mansfield, or Mansfield Center. He received his education, in the public school, and later in the high school at South Coventry
South Coventry, Connecticut
South Coventry is a census-designated place and part of the town of Coventry, Connecticut in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,381 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
Afterward he spent several terms in the academy at Ellington
Ellington, Connecticut
Ellington is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. Ellington was incorporated in May, 1786, from East Windsor. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 12,921...
When he was seventeen, he taught school for four years, and devoted considerable time to music, joining the local band, of which he became the leader, and taking lessons on the organ at Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
.
His first business experience was clerking in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1849. The next year he went to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where, as entry clerk and then as bookkeeper, he worked in the dry goods business of J. W. Blodgett & Co. for over two years acquiring business experience. While there he enjoyed the books, lectures, music, and opera., which that city afforded.
Gold Rush and early life in Los Angeles
On April 26, 1852, he sailed for CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
from New York on the steamer SS Illinois
SS Illinois
SS Illinois was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The last of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Illinois and her three sister ships—Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana—were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their...
to Aspinwall
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, crossed the isthumus of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, then took the connecting steamer SS Golden Gate to San Francisco. Soon after arrival, he went to the northern mines, going as far as Shasta County; but, as the dry season had set in, he returned down the valley, working at haying at $100 a month on Thomas Creek, near Tehama
Tehama, California
Tehama is a city in Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 418 at the 2010 census, down from 432 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tehama is located at ....
. He returned to San Francisco, July 31, with chills and fever, which the climate of that city only aggravated. He then went south to San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, where he raised a crop of wheat and barley which in 1852 to 1853 sold at a very high price. In the fall of 1853 he went to the southern mines, working at placer gold mining near Jamestown
Jamestown, California
Jamestown is a census-designated place in Tuolumne County, California, United States. The population was 3,433 at the 2010 census, up from 3,017 at the 2000 census.A scene from the movie Hidalgo was filmed in Jamestown...
.
Later Barrows obtained an engagement as teacher of music in the Collegiate Institute in Benicia, remaining there until October, 1854, when William Wolfskill
William Wolfskill
William Wolfskill was a cowboy and agronomist from Los Angeles, California, who was highly influential in the development of California's agricultural industry in the 19th century.-Valencia orange:...
, one of the earliest American pioneers of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, hired him to teach a private school in his home at Los Angeles, from December, 1854, until the latter part of 1858. His pupils, were the sons and daughters of Mr. Wolfskill, the sons of his brother, Mathew; the children of Lemuel Carpenter
Lemuel Carpenter
Lemuel Carpenter, was one of the first Anglo-American settlers of what is now the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area.-Early life:Lemuel Carpenter was born ca. 1808 in Kentucky...
, J.E. Pleasants, and others.
Additionally, from 1856, for nearly ten years, he was the Los Angeles correspondent of the San Francisco Bulletin, then one of the most influential newspapers in California. In 1859 1860 he again turned to farming, cultivating a vineyard near the city on the east side of the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
. On November 14, 1860, Barrows was married to his former pupil, Juanita Wolfskill, daughter of William Wolfskill and Magdalena (Lugo) Wolfskill, giving him family connections to several influential Californio families.
Civil War
Until the formation of the Republican partyRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Henry D. Barrows was a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
when he voted for Fremont
Fremont
- Places :- Other uses :*The Fremont Bridge , in Portland, Oregon*The Fremont Bridge , in Seattle, Washington*Fremont River , a tributary of the Colorado River*Mount Fremont, Washington, in maximum elevation...
in 1856. He voted for every Republican candidate for president thereafter till 1900. During Lincoln's election campaign, he was chairman of his Los Angeles County committee.
By President Lincoln's recess appointment on April 9, 1861, he became the United States Marshall for the southern district of California, holding the office for four years. He replaced James C. Pennie, who had been removed from office. His appointment was confirmed by the Senate July 22, 1861 and was again appointed and confirmed by the Senate January 2, 1866.
On April 10, 1862, as the federal Marshal for Southern California, Henry D. Barrows, wrote to Brigadier General George Wright
George Wright
- Politics, law and government :*George Wright , Canadian politician, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island*George Wright , Australian judge, Old Newingtonian*George Wright , Solicitor General for Ireland...
, commander of the Pacific Department
Department of the Pacific
The Department of the Pacific was a major command of the United States Army during the 19th century.-Formation:The Department of the Pacific was first organized on October 31, 1853, at San Francisco, California, taking over from the previous Pacific Division. The department reported directly to...
of the Union Army, headquartered in San Francisco, complaining of anti-Union sentiment in Southern California. The letter says such sentiment “permeates society here among both the high and the low,” and reports:
- “Andrew Jackson KingAndrew Jackson KingAndrew Jackson King or A. J. King, an early settler who played a part in the early history of the city of Los Angeles and held both State and city offices as a lawman, lawyer, legislator and judge....
, under-sheriff of this county, who has been a bitter secessionist, who said to me that he owed no allegiance to the United States Government; that Jeff Davis’ was the only constitutional government we had, and that he remained here because he could do more harm to the enemies of that Government by staying here than going there; brought down on the Senator (a steam ship) Tuesday last a large lithograph gilt-framed portrait of Beauregard, the rebel general, which he flaunted before a large crowd at the hotel when he arrived. I induced ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
CarletonJames Henry CarletonJames Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
to have him arrested as one of the many dangerous secessionists living in our midst, and to-day he was taken to Camp DrumCamp DrumCamp Drum refers to two US military facilities:*A Civil War era military encampment active from 1862–1873 near Los Angeles; see Drum Barracks. The Drum Barracks Civil War Museum presently occupies part of the original camp....
. He was accompanied by General Volney E. Howard as counsel, and I have but little hope that he will be retained in custody.”
Brought before Colonel Carleton, A. J. King was made to take an oath of allegiance to the Union and was then released. King unlike the members of the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles
Los Angeles Mounted Rifles
The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles was a company of the California State Militia formed in 1861. It was the only California state unit to serve the Confederacy.- Formation :...
, was true to his word and did not flee to the Confederacy and in 1862, he was married to Laura Evertson, and remained in office as Undersheriff to 1865.
Also while Marshall, Barrows successfully petitioned the to have the anti-Lincoln, pro-Democrat and pro-secessionist newspaper The Los Angeles Star banned from the use of the mails in October 1864 which ended its long existence as the city newspaper.
Barrows wife, Juanita Wolfskill, died January 31, 1863, some months after giving birth to their daughter, Alice Wolfskill Barrows, who was born July 16, 1862.
Later life
From 1864 Barrows engaged in the mercantile business for fifteen years. On August 14, 1864, he married Mary Alice Workman, daughter of John D. Woodworth and widow of Thomas H. Workman, who was killed by the explosion of the steamer SS Ada HancockSS Ada Hancock
SS Ada Hancock was a steam powered tender owned by Phineas Banning used to transfer passengers and cargo to and from large coastal steamships in San Pedro Harbor in the early 1860's...
in San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (California)
San Pedro Bay is an inlet on the Pacific Ocean coast of southern California, United States. It is the site of the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which together form the fifth-busiest port facility in the world and easily the busiest in the Western Hemisphere...
April 23, 1863. She died in Los Angeles March 9, 1868, leaving two daughters: Ada Frances, born May 21, 1865, and Mary Washington, born February 22, 1868, and died in infancy. Barrows third wife was Bessie A. Greene, a native of Utica, N.Y. They were married November 28, 1868, and had a son, Harry Prosper Barrows; born December 14, 1869.
For many years prior to the 1880s Barrows took an active part in public education. For much of the time during fifteen years he served as a member of the school board of Los Angeles. In 1867 he was elected city superintendent, and in 1868, county superintendent.
Barrows wrote on many subjects for the local press, and especially on financial questions, including resumption of specie payment and bimetallism
Bimetallism
In economics, bimetallism is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent both to a certain quantity of gold and to a certain quantity of silver; such a system establishes a fixed rate of exchange between the two metals...
. He contributed an essay to the contest in 1889 by M. Henri Cernuschi on International Bimetallism.
Mr. Barrows administered a number of large estates, including that of William Wolfskill. He was appointed by the United States district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
one of the commissioners to run the boundary line between Rancho Providencia
Rancho Providencia
Rancho La Providencia was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given by governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1843 to Vincente de la Osa. The majority of Rancho Providencia land north of the modern channel of the Los Angeles River is now part of Burbank. The street grid...
and that of the Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando
Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando
Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Eulogio de Celis...
. Also, by appointment of the superior court, he was one of the commissioners who partitioned the Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants, and the first to win a patent from the United States. The land grant was validated by the Mexican government at in 1828, and a US patent validating was issued in 1858...
, which contained about 25000 acres (101.2 km²).
In 1868 he was president of the Historical Society of Southern California, of which he was one of the founders, and to the records of which he contributed many valuable papers of reminiscences. Barrows was also one of the charter members of the founders of the Society of Los Angeles Pioneers. He wrote about one hundred sketches of early pioneers of Los Angeles, most of whom he knew personally, for the Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, issued in 1889. He also wrote the text of the Illustrated History of Central California, published in 1893.
Barrows voted for every Republican candidate for president till 1900, when he voted for William J. Bryan. He believed that it had departed from its earlier dedication on behalf of universal freedom, and "to the happiness of free and equal men." Henry Dwight Barrows died on August 7, 1914 in Los Angeles.