John E. Barrow

John E. Barrow, the father of Mrs. Joshua Motter, was born December 16, 1822, at Nashville, Tennessee. In colonial days, the Barrows lived in South Carolina and were loyal to the British Crown. When the Revolution came on, they moved west, first to Tennessee and later to Louisiana.

In 1837 the United States recognized the Republic of Texas as an independent nation. The president of Texas was General Sam Houston, who had come from Tennessee where he was a warm friend of Washington Barrow, brother of John E. Barrow. In 1839 John E. Barrow asked his brother to help him obtain a commission as midshipman in the Texas Navy. With Sam Houston's backing, he received his appointment and joined the Navy consisting of seven wooden vessels at Galveston. In 1840 he was sent to New Orleans in search of recruits. When that duty was completed, he tendered his resignation and returned to Nashville. In 1842, when he was twenty years of age, he married.

The Barrows were strong Whigs and one of the brothers, Alexander Barrow, was United States senator from Louisiana. The Senate at that time included Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, John J. Crittenden, Daniel Webster, and Thomas H. Benton. Alexander Barrow was a good friend of the president, General Zachary Taylor. In 1849 a post as Indian agent became available and President Taylor appointed to it John E. Barrow. He was agent for the Indian tribes: Omahas, Otos, Missouris, and Pawnees with headquarters at the present site of Plattsmouth, Nebraska. It took him several weeks to get to his post by steamboat up the Missouri River from St. Louis and he arrived there June 24, 1849.

President Zachary Taylor died in office on July 9, 1850, and soon after that John E. Barrow came to St. Joseph. In 1853 the firm of Barrow & Hitchcock were prominent merchants here. They built and operated a number of steamboats from 1853 to 1857 and Barrow was captain of one of the most luxurious vessels, the Silver Heels. As steamboating became less profitable he turned his attention to freighting goods by wagon train across the plains to Salt Lake City, New Mexico, and California. In 1858 he received a government contract to carry the United States mail overland by coach from Kansas City to Stockton, California, by way of Albuquerque. This was called “The Thirty-fifth Parallel Route. The trip was made once a month, taking sixty days and running through dangerous Indian country. When gold was discovered in Montana in 1863, Barrow was one of the first to go there.

During these active years, John E. Barrow's home was in St. Joseph, and his children were brought up here. His contemporaries and friends included: John Corby, Robert W. Donnell, Milton Tootle, General Jonathan M. Bassett, William and Albe M. Saxton.

After the Union Pacific Railroad was completed in 1869, returned to St. Joseph from the West and sold out his prope then moved to New York City where he engaged in a nu business enterprises. He died in New York March 11, 1902. His pal bearers included W. W. Wheeler, Louis Motter, R. L. McDonald, Lewis C. Burnes, O. M. Spencer, Joseph A. Corby, and T. F. Van Natta.