John L. Barstow

John Lester Barstow

John Lester Barstow (born February 21, 1832 in Shelburne , Vermont , † June 28, 1913 ibid) was an American politician and governor of the state of Vermont from 1882 to 1884 .

Early years

John Barstow attended public schools in his home country. He started teaching himself at the age of 15. After spending six years in Detroit , Michigan , he returned to Vermont in 1857 to work on his father's farm. He was also employed in the administration of the Vermont House of Representatives . During the American Civil War he served in the Union Army until 1864 and made it up to brigadier general . In 1864 he commanded a unit that pursued Confederate troops as far as Canada after they raided St. Albans. Through such raids, far from the front and deep in the rear of the Union, the Confederate Union wanted to bind troops there that were then missing from the front.

Political rise

John Barstow was a member of the Republican Party . Between 1864 and 1865 Barstow was a member of the House of Representatives of his state and from 1866 to 1867 he was a member of the State Senate . From 1870 to 1878 he was an employee of the federal government in Burlington and as such was entrusted with the processing of pension claims ( Pension Agent ). When preparations for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown began in 1879 , Barstow was a member of the Vermont organizing committee. Between 1880 and 1882 Barstow was lieutenant governor of his state.

Governor of Vermont and another résumé

In 1882, John Barstow was elected as the new governor of his state. He began his two-year term on October 5, 1882. Governor Barstow ran the establishment of an effective railway committee to better control the railway companies and campaigned for higher wages in the mining industry. Barstow was also the curator of the University of Vermont and the state agricultural school. After his tenure ended, he became a director of Burlington Savings Bank . In 1891 he became a member of a commission that was to negotiate a peace treaty with the Navajo Indians . In 1893 he was appointed to the nationwide Anti-Trust Society . In 1910 he campaigned for the ratification of an amendment to the US Constitution that provided for the introduction of a federal income tax. This constitutional amendment then came into force nationwide in 1913, the year Barstow died. Governor Barstow was married to Laura Meach, with whom he had two children.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 4, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• John Barstow in the National Governors Association (English)
• John L. Barstow in the database of Find a Grave (English)