William T. Barry

William Taylor Barry
7th United States Postmaster General
In office March 9, 1829 – April 10, 1835
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	John McLean
Succeeded by	Amos Kendall
16th Secretary of State of Kentucky
In office September 2, 1824 – February 3, 1825
Governor	Joseph Desha
Preceded by	Thomas Bell Monroe
Succeeded by	James Chamberlayne Pickett
6th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office August 29, 1820 – August 24, 1824
Governor	John Adair
Preceded by	Gabriel Slaughter
Succeeded by	Robert B. McAfee
United States Senator from Kentucky
In office December 16, 1814 – May 1, 1816
Preceded by	George Walker
Succeeded by	Martin D. Hardin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 5th district
In office August 8, 1810 – March 3, 1811
Preceded by	Benjamin Howard
Succeeded by	Henry Clay
Personal details
Born	(1784-02-05)February 5, 1784 Lunenburg, Virginia
Died	Liverpool, England
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Lucy Overton Catherine Mason
Alma mater	Transylvania University William & Mary College
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

William Taylor Barry (February 5, 1784 – August 30, 1835) was an American statesman and jurist.

History

Born near Lunenburg, Virginia, he moved to Fayette County, Kentucky, in 1796 with his parents John Barry, an American Revolutionary War veteran, and Susannah (Dozier) Barry. He attended the common schools, Pisgah Academy and Kentucky Academy in Woodford County, Transylvania University at Lexington and graduated from William and Mary College at Williamsburg, Virginia in 1803, after which studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1805. He commenced practice at Jessamine County, Kentucky and then at Lexington.

William Taylor Barry

Political life

He was a member of Kentucky House of Representatives in 1807, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1810 to 1811, served in the War of 1812, was a U.S. Senator from Kentucky, 1814 to 1816; then a member of the Kentucky Senate, 1817 to 1821, and the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, 1820 to 1824, then Secretary of State of Kentucky, 1824 to 1825, and a candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 1828. He was U.S. Postmaster General in Andrew Jackson's administration from 1829 to 1835. and was the only member of Jackson's original Cabinet not to resign as a result of the Petticoat Affair, which involved the social ostracism of Margaret O'Neill Eaton, the wife of Secretary of War John H. Eaton by a coalition of Cabinet members wives led by Second Lady Floride Calhoun.

Appointments and awards

He was appointed ambassador to Spain, but died en route to his post, while stopped in Liverpool, England August 30, 1835. He was originally interred and a cenotaph still stands at St. James's Cemetery, Liverpool, England; he was reinterred in 1854 at Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky.

Barry County, Michigan, Barry County, Missouri and Barrytown, New York are named in his honor.

Societies

During the 1820s, Barry was a member of the prestigious society, Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, who counted among their members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions.

Personal

Barry was an uncle to Kentucky governor Luke P. Blackburn.

Biography

• William T. Barry at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

• William T. Barry at Find A Grave

Political offices
Preceded by Gabriel Slaughter	Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky 1820–1824	Succeeded by Robert B. McAfee
Preceded by John McLean	United States Postmaster General Served under: Andrew Jackson 1829–1835	Succeeded by Amos Kendall
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Benjamin Howard	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 5th congressional district 1810–1811	Succeeded by Henry Clay
United States Senate
Preceded by George Walker	Senator from Kentucky (Class 2) 1814–1816 Served alongside: Jesse Bledsoe, Isham Talbot	Succeeded by Martin D. Hardin
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Cornelius P. Van Ness	United States Minister to Spain 1835	Succeeded by John H. Eaton

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

1. REDIRECT Template:United States senators from Kentucky

• This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name. For more information follow the bold category link.