# Samuel J. Barrows

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American politician (1845–1909)

Samuel June Barrows Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 10th district In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 Preceded by Harrison H. Atwood Succeeded by Henry F. Naphen Personal details Born (1845-05-26)May 26, 1845 New York, New York, U.S. Died April 21, 1909(1909-04-21) (aged 63) New York, New York, U.S. Party Republican Spouse Katherine Isabel Hayes Chapin Children Mabel Hay Barrows (m. Henry Raymond Mussey) Alma mater Harvard Divinity School, B.D. 1874

**Samuel June Barrows** (May 26, 1845 – April 21, 1909) was an American Republican politician who served one term as a [U.S. representative](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from [Boston](/source/Boston), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts).

## Early life and education

Barrows was born in New York City to a strict Baptist family. After his father's death, Barrows was sent to school until he became ill around the age of 7 or 8. His doctor recommended that he leave school.[1] Barrows' mother, Jane Weekes Barrow,[2] sent him to work for a printing press owned by [Richard Hoe](/source/Richard_Hoe), a cousin of Barrows' late father. He learned to be a messenger and telegrapher, as well as learning shorthand.

He tried to enlist in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) during the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) but was rejected because of poor health.[3] Barrows was then admitted to a hydropathic sanitarium for treatment and became the personal secretary of the presiding doctor.

Finding a calling to be a minister, he attended the [Harvard Divinity School](/source/Harvard_University) in 1871. While at Harvard, he was the Boston correspondent of the *[New York Tribune](/source/New_York_Tribune)*.

## Career

After graduating, Barrows served for four years as minister of the First Parish on [Meeting House Hill](/source/Meeting_House_Hill) in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and then was editor of the Unitarian publication *[The Christian Register](/source/The_Christian_Register)* for the next sixteen years.[3]

He went with the Yellowstone Expedition of 1873, under the command of General Stanley, and with the Black Hills Expedition in 1874, commanded by [General Custer](/source/George_Armstrong_Custer). In 1873, he took part in the [Battle of the Tongue River](/source/Battle_of_the_Tongue_River).

### United States Congress

Samuel J. Barrows

Barrows was elected as a [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) to the [55th United States Congress](/source/55th_United_States_Congress) (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899).

He was an advocate for [women's suffrage](/source/Women's_suffrage), [African American](/source/African_American) rights, assimilation of [Native Americans](/source/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States) and prison reform. On the international stage, he was an activist for ending hunger. One of his first actions in Congress was to send ships carrying grain to India to feed the starving. In his later years, he served as executive secretary of the [Russian Famine Relief Commission](/source/Russian_Famine_Relief_Commission).[4]

Barrows promoted legislation that would remove Native Americans from reservations, believing that cultural assimilation would lead to equality. As a pacifist, he bitterly opposed the [Spanish–American War](/source/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War).[3]

He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1898 to the [Fifty-sixth](/source/56th_United_States_Congress) Congress.

### New York Prison Association

After a failed nomination for [Librarian of Congress](/source/Librarian_of_Congress),[5] Barrows served as the Corresponding Secretary of the New York Prison Association from 1899 to 1909. In this role, he successfully advocated for juvenile courts, parole, probation, indeterminate sentences, and improved prison conditions. He argued forcefully against capital punishment and the fee system.[3]

Barrows was the American representative to the International Prison Congress of 1895, 1900, and 1905, and president-elect of the 1910 congress before his death.

## Personal life

He met his future wife, [Isabel Barrows](/source/Isabel_Barrows), during his stay at the sanitarium. She was a medical student there.

During his stay at the sanitarium, Samuel picked up the nickname "June," derived from his sunny personality. He used this as his middle name for the rest of his life.

Barrows had a wide array range of interests and talents including musical composition and singing oratorios, studying the Greeks (he wrote *The Isles and Shires of Greece*), metal crafting, writing poetry, camping (he and his wife Isabella wrote one of the first books on the subject, *The Shaybacks in Camp: Ten Summers under Canvas*), travel, and foreign languages. He spoke three languages, read two, and was in the process of learning another at the time of his death.[3][4]

## Death

Barrows died on April 21, 1909, of [pneumonia](/source/Pneumonia), in New York City's Presbyterian Hospital. His remains were cremated and the ashes placed in a private burying ground near [Georgeville, Quebec](/source/Georgeville%2C_Quebec), [Canada](/source/Canada).

## References

- United States Congress. ["Samuel J. Barrows (id: B000186)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000186). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*.

- [Barrows, Isabel Chapin](/source/Barrows%2C_Isabel_Chapin). [*A Sunny Life: The Biography of Samuel June Barrows*](https://archive.org/details/sunnylifebiogra00barrgoog), 1913, Boston: [Little, Brown and Company](/source/Little%2C_Brown_and_Company)

- Kellogg, Paul U., "Samuel June Barrows: A Circuit Rider in the Humanities," Sixty-Fourth Annual Report of the Prison Association of New York (September 1909)

- L.F.F., "Barrows, Samuel June," *American Reformers*, 1985 ed., 56.

- Solberg, Thorvald: "A Chapter in the Unwritten History of the Library of Congress from January 17 to April 5, 1899: The Appointment of Herbert Putnam as Librarian," *The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy* 9, no. 3 (July 1939)

- Weiss, Robert P.: "Barrows, Samuel June," *Biographical Dictionary of Social Welfare in America*, 1986 ed., 69.

## External links

- [Samuel J. Barrows](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7940785) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

## Footnotes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Isabel Chapin Barrows, *A Sunny Life: the Biography of Samuel June Barrows* (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1913).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Barrows, Isabel Chapin (1913). [*A Sunny Life: The Biography of Samuel June Barrows*](https://books.google.com/books?id=tTIWAAAAYAAJ&q=a+sunny+life). Little, Brown. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780795005305](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780795005305). {{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#invalid_isbn_date))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-fishel_bio_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-fishel_bio_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-fishel_bio_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-fishel_bio_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-fishel_bio_3-4) Leslie H. Fishel, "Barrows, Samuel June," *American National Biography*. (February 2000).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kellogg_59_64_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kellogg_59_64_4-1) [Paul U. Kellogg](/source/Paul_U._Kellogg), "Samuel June Barrows: A Circuit Rider in the Humanities," Sixty-Fourth Annual Report of the Prison Association of New York (September 1909): 59 and 64.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Thorvald Solberg](/source/Thorvald_Solberg), "A Chapter in the Unwritten History of the Library of Congress from January 17 to April 5, 1899: The Appointment of Herbert Putnam as Librarian," *[The Library Quarterly](/source/The_Library_Quarterly): Information, Community, Policy* 9, no. 3 (July 1939)

This article incorporates [public domain material](/source/Copyright_status_of_works_by_the_federal_government_of_the_United_States) from [*Biographical Directory of the United States Congress*](http://bioguide.congress.gov). [Federal government of the United States](/source/Federal_government_of_the_United_States).

U.S. House of Representatives Preceded by Harrison H. Atwood Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 10th congressional district March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 Succeeded by Henry F. Naphen

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Netherlands Israel Belgium People US Congress Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Open Library 2 SNAC Yale LUX

v t e United States representatives from Massachusetts 1st district F. Ames Dexter Goodhue Holten Sedgwick Skinner Sedgwick J. Bacon Eustis Quincy Ward Jr. Mason Gorham Webster Gorham N. Appleton Gorham A. Lawrence Fletcher A. Lawrence Winthrop N. Appleton Winthrop S. Eliot W. Appleton Scudder T. D. Eliot Hall T. D. Eliot Buffington Crapo R. Davis Randall Wright G. Lawrence Treadway Heselton Conte Olver Neal 2nd district Goodhue Foster W. Lyman Sedgwick Ward Sr. W. Lyman Shepard J. Crowninshield Story Pickman W. Reed Pickering Silsbee Barstow B. Crowninshield Choate Phillips Saltonstall D. King Rantoul Fay Crocker Buffington O. Ames Harris Long E. Morse Gillett Churchill Bowles Kaynor Granfield Clason Furcolo Boland Neal McGovern 3rd district Gerry Bourne Coffin S. Lyman Mattoon Cutler Nelson Livermore White Pickering Nelson Varnum Nelson Osgood Cushing A. Abbott Duncan Edmands Damrell C. Adams Thomas A. Rice Twichell Whiting I Pierce Field B. Dean Field Ranney L. Morse J. Andrew Walker J. R. Thayer R. Hoar C. Washburn J. A. Thayer Wilder Paige F. Foss Casey Philbin Drinan Donohue Early Blute McGovern N. Tsongas Trahan 4th district Sedgwick Dearborn G. Thatcher Wadsworth Foster L. Lincoln Sr. Hastings Varnum W. Richardson Dana Stearns Fuller E. Everett Sa. Hoar Parmenter Thompson Palfrey Thompson Sabine Walley Comins A. Rice Hooper Frost J. Abbott L. Morse Collins O'Neil Apsley Weymouth Tirrell Mitchell Wilder Winslow Stobbs P. Holmes Donohue Drinan Frank Kennedy III Auchincloss 5th district Partridge Bourne Freeman L. Williams T. Dwight Ely Mills Lathrop Sibley J. Davis L. Lincoln Jr. Hudson C. Allen W. Appleton Burlingame W. Appleton Hooper Alley Butler Gooch Banks Bowman L. Morse Hayden Banks Sh. Hoar Stevens Knox B. Ames J. Rogers E. Rogers B. Morse Cronin P. Tsongas Shannon Atkins Meehan N. Tsongas Markey Clark 6th district G. Thatcher Leonard J. Reed Sr. J. Smith Taggart S. Allen Locke Kendall Grennell Alvord Baker Ashmun G. Davis Upham T. Davis Alley Gooch Banks Butler Thompson Loring Stone Lovering Lodge Cogswell Moody Gardner Lufkin A.P. Andrew G. Bates W. Bates Harrington Mavroules Torkildsen Tierney Moulton 7th district Leonard Ward Sr. Leonard Bullock Bishop Mitchell Barker Baylies Turner Baylies Hulbert Shaw H. Dwight S. Allen Grennell Briggs J. Rockwell Goodrich Banks Gooch Boutwell Brooks Esty E. Hoar Tarbox Butler W. Russell Stone Cogswell W. Everett Barrett Roberts Phelan Maloney W. Connery L. Connery Lane Macdonald Markey Capuano Pressley 8th district Grout G. Thatcher F. Ames Otis Eustis L. Williams Green Gardner Green J. Reed Jr. Baylies Sampson Hobart Lathrop Bates Calhoun J. Adams Mann Wentworth Knapp Train Baldwin G. Hoar J. M. S. Williams Warren Claflin Candler W Russell C. H. Allen Greenhalge Stevens McCall Deitrick Dallinger H. Thayer Dallinger Healey Goodwin Macdonald O'Neill Kennedy II Capuano Lynch 9th district Varnum Bishop J. Dean Wheaton J. Reed Jr. Folger J. Reed Jr. H. Dwight Briggs Jackson Hastings H. Williams Hale Fowler Little De Witt E. Thayer Bailey A. Walker W. Washburn Crocker G. Hoar W. Rice T. Lyman Ely Burnett Candler G. Williams O'Neil Fitzgerald Conry Keliher Murray Roberts Fuller Underhill Luce R. Russell Luce T. H. Eliot Gifford Nicholson Keith McCormack Hicks Moakley Lynch Keating 10th district Goodhue Sewall Read Hastings Upham J. Allen Brigham Wheaton Morton F Baylies Bailey H. A. S. Dearborn W. Baylies Borden H. Williams Borden Burnell Grinnell Scudder Dickinson Chaffee Delano Dawes Crocker Stevens Seelye Norcross W. Rice J. E. Russell J. Walker McEttrick Atwood Barrows Naphen McNary O'Connell Curley Murray Tague Fitzgerald Tague Douglass Tinkham Herter Curtis Martin Heckler Studds Delahunt Keating 11th district Bradbury Bartlett Cutler Stedman A. Bigelow Brigham B. Adams J. Russell Hobart J. Richardson J. Adams J. Reed Jr. Burnell Goodrich Trafton Dawes Chapin Robinson Whiting II Wallace Coolidge Draper Sprague Powers Sullivan Peters Tinkham Douglass Higgins Flaherty Curley Kennedy O'Neill Burke Donnelly 12th district H. Dearborn I. Parker Lee S. Thatcher Skinner Larned Bidwell Bacon Dewey Hulbert Strong Kendall L. Bigelow Baylies Hodges J. Adams Robinson F. Rockwell Crosby E. Morse Lovering Powers Weeks Curley Gallivan McCormack Keith Studds 13th district Wadsworth Seaver Ruggles Dowse Eustis J. Reed Jr. Randall Simpkins Greene Weeks Mitchell Carter Luce Wigglesworth Burke 14th district G. Thatcher Cutts C. King J. Holmes Lovering E. Foss Harris Gilmore Olney Frothingham Wigglesworth Martin 15th district Wadsworth Ilsley Whitman Widgery Bradbury Whitman Greene Leach Martin Gifford 16th district S. Thatcher Cook Tallman S. Davis Brown Orr Hill Thacher Walsh Gifford 17th district Bruce Chandler Gannett F. Carr Wood J. Carr Wilson Kinsley 18th district Wilson T. Rice J. Parker 19th district J. Parker Conner Gage Cushman 20th district Hubbard Parris E. Lincoln At-large Cobb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Samuel J. Barrows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_J._Barrows) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_J._Barrows?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.