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Richmond County, Georgia Biographies
George Thomas BARNES
(1833—1901)
BARNES, George Thomas, a Representative
from Georgia; born in a suburb (now called Summerville) of Augusta, Richmond County, Ga.,
August 14, 1833; attended private
schools, Richmond Academy, and Franklin College; was graduated from the University of Georgia at Athens in 1853;
studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1855 and commenced practice in Augusta; during the Civil War served in
the Confederate Army in the Washington Light Artillery Company of Augusta, Ga., as second lieutenant and major
brevet; member of the State house of representatives 1860-1865; member of the Democratic National Committee 1876-1884;
elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first Congresses (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1891); unsuccessful
candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress; resumed the practice of law; died in Augusta, Ga.,
October 24, 1901; interment in the City Cemetery. [Source: Biographical
Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present, contributed by A. Newell.]
JUDGE WILLIAM TRACY GOULD (of Augusta)
was born in Litchfield, Conn., October 25, 1799. He was the son of Judge James Gould, and his wife, Sallie McCurdy
Tracy. He came from a long line of accomplished men on both sides of the family. The ancient family estate of Pridehams
Leigh, in North Tawton, Oakhampton parish, county Devonshire, England, is yet in possession of a member of the
family. The first American ancestor was Richard Gould, born in Devonshire, England, in 1662. With' his son, Dr.
William Gould, he emigrated to America in 1720, and settled in Branford, Conn. His grandson, William, Jr., was
born on November 17, 1727. Judge James Gould, son of William, Jr., and the father of William Tracy Gould, was born
at Branford, December 5, 1770, and married Sallie McCurdy Tracy, of Litchfield, Conn., October 21, 1798. James
Gould's sister, Elizabeth, was the wife of Roger Minott Sherman, one of our distinguished Revolutionary statesmen.
Judge Gould's maternal great-grandmother was Elizabeth Tracy, of Norwich, Conn., and his grandfather, General Uriah
Tracy, was for ten years United States Senator from Connecticut. He died in 1807, and was the first person buried
in the Congressional Cemetery, at Washington. Judge W. T. Gould's father, Judge James Gould, graduated at Yale,
in 1791, and delivered the Latin salutatory, then the highest honor to the graduation class. He then became a tutor
at Yale. In 1795 he entered the law school at Litchfield, and after admission to the bar became associated with
Judge Reeve in conducting the famous law school which for fifty years was the leading school in the United States
for that profession. In May, 1816, he was appointed Judge of the Superior Court and Supreme Court of Errors, of
Connecticut. In 1820 Yale bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He was one of the most accomplished
and competent writers who have ever written upon any branch of English jurisprudence. His groat work on pleading
is a model of its kind.
William Tracy Gould entered Yale College in 1813, at the age of fourteen, and graduated in the class of 1816. At
the conclusion of his academic studies he became a student in the Litchfield Law School, under the watchful eye
of his father, and was admitted to the bar at Litchfield in 1820. In 1821 he removed to Clinton, Jones county,
Georgia. This would appear now a very curious selection, but at that time there were no railroads, and these little
country towns all offered opportunities to aspiring young professional men. In 1823 he removed from Clinton to
Augusta, where the remainder of his life was spent, and immediately took prominent place in the professional and
social circles of the city.
On October 7,1824, he married Mrs. Anna Gardner McKinne. Of this marriage three children were born, James Gardner,
Julia Tracy, and Henry Cumming.
In 1833 he established a law school at which many young men, afterwards distinguished in the profession, received
their legal education. In this he was following in the footsteps of his distinguished father.
The law school established by Judge Gould in 1833 flourished for many years. It is not certain just when it was
discontinued, but probably on the outbreak of the Civil War. Among the many distinguished men who were students
at this school under his direction may be mentioned Judge William Schley, Judge James S. Hook, Judge Ebenezer Starnes,
William A. Walton, Colonel Richard Malcolm Johnston, James Gardner Gould, Judge William W. Montgomery, Judge William
R. McLaws, Judge John T. Shewmake, General John K. Jackson, George T. Barnes, M. C.; George G. MacWhorter, and
numerous other strong lawyers. Aside from his professional and civic duties, Judge Gould was profoundly interested
in Masonry, and had in that great Order a most distinguished record. On December 6, 1825, he was initiated as an
entered apprentice in Social Lodge, No. 1. By a special dispensation from Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master
Slaughter, he was passed to the degree of Fellow Craft, and rose to the degree of Master Mason on December 16,
1825. January 6, 1826, he was appointed Junior Deacon of his lodge, and on December 1, 1826, less than one year
after his initiation, he was elected Worshipful Master. On December 12, 1828, he was again elected Worshipful Master.
January 25, 1826, he became a Royal Arch Mason in the Augusta Chapter. For a number of years he held the position
of High Priest of Augusta Chapter, No. 2. He was Grand Marshal of the Grand Chapter of Georgia from 1829 to 1846,
and Grand High Priest for several years. He became a member of the Georgia Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templars,
on March 18, 1826, and was elected Grand Commander of the State in 1860, which position he held until 1868. He
made many speeches and addresses in public and in the lodge room on Masonry. Not only a leader in the order, he
was one of its most illustrious and honored members. His portrait now adorns the walls of the lodge room, where
it has hung for many years, and is still greatly cherished.
Judge Gould was married a second time to Miss Virginia Highbie Hunter, daughter of Wimberley Hunter (formerly of
Savannah, Ga.), on September 20, 1864. Of this marriage there were three sons, William Hunter, Wimberley and George
Glenn Gould.
Judge Gould died July 18, 1882, honored and venerated by all who knew him. At the time of his death, Judge James
S. Hook, who had received his legal training from Judge Gould, delivered a most beautiful and impressive memorial
address in his honor at a special memorial meeting held by the court. In the present generation his descendants
are among the most accomplished and highly esteemed people of the State.
On the Fourth of July, 1848, Judge Gould delivered the address at the laying of the corner stone of the monument
to the memory of Governor George Walton and Lyman Hall, two of the three Georgians who signed the Declaration of
Independence.
In the Weekly Republic, published at that time, in the issue of July 11th, appeared the following comment: "Honorable
William T. Gould delivered a very fine address to the large auditory present, who seemed deeply and favorably impressed
with the classic style and appropriateness of its sentiments."
In February, 1851, he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Augusta, afterwards known as the City Court,
which office he held until 1877, a period of twenty-six years. Judge Gould was greatly beloved by his professional
brethren. His standards of conduct were of the highest. His demeanor was always that of amiability and substantial
kindness. He was most agreeable socially,being well educated and decidedly humorous and witty. Notwithstanding
that three-fourths of his long life was spent in the South, he never lost his alert, bustling New England ways.
His sentiments, however, were thoroughly southern, and during the Civil War he commanded a local company in the
Confederate service, which was composed of elderly men and was known as the "Silver Grays." This company
was not expected to appear on the battlefield, but did guard duty at home over Federal prisoners and other local
service.
Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...",
Volume 2 By William J. Northen - Transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer
JAMES GARDNER GOULD, the eldest son of
Judge William Tracy Gould, and Anna, daughter of James Gardner, a merchant of Augusta, was born at Summerville,
a suburb of Augusta, August 14, 1825. He came of a distinguished lineage, which is fully set forth in the sketch
of his father, Judge William Tracy Gould.
J. G. Gould in his youth was a pupil at the Richmond Academy, a famous school, one of the earliest established
in Georgia, and yet doing effective work. After that he came under the charge of his father's highly esteemed classmate,
Prof. Hawley Olmstead, at Wilton, Conn., where he and his classmate, E. Olmstead, were fellow-pupils and together
prepared for college. In 1839 Hawley Olmstead became rector of the Hopkins Grammar School at New Haven, and young
Gould accompanied him there, entering Yale with the freshman class in 1841. From the very first of his collegiate
course he took a high position in his classes, graduated with first honor and was the valedictorian. A man of amiable
disposition, irreproachable character, and great intellectual attainments, these qualities made him a universal
favorite in his classes.
After graduation he returned to Augusta, and studied law in the school which had been established there by his
father in 1833. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1847. In 1S48 he was appointed tutor in Yale college,
which position he held for four college terms, and left after commencement in 1849, returning home, where he began
the practice of law with brilliant prospects. Shortly after establishing himself in the practice, he married Harriet
Glascock Barrett, daughter of Thomas Barrett, a prominent merchant of Augusta, and granddaughter of Thomas Glascock,
an eminent Georgian and former speaker of the General Assembly, and a member of Congress. Of this marriage there
were two children, Harriet Glacock Gould, now Mrs. Harriet Gould Jefferies, and James Gardner Gould.
On July 4, 1853, Mr Gould, by special invitation delivered the oration at Augusta, Ga., in commemoration of the
Declaration of Independence, and gave a most able and scholarly address to a large and appreciative audienee, following
the example of his distinguished father, Judge William Tracy Gould, who had been honored in the same way five years
before. This brilliant and promising career was cut short by an untimely death. He had gone to Marietta, Ga., with
his wife and child, and there died. The Superior Court was at the time in session, and on motion of the Hon. Joseph
E. Brown, since Governor and United States Senator, the court adjourned to attend his funeral, and he was buried
with Masonic honors. During the winter his rvmains were transferred to the beautiful cemetery in Augusta, Ga.
Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...",
Volume 2 By William J. Northen - Transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer
NANCY STRONG, the mother of Thomas Barrett,
was born in London, England, May 3, 1779. She came from England to the United States of America with her half brother,
John Hartridge, and his family, in 1797. She became acquainted with Mr. Thomas Barrett, an Englishman, (and like
herself a native of London), at Savannah, Ga., where they were married October 20, 1799. She never returned to
her native land. Mr. Barrett and his wife removed to Augusta, Ga., where the former engaged in the "mercantile
and commission business," and by his correct deportment and assiduous attention to business he secured the
esteem and confidence of numerous friends. For a number of years he held the office of Clerk of the Board of Trustees
of the Richmond Academy. He was Worshipful Master of the Augusta Lodge at the time of the death of President Washington
in 1799, and gave the order that all brother Masons should wear a "badge of mourning on their sleeves"
for a period, in memory of their distinguished brother. During the latter part of his life he was incapacitated
for business on account of failing health, which rendered him almost helpless. He was blessed with an admirable
wife, and a charming family of children—eight daughters and one son. He looked, however, on the period of his dissolution
as that which could alone terminate his sufferings. He died, aged forty-two years.
Owing to Mr. Barrett's protracted illness and inability to attend to his business, he left his wife and six children
without means of support. His noble helpmate, however, possessed practical sense and unbounded energy, and these
traits enabled her to rear her children in such a way that they reflected credit on their self-sacrificing, Christian
mother. She was deeply religious and was one of the founders of the Augusta Orphans' Asylum.
Thomas Barrett, the sixth child, was born in Augusta, Ga., August 10, 1808. He came of a very high and pure English
strain. The late Lady Dilke, (nee Strong), one of the most brilliant writers on art in the world, wife of one of
England's greatest statesmen, Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, was his first cousin. He was an unusually intelligent
and ambitious boy. He attended the school of the eminent Baptist clergyman, Rev. William T. Brantly, and so impressed
was he with his pupil's brilliant mind that he offered to give him the tuition free of charge. His mother declined
this generous proposition, and at an early age he was obliged to begin his business life by clerking for his brother-in-law,
Mr. James Carter, who was in the dnig business. He afterwards became the owner of said business and made it a signal
financial success.
He married Mary Savannah Glascock, September 16, 1830, the daughter of Thomas Glascock, a distinguished lawyer
and leading politician of Georgia, at one time Speaker of the House (State), and member of Congress. They had six
children, three daughters and three sons. Thomas Barrett held the important position of president of the State
Bank from 1854 to 1859. He then became the president of the City Bank and held the place until his death. His financial
ability was pre-eminent, and his advice and opinions were solicited by the leading business men of the country.
He was pronounced by the distinguished Judge John P. King, United States Senator and for many years president of
the Georgia Railroad, "the most profound financier he had ever known," and Hon. Alfred Gumming, at one
time Governor of Utah, who traveled extensively, said he had met young men in different portions of this vast country
who informed him that they were indebted to Mr. Thomas Barrett for their success and prosperity, for when they
were struggling with poverty he cheerfully gave them pecuniary assistance. This universally beloved, admired and
public spirited citizen died in the prime of his useful life on April 2, 1865. The sad event cast a gloom over
the entire city.
Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...", Volume 2 By William J. Northen
- Transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer
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