Alexander Barrow

Who was Alexander Barrow?

Alexander Barrow I was a lawyer and United States Senator from Louisiana. He was a member of the Whig Party. He was the half-brother of Washington Barrow, the son of his father and his second wife.

Born near Nashville, Tennessee to Willie Barrow and his first wife Jane Green, Barrow attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York from 1816 to 1818, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1822, commencing practice in Nashville. He soon after moved to Feliciana Parish, Louisiana where he continued to practice law. He later abandon his career as a lawyer to become a planter and later became involved in politics when he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives which he served in for several years. Barrow was elected a Whig to the United States Senate in 1840, serving from 1841 until his death. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds during the 27th Congress and of the Committee on the Militia during the 27th and 28th Congresses. Barrow died in Baltimore, Maryland on December 29, 1846 and was interred in a private cemetery on his plantation, Afton Villa, near Bayou Sara, Louisiana.