Financier; born on
Swan Island,
Kennebec co., Me., Dec. 7, 1779; was of a Quaker family, and related by blood to the mother of
Dr. Franklin.
He began trade in New York when quite
young, and at twenty-one he owned four ships and a brig, and was largely engaged in commercial transactions.
As a State
Senator, and while sitting in the
Court
[
282]
of Errors, he gave an opinion in an insurance case in opposition to
Judge Kent, and was sustained by the court.
During the
War of 1812 his ships were all captured.
Being in
Washington, D. C., during its sack by the
British (August, 1814), he assisted
Mrs. Madison in saving
Stuart's portrait of
Washington, then hanging in the
President's house, which was set on fire a few hours later.
Barker was a banker, a dealer in stocks, and a general and shrewd financier for many years.
He finally established himself in New Orleans in 1834, where he was admitted to the bar as a lawyer, and soon became a political and business leader there.
He made and lost several fortunes during his long life.
The Civil War wrought his financial ruin, and late in 1867 he was again in bankruptcy, at the age of eighty-eight years. He died in
Philadelphia, Dec. 26, 1871.