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Representative Barnes Compton | |
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Charles Edward Coffin | |
Barnes Compton (November 16, 1830 – December 4, 1898), was a Representative of the fifth congressional district of Maryland and a Maryland state Treasurer.
Early Life
Barnes Compton was born on November 16, 1830, in
Born into wealth and security on his family’s plantation, Barnes’ childhood quickly took a tragic turn. His mother died when he was only three, and five years later he lost his father as well. Guardianship of Barnes, the only surviving child of the couple, passed to his maternal grandfather, John Barnes. He died as well in 1843, leaving Barnes sole heir to both the Compton and Barnes estates, totaling eight properties and providing an income of over $5300 per annum by the time he reached majority. When he took possession of his inheritance in 1851, he became the second largest slaveholder in Charles County.
Before that could happen though, adolescent Barnes watched as family members bickered over the rights of guardianship and inheritance. Two months after his grandfather died, Barnes petitioned the
With Wilson Compton as his guardian, Barnes and his new family moved to Rosemary Lawn, a plantation inherited from his mother in Hill Top District, Charles County. Along with his uncle, aunt and cousin, his paternal grandmother Elizabeth Penn Compton resided on Barnes’ estate. Wilson immediately set to improving his nephew’s properties, over the next five years continuously petitioning the Orphans Court for permission to use part of Barnes' income for supplies and contractors. The properties owned by Barnes were: Rosemary Lawn, Muncasters, Hill Top, Green Wood Farm, Rog’s Cold, Chimney House in Port Tobacco, and another plantation in Charles County large enough to have two separate houses for tenants.
The elder Compton took his duties seriously and protected his nephew’s inheritance at court. He filed a caveat against John Barnes' will on behalf of ward Barnes Compton, declaring that 'non compos menti' (mental incompetence) negated John Barnes last testament and all property should pass to Barnes Compton. In truth, the will left almost the entire property to Barnes, excepting $500 to William C. Barnes and the freedom to two slaves. The order of the Orphans Court granting an allowance out of the estate of John Barnes so that the executors could pay for counsel in the caveat dispute was fought by Wilson Compton, but the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision (Compton vs. Barnes, 1846). After disputing Barnes’ inheritance from his grandfather, Wilson Compton turned to the inheritance from his mother. A pecuniary legacy of $3000 from Samuel Bond to his grandniece, Mary Barnes Compton, was placed in the hands of John Barnes, executor of Samuel Bond and guardian of his daughter. In 1845 Wilson Compton filed in the Court of Chancery for this legacy to pass to his ward, Barnes Compton. The defendants claimed that the late William P. Compton, Mary's husband, had already spent the money. The Chancery Court ruled that Barnes Compton was entitled to relief, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the decree (Crain vs. Barnes, 1845; Barnes vs. Crain, 1849).
In the midst of these legal troubles, Barnes Compton grew into manhood as a Southern gentleman. After attending Charles County District School No. 7 from 1841-1843, at age fourteen Barnes entered Charlotte Hall Military Academy. He attended school and boarded there for the next four years, returning in the summer to Rosemary Lawn to observe his uncle’s progress on the plantation. He was given an allowance for clothes and spending money each year, and even bought his own horse. In December 1847 the court awarded $700 per annum for Barnes’ education at
Entrance into Politics
Though farming suited Barnes, he wanted to enter the more exciting world of politics. Barnes ran for the state legislature in 1855 on the last Whig ticket, but was defeated by five votes. He wed Miss Margaret Holliday Sothoron of St. Mary’s County, daughter of planter Colonel John Henry Sothoron, in 1858. Their wedding was said to have been a “…grand affair with twelve groomsmen and as many bridesmaids.” After honeymooning in Niagara it is most likely that the couple moved into Rosemary Lawn while Wilson Compton and his family moved to the Loch Leven estate. Barnes and Wilson each bought a share of the latter house in 1857; in 1871 Barnes would sell his interest to his cousin William Compton, but when William went bankrupt his interest was sold at public auction to Henry Neale.
Barnes and Margaret settled into married life as plantation owners. In 1860 they lived in
Though elected to the legislature in 1866, the
As state treasurer, Compton sat on the Board of Public Works with the
House of Correction Corruption
The first sign of trouble flared in the summer of 1875 as the Board directed the construction of the House of Correction. On July 17, 1875 the individual members of the Board of Public Works—Governor James Black Groome, Treasurer Barnes Compton, and Comptroller Levin Woolford—filed suits of libel against Charles C. and Albert K. Fulton, proprietors of the Baltimore American, claiming $20,000 each in damages. The conflict originated in a letter to the editor and follow-up article published in the American on June 26 and June 28, 1875. Both charged the overseers of the new House of Correction in Jessup with mismanagement at best, political corruption at worst.
The June 26th letter to the editor, signed Anti-Monopoly, criticized the poor choice of land without clay or lumber—both were needed to construct the new buildings—but revealed a more questionable action by the Democratic Board of Public Works. Instead of directly buying the land for the House of Correction from the owner, the government allowed it to first pass to a "prominant Republican from Anne Arundel County" for $12,000; only then did the Trustees charged with buying the land for the state purchase the site from this Republican for $13,000. What, asked Anti-Monopoly, happened to that $1000? The purchase became even more disturbing as land records revealed that these two purchases—from Martin P. Scott to George T. Warfield, then from Warfield to Trustees George William Brown, George S. Brown and Robert T. Baldwin—both occurred on December 3, 1874. This made the passage through a middleman, one who had also held political office, seem planned rather than coincidental.
The follow-up piece by the Baltimore American on June 28th could not answer any of Anti-Monopoly's queries, but divulged an additional misstep of the Board. Mr. Henry E. Loane, Democratic delegate from
George A. Frederick was the architect for the House of Correction--especially interesting since he and the same persons of the Board of Public Works overspent on the State House by $70,000 only two years later. Codling & Loane, the builders, received at least $53,548 in payment for work done and materials furnished for the project. An E.E. Anderson also appears in the Paying Warrants and received $3000 for his work done on the House of Correction grounds. None of these persons was identified as the supervisor at Jessup.
Forming yet another strange twist in this case, Trustee George William Brown intended to put in a proposal for the building contract, but on May 13, 1875, the Board rejected Brown & Co. because it had failed to present the names of all in the firm and had not substantiated a bond with the bid. Two other companies, J.H. Horton & Co. and Thomas Binyion & Co., also failed in this requirement, leaving Codling & Loane with the contract. Perhaps one of these was the lower bidders mentioned in the American that instead was employed as superintendent.
After the officials filed their suits against the Fultons, the case was settled in open court on February 17, 1876. The
Repairing the State House
On March 30, 1876, Governor Groome signed into law an act appropriating $32,000 for repairs and improvements to the State House. After a year of delays while the Board of Public Works focused on the House of Correction and State Normal School, George A. Frederick, architect for the repairs to the State House, was finally instructed to contract with various builders in April 1877. Compton and the Board worked with Frederick on the House of Correction and re-commissioned him for this state venture. Once work began, Frederick and the Board quickly realized that the building was in much worse condition than imagined. The cellar was too small to hold a heater, the floors had settled unevenly and were unsafe, and the roof was covered with tin which leaked and rotted the wood underneath. Once the building was stripped to address these repairs, it needed to be plastered and painted. And as Groome testified on behalf of the Board of Public Works, having redone the entire building, it would seem awkward to simply put back the old furniture. “We could have finished in a plain, simple and Quaker-like way,” he said, “But…if we did the work slovenly and in a plain manner, we did not think we would be justified in exceeding the appropriation.”
And they certainly exceeded the appropriation. The budget of $32,000 more than tripled to $111,388.29. In 1878 the House of Delegates appointed a Select Committee to Investigate the Repairs upon the State House. They heard testimony from the Board of Public Works, Frederick, and all contractors involved in the repairs. After concluding that it was not the 1876 Legislature’s fault for appropriating so little money—they had no way of knowing the extent of the building’s damage—and pardoning the Board of Public Works for simply insuring the safety of elected officials, the Select Committee placed blame squarely on the architect, George Frederick. While the government officials were not to blame for failing to realize the magnitude of the repairs until the building was torn apart, Frederick should not have put in such a low bid. The Committee questioned both the Board and Frederick on the 5% commission for the project, implying that he added costs in order to raise his compensation. While the government begrudgingly paid the contractors and suppliers, Frederick never received payment for working on the State House.
Mr. Compton Goes to Washington
Compton remained treasurer until 1885. More work was done on the State House, including a complete repair of the dome by Joseph M. Marshall and improvements to the grounds. Compton resigned as treasurer after winning the 1884 election for the
Compton’s elections were far more contentious than his actions in
Beyond Politics
Outside of his political career, Compton taught practical agriculture at Maryland Agricultural College and sat on the board of trustees for Charlotte Hall Academy, the School Commission of Charles County, and the Maryland Insane Asylum. In 1890 he had been appointed director of the Citizens National Bank of Laurel, a position he held until his death, and in 1898 was made president of the Guarantee Building and Loan Association of Baltimore.
Unable to maintain their plantation after emancipation, the Comptons sold Rosemary Lawn in 1872 and moved to Baltimore with their two daughters and soon to be four sons. They settled permanently in
The elder Barnes’ heart had long been affecting him, but he fell ill to double vision and head pain in November of 1898. On December 2nd Barnes died of paralysis. After his death he was buried in Baltimore’s Loudon Park Cemetery. Margaret Compton was an invalid when her husband died, and she too passed away on June 12, 1900. She gave her furniture, stocks and bonds, personal savings, her house on Washington Avenue in Laurel and the farm "Lochlevlin" to her six children: Mary Barnes, John Henry Sothoron, Key, William Penn, Elizabeth S. Reese, and Barnes.
References
- Maryland State Archives. Barnes Compton Biography. [1]
- “Barnes Compton.” Biographical Profiles of the Treasurers of the Eastern Shore, 1775-1843, Treasurers of the Western Shore, 1775-1852, and State Treasurers, 1852-1988. Annapolis: Treasury Department, 1988. p. 16.
- “Compton, Barnes.” Biographical Directory of the Untied States Congress 1774-1989 Bicentennial Edition. United States: Government Printing Office, 1989. p. 813.
- “Compton, Barnes.” The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. X. New York: James T. White & Company, 1900. p. 386.
- “Compton, Hon. Barnes.” The Biographical Cyclopedia of Representatives of Maryland and District of Columbia. Baltimore: National Biographical Publishing Co., 1879. p. 39-40.
- Essary, Frederick. Maryland in National Politics: From Charles Carroll to Albert C. Ritchie. Baltimore: John Murphy Company, 1932. p. 275-276.
- “Hon. Barnes Compton.” Genealogy and Biography of Leading Families of the City of Baltimore and Baltimore County, Maryland. New York: Chapman Publishing Company, 1897. p. 1016-1017.
- “Local Men Shape the Nation.” The Maryland Independent. Waldorf, MD. 5 June 1985. pg. C1.
- Michael, W.H. and Francis M. Cox. “Fifth District, Maryland.” Fifty-Third Congress [Extraordinary Session] Official Congressional Directory for the Use of the United States Congress. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893. p.52.
- Radoff, Morris L. The State House at Annapolis. Annapolis: The Hall of Records Commission, 1972.
- Rogers Williams, John. "Junior Orators." Academic Honors in Princeton University. Princeton, NJ: C.S. Robinson & Co. University Press, 1902. p. 53.
- Rowell, Chester H. “Mudd vs. Compton.” A Historical and Legal Digest of all the Contested Elections in the House of Representatives of the Untied States from the First to the Fifty-Sixth Congress, 1789-1901. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1901.
- "Members' Application Papers." Sons of the American Revolutionin the State of Maryland. Langsdale Library Special Collections. University of Baltimore. Barnes Compton: State No. 179, National No. 1179, ancestor Philip Key. [2]
- Wilner, Alan M. The Maryland Board of Public Works: A History. Annapolis, MD: Maryland Hall of Records Commission, 1984.
- Winchester, Paul. Men of Maryland Since the Civil War: Sketches of United State Senator Arthur Pue Gorman and His Contemporaries and Successors and Their Connection with Public Affairs. Vol. 1. Baltimore, Maryland County Press Syndicate, 1923. p. 86-89.