Chatham County GaArchives Biographies.....Barnard, James M. 1841 - living in 1913
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 15, 2004, 11:09 am

Author: William Harden
p. 703-704

   JAMES M. BARNARD figures in the business life of Savannah, in three distinct
capacities, namely: as ship broker, as president of the United Hydraulic Cotton
Press Company and as president of the Savannah Hotel Company. A young New
Englander, scarcely attained to his majority, his military connection at the
time of the Civil war brought him to the seat of the conflict and his glimpse of
the South falling upon the fertile imagination of youth, served so to enthrall
him, that at the close of the war he severed the old associations and located in
the city whose beauty is only equaled by its wealth of romantic history. He has
resided here since 1865 and as one of the leading spirits in commercial and
industrial life, has materially assisted in the growth and development of
Savannah. He is known far and wide as a man of remarkable executive capacity, of
fine initiative, with the power to make realities out of big ideas, and
accustomed to "hitching his wagon to a star." Not only has he been successful in
material ways, but his career has been such as to warrant the trust and
confidence of the business world, for he has conducted all transactions
according to the strictest principles of honor. His devotion to the public good
is not questioned and arises from a sincere interest in the welfare of his
fellow men.

   Mr. Barnard was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 4th day of May, 1841.
He is the son of Rev. Charles F. Barnard and he was reared and educated in the
"hub of the universe." At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the
Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment, and participated in various important
operations in the South. One of these of nearby interest, was the famous assault
on Battery Wagner, in Charleston harbor, this being one of the bloodiest
conflicts, numbers considered, in the history of the war. His service was three
years in duration.

   As mentioned previously, Mr. Barnard came to Savannah in the year 1865 and
here he has ever since maintained his residence. During his half century's
connection in this city, Mr. Barnard has been engaged with important interests
in maritime affairs. Soon after beginning business here, the firm of Richardson
& Barnard was formed, his partner being Edward C. Richardson, now of Boston.
Later C. S. Connerat became a member of the firm, but without change in its
name. This firm were part owners and agents in Savannah of the old Boston Line,
operating the two steamships, "Gate City" and "City of Columbus," between
Savannah and Boston. This prosperous ocean passenger and freight business they
conducted for several years and finally sold to the present Ocean Steamship
Company. The old firm of Richardson & Barnard, not long after the war, built the
Tybee telegraph line and they were the first to bring the telephone to Savannah;
they built the telephone line between Tybee island and Savannah, which later
they sold to the Bell Telephone Company. The telegraph and telephone lines were
constructed originally for their own business. It will from this be seen that
Mr. Barnard is an innovator in very definite fashion and he has ever kept well
abreast of progress.

   In 1890, the old firm of Richardson & Barnard was dissolved, and since that
time Mr. Barnard has continued in the same line of enterprise under the name of
Barnard & Company. He is also president of the United Hydraulic Cotton Press
Company and of the Savannah Hotel Company, which owns and operates the DeSoto
Hotel in Savannah, Mr. Barnard having been one of the originators of this
admirable hostelry in 1890. This magnificent tourist and commercial hotel has
been a most potent factor in the modern growth and development of Savannah,
attracting annually great numbers of people to the Forest city to enjoy the
climate and attractions, who would not have come but for the elegant comforts
and conveniences of the DeSoto Hotel. The chambers are unusually, large and
peculiarly adapted to the climate, having the advantage of being all outside
rooms. The water is supplied from an artesian well of great purity, seven
hundred feet deep and situated on the grounds. The hotel is very spacious and
covers an entire block. The open air cafe, in use from May to October, during
the winter months is converted into a sunny sheltered piazza, one hundred and
fifty feet long and thirty feet wide.

   Mr. Barnard has been a member of the pilotage commission of Savannah for over
twenty years and is chairman of the commission. He has a wide circle of friends,
the boundaries of the state by no means limiting his acquaintance and popularity.

   His wife, who is deceased and to whom he was married in 1866, was Miss
Harriet L. Otis, who was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. There are five children
of the union: Theodore Otis Barnard, deceased; Mrs. Grace B. Brewster, William
L. Barnard, and James H. Barnard, these three of Boston, and Mrs. Elsie B.
Chisholm, wife of Frank M. Chisholm of Savannah.


Additional Comments:
A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME I
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913

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