Biographical Sketch of Thomas W. BARLOW (b. 1854); Philadelphia Co., PA

Contributed to the PAGenWeb Archives by Diana Smith 
[christillavalley@comcast.net] 

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"Philadelphia, A History of the City and its People; A Record of 225 Years"
Publisher:  S. H. Clark; Philadelphia; 1912.   
Author, Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer
Vol. 3, Page 272
 
THOMAS W. BARLOW
     Thomas W. Barlow, a Philadelphia attorney whose place of birth was the 
city of his present residence, his natal day being June 14, 1854, was a son 
of Thomas A. and Elizabeth (Bennett) Barlow.  He is descended from the 
Barlow family of Massachusetts, represented in the Revolutionary war by his 
great-grandfather, Jesse Barlow, who participated in the battle of Lexington.  
Both the Barlow and Bennett families were of English origin, while the 
maternal ancestors of Thomas W. Barlow were for some time residents of New 
Jersey.
     In the public schools of Philadelphia, Thomas W. Barlow pursued his 
early education and later attended the State College of Pennsylvania, from 
which he was graduated in 1877 with the degree of Bachelor of Science and 
Agriculture.  He studied law in the office of Earle & White, of Philadelphia, 
and was admitted to the bar January 30, 1879, since which time he has engaged 
in general practice.  In 1895 he was appointed special assistant district 
attorney under George S. Graham and served until Mr. Graham's retirement from 
office on the 31st of December, 1899.  During that period he assisted in the 
prosecution of a large number of prominent cases including the Bardsley 
embezzlement case, the Keystone Bank case, the Spring Garden Bank, Columbia 
Bank, Bank of America and Shakamaxon Bank cases, together with numerous 
murder cases, the most prominent of which was the Holmes murder case.
     Mr. Barlow has always been active in reform politics and was the 
youngest member of the committee of One Hundred, a reform body, during its 
existence from 1880 until 1883, and was counsel for the organization, 
together with Richard P. White.  He considers citizenship the greatest and 
most sacred gift within the power of this country to bestow and to ally one's 
self with any political machine is to sacrifice one's privilege of voting 
according to individual will and judgment and to sacrifice the enjoyment of 
self-government for which our forefathers fought.  Mr. Barlow was for six 
years one of the state commissioners of charities and a representative of the 
bar of the committee on lunacy.
     On the 4th of November, 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. Barlow and 
Miss Kate Sanderson, the fourth daughter of John J. and Mercy K. Sanderson, 
of Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.  Mrs. Barlow died June 3, 1908, leaving one 
child, John Sanderson, who was born August 19, 1881.  On the 1st of July, 
1910, Mr. Barlow wedded Ella Louise Krell of Cincinnati, and they reside at 
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
     Mr. Barlow belongs to the Bachelors Barge Club, the Union League Club, 
the Masonic fraternity and the Philadelphia Bar Association.  Few men look at 
life from a broader standpoint or base their judgment upon more comprehensive 
knowledge of the interests and problems which are vital in our American 
citizenship.  He has studied closely all of the great sociological, economic 
and political problems which are to the statesman and man of affairs of grave 
import, and his opinions are formed with due regard to individual 
responsibility and also with recognition of the fact that the individual is 
and perforce must be a part of society.
 


 

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