John Henry Barlow of Ridgefield, Connecticut

JOHN HENRY BARLOW was born in the town of Ridgefield, Connecticut, November 07, 1832 and there spent the days of his childhood and received his early education. His ancestry is traced to one of two brothers who came from England to America, settling in Connecticut, during the early part of the eighteenth century, one of them locating in the town of Redding, from whom descended the celebrated poet and politican; the other located in Fairfield, and it is to him that the subject of this sketch traces his descent. Mr. Barlow comes from honorable Masonic
stock both his father and grandfather having been Freemasons and the latter was one of the signers of the famous declaration of Masonic principles, issued in 1832.

At the age of seventeen Mr. Barlow removed to Birmingham, and there engaged in a grocery and hardware store, as clerk, serving four years. In April, 1854, he entered the employ of the Shelton Company, manufacturers of tacks, as superintendent of the packing and shipping department, and remained in their establishment until July, 1891.

The Masonic career of Mr. Barlow has been an active and earnest one, for he has entered into the labors of the craft with zeal. He became a member of King Hiram Lodge, No. 12, F. & A.M. in 1858, being initiated September 28, passed October 5, and raised October 12, of that year.

Possessed of a wonderful memory, he soon aquired a perfect knowledge of lodge work and ritual, and was made senior deacon of the lodge in 1859, serving in that capacity three years. From this position he was advanced to junior warden, then to senior warden, and in 1865, he was elected worshipful master and served two years. On October 25, 1859, he was exalted to a Royal Arch Mason in Solomon Chapter No. 3, R.A.M., and there also his capabilities as a workman were quickly recognized; he was elected High Priest of the Chapter in 1864, serving three years, and was again elected in 1870, serving two years more. On January 26, 1860, he was received and greeted in Union Council No. 27, R. & S.M., was its Thrice Illustrious Master from 1864 to 1868, and on August 5, 1863, he was knighted in New Haven Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, of New Haven.

Brother Barlow's first appearance in the Grand Lodge was in 1863, and since then an annual communication has rarely passed without his being present. In 1871, he was elected Grand Junior Deacon, passing regularly through the chairs; in 1879, he was elected Deputy Grand Master under Israel M. Bullock, and on account of his death was called to fill the chair of Grand Master for the remainder of the term. He was elected Grand Master in 1880. Mr. Barlow has also served in sub-ordinate positions in the Grand Chapter and Grand Council, and has regularly advanced to the highest station, having served in 1870 and 1871 as Grand High Priest, and in 1874 as M.P. Grand Master of the Grand Council. He held the office of secretary of his lodge from 1868 to 1899 (when he was compelled to decline further service), and has done much to place the history of this lodge on permanent record, besides serving for nine years as the head of the Grand Convention of the Order of High Priesthood.

In 1894, on the death of Joseph K. Wheeler, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, he was appointed to fill the vacancy by Grand Master H. O. Warner, of New Milford. At the session of the Grand Lodge in January, 1895, he was elected Grand Secretary, and has been re-elected annually ever since. He is a thirty-second-degree Scottish Rite Mason, and is a member of the Lafayette Consistory of Bridgeport. Mr. Barlow is one of the managers of the Masonic Home which is located at Wallingford and is secretary of the same. Brother Barlow has become widely known as correspondent of the Grand Chapter of Connecticut, which office he has held since 1879, and in the Grand Lodge and Grand Council since 1894, and he has won the respect and confidence of the craft at large for the terseness and practical common sense of his reports. As a man he is courteous and unassuming with a quiet demeanor and yet with a determined will, which, combined with good judgment, helps to mold a character noted for its in- flexibility and tenacity of purpose in the cause of right and justice. Having many friends and scarcely an enemy, he fully enjoys the confidence of the fraternity of Connecticut.

John Henry Barlow is a son of David Scott Barlow, who was born May 8, 1808, in Ridgefield, and a grandson of John Barlow, who was born in the year 1778 in Fairfield. John Barlow, the grandfather of our subject, had a blacksmith shop on Barlow Mountain, Ridgefield and David Scott Barlow carried on the same business in the same place until he removed to what was known as Birmingham (now Derby.) At this place he entered a machine shop following the trade of a machinist up to the time of his death. John Barlow married Rane Scott, and by her had the following named children: Amy, who married Philo Wood; Phebe, who married Nathaniel Wood, of Danbury; Hannah, who married David Smith; Gould; John; Thaddeus; Caroline, who married David Pulling, of Ridgefield; and David Scott. The sons were all blacksmiths, without exception, though John became a hardware dealer in Sing-Sing, New York. Thaddeus moved to Somers, Westchester Co New York, and Gould died young.

David Scott Barlow married Elizabeth Abbott, of Ridgebury, a daughter of Silas and Mary (Kendrick) Abbott. They had four children, viz: John Henry, the subject of this sketch; David Edson, born December 1, 1834, now deceased; Mary Elizabeth, born September 30, 1837, and Morris Keeler, born March 1, 1843, both deceased.  David Scott Barlow died in November, 1862, and his wife in May 1888.