Philip Norbourne Barbour • Notes on Ancestry

Services of Major Philip Norbourne Barbour of Kentucky as given in Heitman's "Historical Register and Dictionary of United States Army," Vol. I, p190.

Cadet — M A 1 Jul 1829; bvt. 2 lt. 3 inf. 1 Jul 1834; 2 lt. 1 Apr 1836; 1 lt. 7 Jul 1838; r. adjt. 1 Jun 1838-Oct. 12, 1845; Captain, 26 Nov 1845; bvt. Capt. 15 Apr 1842 for active and highly meritorious services in the War against Florida Indians and Major 9 May 1846 for gallantry & distinguished service in the battles of Palo Alto & Resaca de la Palma, Tex.; killed 21 Sept., 1846 in battle of Monterey, Mex.

Hopkins of Virginia & Related Families by Walter Lee Hopkins, 1931 pp17, 18 contains the following information about him: "Martha Isabella Hopkins, b. Henderson, Ky., Feb. 6, 1824; died there Jan. 12, 1888. She married her first cousin, Major Philip Norbourne Barbour who was attached to the 3d. U. S. Infantry and was killed at Monterey, Mexico, 1846, while gallantly leading his command and was buried with much honor at Frankfort, Ky., where a handsome monument was erected to his memory.

She later married Judge John Thomas Bunch (died Henderson, Ky., May 14, 1892) a prominent lawyer [p192]and Judge; married May 18, 1852. Hopkins Genealogy, p19.

She, Martha Isabella Hopkins, was dau. of Jacob Bugg Hopkins and Caroline Imlay Brent, married Mar. 27, 1812. Jacob Bugg Hopkins was son of General Samuel Hopkins.

Major Philip Norbourne Barbour, born 1813; d. 1846, m. 1842, Martha Isabella Hopkins. He was son of Brig. Gen. Philip Barbour (b. June 7, 1770; d. Oct. 16, 1818) and Elizabeth Branch Hopkins, (daughter of Gen. Samuel Hopkins) married Oct. 31, 1806. Hopkins of Va. & Related Families, pp17, 18.

General Philip Barbour was a Colonel in War of 1812. He married 2d. Elizabeth Hopkins (mother of all his children) and by her had Major Philip N. Barbour. Gen. Philip Barbour was son of James Barbour1 & Frances Throckmorton. He was of Culpeper Co., Va. Son of James Barbour of Culpeper Co., Va. and wife, Sarah Todd. He was a presiding Justice of Culpeper Co. 1764 & d. there 1775. James Barbour was son of James Barbour who emigrated from Scotland in 17th Century.

Governor James Barbour of Virginia wrote an account of his ancestry in his family Bible on June 6, 1806. He was a Cousin of Brigadier General Philip Barbour who was the father of Major Philip Norbourne Barbour. He said:

"The farthest back that I have been able to trace [p193]with any certainty, is my great grand-father, who came over to this country from Scotland in the Seventeenth Century. He came in the character of merchant and was wrecked on his first adventure. His friends as stated by tradition, being rich, furnished him with a new cargo, which he turned to a profitable account in (I believe) the County of King and Queen. He had issue only one son, whom he called after himself James, who intermarried with Sarah Todd, of a most respectable family. My grand-father's prospects in life were considerably blasted by the second marriage of his mother, an usual concomitant of such connections with the wreck of his expectations.

"He was the first or second settler in this country; I mean the South West Mountains. I am certain he was the first inhabitant of this neighborhood which was at first about the plantation now in the occupancy of the Newman family, that being the place of residence from which he moved to a place nearer the river that belonged to William Johnson. He had issue five sons and three daughters."

James Barbour, his son, was presiding Justice of the Culpeper County Court in 1764 and died in 1775. His widow Sarah, died in 1781 and their wills are both recorded in Culpeper County and show them both to have been possessed of large estates.

James Barbour the third was Burgess from Culpeper County, Virginia, 1761 to 1765. See "Journal of Virginia House of Burgesses, 1761‑1765," pp3, 31, 45, 63, 169, 201, 225, 231, 313. His son, Brigadier General Philip Barbour was a Colonel in the War of [p194]1812. He married a daughter of General Samuel Hopkins and they had son, Philip Norbourne Barbour, who married Martha Isabella Hopkins, the daughter of Jacob Bugg Hopkins and Caroline Imlay Brent, and grand-daughter of General Samuel Hopkins.

Major Philip Norbourne Barbour was commissioned Captain, Nov. 26, 1845 and Major, May 9, 1846 for gallantry and distinguished service in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Texas.

He was killed 1846 at Monterey, Mexico, gallantly leading his command and was buried with much honor at Frankfort, Kentucky, where a handsome monument was erected to his memory.

The Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army by Francis B. Heitman, Vol. I, p190, gives his services as follows:

"Philip Norbourne Barbour, Cadet M. A. 1 July 1829; bvt. 2 lt. 3 Inf. 1 July, 1834; 2 lt. 1 Apr., 1836; 1 lt. 7 July 1838; r. adjt. 1 June 1838–12 Oct. 1845; Captain, 26 Nov. 1845; bvt. Capt. 15 Apr. 1842 for active and highly meritorious services in the War against Florida Indians and Major 9 May 1846 for gallantry and distinguished service in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Texas; killed 21 Sept. 1846 in Battle of Monterey, Mexico."

The Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, from its Establishment in 1802 to 1890, by Bvt. Maj. Gen. George W. Cullum, Vol. I, pp581, 582, records the dates of his commissions as [p195]lieutenant, adjutant, captain and major as given in Heitman's Historical Register and quoted above, and adds the following account of his military services:

Some traditions give William Barbour, who was County Lieutenant of York in 1656, as the first Barbour of this family to settle in Virginia. (See Hardesty's Hist. & Geog. Encyclopaedia (1884), p358.)

The Lyon Office of Heraldry at Edinburgh wrote [p196]on Nov. 5, 1935 that there is only one registration of Barbour arms, in 1672, that of Robert Barbour of Mulderg, Ross-shire, bailie in Inverness, whose son James was served heir in 1690, April 24.

James Barbour the first died when his son James was an infant and as his mother married again and he was brought up by a stepfather, he probably was not familiar with his paternal ancestry and he may have been a descendant of the family from Mulderg, Ross-shire as tradition asserts and related to the Robert Barbour who registered his arms in 1672. The arms of Barbour are blazoned as follows:

"Argent a Saltire between a Garb in chief and 3 Escallops Gules."

The preceding chart and account of the Barbour family was compiled by Margarita Lansing Hawley, genealogist, from an account of the Barbour family written by John Strode Barbour, published in "Genealogical and Historical Notes on Culpeper County, Virginia," compiled and published by Raleigh Travers Green, 1900, pp135‑142 and also from "The Hopkins of Virginia" by Walter Lee Hopkins, pub. 1931, pp17, 18.

The Author's Note:

1 James Barbour who m. Frances Throckmorton was Burgess from Culpeper Co., 1764 and County Lieutenant of Militia, Culpeper, 1775. He was an officer in Revolutionary army and Judge of first Court ever held in Kentucky being head of commission appointed by Legislature of Va. to settle disputed land titles. p136 Green's Culpeper Co., Va.

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This webpage reproduces part of the Journal of Philip N. Barbour G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1936 This text has been carefully proofread and I believe it to be free of errors. If you find a mistake though, please let me know!

[p191] Notesa on Ancestry of
Major Philip Norbourne Barbour

The Author's Note:

Thayer's Note:

[p191] Notes​a on Ancestry of Major Philip Norbourne Barbour

The Author's Note:

Thayer's Note:

[p191] Notesa on Ancestry of
Major Philip Norbourne Barbour