Barnes Compton
Encyclopedia
Barnes Compton was a wealthy planter
who became a politician
at the state level before the Civil War. He was appointed as Maryland State Treasurer
, serving 1872-1885. He was elected to the US House of Representatives
from the fifth congressional district
of Maryland
(1884–1894, excepting one term). Orphaned when young, at age 21 in 1851 he took control of numerous estates and became the second largest slaveholder
in Maryland.
, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from 1779 to 1790, who was a maternal great-grandfather.).
Born into wealth on his family's plantation
, Barnes Compton was orphaned when young. His mother died when he was three, and five years later he lost his father. His maternal grandfather John Barnes became guardian of Compton, the only child of the marriage. After Barnes died in 1843, Compton at age 13 was sole heir to both the Compton and Barnes' estates. (Use Compton for the primary subject.) These totaled eight properties that provided an income of over $5300 per annum by the time Barnes came of age. When he took possession of his inheritance in 1851, he became the second largest slaveholder
in Charles County.
The young Compton saw family members bicker over guardianship and inheritance. Two months after his grandfather died, Compton petitioned the Orphans Court
of Charles County for guardianship to pass to his maternal uncle, Richard Barnes, rather than to his paternal uncle Wilson P. Compton. At age 14, Barnes Compton testified that he had
.
Compton moved with his appointed guardian Wilson Compton and his family to Rosemary Lawn, a plantation inherited from Barnes' mother in the Hill Top District, Charles County. Along with his uncle, aunt and cousin, his paternal grandmother Elizabeth Penn Compton resided on Compton's estate. Wilson immediately set to improving his nephew's properties. Over the next five years, he frequently petitioned the Orphans Court for permission to use part of Compton's income for supplies and contractors to that end. The additional properties owned by Compton were: Rosemary Lawn, Muncasters, Hill Top, Green Wood Farm, Rog's Cold, and Chimney House in Port Tobacco; and another plantation in Charles County large enough to have two separate houses for tenants.
The elder Wilson Compton further protected his nephew's inheritance in court actions. He filed a caveat against John Barnes' will on behalf of ward Compton, declaring that non compos menti (mental incompetence) negated John Barnes' last testament and that all property should pass to Compton. In fact, his will left almost the entire estate to his grandson Barnes Compton, excepting $500 to William C. Barnes and the value of two slaves who were manumitted
, thus taking them out of the property of the estate.
After disputing the grandfather's will, Wilson Compton turned to Compton's 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 Compton. The defendants claimed that the late William P. Compton, Mary's husband, had already spent the money. The Chancery Court ruled that Compton was entitled to relief, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the decree (Crain vs. Barnes, 1845; Barnes vs. Crain, 1849).
While his uncle waged legal battles, the young Compton was groomed as a Southern gentleman. At age fourteen, he entered Charlotte Hall Military Academy. He boarded there for the next four years, returning in summers to Rosemary Lawn. His uncle gave him an allowance for clothes and spending money each year, from which he also bought a horse. In December 1847 the court awarded $700 annually for the young man's education at Princeton College, New Jersey. Compton graduated from Princeton with an A.B. degree in 1851.
Compton returned to Charles County to take over his inheritance. Wilson Compton's improvement of his estate paid off. Between 1847 and 1851, the income from the Compton properties more than doubled.
, the couple likely moved into Rosemary Lawn.
Wilson Compton and his family moved to the Loch Leven estate. Compton and Wilson each bought a share of the latter house in 1857. In 1871 Compton sold his interest to his cousin William Compton. When William Compton went bankrupt, his interest was sold at public auction
to Henry Neale.
Barnes and Margaret settled into married life as wealthy planters. In 1860 they lived in Hill Top near Welcome, Maryland
, with their one-year-old daughter Mary. They held 105 slaves at that estate, most of whom worked as field laborers.
ticket, but was defeated by five votes.
In 1859 Compton was elected to the House of Delegates
on a Democratic Party
ticket. The 1861 session was held at Frederick, Maryland
, instead of Annapolis for war-related reasons. Compton never reached the assembly. He learned that a number of legislative members suspected of Confederate
sympathies had been arrested by Federal authorities on reaching Frederick.
Compton turned around and escaped across the Potomac
into Virginia
, where he stayed until his term expired. He returned home and lived without interference. In 1865, he was arrested and briefly imprisoned at the Old Capital in Washington
on suspicion of aiding and abetting John Wilkes Booth
in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
. The information proved false and Compton was released without charge after four days.
Though Compton was elected to the legislature in 1866, the constitutional convention of 1867
forced another election. He was elected president of the senate
. He was elected president of the state senate again from 1870 to 1872. That year he was appointed as state treasurer
, a position he held until 1885. In 1874 he also served as state tobacco inspector.
As state treasurer, Compton sat on the Board of Public Works with the governor
and the comptroller of the treasury
. Maryland's Board of Public Works was created by the 1864 Constitution
to "[supervise] all Public Works in which the State may be interested as stockholder or creditor…and recommend such legislation as they shall deem necessary and requisite to promote or protect the interests of the State in the said Public Works." As such, the Board in the 1870s oversaw the purchase and sale of stocks in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company
, the construction of the House of Correction
and State Normal School (the late State Penitentiary at Jessup
, Anne Arundel County, and present Towson University
), the construction of a new State Tobacco Warehouse, and repairs to the State House
in Annapolis.
, 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 over 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 26 letter to the editor, signed Anti-Monopoly, criticized the poor choice of land without clay or lumber, both of which were needed to construct the new buildings. It criticized the Board's allowing the chosen site to first pass to a "prominent Republican
from Anne Arundel County" for $12,000. When the state Trustees purchased the land, they paid $13,000. Land records revealed that the two purchases both occurred on December 3, 1874. Passage through a middleman who had also held political office, seem planned rather than coincidental.
The follow-up article noted that Henry E. Loane, Democratic delegate from Baltimore City in 1874 and 1876, received the contract for building the House of Correction. Another person was reported to have underbid him by several thousand dollars, but was rejected by the Board. It appeared the lower bidder was given the project superintendent's position, at a salary of $2500. Either way, some type of party favoritism seemed present. "In these days of 'rings' and 'ringmasters,' a coincidence like this is certain to provoke comment."
Trustee George William Brown intended to submit 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. In addition, it did not substantiate 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 article who became employed as superintendent.
After the officials filed their suits against the Fultons, the case was settled in open court on February 17, 1876. The Hagerstown Mail
chastised the Board for failing to be open to public criticism, a requirement of American officeholders. A day after the court agreement, the Baltimore Sun reported that the Board of Public Works was expected to petition the legislature for an extra $200,000 over the $250,000 appropriation to complete the House of Correction as planned. Though optimistic at staying on budget in 1876, Comptroller Woolford's 1877 Annual Report recognized that nearly the whole of the budget had been spent, and "a considerable sum will be necessary to furnish the building and provide heat, water and light, so as to fit the institution for the reception of prisoners." That considerable sum was expected to total $25,000 in 1878 and another $86,000 in 1879.
Compton and his associates on the Board encountered new financial controversies in subsequent years.
The budget for the project of $32,000 quickly more than tripled to $111,388.29. In 1878 the House of Delegates
appointed a Select Committee to investigate the State House project. The Select Committee placed blame for the overruns on the architect, George Frederick. They said that 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 to raise his compensation. The government begrudgingly paid the contractors and suppliers, but it never paid Frederick for working on the State House.
. He was elected consecutively until the contested election of 1889. He retook his seat after one year and held it until 1894.
Compton took an active role in both national and state affairs. In 1890 he accepted the chairmanship of the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee. In 1892 he was chairman of Maryland's delegation to the Democratic National Convention
. In 1894 President Grover Cleveland
appointed Compton as Naval Officer of the Port of Baltimore. To serve there, he resigned as chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee.
Compton's elections to national office were more contentious than his actions in the United States Congress
. His friendship and association with Senator Arthur P. Gorman
placed Compton within the perceived "ring" of Democrats who controlled Maryland politics. By that time, the Democrats had taken control of the state legislature.
In addition, along with other southern states, they passed legislation reducing black voter rolls and the ability of blacks to vote. Racial segregation in public places was made law. During the 1888 election, the Evening Capital
bemoaned the fact that the "ring" prevented any other Democrat from running against Compton for the nomination (because white Democrats dominated the state, Democratic primary elections were the deciding ones). Instead, "anti-ring" Democrats were forced to vote for a Republican candidate, who had no chance of winning.
In 1889, Compton unexpectedly lost the 5th District seat to Republican Sydney E. Mudd
. Mudd claimed that he had been deprived of votes as election officials rejected qualified voters. In addition, he said Democrats' impersonating U.S. Deputy Marshals
intimidated black voters from voting in Anne Arundel County. The committee investigating voter fraud ruled in favor of Mudd. Nonetheless, Compton won the seat back the next year in 1890.
. He 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, Maryland
, a position he held until his death. In 1898 he was made president of the Guarantee Building and Loan Association of Baltimore.
Unable to maintain their plantation after emancipation
during a time of labor shifts and agricultural decline, the Comptons sold Rosemary Lawn in 1872. They moved to Baltimore with their two daughters and soon to be four sons. They settled permanently in Laurel, Prince George's County
, in 1880.
As adults, sons John Henry and Barnes Compton became assistant treasurer and clerk of the B&O Railroad, respectively; Key Compton was an agent of the Bay Line at Norfolk, Virginia
; and William Penn Compton, a graduate of Georgetown University
, became a physician
in Washington, D.C.
His son, Barnes Compton, attended the Maryland Agricultural College, where he played as an end on the school's first official football team
.
The elder Compton had persistent heart trouble, falling more ill in November 1898. On December 2 Barnes died of a stroke. He was buried in Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery
. Margaret Compton was an invalid when her husband died, but she lived until June 12, 1900. She willed her furniture, stocks and bonds, personal savings, her house on Washington Avenue in Laurel and the farm "Lochlevlin" (Loch Leven) to their six children: Mary Barnes, John Henry Sothoron, Key, William Penn, Elizabeth S. Reese, and Barnes Compton.
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
who became a politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
at the state level before the Civil War. He was appointed as Maryland State Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, serving 1872-1885. He was elected to the US House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from the fifth congressional district
Maryland's 5th congressional district
Maryland's 5th congressional district comprises all of Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert Counties, as well as portions of Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties. The district is currently represented by Democrat Steny Hoyer, the House Minority Whip....
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
(1884–1894, excepting one term). Orphaned when young, at age 21 in 1851 he took control of numerous estates and became the second largest slaveholder
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in Maryland.
Early life
Barnes Compton was born on November 16, 1830, in Port Tobacco, Charles County, the son of William Penn Compton (?-1838) and Mary Clarissa (Barnes) Compton (?-1833). Both parents had strong connections to the history of southern Maryland and its leading families in Charles and St. Mary's counties. (Barnes Compton was able to trace his ancestry to politician Philip KeyPhilip Key (U.S. politician)
Philip Key was an American congressional representative from Maryland.Born probably on his father’s estate near Leonardtown, St. Mary's County, Maryland, he pursued an academic course in England...
, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis...
from 1779 to 1790, who was a maternal great-grandfather.).
Born into wealth on his family's plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
, Barnes Compton was orphaned when young. His mother died when he was three, and five years later he lost his father. His maternal grandfather John Barnes became guardian of Compton, the only child of the marriage. After Barnes died in 1843, Compton at age 13 was sole heir to both the Compton and Barnes' estates. (Use Compton for the primary subject.) These totaled eight properties that provided an income of over $5300 per annum by the time Barnes came of age. When he took possession of his inheritance in 1851, he became the second largest slaveholder
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in Charles County.
The young Compton saw family members bicker over guardianship and inheritance. Two months after his grandfather died, Compton petitioned the Orphans Court
Surrogate Court
A probate court is a specialized court that deals with matters of probate and the administration of estates....
of Charles County for guardianship to pass to his maternal uncle, Richard Barnes, rather than to his paternal uncle Wilson P. Compton. At age 14, Barnes Compton testified that he had
"since his earliest infancy been in constant association with Richard Barnes and become attached to him, while to his other relations who have applied for his Guardianship [he was] a comparative stranger ... and he could hardly think that thus applying they can be activated by any regard for the interests of the petitioner."Richard Barnes was a judge in the Orphans Court. With his wife Mary, the couple raised three children of their own and took in at least five others, many near the young Compton's age. When the court overruled Barnes Compton’s plea and granted guardianship to Wilson Compton, the boy fought against the ruling. His case was dismissed by the Maryland Court of Appeals
Maryland Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals of Maryland is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis...
.
Compton moved with his appointed guardian Wilson Compton and his family to Rosemary Lawn, a plantation inherited from Barnes' mother in the Hill Top District, Charles County. Along with his uncle, aunt and cousin, his paternal grandmother Elizabeth Penn Compton resided on Compton's estate. Wilson immediately set to improving his nephew's properties. Over the next five years, he frequently petitioned the Orphans Court for permission to use part of Compton's income for supplies and contractors to that end. The additional properties owned by Compton were: Rosemary Lawn, Muncasters, Hill Top, Green Wood Farm, Rog's Cold, and Chimney House in Port Tobacco; and another plantation in Charles County large enough to have two separate houses for tenants.
The elder Wilson Compton further protected his nephew's inheritance in court actions. He filed a caveat against John Barnes' will on behalf of ward Compton, declaring that non compos menti (mental incompetence) negated John Barnes' last testament and that all property should pass to Compton. In fact, his will left almost the entire estate to his grandson Barnes Compton, excepting $500 to William C. Barnes and the value of two slaves who were manumitted
Manumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
, thus taking them out of the property of the estate.
After disputing the grandfather's will, Wilson Compton turned to Compton's 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
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
for this legacy to pass to his ward Compton. The defendants claimed that the late William P. Compton, Mary's husband, had already spent the money. The Chancery Court ruled that Compton was entitled to relief, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the decree (Crain vs. Barnes, 1845; Barnes vs. Crain, 1849).
While his uncle waged legal battles, the young Compton was groomed as a Southern gentleman. At age fourteen, he entered Charlotte Hall Military Academy. He boarded there for the next four years, returning in summers to Rosemary Lawn. His uncle gave him an allowance for clothes and spending money each year, from which he also bought a horse. In December 1847 the court awarded $700 annually for the young man's education at Princeton College, New Jersey. Compton graduated from Princeton with an A.B. degree in 1851.
Compton returned to Charles County to take over his inheritance. Wilson Compton's improvement of his estate paid off. Between 1847 and 1851, the income from the Compton properties more than doubled.
Marriage and family
In 1858 the young Compton married Margaret Holliday Sothoron of St. Mary's County, daughter of planter John Henry Sothoron. Their wedding was said to have been a "…grand affair with twelve groomsmen and as many bridesmaids." After honeymooning in Niagara, New YorkNiagara, New York
Niagara is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 8,378. The town is named after the famous waterfall Niagara Falls....
, the couple likely moved into Rosemary Lawn.
Wilson Compton and his family moved to the Loch Leven estate. Compton and Wilson each bought a share of the latter house in 1857. In 1871 Compton sold his interest to his cousin William Compton. When William Compton went bankrupt, his interest was sold at public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
to Henry Neale.
Barnes and Margaret settled into married life as wealthy planters. In 1860 they lived in Hill Top near Welcome, Maryland
Welcome, Maryland
Welcome is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland. The designated zip code is 20693.It is 7 miles from La Plata on Rt 6 West. The Goose Bay campground and marina are also located in Welcome...
, with their one-year-old daughter Mary. They held 105 slaves at that estate, most of whom worked as field laborers.
Entrance into politics
Though being a planter suited Barnes Compton, he decided to enter politics. He ran for the state legislature in 1855 on the last Whig PartyWhig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
ticket, but was defeated by five votes.
In 1859 Compton was elected to the House of Delegates
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis...
on a Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
ticket. The 1861 session was held at Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, instead of Annapolis for war-related reasons. Compton never reached the assembly. He learned that a number of legislative members suspected of Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
sympathies had been arrested by Federal authorities on reaching Frederick.
Compton turned around and escaped across the Potomac
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
into Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, where he stayed until his term expired. He returned home and lived without interference. In 1865, he was arrested and briefly imprisoned at the Old Capital in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on suspicion of aiding and abetting John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. The information proved false and Compton was released without charge after four days.
Though Compton was elected to the legislature in 1866, the constitutional convention of 1867
Maryland Constitution
The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law for the U.S. state of Maryland. It replaced the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864 and is the fourth constitution under which the state has been...
forced another election. He was elected president of the senate
President of the Senate
The President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate, and is the speaker of other assemblies.The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for example, the President of the Senate of Nigeria is second in line...
. He was elected president of the state senate again from 1870 to 1872. That year he was appointed as state treasurer
State Treasurer
In the state governments of the United States, 49 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. Texas abolished the position of Texas State Treasurer in 1996....
, a position he held until 1885. In 1874 he also served as state tobacco inspector.
As state treasurer, Compton sat on the Board of Public Works with the governor
Governor of Maryland
The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...
and the comptroller of the treasury
Comptroller of Maryland
The Comptroller of Maryland, United States, currently Peter Franchot, is the state's chief financial officer and is also elected by the people for a four year term. The comptroller is not term-limited. The office was established by the Maryland Constitution of 1851 due to concern about the...
. Maryland's Board of Public Works was created by the 1864 Constitution
Maryland Constitution
The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law for the U.S. state of Maryland. It replaced the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864 and is the fourth constitution under which the state has been...
to "[supervise] all Public Works in which the State may be interested as stockholder or creditor…and recommend such legislation as they shall deem necessary and requisite to promote or protect the interests of the State in the said Public Works." As such, the Board in the 1870s oversaw the purchase and sale of stocks in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
, the construction of the House of Correction
House of Correction
The house of correction was a type of establishment built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law , places where those who were "unwilling to work", including vagrants and beggars, were set to work. The building of houses of correction came after the passing of an amendment to the Elizabethan...
and State Normal School (the late State Penitentiary at Jessup
Jessup, Maryland
Jessup is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland and Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The population was 7,865 at the 2000 census. The center of population of Maryland is located in Jessup. It was the location of Maryland House of Correction, which was one of...
, Anne Arundel County, and present Towson University
Towson University
Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...
), the construction of a new State Tobacco Warehouse, and repairs to the State House
Maryland State House
The Maryland State House is located in Annapolis and is the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, dating to 1772. It houses the Maryland General Assembly and offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The capitol has the distinction of being topped by the largest wooden dome in...
in Annapolis.
House of Correction corruption
On July 17, 1875 the individual members of the Board of Public Works—Governor James Black GroomeJames Black Groome
James Black Groome , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 36th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1874 to 1876...
, Treasurer Barnes Compton, and Comptroller Levin Woolford—filed suits of libel against Charles C. and Albert K. Fulton, proprietors of the Baltimore American
Baltimore News-American
The Baltimore News-American was a Baltimore, Maryland, broadsheet newspaper with a continuous lineage of more than two hundred years of Baltimore newspapers. Its final edition was published on May 27, 1986.-History:...
, claiming $20,000 each in damages. The conflict originated over 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 26 letter to the editor, signed Anti-Monopoly, criticized the poor choice of land without clay or lumber, both of which were needed to construct the new buildings. It criticized the Board's allowing the chosen site to first pass to a "prominent Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from Anne Arundel County" for $12,000. When the state Trustees purchased the land, they paid $13,000. Land records revealed that the two purchases both occurred on December 3, 1874. Passage through a middleman who had also held political office, seem planned rather than coincidental.
The follow-up article noted that Henry E. Loane, Democratic delegate from Baltimore City in 1874 and 1876, received the contract for building the House of Correction. Another person was reported to have underbid him by several thousand dollars, but was rejected by the Board. It appeared the lower bidder was given the project superintendent's position, at a salary of $2500. Either way, some type of party favoritism seemed present. "In these days of 'rings' and 'ringmasters,' a coincidence like this is certain to provoke comment."
Trustee George William Brown intended to submit 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. In addition, it did not substantiate 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 article who became employed as superintendent.
After the officials filed their suits against the Fultons, the case was settled in open court on February 17, 1876. The Hagerstown Mail
Herald Mail
The Herald-Mail is the Tri-State Area's newspaper serving the cities of Hagerstown, Maryland, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and Martinsburg, West Virginia and surrounding counties of Washington in Maryland, Franklin and Fulton in Pennsylvania, and Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan in West...
chastised the Board for failing to be open to public criticism, a requirement of American officeholders. A day after the court agreement, the Baltimore Sun reported that the Board of Public Works was expected to petition the legislature for an extra $200,000 over the $250,000 appropriation to complete the House of Correction as planned. Though optimistic at staying on budget in 1876, Comptroller Woolford's 1877 Annual Report recognized that nearly the whole of the budget had been spent, and "a considerable sum will be necessary to furnish the building and provide heat, water and light, so as to fit the institution for the reception of prisoners." That considerable sum was expected to total $25,000 in 1878 and another $86,000 in 1879.
Compton and his associates on the Board encountered new financial controversies in subsequent years.
Repairing the State House
On March 30, 1876, Governor Groome signed an appropriation for $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, they instructed George A. Frederick, architect for repairs to the State House, to contract with various builders to begin work in April 1877. Compton and the Board re-commissioned Frederick to supervise the project. Once work began, Frederick and the Board quickly realized that the building was in much worse condition than was first understood, and would require a new roof and other major repairs. Once the building was stripped to address needed repairs, it needed to be replastered and painted. As Groome testified on behalf of the Board of Public Works, having redone the entire building, the Board chose to have new 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."The budget for the project of $32,000 quickly more than tripled to $111,388.29. In 1878 the House of Delegates
House of Delegates
The House of Delegates is the name given to the lower house of the legislature in three U.S. states – Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.House of Delegates may also refer to:...
appointed a Select Committee to investigate the State House project. The Select Committee placed blame for the overruns on the architect, George Frederick. They said that 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 to raise his compensation. The government begrudgingly paid the contractors and suppliers, but it never paid Frederick for working on the State House.
US Congress
Compton resigned as State Treasurer in 1885 to take his seat in the US Congress. He won the 1884 election for the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland's 5th DistrictMaryland's 5th congressional district
Maryland's 5th congressional district comprises all of Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert Counties, as well as portions of Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties. The district is currently represented by Democrat Steny Hoyer, the House Minority Whip....
. He was elected consecutively until the contested election of 1889. He retook his seat after one year and held it until 1894.
Compton took an active role in both national and state affairs. In 1890 he accepted the chairmanship of the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee. In 1892 he was chairman of Maryland's delegation to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
. In 1894 President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
appointed Compton as Naval Officer of the Port of Baltimore. To serve there, he resigned as chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee.
Compton's elections to national office were more contentious than his actions in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. His friendship and association with Senator Arthur P. Gorman
Arthur Pue Gorman
Arthur Pue Gorman was a United States Senator from Maryland, serving from 1881 to 1899 and from 1903 to 1906. He also served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1869 to 1875...
placed Compton within the perceived "ring" of Democrats who controlled Maryland politics. By that time, the Democrats had taken control of the state legislature.
In addition, along with other southern states, they passed legislation reducing black voter rolls and the ability of blacks to vote. Racial segregation in public places was made law. During the 1888 election, the Evening Capital
The Capital
The Capital is a daily newspaper published in Annapolis, Maryland. It serves the city as well as all of Anne Arundel County and neighboring Kent Island in Queen Anne's County. It is an evening newspaper during the week and offers morning delivery on the weekend. Philip Merrill was the publisher...
bemoaned the fact that the "ring" prevented any other Democrat from running against Compton for the nomination (because white Democrats dominated the state, Democratic primary elections were the deciding ones). Instead, "anti-ring" Democrats were forced to vote for a Republican candidate, who had no chance of winning.
In 1889, Compton unexpectedly lost the 5th District seat to Republican Sydney E. Mudd
Sydney Emanuel Mudd I
Sydney Emanuel Mudd I was an American politician.Born at Gallant Green, in Charles County, Maryland, Mudd attended Georgetown University and graduated from St. John's College of Annapolis, Maryland, in 1878. He studied law privately and also attended the law department of the University of...
. Mudd claimed that he had been deprived of votes as election officials rejected qualified voters. In addition, he said Democrats' impersonating U.S. Deputy Marshals
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
intimidated black voters from voting in Anne Arundel County. The committee investigating voter fraud ruled in favor of Mudd. Nonetheless, Compton won the seat back the next year in 1890.
Beyond politics
Outside of his political career, Compton taught practical agriculture at Maryland Agricultural CollegeUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. He 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, Maryland
Laurel, Maryland
Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...
, a position he held until his death. In 1898 he was made president of the Guarantee Building and Loan Association of Baltimore.
Unable to maintain their plantation after emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
during a time of labor shifts and agricultural decline, the Comptons sold Rosemary Lawn in 1872. They moved to Baltimore with their two daughters and soon to be four sons. They settled permanently in Laurel, Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, in 1880.
As adults, sons John Henry and Barnes Compton became assistant treasurer and clerk of the B&O Railroad, respectively; Key Compton was an agent of the Bay Line at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
; and William Penn Compton, a graduate of Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, became a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in Washington, D.C.
His son, Barnes Compton, attended the Maryland Agricultural College, where he played as an end on the school's first official football team
1892 Maryland Aggies football team
The 1892 Maryland Aggies football team represented the Maryland Agricultural College in the 1892 college football season. It was the first football team to officially represent the school. Maryland played three games, all of which it lost, and failed to score any points...
.
The elder Compton had persistent heart trouble, falling more ill in November 1898. On December 2 Barnes died of a stroke. He was buried in Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery
Loudon Park Cemetery
Loudon Park Cemetery a subsidiary of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., the second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in the United States, is a cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated in 1853 on the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by a local merchant and politician...
. Margaret Compton was an invalid when her husband died, but she lived until June 12, 1900. She willed her furniture, stocks and bonds, personal savings, her house on Washington Avenue in Laurel and the farm "Lochlevlin" (Loch Leven) to their six children: Mary Barnes, John Henry Sothoron, Key, William Penn, Elizabeth S. Reese, and Barnes Compton.
Further reading
- Maryland State Archives. Barnes Compton Biography.http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001500/001545/html/msa01545.html
- "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 United 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. pp. 39–40.
- Essary, Frederick. Maryland in National Politics: From Charles Carroll to Albert C. Ritchie. Baltimore: John Murphy Company, 1932. pp. 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. pp. 1016–17.
- "Local Men Shape the Nation", The Maryland Independent, Waldorf, MD, 5 June 1985, p. 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, New Jersey: 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 United States from the First to the Fifty-Sixth Congress, 1789-1901. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1901.
- 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. pp. 86–89.