Amos B. BARRETT, Belle Rive, farmer, Belle Rive. This gentleman is another type of our self-made, enterprising men. He came to this county in 1840, with his father, Joshua P. BARRETT, who was a native of Illinois. He was a tanner by trade in early life. He died in Mount Vernon in 1852, being retired from active life.

His father, Thomas BARRETT, was a native of Hagerstown, MD. He was of English descent. The mother of our subject, Priscilla LONG, was born in the same neighborhood that her husband was. She died in 1879. She was a daughter of William LONG, born August 9, 1756, near Mount Vernon, the old home of George Washington. He died in 1850, in Mount Vernon, ILL., aged 94 years; also of English descent. He was a brave soldier in the Revolutionary War.

He was one of the first to espouse the cause of the Colonies, and fought through the whole conflict. He participated in many thrilling scenes and battles, among others that of Brandywine and Germantown. He was one of Gen. George Washington's body guards.

He was the father of 26 children, of whom 22 reached maturity. Thirteen with his first wife, Eleanor FORD, and 13 with his second wife, Elizabeth THOMAS, daughter of Capt. John Thomas, of Baltimore, MD, a very noted family, filling then and now some of the most important offices in the State, one of them having been Governor of Maryland.

Mrs. Priscilla BARRETT was the mother of 7 children, who reached maturity, viz., Hiram G. (deceased), Julia A.T., Eliza H., Amos B., Cyrus A., Horace C. (deceased) and Mary E.

Our subject was educated at Mount Vernon. In early life he farmed, taught school one year, and after marriage farmed again til 1859, when he again moved to Mount Vernon, where he was appointed Postmaster in 1861, filling the office 4 years, when he resigned in favor of a crippled Union soldier; after which he went to merchandising till 1877, when he bought a farm of 200 acres near Belle Rive, where he now resides, owning now 260 acres of fine land.

He was married, April 11, 1852, to Helen M. ELDRIDGE, born February 22, 1830, in Cincinnati, OH, daughter of Charles and Sopronia (HINMAN)ELDRIDGE. She is the mother of 3 children, viz., Martha C., wife of L.C. THOMPSON; Charles W., he married Nellie B. FOSTER, daughter of Judge J.FOSTER; Mary J., wife of Geroge W.MEYERS, a miller by occupation.

Mr. and Mrs. BARRETT are religiously connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. BARRETT is a member of the I.O.O.F. fraternity, Marion Lodge, No. 13. He has filled minor offices, and was elected to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly by the Republican party, filling the office with tact and ability. In politics, he has always been identified with the Republican party, and is the only one living of the 6 men who organized the Republican party in this county in 1856.

SOURCE: "The History of Jefferson County, Illinois",
by Wm. Henry Perrin
Submitted by: Carol CICOTTE