James M. Barr III

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James Barr
1948-James M. Barr.JPG
James M. Barr, III ca. 1948 (IR)

Electoral District At-large
Term Start September 1, 1948
Term End June 1952 (resigned)
Preceded by Fred L. Watson (D)
Succeeded by Sol B. Weinberg (D)

Biographical Information

Date of birth March 17, 1919
Date of death June 10, 2009, age 90
Place of birth Bellehaven, NC
Place of death Hot Springs Village, AR
Spouse Sarah Elizabeth Thomas Barr
Children Betty Barr McClure
Mary Alice Barr Colo
Sally Barr Alexander
Alma mater University of Virginia
Profession Attorney
Unitarian Universalist Minister
Religion Unitarian Universalist

James Madison Barr, III (1919 – 2009), practiced law briefly in Charlottesville and was elected to serve on the Charlottesville City Council from 1948 to 1952. Barr, whose term would have expired August 31, 1952, resigned from city council in June of 1952. Sol B. Weinberg filled the two month vacancy.[1]

Barr was born on March 17, 1919 in Belhaven, North Carolina to James Madison Barr, Jr. and Alice Way Barr. His family relocated to Virginia, where he attended Fork Union Military Academy, graduating in 1935. He continued his education at the University of Virginia, studying accounting and business before graduating with a law degree in 1947. Following graduation, Barr taught at the School of Economics and Commerce at the University of Virginia. He also worked as an attorney, an accountant, and an auditor, was elected to the city council in 1948. He served as president of the Charlottesville Junior Chamber of Commerce.

Civic career

1948 election

Barr ran for Charlottesville City Council as an Independent Republican in 1948 as part of the Independent Citizens Association. [2] At the time, Barr was an attorney and auditing instructor at the University of Virginia. At 29, he was the first Republican to seek a Council seat for many years. He came second in the June 8, 1948 election. [3]

At the time of his election, he was believed to be the youngest elected [3] council member, under the current form of government, at 29 years, 2 months, 23 days.

June 20, 1949 council meeting

A move to give Charlottesville its first Negro school board member was defeated by City Council by a four-to-one ballot. The city lawmakers went on to name Dr. Charles Frankel and Homer W. Walsh to new terms on the school body. According to the Daily Progress, "James M. Barr III, independent Republican member of Council elected in an upset vote last June, place the name of Dr. J. A. Jackson, Negro dentist, in nomination for a three-year term on the seven-man school board from the city at large."[4]

James M. Barr III, independent Republican member of Council elected in an upset vote last June, place the name of Dr. J. A. Jackson, Negro dentist, in nomination for a three-year term on the seven-man school board from the city at large. “I want to place in nomination the name of a man representing about 25 or 30 per cent of the children here who are segregated and put in separate schools by State law,” Barr declared in advance of Dr. Jackson’s name. “As far as I can find out, there is no record of a person of that race being named to the school board. I feel we need someone to represent them who knows their problems, especially in view of he fact that the city is erecting a joint Negro high school with Albemarle County.”[5]

Ministry career

While in Charlottesville, Barr became an active member of the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church and in 1952, he entered the University of California at Berkley's Starr King School for the Ministry. In 1954, Rev. Barr was ordained and installed at the Church of the Unity in Winchendon, MA.[6]

Later life & death

Burial at Grace Episcopal Church, Keswick, VA.


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References

  1. Print: Hill Elected New Mayor at First Organizational Meeting url= https://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2614714/view#openLayer/uva-lib:2614715/4695/1807/3/1/0, Staff reports, Daily Progress, Lindsay family September 2, 1952, Page A1.
  2. Web. Republican Out For Council Seat, Staff Reports, Daily Progress Digitized Microfilm, Lindsay family, April 2, 1948, retrieved December 24, 2016 from University of Virginia Library. Print. April 2, 1948 page 1.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Web. Barr, Hamm and Haden Gets Post on City Council, Staff Reports, Daily Progress Digitized Microfilm, Lindsay family, June 8, 1948, retrieved November 4, 2017 from University of Virginia Library. Print. June 9, 1948 page 1.
  4. Web. Move To Place Negro Member On Body Defeated In Balloting, Daily Progress, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, Tuesday June 21, 1949, retrieved March 27, 2023.
  5. Web. Move To Place Negro Member On Body Defeated In Balloting, Daily Progress, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, Tuesday June 21, 1949, retrieved March 27, 2023.
  6. https://www.hillandwood.com/obituary/382017

External Links