John S. Barbour Jr.

John Strode Barbour Jr.
Engraved portrait of John S. Barbour Jr.
United States Senator from Virginia
In office March 4, 1889 – May 14, 1892
Preceded by	Harrison H. Riddleberger
Succeeded by	Eppa Hunton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th district
In office March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1887
Preceded by	Eppa Hunton
Succeeded by	William H. F. Lee
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office 1847–1851
Personal details
Born	(1820-12-29)December 29, 1820 Culpeper, Virginia
Died	May 14, 1892(1892-05-14) (aged 71) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic

John Strode Barbour Jr. (December 29, 1820 – May 14, 1892) was a Representative and a Senator from Virginia. He is best remembered for taking power in Virginia from the short-lived Readjuster Party in the late 1880s, forming the first political machine of "Conservative Democrats", whose power was to last 80 years until the demise of the Byrd Organization in the late 1960s.

Barbour was born at Catalpa, near Culpeper, Virginia, the son of Virginia delegate and future U.S. Representative John S. Barbour. He had two sisters and a younger brother. Barbour attended the common schools and graduated from the law department of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. He married Susan Daingerfield, daughter of a prominent family in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Following his father's career path, Barbour was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1841 and began his legal practice in Culpeper. Five years later he ran for and won election as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, serving (part-time, along with his private legal practice) from 1847 to 1851. Barbour became president of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Co., serving from 1852 to 1881.

During the American Civil War, Barbour was a Confederate officer, as was his younger brother James. The family's Fleetwood Hill hosted General J.E.B. Stuart after the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, but the June 1863 engagement with Union forces, the Battle of Brandy Station (perhaps the largest cavalry battle of the war) was considered a draw.