East Central Jessamine County...William Taylor Barry House

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Shown as the T. Davis House on the 1877 Jessamine county map. This was the old home place of William Taylor Barry. He was born in Lunenburg, VA, Feb 5, 1784, the son of John Barry, a Revolutionary soldier who settled in Jessamine county in 1793. William T. Barry was one of the most noted lawyers and politicians in Kentucky in his day. He had served in the War of 1812, was educated at William and Mary College in Virginia. He first set up his law practice in Jessamine county in a small log cabin which was behind this house. In 1805 he moved his law practice to Lexington. He served in the State Legislature from 1807 to 1809. In 1817 he was elected to the State Senate, where he served four years. He was appointed Postmaster-General by Andrew Jackson and was also appointed by the President to the position of Minister to Spain. He died in Liverpool, England, Aug 30, 1835. His remains were returned to this country in 1854 by an act of the Kentucky Legislature and was buried in Frankfort. A small plaque in his memory can still be seen in the courthouse yard in Lexington, Kentucky.