James Barbour was born in Orange County, Virginia on June 10, 1775. A Democratic-Republican, he was the Governor of Virginia from 1812 to 1814 and represented Virginia in the U.S. Senate from 1815 to 1825. He then served as the Secretary of War under President John Quincy Adams from 1825 to 1828, at which point he became the U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom until 1829. He died in Orange County, Virginia on June 7, 1842.