Sam Barlow

Samuel Kimbrough Barlow (December 7, 1795 – July 14, 1867) was a pioneer in the area that became the U.S. state of Oregon, and was key in establishing the Barlow Road, the most widely chosen final segment to the Oregon Trail.

Biography Barlow was the son of William Henry Harrison Barlow and Sarah Kimbrough, born in Nicholas County, Kentucky. He trained as a tailor, and in 1818 moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where he married and started a family, perhaps in 1822. He and his wife, Susannah Lee, had six children: Sarah, James, John, Eliza Jane, Eli, and William.

Barlow was convicted of manslaughter in August 1827, for killing George Matlock with an ax on October 16, 1826. He was sentenced to one year of hard labor. Scores of people, including the victim's brother, pleaded for Barlow's pardon and quashing of his sentence since he did it to prevent harm to his wife and children. Indiana Governor James B. Ray pardoned him on December 6, 1827.

In the summer of 1850, Barlow was appointed Justice of the Peace for Clackamas County (which was much larger then) by acting Governor Kintzing Prichette.

On September 17, 1850, Barlow purchased the donation land claim of Thomas McKay, which he later sold to his son William. The land eventually became the town of Barlow, Oregon, named for William, not Samuel. though the report has been disputed.

Barlow is buried beside Susannah Lee Barlow at Barlow.

There is also a high school east of Gresham, Oregon, Sam Barlow High School, named after him.