Anthony Barrow was born in the early 1800’s in Europe. He was the product of an African slave woman and her white european slave master. His mother’s name is unknown, but it is said that his father was from a prominent European family named Barrow. His father was labeled as a degenerate and ostracized from the family. He left Europe and took his son, Anthony with him. From Europe they traveled to Virginia, to Mississippi, to Westpoint, Georgia to somewhere along the Georgia-Alabama line. This is the place where they established their homes and their families. It is also the place where their lives came to a close and ours began. Here then is the history and lineage of Anthony Barrow. 

There are no direct avenues that lead to the history of our people. We rely on documented material and human memory. It is from human memory that we receive information that becomes documented. It has not been determined if any of the children of Anthony Barrow were slaves or not. It is noted that several of them were born before slavery ended, but this is not an indication of their status as being bond or free. The history states that before his father’s death, he gave Anthony his freedom, land, money and the name Barrow. The status of an African descendant varied from state to state as well as from plantation to plantation. In some cases, the child’s status was that of his/her mother’s, but in other areas it was the father’s status that the child followed. Based on historical research it is valid to state that the status of his wife or wives was that of a free woman. 

For some reason, several family members want to insist that there are three sets of Barrows. They claim that there is (1) a white set … (2) a dark set and …. (3) a light set. In reality, there is only one set. If the information regarding Anthony and his father is valid, it means that all the Barrows in Chambers County, Alabama are descendants from these two men unless there were other Barrows already living there. If so, then we would still be related. This data is based on historical research pertaining to plantation ownership. If there was one plantation in close proximity of another with the same name, the owners were related. We have the names that we have because of our masters. There are no Barrows, Hills, Burtons, Formans, or Freemans, walking around in Africa claiming to be a descendant of Anthony Barrow. We are all here and have been here since the early 1800’s. Thus, if there is going to be a family division, let it be among the Black and the White Barrows and not between the light-skin and the dark-skin Barrows. Besides, the division between light and dark does not have validity. Look within your immediate family and you will see various shades of brown … some light … some dark … some in between …but all beautiful.

Anthony Barrow… the product of an African slave woman and her white slave master. Anthony’s complexion could have been any color between dark brown and light brown. There are no pictures of him available, but there are pictures of some of his children. These pictures show people who possess the beautiful shades of brown across the spectrum. Just as Anthony’s complexion was due to biological factors, so too were his children’s. 

The children of Anthony Barrow can be divided in two sets. Not because of skin color, but because they were born of two women. Anthony married a woman named Nancy. Her heritage was mostly Indian which means that their children would have African, Indian and European blood in them. Anthony also married a woman named Victoria and fathered children by her. It is not known which one he married first or the length of their marriage. It is known that between the two women, Anthony fathered twentyeight(28) children. 

To try and separate which child belongs to which woman would be a graven mistake at this time because the birth records have not been researched thoroughly enough to make this separation. Below is a list of the names representing the children of Anthony Barrow or Barrow’s who complexion was of the darker hue. I believe that these Barrows who have been said to be the second set are indeed the children of Anthony and Victoria Barrow. Being a descendant in the 3rd generation or beyond may not allow us to know who our grandmother was (Nancy or Victoria) but we all know that Anthony Barrow was our grandfather and he marks our beginning.