Chicago industrialist, head of Barrett Manufacturing Company, and a Major in the Civil War.
Samuel Eddy Barrett was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 16, 1834 to parents Samuel and Ann Juliet Eddy Barrett. After school, Barrett came west to Chicago and founded the manufacturing firm of Barrett, Powell & Arnold in 1857. In 1859, he reorganized the business under the name S. E. Barrett: Manufacturing Company. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a private volunteer soldier in Company B, First Regiment Illinois Volunteer Artillery. Through the recommendation of General Sherman, he was commissioned major of his regiment in 1863. Upon Barrett's return to Chicago in 1864, and until his retirement in 1903, he resumed charge of his business. S. E. Barrett Manufacturing Company became the Barrett Manufacturing Company in 1896, dealing primarily in roofing materials. In 1903 Barrett was appointed head of the executive board of American Coal Products Company. Barrett married Alice D. Brush of Cleveland, Ohio, on May 20, 1868. They had six children: Robert, Adela, Juliet, John Wisner, Alice (who later married Arnold Scudder), and Winnifred. Barrett died in 1912.
From the description of Samuel Eddy Barrett-Barrett family papers, 1829-1948. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 640513992
