He went from Monticello to true mission

In 1830 Dr. James T. Barclay opened what might have been the first drugstore in Charlottesville.

In an ad he ran in the Virginia Advocate newspaper on May 31, 1830, Barclay provided a run down on what his new business was offering. His inventory provided “an extensive and choice assortment of medicine, drugs, chemicals, surgical instruments, dye stuff, paints, oils, glass etc. (wholesale or retail) on very reduced terms.”

The drugstore included a soda and mead fountain, which the proprietor promised to have in “constant operation throughout the summer season.” A bountiful supply of fruits, confectionery and a variety of fancy articles also was available.

Barclay was born on May 22, 1807, in Hanover County. He lost his father, Robert, when he was 11. His mother, Sarah Coleman Turner Barclay, then married John Harris.

Harris was said to have made a considerable fortune growing tobacco in Albemarle County. In a 1904 biography of Barclay published by Churches of Christ, it’s said that Harris was devoted to his adopted son.

The foster father saw to it that Barclay was educated at the University of Virginia, and later at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a degree in medicine. A week after running the ad in the Charlottesville newspaper, Barclay married Julia A. Sowers of Staunton.

The newlyweds set up housekeeping in Barclay’s house at the northeast corner of Market and Seventh streets. Apparently business was good, and the couple wanted to live in grander style.

In 1831 Barclay purchased Monticello and its 522 surrounding acres for $7,000. The deal included him deeding his $4,000 home to Jeff Randolph, but even with that, his purchase of Thomas Jefferson’s home was a steal.

There are two very different views of Barclay’s stewardship of Monticello during the handful of years he owned it.

One camp has it that he basically allowed the

national shrine to fall into disrepair.

The other view is that he did his best to “embellish and beautify the grounds.” It’s said that he built new terraces around the house and also repaired the great clock that hadn’t given the time for years.

A failed enterprise to raise silkworms on the estate didn’t help Barclay’s financial situation. Sometime in the mid-1830s — accounts vary about the exact date — he sold Monticello to Uriah P. Levy for a reported $2,700.

The reduced price can be explained, at least in part, by the fact that only 218 acres remained. Members of Barclay’s family later said he had sold Monticello because of the nuisance of having a constant stream of strangers arriving on the front porch wanting a tour of the house.

Another factor might have played into Barclay’s decision to pull up stakes. While living at Monticello, one of his invited visitors was Alexander Campbell, the founder of the Disciples of Christ Church.

Barclay had been a member of the Presbyterian Church, but something about the Disciples of Christ apparently won him over. He was baptized into that denomination by R.L. Coleman with water from the James River at Scottsville.

Soon after selling Monticello, Barclay, his wife and their three children, moved to Washington. Once in the city, he turned the family’s new home into a church.

Accounts say that Barclay long had dreamed of doing missionary work overseas, but concerns about leaving his aging mother had kept him at home. When his mother passed away, he answered this long felt calling.

In 1850 Barclay and his family moved to Jerusalem. For the next four years he preached and gathered information he intended to use in a future book.

After returning to the U.S. in 1854, Barclay started work on “City of the Great King; Jerusalem: As It Was, As It Is and As It Is To Be.” In addition to working on the book, he took on another job that was important to the nation’s financial stability.

In 1855 Barclay was asked by the president of the Philadelphia Mint to conduct research and tests that would result in, “Preventing the counterfeiting and deterioration of the metallic currency.” With the help of two other men he was successful in doing this.

But Barclay’s real interest was missionary work. Soon after his book was published in 1858, he and his family returned to Jerusalem.

In 1865 Barclay came back to the U.S. to accept a teaching position at Bethany College in West Virginia. For the next three years he headed the natural sciences department at the school.

Barclay left the college in 1868 to continue his missionary work. He moved to Wheeler, Ala., where his oldest son lived.

Although Barclay was getting up in years, he was known for his vibrant health and youthful energy. One of his acquaintances, a man referred to as Brother Hobson, observed that the preacher was also “criminally modest.”

Anecdotes survive that reveal Barclay’s love of the Bible. He once told a friend that he read the Bible from Genesis to Revelations every six weeks.

The devout missionary also enjoyed amazing people by writing the “Lord’s Prayer” in a space so small that all the words could be hidden beneath a nickel. It’s said the subject he most enjoyed preaching about was prophecy.

Barclay continued to spread the word of God until his death in 1874. He was buried on the plantation of his son, who died two years later.

The druggist turned missionary ultimately dedicated much of his life to serving the Lord. In both his careers he clearly wanted to help his fellow man, and that’s a pursuit any person can be proud of.