Barclay was born at Bridgetown, Barbados, on July 31, 1854, the tenth of twelve children of Anthony and Sarah Barclay. He was the father of Anthony Barclay, who served on the Supreme Court of Liberia, and uncle of the 18th president, Edwin Barclay. His first teacher was his oldest sister, Antoinette Barclay. He later entered the Preparatory Department of Liberia College, under the principalship of Anthony T. Ferguson. Having completed the course prescribed, he matriculated into the Collegiate Department and graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in the Class of 1873.
Career
In 1877, he was appointed principal of the Preparatory Department of his alma mater, which position he held for a number of years, and served during the vacation as chief clerk of the House of Representatives. His later services to the said institution were: professor, member of the board of trustees, and sometimes acting president. He was called to the bar of Montserrado County in 1877, and after practising law for three years, he attained the rank of counsellor of the supreme court in the year 1880. His first official position was private secretary to President Joseph Jenkins Roberts, from 1874; his second, judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas of Montserrado County to which he was appointed by President Alfred F. Russell, in 1883. In 1885, President Hilary R. W. Johnson appointed him sub-treasurer of Montserrado County, which post he held for 5 years. He was mayor of Monrovia from 1892 until 1902. In 1892, President Joseph James Cheeseman, on taking office, elevated him to Cabinet rank as postmaster-general, and afterwards to the post of secretary of state. On the death of H. A. Williams in 1896, he was appointed secretary of the treasury, which position he held continuously until his election to the presidency in May 1903. Inaugurated in January, 1904, he served until January 1912. After his retirement he frequently acted as secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, and secretary of the interior and war. He was president of Liberia College, 1914–1917. He served upon the following diplomatic commissions:
In 1901, he was associated with Chief Justice Z. B. Roberts and Senator A. B. King on diplomatic missions to England and France.
Presidency (1904–1912)
Arthur Barclay was president from 1904 to 1912. In addition to continued internal unrest, the country faced a severe economic crisis and huge indebtedness to European creditors. In the decades after 1868, escalating economic difficulties weakened the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. Conditions worsened, as the cost of imports was far greater than the income generated by exports of coffee, rice, palm oil, sugarcane, and timber. Liberia tried desperately to modernize its largely agricultural economy. In 1907, while president of the nation, he headed the mission to arrange boundary disputes with the British and French Governments, associating with F. E. R. Johnson, secretary of state, and T. McCants Stewart, Deputy Attorney-General of Liberia. Under his government, the Liberian Frontier Force was created, which later evolved into the Liberian Armed Forces.
Death
He died at his home in Monrovia on Sunday, July 10, 1938, at 4:30 in the afternoon. He was interred at Palm Grove Cemetery.
