John K. Tarbox
American politician (1838-1887)

John Kemble Tarbox (May 6, 1838 – May 28, 1887) was a U.S. representative from Massachusetts.
Biography
Early life and education
Tarbox was born in that part of Methuen, Massachusetts that became incorporated into Lawrence, Massachusetts, Tarbox pursued classical studies, engaged in newspaper work, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1860 and practiced law.
In May 1859 Tarbox married Sarah Ann Harmon. She died in 1874.
American Civil War service
During the Civil War he served in the Union Army as a first lieutenant in Company B of the Fourth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out with his regiment on August 28, 1863.
For a time after his military service Tarbox was the political editor of the Lawrence Sentinel.
Early public service career
Tarbox was a delegate at the 1864 Democratic National Convention, and an alternate delegate at the 1868 Democratic National Convention. Tarbox served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1868, 1870, and 1871, in the Massachusetts State Senate in 1872, and as the sixteenth Mayor of Lawrence from 1873 to 1874.
Congressional service
Tarbox was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877).
The public source identifies “John K. Tarbox” as american politician (1838-1887). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around John, Tarbox and American.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q765133. VIAF identifies the subject as 78996362. The Library of Congress control number is no2009028403. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1838, 1887, 1860 and 1859.
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This entry incorporates text from “John K. Tarbox” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.