Charles P. Barnes Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Honorable
Charles P. Barnes
Order:17th Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Term Start:November 21, 1939
Term End:July 31, 1940
Nominator:Lewis Barrows
Predecessor:Charles J. Dunn
Successor:Guy H. Sturgis[1]
Order2:Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Term Start2:April 17, 1924
Term End2:November 21, 1939
Nominator2:Percival Baxter
Predecessor2:George M. Hanson
Successor2:George H. Worster
Order3:67th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
Term3:1921-1922
Predecessor3:Frank G. Farrington
Successor3:Frank H. Holley[2]
Order4:Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 7th District
Term Start4:1917
Term End4:1922
Predecessor4:Leonard A. Pierce
Successor4:Bernard Archibald[3] [4] [5]
Party:Republican
Order5:Assistant Attorney General of Maine
Term Start5:1909
Term End5:1911
Birth Date:October 12, 1869
Birth Place:Houlton, Maine, U.S.
Death Date:December 14, 1951, age 82
Death Place:Houlton, Maine, U.S.[6]

Charles Putnam Barnes (October 12, 1869 – December 14, 1951) was a judge and politician from Maine who served as speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 1921 to 1922, and as justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from April 17, 1924 to July 31, 1940. From 1939 to 1940, Barnes was Chief Justice of the court.[7]

Early life and education

Charles Putnam Barnes was born in Houlton, Maine on October 12, 1869 to Francis, a Deacon at a local Baptist Church,[8] and Isa (née Putnam) Barnes.

Barnes spent most of his life in Houlton, attending the local private Ricker Classical Institute for his secondary education. Following his graduation from the Ricker Classical Institute in 1888, Barnes attended Colby College, a private liberal arts school in Waterville, Maine. He received a B.A. and M.A. from the school in 1892 and 1893, respectively.[9] [10] Barnes later earned an honorary Master's degree from the University of Michigan in 1923 and a Doctorate in Law from Colby in 1927.[11]

Career

After graduating from Colby College, Barnes served as principal of schools in Norway and Lisbon Falls, Maine, and Attleboro, Massachusetts before becoming the superintendent of the Norway school district.[6] [12] Barnes ended his 8-year career in education in 1900, and instead began studying law under Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice Joseph W. Symonds.[9]

Shortly after moving with his family once again to Norway, Barnes was admitted to the Oxford County Bar Association in 1900 and began practicing law.[6] [13] He was the Oxford County attorney for five years from 1904 to 1909, and then an Assistant Attorney General of Maine for two years from 1909 to 1911.[9] [14] As Assistant Attorney General, and later as State Representative, Barnes had a focus on cases of medicine, public health, and education.[15] [16] [11]

Following his stint as Assistant Attorney General, Barnes decided to give up the position in favor of returning to Houlton with his family to pursue a private law career.[11] During this time, Barnes became a trustee of his alma maters, Colby College and the Ricker Classical Institute, as well as the Houlton Public Library and the now-defunct Houlton Savings Bank.[11] During World War I, Barnes served as Food Administrator in Aroostook County.[11]

In 1917, Barnes was elected as a Republican to represent Maine's 7th District in Maine's lower house. As a member of the Maine House of Representatives, Barnes served on the following committees:

Following Barnes' success as a Representative in Maine's lower house, Governor Percival Baxter appointed him to Maine's Supreme Judicial Court as Associate Justice on April 17, 1924, to fill the seat left by George M. Hanson's death. Barnes served on the court for over 15 years before Governor Lewis Barrows promoted him to Chief Justice following the death of Chief Justice Charles J. Dunn on November 10, 1939.[9] [21]

Personal life and death

Prior to his appointment to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court by Governor Baxter, Barnes had befriended Baxter. Together they traveled to the area around Mount Katahdin in hopes of promoting a future state park.[22] [23]

Starting in 1913, Barnes served as the President of the Aroostook Colby Club.[24] He also served as the Vice President of the Maine Society of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution starting in 1931.[25] [26] He was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the Masons.[11] Barnes served in politics as a member of the Republican Party.[11]

Barnes and his wife, Annie, had 5 children together; four sons and one daughter. One of their sons, George B. Barnes, was Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 1945 to 1946, 23 years after Charles Barnes left office.[2] George Barnes later served in the Maine Senate from 1947 to 1953.[27]

Charles P. Barnes died at the age of 82 on December 14, 1951, in Houlton, roughly two months after his wife passed away.[28] He is buried with his wife, Annie, and his parents Francis and Isa in Houlton, Maine.[6] Barnes was a Baptist.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Book: American Bar Association Journal . January 1921 . American Bar Association . 140 . Volume 7 . 16 December 2023.
  2. Web site: Speakers of the Maine House of Representatives, 1820 - . Maine State Legislature . Maine.gov . 16 December 2023.
  3. Web site: Search Results Charles P. Barnes . Maine State Legislature - Legislators Biographical Database . Maine.gov . 16 December 2023.
  4. Web site: Search Results Houlton . Maine State Legislature - Legislators Biographical Database . Maine.gov . 16 December 2023.
  5. Web site: Towns in Each District . Maine House of Representatives . Maine.gov . 16 December 2023.
  6. News: EX-JUSTICE BARNES OF MAINE SUCCUMBS . 16 December 2023 . The New York Times . 15 December 1951.
  7. Web site: Maine Supreme Court Chief and Associate Justices. Maine State Legislature. December 24, 2019.
  8. News: Barnes . Charles P. . History of the First Baptist Church . Houlton Times . 16 February 1921.
  9. Web site: The Supreme Judicial Court of the State of Maine, 1820 to 2009. Nathan & Henry B. Cleaves Law Library. December 22, 2019.
  10. Book: Laughlin . Gail . Maine Reports 140 CASES ARGUED AND DETERMINED IN THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MAINE . 1945 . The State of Maine . 351–52 . 140 .
  11. Book: Coe . Harrie B. . Maine, A History: Resources, Attractions and People, Volume 4 . 1928 . The Lewiston Historical Publishing Company Inc . 3-4 . 5 March 2024.
  12. News: NORWAY . 16 December 2023 . The Oxford Democrat . Volume 73 No. 13 . 27 March 1906.
  13. Book: Whitman . Charles . A History of Norway, Maine From the Earliest Settlement to the Close of the Year 1922 . 1924 . Lewiston Journal Company . Lewiston, ME . 225 . 16 December 2023.
  14. Book: Donham . Grenville . Maine Register Or State Year-book and Legislative Manual . June 1907 . Tower Publishing Company . 673–74 . Issue 39 . 16 December 2023.
  15. Web site: Attorney General Opinions and Memoranda . Maine State Legislature . Maine.gov . 16 December 2023.
  16. Book: The Journal of the Maine Medical Association . August 1923 . The Association . 34 . Volume 14 . 16 December 2023.
  17. Book: Donham . Albert . Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual . July 1918 . Tower Publishing Company . 204, 207 . Issue 49 . 16 December 2023.
  18. Book: Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual . 1920 . Tower Publishing Company . 279 . Issue 51 . 16 December 2023.
  19. Book: Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual . 1922 . Tower Publishing Company . 240, 301, 312 . Issue 53 . 16 December 2023.
  20. Book: Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual . 1919 . Tower Publishing Company . 204, 360 . Issue 50 . 16 December 2023.
  21. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . July–August 1924 . John Francis Sprague . 140–41 . Volume 12 . 16 December 2023.
  22. Book: Whitcomb, Howard R. . Governor Baxter's Magnificent Obsession: A Documentary history of Baxter State Park 1931–2006 . 2008 . Friends of Baxter State Park . 978-1-887940-15-3 . Bangor, Maine . 253652001 .
  23. News: Perry . Katy . Maine Observer: Baxter letter confirms Katahdin memories . 16 December 2023 . Portland Press Herald . Press Herald . 10 July 2011.
  24. News: AROOSTOOK COLBY CLUB. . 16 December 2023 . The Colby Echo . 22 . The Students of Colby College . 16 April 1913. 16 .
  25. Book: Quarterly Bulletin, National Society Sons of the American Revolution . April 1931 . National Society Sons of the American Revolution . 460–61 . Volume 25 No. 4 . 16 December 2023.
  26. Book: Maine, resources, attractions, and its people; a history . 1928 . New York, Lewis Historical Publication Company . Internet Archive . 811–12 . 16 December 2023.
  27. Web site: Search Results George B. Barnes . Maine State Legislature - Legislators Biographical Database . Maine.gov . 16 December 2023.
  28. News: MRS. CHARLES P. BARNES . 16 December 2023 . The New York Times . 17 October 1951.