Henry Winslow Barnes Explained

Henry W. Barnes
State:Wisconsin
State Assembly:Wisconsin
District:Lafayette 2nd
Term Start:January 3, 1870
Term End:January 1, 1872
Predecessor:Charles Pole
Successor:Thomas Bainbridge (whole county)
Term Start1:January 5, 1857
Term End1:January 4, 1858
Predecessor1:Matthew Murphy
Successor1:Hamilton H. Gray
Office2:Sheriff of Lafayette County, Wisconsin
Term Start2:January 1861
Term End2:January 1863
Predecessor2:Hugh Campbell
Successor2:Hugh Campbell
Office3:Wisconsin Circuit Court Clerk for Lafayette County, Wisconsin
Term Start3:January 1859
Term End3:January 1861
Predecessor3:David W. Kyle
Successor3:James S. Murphy
Office4:Chairman of the of Lafayette County, Wisconsin
Term Start4:January 1855
Term End4:January 1856
Predecessor4:Daniel Morgan Parkinson
Successor4:Justus De Selhorst
Party:Democratic
Birth Date:2 November 1818
Birth Place:Bedford, New Hampshire, U.S.
Death Place:Wiota, Wisconsin, U.S.
Restingplace:Miller Cemetery,
Spouse:Louisa Lamb

Henry Winslow Barnes (November 2, 1818September 1, 1873) was an American farmer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Lafayette County in the 1857, 1870, and 1871 sessions.

Biography

Henry W. Barnes was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, in November 1818. His father died when he was just seven years old. He came to the Wisconsin Territory in 1835, when he was just 17. He initially resided at Darlington, and was elected to the Lafayette County board of supervisors from Darlington in 1849. In the early 1850s he moved to the neighboring town of Wiota, Wisconsin, and was quickly elected chairman of the town board, serving from 1851 to 1859. During the same years, he was elected to six consecutive terms representing Wiota on the county board - from 1853 through 1858. He was also chosen as chairman of the county board in 1855.[1]

In 1856, Barnes was elected on the Democratic Party ticket to serve in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He represented Lafayette County's 2nd Assembly district, which then comprised roughly the eastern half of the county.[2] In 1858, he was elected clerk of the circuit court for Lafayette County, for a two year term, and he was then elected sheriff in 1860.[1]

He was elected to two more terms in the Assembly, in 1869 and 1870, when he again represented Lafayette County's 2nd Assembly district.[3] [4] He then serve two final terms on the county board in 1871 and 1872.[1]

Barnes died at his home in Wiota on September 1, 1873, after a long and painful illness.[5]

Personal life and family

Henry Winslow Barnes was the youngest of eight children born to Nathaniel Barnes and his wife Anna ( Rennick). Nathaniel Barnes was a captain in the New Hampshire militia, and had served as a selectman and constable in Bedford. The Barnes family were descended from Thomas Barnes, who emigrated from Hingham, Norfolk, to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637.[6]

Isaac O. Barnes was an older brother of Henry Winslow Barnes. He was a prominent lawyer and Democratic politician in Boston. He held the rank of colonel by appointment, and was appointed to several federal posts in Massachusetts, serving as a customs official, U.S. marshal, and finally U.S. pension agent.[6]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1869, 1870)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 2, 1869| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 8, 1870

Notes and References

  1. Book: Butterfield, Consul Willshire . History of Lafayette County, Wisconsin . 1881 . Western Historical Co. . 489 - 493 . July 25, 2022 .
  2. A Manual of Customs, Precedents, and Forms, in use in the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin . 1859 . State of Wisconsin . List of Assembly Districts, with Names of Members since the Last Apportionment . 61 . July 25, 2022 .
  3. The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin . 1870 . State of Wisconsin . Official Directory . 365 . July 25, 2022 .
  4. The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin . 1871 . State of Wisconsin . Official Directory . 379 . July 25, 2022 .
  5. News: Obituaries . . September 5, 1873 . 1 . July 25, 2022 . .
  6. Book: History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 . 1903 . The Rumford Printing Co. . 861 - 862 . July 25, 2022 .