Henry Winslow Barnes (November 2, 1818 – September 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.

Henry W. Barnes
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Lafayette 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1870 – January 1, 1872
Preceded byCharles Pole
Succeeded byThomas Bainbridge (whole county)
In office
January 5, 1857 – January 4, 1858
Preceded byMatthew Murphy
Succeeded byHamilton H. Gray
Sheriff of Lafayette County, Wisconsin
In office
January 1861 – January 1863
Preceded byHugh Campbell
Succeeded byHugh Campbell
Wisconsin Circuit Court Clerk for Lafayette County, Wisconsin
In office
January 1859 – January 1861
Preceded byDavid W. Kyle
Succeeded byJames S. Murphy
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Lafayette County, Wisconsin
In office
January 1855 – January 1856
Preceded byDaniel Morgan Parkinson
Succeeded byJustus De Selhorst
Personal details
Born(1818-11-02)November 2, 1818
Bedford, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedSeptember 1, 1873(1873-09-01) (aged 54)
Wiota, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeMiller Cemetery, Wiota, Wisconsin
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLouisa Lamb
Children
  • Nathan E. Barnes
  • (died 1883)
  • Charles Theodore Barnes
  • (b. 1849; died 1917)

Biography edit

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 edit

Henry Winslow Barnes was the youngest of eight children born to Nathaniel Barnes and his wife Anna (née 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 edit

Wisconsin Assembly (1869, 1870) edit

Wisconsin Assembly, Lafayette 2nd District Election, 1869[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 2, 1869
Democratic Henry W. Barnes 891 54.46% +21.92%
Republican S. W. Osborn 745 45.54%
Plurality 146 8.92%
Total votes 1,636 100.0%
Democratic hold
Wisconsin Assembly, Lafayette 2nd District Election, 1870[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 1870
Democratic Henry W. Barnes (incumbent) 1,064 50.52% -3.94%
Republican D. S. Hawley 1,042 49.48%
Plurality 22 1.04% -7.88%
Total votes 2,106 100.0% +28.73%
Democratic hold

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Butterfield, Consul Willshire (1881). History of Lafayette County, Wisconsin. Western Historical Co. pp. 489–493. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "List of Assembly Districts, with Names of Members since the Last Apportionment". A Manual of Customs, Precedents, and Forms, in use in the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1859. p. 61. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Official Directory". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1870. p. 365. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Official Directory". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1871. p. 379. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  5. ^ "Obituaries". Wisconsin State Journal. September 5, 1873. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737. The Rumford Printing Co. 1903. pp. 861–862. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by
Matthew Murphy
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Lafayette 2nd district
January 5, 1857 – January 4, 1858
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Charles Pole
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Lafayette 2nd district
January 3, 1870 – January 1, 1872
Succeeded by
Thomas Bainbridge (whole county)
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Lafayette County, Wisconsin
January 1855 – January 1856
Succeeded by
Justus De Selhorst
Legal offices
Preceded by
David W. Kyle
Wisconsin Circuit Court Clerk for Lafayette County, Wisconsin
January 1859 – January 1861
Succeeded by
James S. Murphy
Preceded by
Hugh Campbell
Sheriff of Lafayette County, Wisconsin
January 1861 – January 1863
Succeeded by
Hugh Campbell