Hiram Barber (January 25, 1800 – October 23, 1888) was an American pioneer, politician, and businessman in Dodge County, Wisconsin.

Hiram Barber
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Dodge 2nd district
In office
January 10, 1849 – January 9, 1850
Preceded byCharles Billinghurst
Succeeded byJames Murdock
Personal details
Born
Hiram Barber

(1800-01-25)January 25, 1800
Hebron, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 1888(1888-10-23) (aged 88)
Horicon, Wisconsin
Resting placeJuneau Cemetery
Juneau, Wisconsin
Political partyDemocratic (before 1876)
Republican (1876)
SpouseSalome (Seelye) Barber
Children3 sons, 3 daughters
Parents
  • David Barber (father)
  • Hannah (Baker) Barber (mother)
Professionbusinessman, politician

Biography

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Born in Hebron, New York, Barber taught school and was a merchant. He studied law and was admitted to the New York bar. In 1829, Barber was appointed county judge for Warren County, New York, by Governor Martin Van Buren. He remained in this office until his resignation in 1844.

In 1844, Barber moved to the Wisconsin Territory and settled in Horicon, where he had agriculture, manufacture, and railroad business interests. Barber served in the first Wisconsin Constitutional Convention of 1846.[1]

In the run-up to the first Wisconsin gubernatorial election, Barber became a candidate for Governor of Wisconsin, but at the 1848 Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention he lost the nomination to Nelson Dewey.[2] After becoming Governor, Dewey would appoint Barber to the Board of Regents tasked with organizing the University of Wisconsin.

Later that year, Barber ran for and was elected to represent Dodge County's 2nd district in the 1849 session of the Wisconsin State Assembly.[1]

In 1876, Barber ran for the United States House of Representatives as a Republican in the 5th district, but was defeated by Samuel D. Burchard.[3]

His son was Hiram Barber, Jr., who served in the United States House of Representatives from Illinois. Barber died in Horicon, Wisconsin, in 1888.[4][5]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Heg, J.E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the legislature". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin, 1882 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 175, 179. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  2. ^ Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1960). "Wisconsin's former governors, 1848-1959". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1960 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 73. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Bashford, R. M., ed. (1877). "Official directory". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin, 1877 (Report). E. B. Bolens, State Printer. p. 443. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  4. ^ 'Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Historical Society: Madison, Wisconsin, 1896, Biographical Sketch of Hiram Barber, pg. 47
  5. ^ 'History of Dodge County, Wisconsin,' Western Historical Company: Chicago, Illinois, 1880, Biographical Sketch of Hiram Barber, pg. 655-656