- Joshua Barton
Joshua Barton (July 28, 1792-June 30, 1823) was the first
Missouri Secretary of State and was involved in three duels with prominent Missouri politicians before being killed in a duel.Barton, a younger brother of Senator
David Barton (Missouri politician) , was born inJefferson County, Tennessee .He moved to
St. Louis, Missouri in 1809. He studied law underRufus Easton who was Missouri Territory's second representative to Congress. After being admitted to the bar he andEdward Bates , Missouri's first attorney general formed a law firm. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=6gyxWHRLAWgC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=Joshua+Barton+Missouri&source=web&ots=D8Plzuk2e-&sig=pvxjIWVT6zxZnspJgCUkXgvLWmE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA35,M1 Dictionary of Missouri Biography by Lawrence O. Christensen (Editor), William E. Foley (Editor), Gary R. Kremer (Editor), Kenneth H. Winn (Editor) - University of Missouri Press (October 1999)] ISBN 0826212220]Barton was the first Secretary of State but resigned to become district attorney of St. Louis, Missouri.
Duelist
In 1816 he fought a duel with Thomas Hempstead, brother of
Edward Hempstead , Missouri's first representative to Congress. Bates was his second.Thomas Hart Benton (senator) was Hempstead's second. The due l ended in no bloodshed. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=6gyxWHRLAWgC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=Joshua+Barton+Missouri&source=web&ots=D8Plzuk2e-&sig=pvxjIWVT6zxZnspJgCUkXgvLWmE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA35,M1 Dictionary of Missouri Biography by Lawrence O. Christensen (Editor), William E. Foley (Editor), Gary R. Kremer (Editor), Kenneth H. Winn (Editor) - University of Missouri Press (October 1999)] ISBN 0826212220]In 1817 he was second to
Charles Lucas (Missouri) in duels with Benton in which Lucas was finally killed by the Missouri Senator. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=6gyxWHRLAWgC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=Joshua+Barton+Missouri&source=web&ots=D8Plzuk2e-&sig=pvxjIWVT6zxZnspJgCUkXgvLWmE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA35,M1 Dictionary of Missouri Biography by Lawrence O. Christensen (Editor), William E. Foley (Editor), Gary R. Kremer (Editor), Kenneth H. Winn (Editor) - University of Missouri Press (October 1999)] ISBN 0826212220]In 1823 his brother opposed the reappointment William Rector as Surveyor General for Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas saying that Rector was hiring his relatives as surveyors and overpaying his surveyors. Rector had overseen the surveying the
Louisiana Purchase including the establishment of the Beginning Point of the Louisiana Purchase Survey [http://www.arkansasheritage.com/la_purchase/surveying_the_louisiana_purchase_1815.pdf]Joshua made the charges in a letter signed "Philo" to the weekly newspaper St. Louis Republican. Rector's brother Thomas Rector contacted the paper and found out that Barton had written the letter and challenged him to a duel.
They met at 6 p.m. on June 30, 1823 on
Bloody Island (Mississippi River) (where the previous duels occurred). Barton was killed instantly and Rector was not hurt. PresdientJames Monroe did not reappoint Rector. [http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/education/dueling/political-duels.asp]Thomas was killed in 1825 in a knife fight in St. Louis. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=6gyxWHRLAWgC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=Joshua+Barton+Missouri&source=web&ots=D8Plzuk2e-&sig=pvxjIWVT6zxZnspJgCUkXgvLWmE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA35,M1 Dictionary of Missouri Biography by Lawrence O. Christensen (Editor), William E. Foley (Editor), Gary R. Kremer (Editor), Kenneth H. Winn (Editor) - University of Missouri Press (October 1999)] ISBN 0826212220]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
