William Augustus Barstow

Background

he was born on September 13, 1813, in Connecticut, the son of William A. Barstow, one of seven brothers who served in the Revolutionary War.

Career

He became secretary of state in 1850, and his name never escaped the unkind implication of a phrase used in that year by a Madison editor who was determined to get the contract for state printing even if he had to "buy up Barstow and the balance" of the members of the printing board. He was elected governor, on the Democratic ticket, in 1853. Declared reelected in 1855, by a slender plurality of 157 votes, he took office for his second term in January 1856; but on the same day his Republican rival in the election, Coles Bashford, also took the oath of office, and there were two pretending governors in the state. By tacit agreement of the contenders and the legislature, Barstow was left de facto governor, pending an examination of the claims of Bashford by the supreme court. The leaders of the Wisconsin bar for the next generation were paraded in this litigation. Barstow denied the right of the court to take jurisdiction over a coordinate branch of the government. He refused to plead when the court assumed jurisdiction, and resigned after testimony had been heard indicating that fraudulent returns had been manufactured in Madison and counted as from precincts which proved to be non-existent. Bashford was awarded the office by the supreme court, March 24, 1856. Barstow became interested in railroads and their development and in 1855 became president of the St. Croix & Lake Superior Railroad Company. He was also a miller and a banker. During the Civil War he was commissioned colonel on November 9, 1861, raised his own regiment, and in the spring of 1862 was sent as provost-marshal-general to Kansas, where he was defeated and narrowly avoided capture. He served in Arkansas and Missouri (1862 - 63), after which, because of ill health, most of his military duty was upon courts martial.

Achievements

• William Augustus Barstow is remembered as an American prohibition activist and the third Governor of Wisconsin.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Annual Message of William A. Barstow, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, Addressed to the Senate and Assembly: January 12, 1855 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Annual Message of William A. Barstow, Govern...)

Politics

As governor, Barstow supported the railroad to the Pacific and stood against the attempts of the Know-Nothing movement to undermine the citizenship of the foreign-born. He opposed prohibition of alcohol sales, and vetoed a ban passed by the Legislature despite strong public support

Connections

In April 1844 he married Maria Quarles of Southport, now Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Father:

William A. Barstow

Wife:

Maria Quarles