Alphonso Barto (May 24, 1834November 4, 1899) was a Minnesota legislator and the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota.

Life and career

Barto was born in Hinesburg, Vermont, in 1834. His father William Barto was from a French family which had emigrated to the United States before the American Revolution (their surname was originally spelled "Barteau"). His mother Mary Barto (née Gage) was a descendant of English settlers. Barto moved to Ferrisburgh, Vermont, to attend school. In 1854 he married Harriet E. Hitchcock. Shortly thereafter the two moved west, settling in Elgin, Illinois, where he ran a farm and later

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

. During the American Civil War Barto enlisted in the

52nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 52nd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 52nd Illinois Infantry was organized at Geneva, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on Novemb ...

, serving for three years and mustering out with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in October 1865. His first wife Harriet died shortly before Barto returned from his service. Barto resumed his life in Elgin, winning election as treasurer of Kane County, Illinois, for one term and remarrying in 1866 to Charlotte "Lottie" A. Allen. In 1869 Barto moved to

Sauk Centre, Minnesota Sauk Centre is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,555 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Sauk Centre is part of the St. Cloud, Minnesota, St. Cloud St. Cloud metropolita ...

, to pursue his law career. In 1871 he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, serving a term of two years. In 1873 he won election as lieutenant governor under Cushman K. Davis. While he did not hold a state office again, Barto served in various local offices in and near Saint Cloud, Minnesota, and was appointed as a regent of the University of Minnesota by Governor David Marston Clough. He also remained active with the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

as an organizer and delegate to the

1884 Republican National Convention The 1884 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Exposition Hall in Chicago, Illinois, on June 3–6, 1884. It resulted in the nomination of former House Speaker James G. Blaine from Maine for presiden ...

. Barto died on November 4, 1899, in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barto, Alphonso 1834 births 1899 deaths People from Hinesburg, Vermont Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives People of Illinois in the American Civil War Minnesota lawyers 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Sauk Centre, Minnesota 19th-century American lawyers