John Barnes (July 26, 1859January 1, 1919) was an American attorney and judge from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He was a justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

from 1908 until 1916, and was one of the first Wisconsin Railroad Commissioners. He worked as

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

for the

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning ...

from 1916 until his death.

Early life and education

Born in 1859, on a farm in

Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Manitowoc County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,359. Its county seat is Manitowoc. The county was created in 1836 prior to Wisconsin's statehood and organized in 1848. Manitowoc C ...

, Barnes was the son of

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

immigrants who had arrived in the Wisconsin from Canada in 1858. Barnes graduated from Manitowoc High School in 1876 and attended the Oshkosh Normal School, after which he taught school for six years. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in 1885 and began practicing law in Oshkosh.

Career

In 1887, Barnes relocated to Rhinelander, and became the first municipal judge of Oneida County, served as president of the local school board, and prospered in business. Barnes was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. In 1905, he was appointed to the newly created Wisconsin Railroad Commission by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), nicknamed "Fighting Bob," was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906. ...

. In 1908, he was elected to the

in a special election after the death of Chief Justice John B. Cassoday. He defeated appointed justice Robert McKee Bashford, and went on to re-election to a full term in 1909. In 1916, however, Barnes resigned to become general counsel of the

.John Barnes, Wisconsin Historical Society
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Personal life

Judge Barnes married Julia Koelzer, a childhood friend, in 1887. They had four children together. He was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and a member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

. Barnes suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at his office in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

on December 28, 1918, and died four days later, after developing

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 1908

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, John People from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin People from Rhinelander, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin lawyers Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court 1859 births 1919 deaths People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin 19th-century Wisconsin state court judges 19th-century American lawyers