John Richard Barret (August 21, 1825 – November 2, 1903) was a slave owner and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Born in

Greensburg, Kentucky Greensburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Green County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,163 at the 2010 census, down from 2,396 at the 2000 census. The Downtown Greensburg Historic District is on the Natio ...

, Barret attended the common schools and then went to

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micr ...

. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1839 and graduated from law school at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

in 1843. He thereafter studied and then practiced law. Barret was elected to the State house of representatives in 1852 and served four terms. He became identified with the St. Louis Agricultural Society and organized its exhibitions. After defeating the incumbent Francis P. Blair Jr. in 1858, he presented his credentials as a Democratic member-elect to the 36th Congress, but Blair contested the election. He served from March 4, 1859, to June 8, 1860, when Congress declared him not entitled to the seat on the grounds that there had been election irregularities (such as judges who'd not taken the oath, ineligible voters, ballots for Blair that should have been counted but weren't and a difficult to explain increase in voters in a few precincts) and declared Blair entitled to it. Blair resigned 17 days later to set up a special election. In a special election against Blair, Barret was subsequently sent again to the same Congress to fill the vacancy caused by Blair's resignation on June 25. Barret then served from December 3, 1860, to March 4, 1861. Blair successfully ran against him in the general election in 1860 for a seat in the

37th Congress The 37th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1861 ...

. Barret moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and engaged in numerous occupations, eventually dying there on November 2, 1903. He was interred in

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barret, John Richard 1825 births 1903 deaths People from Greensburg, Kentucky Politicians from St. Louis Centre College alumni Saint Louis University alumni Missouri lawyers Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly