Early life
William Barnes Sr. was born in Pompey, New York on May 25, 1824, a son of Orson Barnes and Eliza Phelps Barnes. He was educated in the schools of Pompey and attended Manlius Pebble Hill School, Manlius Academy in Manlius, New York. Barnes taught school after graduating, and was one of the organizers of New York State's first formal professional development meetings for educators, annual institutes that took place in Baldwinsville, New York, Baldwinsville in 1843 and 1844. While working as a teacher, he began reading law, studying law at the Baldwinsville firm of Minard & Stansbury. He later studied with Hillis & Pratt of Baldwinsville and James R. Lawrence of Syracuse, New York, Syracuse. Barnes was Admission to the bar in the United States, admitted to the bar in 1846, and began to practice in Utica, New York, Utica.Legal career
Barnes soon moved from Utica to Albany, New York, Albany, where he practiced law as a partner in the firm of Hammond, King & Barnes, which also included Samuel H. Hammond. For several years in the 1850s, Barnes served as special counsel to the state New York State Banking Department, Department of Banking, and his examination of several banks revealed them to be insolvent, so they were dissolved. Barnes was also appointed special counsel to represent the City of New York when members of the Astor family and several other wealthy residents attempted to overturn their property tax assessments. In 1855, he received a state appointment as a special commissioner to examine several insurance companies based in New York City. His investigation revealed them to be fraudulent, they were forced out of business, and the state legislature enacted several new laws designed to improve oversight of the industry. One of the reforms passed by the legislature included the creation of a state New York State Insurance Department, Department of Insurance headed by a superintendent appointed to a five-year term. Barnes was named to the post in 1860, and was the first person to hold it. He was reappointed in 1865, and served until 1870. Barnes was credited with improving the overall condition of the insurance business in New York, and his influence was felt worldwide as the format and content of the annual reports his department produced were praised as exemplars in the insurance journals of several European countries, including England and Prussia.Political career
Originally a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, in the 1840s Barnes became interested in the movement to Abolitionism in the United States, abolish slavery. He joined the Liberty Party (United States, 1840), Liberty Party in 1843 and supported James G. Birney for president 1844 United States presidential election, in 1844. In 1848 he joined the Free Soil Party and supported Martin Van Buren in that year's 1848 United States presidential election, presidential election. In 1854, Barnes took a leading role in creating the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party as America's main anti-slavery party and was a delegate to its first New York state conventions, which were held in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs and Auburn, New York, Auburn. In 1855 he was the primary organizer of the party in Albany County, New York, Albany County. In 1856, Barnes was one of the creators of the Kansas Aid Society, which states opposed to slavery organized to provide assistance to anti-slavery advocates during the Bleeding Kansas controversy, and was one of the planners of the two Kansas Aid conventions that were held in 1856, one in Cleveland, and the other in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. In 1872, Barnes was one of the U.S. delegates to the eighth session of the International Statistical Congress, which took place in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The International Statistical Congress was an ongoing effort by representatives from Russia, the United States, and several European countries to share methods for collecting, analyzing, and presenting data. Topics included agriculture, business, and education, and the participants aimed to enable more effective government action based on improved situational awareness. Barnes was a leading participant in the 1872 session's subcommittee on the insurance industry, and his efforts were recognized at the end of the event when Alexander II of Russia, Czar Alexander II personally presented Barnes a diamond ring as a token of his thanks. In 1904, Barnes was a member of the thirteenth Peace congress#Universal Peace Congress, Universal Peace Congress, which took place in Boston. The peace congresses met periodically from the mid-1800s until the 1930s, and sought to prevent wars by identifying other ways to resolve international disputes. In 1907, he was a delegate to the World's Peace and Arbitration Convention.Career as author
In his later years, Barnes was a resident of Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he owned a house that had originally been built for Charles O'Conor (American politician), Charles O'Conor. He was a frequent contributor to legal journals and history magazines. Among his published works, Barnes was the author of 1864's ''The Settlement and Early History of Albany''. In addition, he prepared a history on the first fifty years of the political organization he helped found, 1904's ''Semi-centennial of the Republican Party''.Civic and professional memberships
Barnes was the founder and first president of New York's state Society of Medical Jurisprudence. He was also a fellow of London's Royal Statistical Society. He was a member of the New York State Bar Association, New York State and Albany County bar associations and a member of the American Society of International Law. Barnes belonged to the American Geographical Society and National Geographic Society. He was also a founder of Albany's Fort Orange Club and a member of the Albany Institute of History & Art.Death and burial
Barnes died at his home in Nantucket on February 22, 1913. He was buried at Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.Family
In 1849, Barnes married Emily Weed, a daughter of Whig Party (United States), Whig and Republican leader Thurlow Weed. She died in 1889, and in 1891 Barnes married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Balmer Williams (1844–1926), the widow of ''San Francisco Evening Bulletin'' editor Samuel Williams (American author), Samuel Williams, who had previously worked for the ''Albany Evening Journal''. With his first wife, Barnes was the father of five children: * Catherine Weed Barnes, Catherine Weed (1851–1913), the wife and professional partner of photographer Henry Snowden Ward * Thurlow Weed Barnes (1853–1918), author of a biography of Thurlow Weed and international businessman with railroad and mining interests in China. * Emily Weed Barnes (1856–1932), the wife of George C. Hollister, a prominent businessman and civic leader of Rochester, New York * Harriet Isabella Barnes (1864–1928), a notable painter and the wife of Judge Rufus Thayer * William Barnes Jr. (1866–1930), New York newspaper publisher and Republican Party leaderReferences
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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, William Sr. 1824 births 1913 deaths People from Pompey, New York Politicians from Albany, New York Lawyers from Albany, New York Writers from Albany, New York People from Nantucket, Massachusetts American abolitionists New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Libertyites New York (state) Free Soilers New York (state) Republicans American statisticians Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery 19th-century American lawyers