Lyman E. Barnes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 | |
| Preceded by | Nils P. Haugen |
| Succeeded by | Edward S. Minor |
| District Attorney ofOutagamie County, Wisconsin | |
| In office January 1, 1891 – January 1, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | John Goodland |
| Succeeded by | George H. Dawson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lyman Eddy Barnes (1855-06-30)June 30, 1855 Weyauwega, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | January 16, 1904(1904-01-16) (aged 48) Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Appendicitis |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Appleton |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Parents |
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| Relatives | Theodore Conkey(father-in-law) |
Lyman Eddy Barnes Sr. (June 30, 1855 – January 16, 1904) was an American lawyer andDemocratic politician fromAppleton, Wisconsin. He was a member of theU.S. House of Representatives, representingWisconsin's 8th congressional district during the53rd Congress (1893–1895). Earlier in his career, he served asdistrict attorney ofOutagamie County, Wisconsin.[1]
Lyman Barnes was born inWeyauwega, Wisconsin. He attended the public schools inOshkosh, Wisconsin, until age 17 when he began studying law in the office of Earl P. Lynch and Charles Barber of Oshkosh. He finished his legal education at the law department ofColumbia College, inNew York City, graduating in 1876.[2]
He immediately returned to Wisconsin, moved toAppleton, Wisconsin, and was admitted to the bar there later that year. He formed a law partnership in 1877 with John Goodland, father of future governorWalter Samuel Goodland. In 1882, he moved toRockledge, Florida, and practiced law there for about five years before returning to Appleton.
He was electeddistrict attorney ofOutagamie County in 1890.[3]
In 1892, Barnes decided to seek theDemocratic Party nomination forU.S. House of Representatives inWisconsin's 8th congressional district. Wisconsin had just undergoneredistricting for the1890 United States census, and none of Wisconsin's incumbent U.S. representatives resided in the new 8th district. Barnes faced a difficult contest for the nomination against former U.S. representativeThomas R. Hudd. Barnes and Hudd traveled around the district, collecting the support of delegates at various county level conventions. A serious controversy arose from thePortage County convention, where Hudd accused Barnes' supporters of buying delegates. Several prominent Democrats in the district pledged not to support Barnes if the charges were proved.[4] The controversy alone damaged Barnes in the subsequent Brown County convention and left Hudd in a strong position going into the district convention.[5] Nevertheless, Barnes managed to secure the nomination on the first ballot at the convention.[6]
In the general election, Barnes faced Kaukauna businessman and former mayor Henry A. Frambach.[7] Frambach had little formal education and a brief political career, but his campaign sought to emphasize his war record, especially at theBattle of Shiloh. Frambach's Republican allies also sought to exacerbate lingering tensions from the Democratic nominating process, insinuating that Hudd would support Frambach over Barnes.[8] Barnes won the election with 53% of the vote.[9]
Barnes served in the Democratic majority in the53rd United States Congress (March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895) and ran for re-election in 1894. He was renominated without opposition[10] and went on to the general election againstEdward S. Minor, a former state senator who was then mayor ofSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The campaign was bitter and negative, with partisan newspapers slinging accusations and innuendo.[11] The national mood had also turned decisively against the Democrats following thePanic of 1893. Barnes lost his bid for re-election, taking only 42% of the vote in the 1894 general election.[12]
After losing re-election, Barnes resumed his legal career in Appleton. He never ran for elected office again, but in 1903 was appointed to a state court commission to redraw the state's judicial circuits.[13]
On January 10, 1904, Barnes suffered an acute attack ofAppendicitis and was taken into the hospital, where surgery was performed. For the first several days after the surgery, his condition appeared to improve, but his condition deteriorated badly on January 15, he spiked a fever and suffered from intense pain and delirium. He died early in the morning on January 16, 1904, at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Appleton.[14]
He was interred at Riverside Cemetery in Appleton.[15]
Lyman Barnes was the son of William W. Barnes and his wife Lucy Eddy (née Thomas).[2]
Barnes married Helen Byrd Conkey, the daughter ofTheodore Conkey, in 1880. They had at least five children.
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892[9] | General | Nov. 8 | Lyman E. Barnes | Democratic | 18,187 | 52.87% | Henry A. Frambach | Rep. | 12,358 | 44.11% | 34,400 | 3,014 |
| John P. Zonne | Proh. | 1,040 | 3.02% | |||||||||
| 1894[12] | General | Nov. 6 | Edward S. Minor | Republican | 19,902 | 54.22% | Lyman E. Barnes | Dem. | 15,522 | 42.29% | 36,707 | 4,380 |
| John Faville | Proh. | 949 | 2.59% | |||||||||
| Andrew J. Larabee | Peo. | 330 | 0.90% | |||||||||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 8th congressional district March 4, 1893 - March 3, 1895 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by John Goodland | District Attorney ofOutagamie County, Wisconsin January 1, 1891 – January 1, 1893 | Succeeded by George H. Dawson |
