Demas Barnes (April 4, 1827 – May 1, 1888) was an American businessman and politician and a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, serving one term from 1867 to 1869.

Early days

Born in Gorham Township, Ontario County,

, Barnes was the son of Demas Barnes and attended public school, then engaged in mercantile pursuits.

Career

Barnes moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1849 and entered in the drug business, including

Charles Henry Fletcher Charles Henry Fletcher (aka Chas. H. Fletcher in company advertising) organized and led the Centaur Company, makers of "Fletcher's Castoria", serving as president and general manager. Standard Remedies, April 1922. Early life He was born Decembe ...

's Castoria. Barnes crossed the continent in a wagon and studied the mineral resources of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Business

Upon returning to New York City Barnes wrote articles and published works concerning his experiences in the United States. He also started his wholesale drug business in New York City in 1853 and was highly prosperous as a patent medicine manufacturer. He was one of the first to request private die stamps after they were authorized, and the first three Barnes stamps were approved by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in September 1862. These were the 1¢, 2¢, and 4¢ D.S. Barnes stamps in a vertical format printed in black and in vermillion. Barnes established and edited the "Brooklyn Argus" in 1873 and was also engaged in the real-estate business. He was a member of the

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

, and was one of the original

trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

of the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

project.

Congress

Elected as 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Fortieth Congress The 40th 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, 1867, ...

Barnes served as a U.S. Representative for the second district of New York from March 4, 1867 to March 3, 1869, though was not a candidate for renomination in 1868.

Personal life

Barnes died in

, on May 1, 1888 (age 61 years, 27 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in Greenwood Cemetery,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

References

External links

* *https://www.doaks.org/resources/bliss-tyler-correspondence/annotations/demas-barnes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Demas 1827 births 1888 deaths People from Gorham, New York Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians Patent medicine businesspeople Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)