Richard Barnes (March 15, 1805 – September 3, 1846) was a native born businessman from
St. John’s, Newfoundland
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.
The city spans and is the easternmost city in North Ame ...
. He represented
Trinity Bay in the
Newfoundland House of Assembly
The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Building in St. Jo ...
from 1842 to 1846.
The son of William Barnes and Hannah Butler, Barnes was largely self-educated and involved in the family business which was shipping and carpentry. In 1840 he was a prominent founder of the
Newfoundland Natives' Society. He entered politics during the time of the very dysfunctional Representative Government. The founding of the Natives' Society can be considered one of the earliest manifestations of Newfoundland nationalism. The Natives' Society lobbied for Responsible Government.
Barnes married Eunice Alice Morris in 1840. He died in office in St. John's at the age of 41.
References
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
Newfoundland Colony people
1805 births
1846 deaths
Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
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