Robert Thomas Barton (November 24, 1842 – January 17, 1917) was a Virginia lawyer and politician, the author of law and historical books and articles, and a president of the

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provid ...

. Born in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

he served in the Confederate Army, as did his five brothers, two of whom were killed in the War. In 1865, he was admitted to the bar and became one of the leading lawyers in the state. He was also author of some standard textbooks, ''Barton’s Law Practice'' and ''Barton’s Chancery Practice'', and edited a two-volume set of the records of Virginia's colonial courts, ''Virginia Colonial Decisions: The Reports by Sir John Randolph and by Edward Barradall of Decisions of the General Court of Virginia, 1728-1741'', "which has been a landmark reference work for mid-eighteenth century Virginia since its first printing in 1909." Barton was also a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

(1884–85), mayor of Winchester from 1899 to 1903, and sat as chair or president on several state and local organizations. His term as president of The

was 1892-93. He was made president of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Winchester in 1902. Barton married twice, first to Katie Knight (1868) and then to Gertrude W. Baker (1890). He had two children with Gertrude. He was buried in Mt. Hebron cemetery.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Robert T. 1842 births 1917 deaths American book editors American textbook writers American male non-fiction writers Virginia lawyers Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Mayors of Winchester, Virginia Writers from Virginia American legal writers Legal historians Confederate States Army personnel People of Virginia in the American Civil War 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers