Barry, John Steward, 1802-1870

Naval architect and engineer.

Born in Vermont, January 29, 1802; went to Atlanta, Georgia, lived there till 1832, then became a merchant at Constantine, Michigan; member of constitutional convention of Michigan in 1835 and state senator; Governor of Michigan in 1841-46 and 1849-1851; member of Chicago convention, August 1864, nominating Gen. McClellan president. Died in Constantine, Michigan January 14, 1870. (from Appleton's cyclopedia of American biography - Rep. men of Mich. pt.4, p.7)

John Stewart Barry was born in N.H. on Jan. 29, 1802, the son of John and Ellen (Stewart) Barry, who soon moved to Vt. Later, John S. Barry married Mary Kidder (d. 1869). In 1824 he moved to Georgia (Vt.) where he was in charge of an academy for two years while he studied law. Barry later practiced law in Vt. and served on the Gov.'s staff and as Capt. in the state militia. In 1831 he moved to White Pigeon (Mich.) and, in 1834, to Constantine (Mich.), where he engage in the mercantile business. He served as Justice of the Peace, 1831-1835, and then began a long career in politics. Barry served as a delegate from the Thirteenth District to the Constitutional Convention of 1835; Senator from the Third Dirstrict, 1835-1836 and 1837-1838; and from the Seventh District, 1841; and Gov. of Mich., 1841-1845 and 1850-1851. After his political career, Barry worked in his mercantile business in Constantine until his death on Jan. 14, 1870. He had no children. (Information from Mich. biographies, v. 1, p. 57.).