Colson, Barney R.

Businessman.

Barney Ralph Colson was born on April 24, 1879 in Trenton, Florida. He attended Alachua County public schools, the South Florida Military Institute (Bartow), and the University of Florida. In 1901, he joined the Alachua County Abstract Company, later buying it and becoming president. He was a leader in education as the chairman of the Alachua County School Board, as well as a prominent member of the Gainesville Rotary Club, Phi Kappa Phi, the Blue Key Society, and the University Club.

Colson was a friend of Governors William S. Jennings and Napoleon B. Broward, and a prominent lobbyist for the University of Florida, instrumental in bringing the campus to Gainesville instead of the rival site of Lake City. He was married to Miss Eddie Sue Bowers of Tennessee, and they had the following children: Eddie C., Nell, Frances Melvina, Martha Dallas, and Barney R. Jr. Colson died in 1939.