William Barclay Napton was born March 23, 1808 near Princeton, New Jersey. He studied law at the University of Virginia and was conferred his degree in 1830. He moved to Fayette, Missouri, and established a general practice in 1832. Though he owned several different properties in western Missouri, Mr. Napton remained a resident of Saline County for the remainder of his life. Mr. Napton was very active in state and local politics, serving as the editor of the Boone's Lick Democrat for several years as well as State Attorney General from 1836-39. He was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court in 1839 and served until 1851--the year state judiciary positions became elected offices. Justice Napton lost his bid to remain on the state court. Subsequently, he was elected to the Missouri Supreme Court in 1857 and served until 1861. In 1861 the Missouri Legislature rewrote the oath of office for all state officials to include a pledge of loyalty to the Federal Union. Justice Napton refused to recite the amended oath of office and was forced to resign his position. He was again elected to the Missouri Supreme Court in 1873 (without a loyalty pledge) and served until 1880. Throughout his years of private practice and public service William Barclay Napton was a proponent of strict constructionist and state rights doctrines. Willaim Barclay Napton married Melinda Williams in 1838 and the couple raised nine children.
Several of the Napton's sons moved to Montana during the territorial period, though only two permanently settled in the area. Thomas L. Napton, the second oldest son, was a soldier in the Confederate Army and relocated to Anaconda, Montana, soon after the Civil War ended. He prospected in several locations around Deer Lodge County but eventually moved to Missoula near the turn of the century to operate a dentistry practice. Thomas L. Napton died April 4, 1938 and is buried in the Missoula City Cemetery. The Napton's seventh son, Wellington Napton, followed his brother to Anaconda in the spring of 1873. He studied law under Judge W.W. Dixon of the Territorial District Court and gained admittance to the Missouri bar in 1875. He began a private law practice in Anaconda and became District Judge for Deer Lodge, Powell, and Granite counties in 1896, serving until 1904. Wellington Napton returned to private practice and remained in Anaconda for many more years.
From the guide to the Napton Family Papers, 1825-1901, (Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
