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JOHN S. BARRY BY H. H. RILEY
John Stewart Barry was born at Amherst, New Hampshire, on the 29th day of January, A. D. 1802. Horace Greeley was born in the same township. When he was a year and a half old his father moved to Bellows Falls, Vermont, and died there, leaving John Stewart, Charles H., and Aldis Barry, his sons.
Mr. Barry married Mary Kidder, who died on the 30th day of March, 186 J. He studied law, and removed to [Atlanta] Georgia in 1827 or 1828, [1824] where he practiced about two years, and finally removed to White Pigeon, Michigan. In 1831 he abandoned his profession, and went into the mercantile business with Isaac Willard, at that place. Afterwards, in 1834, upon a dissolution of the copartnership, he removed to Constantine, opened a store, and did a large business up to the time of his death. At this time Michigan was endeavoring to arise out of its territorial condition into a state. Mr. Barry went into the work with, all his might, and was one of the leaders in the movement. He was elected state senator, and took his seat in 1835, and was in the sessions of 1836, 1837 and 1838, and was also a senator in the session of 1841. [Pres. pro tern, in 1835-6-8. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1835, and held the office of governor of the state three terms, from 18-12 to 1844, from 1844 to 1846, and from 1850 to 1852.
It is no exaggeration to say that John S. Barry was one of the strongest men who ever resided in our state. No other man has done more in laying broad and deep the foundations of our government. No man was more competent to grapple with the questions that disturbed us when a territory and those which occupied our attention after we became a state.
Michigan
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