Charles P. Barnes

The Honorable
Charles P. Barnes
17th Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
In office
November 21, 1939 – July 31, 1940
Nominated byLewis Barrows
Preceded byCharles J. Dunn
Succeeded byGuy H. Sturgis[1][2]
Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
In office
April 17, 1924 – November 21, 1939
Nominated byPercival Baxter
Preceded byGeorge M. Hanson
Succeeded byGeorge H. Worster[1]
67th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
1921-1922
Preceded byFrank G. Farrington
Succeeded byFrank H. Holley[3][4]
Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 7th District
In office
1917–1922
Preceded byLeonard A. Pierce
Succeeded byBernard Archibald[5][6][7]
Assistant Attorney General of Maine
In office
1909–1911
Personal details
BornOctober 12, 1869
Houlton, Maine, U.S.[1]
DiedDecember 14, 1951, age 82
Houlton, Maine, U.S.[8]
Political partyRepublican

Charles Putnam Barnes (October 12, 1869 – December 14, 1951) was a judge and politician from Maine who served as speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 1921 to 1922, and as justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from April 17, 1924 to July 31, 1940. From 1939 to 1940, Barnes was Chief Justice of the court.[9]

Early life and education

[edit]

Charles Putnam Barnes was born in Houlton, Maine on October 12, 1869 to Francis, a Deacon at a local Baptist Church,[10] and Isa (née Putnam) Barnes.

Barnes spent most of his life in Houlton, attending the local private Ricker Classical Institute for his secondary education. Following his graduation from the Ricker Classical Institute in 1888, Barnes attended Colby College, a private liberal arts school in Waterville, Maine. He received a B.A. and M.A. from the school in 1892 and 1893, respectively.[1][11] Barnes later earned an honorary Master's degree from the University of Michigan in 1923 and a Doctorate in Law from Colby in 1927.[12]

Career

[edit]

After graduating from Colby College, Barnes served as principal of schools in Norway and Lisbon Falls, Maine, and Attleboro, Massachusetts before becoming the superintendent of the Norway school district.[8][13] Barnes ended his 8-year career in education in 1900, and instead began studying law under Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice Joseph W. Symonds.[1]

Shortly after moving with his family once again to Norway, Barnes was admitted to the Oxford County Bar Association in 1900 and began practicing law.[8][14] He was the Oxford County attorney for five years from 1904 to 1909, and then an Assistant Attorney General of Maine for two years from 1909 to 1911.[1][15] As Assistant Attorney General, and later as State Representative, Barnes had a focus on cases of medicine, public health, and education.[16][17][12]

Following his stint as Assistant Attorney General, Barnes decided to give up the position in favor of returning to Houlton with his family to pursue a private law career.[12][18] During this time, Barnes became a trustee of his alma maters, Colby College and the Ricker Classical Institute, as well as the Houlton Public Library and the now-defunct Houlton Savings Bank.[12] During World War I, Barnes served as Food Administrator in Aroostook County.[12]

In 1917, Barnes was elected as a Republican to represent Maine's 7th District in Maine's lower house. As a member of the Maine House of Representatives, Barnes served on the following committees:

  • Judiciary Committee
  • Joint-Select Committee on Elections
  • Joint-Select Committee on Gubernatorial Vote
  • Joint-Select Committee on Reference of Bills
  • Joint-Select Committee on Resolutions Relative to the Death of Ex-President Roosevelt[19][20][4][18]

Following Barnes' success as a Representative in Maine's lower house, Governor Percival Baxter appointed him to Maine's Supreme Judicial Court as Associate Justice on April 17, 1924, to fill the seat left by George M. Hanson's death. Barnes served on the court for over 15 years before Governor Lewis Barrows promoted him to Chief Justice following the death of Chief Justice Charles J. Dunn on November 10, 1939.[1][21]

Personal life and death

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Prior to his appointment to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court by Governor Baxter, Barnes had befriended Baxter. Together they traveled to the area around Mount Katahdin in hopes of promoting a future state park.[22][23]

Starting in 1913, Barnes served as the President of the Aroostook Colby Club.[24] He also served as the Vice President of the Maine Society of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution starting in 1931.[25][26] He was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the Masons.[12] Barnes served in politics as a member of the Republican Party.[12]

Barnes and his wife, Annie, had 5 children together; four sons and one daughter. One of their sons, George B. Barnes, was Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 1945 to 1946, 23 years after Charles Barnes left office.[3] George Barnes later served in the Maine Senate from 1947 to 1953.[27]

Charles P. Barnes died at the age of 82 on December 14, 1951, in Houlton, roughly two months after his wife passed away.[28] He is buried with his wife, Annie, and his parents Francis and Isa in Houlton, Maine.[8] Barnes was a Baptist.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "The Supreme Judicial Court of the State of Maine, 1820 to 2009". Nathan & Henry B. Cleaves Law Library. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  2. ^ American Bar Association Journal (Volume 7 ed.). American Bar Association. January 1921. p. 140. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Speakers of the Maine House of Representatives, 1820 -". Maine State Legislature. Maine.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual (Issue 53 ed.). Tower Publishing Company. 1922. pp. 240, 301, 312. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "Search Results | Charles P. Barnes". Maine State Legislature - Legislators Biographical Database. Maine.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "Search Results | Houlton". Maine State Legislature - Legislators Biographical Database. Maine.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  7. ^ "Towns in Each District". Maine House of Representatives. Maine.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "EX-JUSTICE BARNES OF MAINE SUCCUMBS". The New York Times. December 15, 1951. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  9. ^ "Maine Supreme Court Chief and Associate Justices". Maine State Legislature. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  10. ^ Barnes, Charles P. (February 16, 1921). "History of the First Baptist Church". Houlton Times.
  11. ^ Laughlin, Gail (1945). Maine Reports 140 | CASES ARGUED AND DETERMINED IN THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MAINE (PDF) (140 ed.). The State of Maine. pp. 351–52.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Coe, Harrie B. (1928). Maine, A History: Resources, Attractions and People, Volume 4. The Lewiston Historical Publishing Company Inc. p. 3-4. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  13. ^ "NORWAY". The Oxford Democrat (Volume 73 No. 13 ed.). March 27, 1906. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Whitman, Charles (1924). A History of Norway, Maine | From the Earliest Settlement to the Close of the Year 1922. Lewiston, ME: Lewiston Journal Company. p. 225. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  15. ^ Donham, Grenville (June 1907). Maine Register Or State Year-book and Legislative Manual (Issue 39 ed.). Tower Publishing Company. pp. 673–74. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Attorney General Opinions and Memoranda". Maine State Legislature. Maine.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  17. ^ The Journal of the Maine Medical Association (Volume 14 ed.). The Association. August 1923. p. 34. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual (Issue 50 ed.). Tower Publishing Company. 1919. pp. 204, 360. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Donham, Albert (July 1918). Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual (Issue 49 ed.). Tower Publishing Company. pp. 204, 207. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  20. ^ Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual (Issue 51 ed.). Tower Publishing Company. 1920. p. 279. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "a%20glimpse%20of%20maine" Sprague's Journal of Maine History (Volume 12 ed.). John Francis Sprague. July–August 1924. pp. 140–41. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  22. ^ Whitcomb, Howard R. (2008). Governor Baxter's Magnificent Obsession: A Documentary history of Baxter State Park 1931–2006. Bangor, Maine: Friends of Baxter State Park. ISBN 978-1-887940-15-3. OCLC 253652001.
  23. ^ Perry, Katy (July 10, 2011). "Maine Observer: Baxter letter confirms Katahdin memories". Portland Press Herald. Press Herald. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  24. ^ "AROOSTOOK COLBY CLUB". The Colby Echo. Vol. 16, no. 22. The Students of Colby College. April 16, 1913. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  25. ^ Quarterly Bulletin, National Society Sons of the American Revolution (PDF) (Volume 25 No. 4 ed.). National Society Sons of the American Revolution. April 1931. pp. 460–61. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  26. ^ Maine, resources, attractions, and its people; a history. Internet Archive: New York, Lewis Historical Publication Company. 1928. pp. 811–12. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  27. ^ "Search Results | George B. Barnes". Maine State Legislature - Legislators Biographical Database. Maine.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  28. ^ "MRS. CHARLES P. BARNES". The New York Times. October 17, 1951. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
Government offices
Preceded by
N/A
 Assistant Attorney General of Maine
1909-1911 		Succeeded by
N/A
Maine House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 7th District
1917-1922 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
1921-1922 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
1924-1939 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
1939–1940 		Succeeded by


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