The Life of William Riley Barrett
Biography of William Riley Barrett
Posted 10 Oct 2009 by RobertBarrett10
William Riley Barrett was born February 14, 1832 in Moore County, North Carol1na to a prominent pioneer family. He was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Lee (Graham) Barrett. His grandfather, William Barrett, was a captain in the Revolutionary War, as was his great-grandfather, Isaac Sowell. He was educated at the Carthage Male Academy, a school run by Presbyterian ministers.
William Riley Barrett married Jane C. Muse in 1853. She was the daughter of John H. and Patience (Fry) Muse. Jane C. was a descendant of Dr. George Glascock, a surgeon in the Revolutionary War. Glascock's mother was Ester Ball, a second cousin to Mary Ball, mother of George Washington.
Mary Lee Barrett, the only child of William R. and Jane C., was born June 13, 1862.
William Riley Barrett entered the Confederate Army January 27, 1863, from Moore County. He was a member of Company D.,Forty-Ninth Regiment and served until the end of the Civil War. He was captured at Bermuda Hundred, June 2, 1864.He was sent to Forress Monroe, then transferred to Elmyra, New York, July 9, 1864. He was then transferred for exchange October 11, 1864, was exchanged October 29, 1864, and received November 15, 1865 at Venus Point, Savannah River.
Shortly after the Civil War, W. R. Barrett, Jane C., and Mary Lee moved to Hardeman County, Tennessee. Mary Lee married Elijah Franklin Dyson on November 28, 1878. They had a son, William Oliver Dyson, born January 3, 1881. Mary Lee died October 4 1881. Her mother, Jane C. died December 15, 1884.
William Riley Barrett was one of the 1880 census enumerators for Hardeman County, Tennessee. In the November 1880 election, he was elected to the Tennessee State Senate for Hardeman and Madison Counties on the Republican ticket. He served the 1881-1883 term.
In the Bolivar Bulletin dated, Thursday, May 5, 1881, W.R. Barrett was given an endorsement through a resolution stated at a Republican meeting held at the Courthouse in Bolivar, Tennessee. It reads:
At a republican meeting held at the Courthouse in Bolivar, Saturday, April 30th, the following resolutions were
unanimously adopted:
.....Third, that we take pleasure in endorsing the course of Hon. W. R. Barrett in the Senate in sustaining
the credit of the State in opposition to the destructive policy of the repudiationists, and that when he voted for the
100-3 bill, he acted in good faith with the Republican Party, both State and National, and contributed no little to
advance the present and future welfare of Tennessee, and in doing so discharged his duty as a good citizen and
patriot.
William Riley Barrett returned to Moore County, North Carolina, before 1900. In 1902, he entered the Soldiers Home in Raleigh, North Carolina. He died October 10, 1906 and is buried in the Confederate Section of Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Sources of Information:
1. Samuel Barrett's family Bible
2. Moore County, North Carolina Census Records - 1850, 1860, 1900
3. Hardeman County, Tennessee, Census Records - 1880
4. Civil War records, National archives, Washington, DC
5. Bolivar Bulletin, Bolivar, Tennessee, July 15, 1880, October 14, 1880; November 11, 1880; March 5, 1881; May 5, 1881; October 6, 1881; December 18, 1884.
6. The Daily American, Nashville, Tennessee, Report of the General Assembly January 4, 1881-May 16, 1882
Submitted by Dorothy Dyson Irvin, great grandaughter of William Riley Barrett
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Military Service
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