H. W. Barker

H. W. Barker
Member of the Wisconsin State Senate
In office
1907–1909
ConstituencyDistrict 31
Personal details
Born
Henry W. Barker

(1860-03-18)March 18, 1860
Leon, Monroe County, Wisconsin
DiedFebruary 24, 1950(1950-02-24) (aged 89)
Sparta, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Frances Mary McMahan
​
​
(m. 1884; died 1933)​
ChildrenHarold H. Barker
OccupationDruggist, politician

Henry W. Barker (March 18, 1860 – February 24, 1950)[1][2] was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate.

Biography

Barker was born in Leon, Monroe County, Wisconsin,[3] and attended West Salem High School.[2] After completing high school, he "went to Minnesota 'to visit' and stayed 22 years".[2] He worked in the drug business for 15 years while living in Elbow Lake, Minnesota, and owned H. W. Barker Medical Company in Sparta, Wisconsin.[1] On May 9, 1893 he was awarded a patent for a drug mixer which he claimed could also be used to pop corn or roast coffee.[4][5]

Career

Barker was a member of the Senate from 1907 to 1909.[6] Previously, he had served three terms as Mayor of Elbow Lake. He was a Republican. In the Senate, he became chair of the health and sanitation committee, where he successfully pushed for passage of a "long sheet" law "requiring hotels to use sheets nine feet in length to cover the mattresses and comforters".[2]

Personal life

Barker married Frances Mary McMahan in 1884; she died in 1933. Barker died at the home of one of his two daughters, in Sparta, at the age of 89.[2] Barker's son Harold H. Barker served in the Minnesota legislature.[2]

H. W. Barker died at his daughter's home in Sparta on February 24, 1950.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Champions Drug Legislation". The Pharmaceutical Era. 40. D. O. Haynes & Company: 767. December 17, 1908. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Former Senator Henry Barker, 89, Author of 'Long Sheet' Law, Dies". La Crosse Tribune. Sparta, Wisconsin. February 25, 1950. pp. 1, 8. Retrieved July 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Biographical Sketches: H. W. Barker". USGenWeb Archives. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  4. ^ A US patent 497045 A, H. W. Barker, "Drug-mixer", published 1893-05-09, issued 1893-05-09 
  5. ^ "Drug-mixer". Google Patents. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  6. ^ "H. W. Barker". Political Graveyard. Retrieved December 10, 2011.