Milton Barnes (politician)

Milton Barnes
21st Ohio Secretary of State
In office January 8, 1877 – January 10, 1881
Governor	Rutherford B. Hayes Thomas L. Young Richard M. Bishop Charles Foster
Preceded by	William Bell Jr.
Succeeded by	Charles Townsend
Personal details
Born	(1830-04-26)April 26, 1830 Barnesville, Ohio, US
Died	June 2, 1895(1895-06-02) (aged 65) Westerville, Ohio, US
Resting place	Otterbein Cemetery, Westerville
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Allegheny College
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	Union Army
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	62nd Ohio Infantry 97th Ohio Infantry

Milton Barnes (April 26, 1830 – June 2, 1895) was a Republican politician who was Ohio Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881.

Milton Barnes was born April 26, 1830, in Barnesville, Ohio. He attended country schools and at eighteen became a teacher, and at nineteen attended Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, but went home due to failing health.^[1] He studied law and higher mathematics at an academy at Salem, Ohio, then at a law office in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in January, 1859. He moved to Cambridge, Ohio, and opened a law office.^[1]

At the start of the American Civil War, Barnes raised a company and enlisted as captain in the Sixty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This unit participated in the first Federal invasion of the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1862. In mid-1862, Milton returned home on sick leave, resigned his command, and re-enlisted in the Ninety-seventh Regiment as lieutenant colonel. He was twice wounded severely, and mustered out June, 1865.^[1]

In 1867 and 1869 Barnes was elected prosecuting attorney of Guernsey County.^[1] In 1876 the Republican Party nominated him for Ohio Secretary of State, and he defeated William Bell Jr. in the general election.^[2] He won re-election with a plurality over David R. Paige and two others in 1878,^[3] and did not run again.