Richard C. BARRETT

BARRETT

Posted By: Carolyn Caplinger <cmcaplinger@sbcglobal.net>
Date: 1/13/2008 at 20:21:40

Note: I am not related to this person.

Source: Biographies and portraits of the progressive men of Iowa : leaders in business, politics and the professions : together with an original and authentic history of the state by B F Gue, 1899, pages 114-116. Found on Heritage Quest.

BARRETT, Richard C., State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is the first native Iowan to hold a state office. He was born in Waverly, Bremer County, October 1, 1858, and was educated in the state. Having his own way to make in life, he did not have the best of advantages in his early youth, but he has overcome all obstacles in the way of securing the best and highest education. Attending Waverly public schools in the intervals of working on a farm, he was later a student at the Decorah Institute and Teacher's Training School. Showing an aptitude for teaching he was, after completing the course in this institution, made one of its instructors, a position which he resigned to become principal of the Riceville public schools in Mitchell County. The habits of industry and perserverance which he learned while a boy on the farm struggling to secure an education have continued to be his best capital in life.

His work as a teacher attracted the attention of the people of the county and they elected him to the office of county superintendent for twelve consecutive years and he was given the extraordinary compliment of a unanimous election every time but once. His prominence in educational work continued to increase and various honors in the line of his profession came to him. In 1887 he was chosen president of the Northern Iowa Superintendents' and Teachers' Association. In 1888 he was secretary of the County Superintendent's and Normal Department of the State Teachers' Association, and in 1891 he was elected president of that department. he served a number of years as a member of the educational council and of the State Teachers' Reading Board. In 1895 he was elected president of the State Teachers' Association. He was chairman of the legislatendent in 1885. He held this office for ciation in 1893. In that year he introduced in the County Superintendents' department a resolution requesting the legislature to appoint a committee to revise, codify and unify the school laws of the state and report to the legislature in 1896. This resolution was adopted and in part led to the codification of all the laws of the state in 1897. Cornell College at Mt. Vernon conferred upon Mr. Barrett the degree of Master of Arts in 1895.

In 1889 he began the publication of the Mitchell County Teacher, a journal devoted to the education interests of the county. His ability in this field of educational activity attracted attention and in 1894 he assumed editorial control of The Iowa Teacher, a monthly educational publication with a large circulation in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Mr. Barrett was first introduced to state politics by his friends in the year 1893, when he was a leading candidate for the republican nomination for state superintendent of public instruction. He was second in the race, being only defeated at that time by the feeling among republicans that Hon. Henry Sabin, who had been defeated in the democratic landslide in 1891, should be given another chance. Four years later he was easily nominated by the republican state convention in Cedar Rapids and was elected by a majority larger than that given any other candidate. In 1899 he was re-elected, receiving the largest majority given to a state superintendent since 1873. His majority over all was 48,588.

Prior to his election to the superintendency, Superintendent Barrett was well known over the state as an institute lecturer, and his services were in great demand, because he was known to be a practical and successful educator, who work was above the realm of theorizing. His long training in the county superintendent's office thoroughly familiarized him with the needs of the common schools, and since his induction into the office of state superintendent of public instruction he has made good use of the knowledge and experience thus gained. By the virtue of his office he is president of the State Board of Educational Examiners, the board of trustees of the State Normal School and a member of the board of regents of the State University, and the board of trustees of the State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. His administration has been highly successful and satisfactory to the people, so much so that the legislature in 1900 considerably extended his authority to issue publication in the furtherance of educational work.

Though at times busy with educational affairs, he has found time to do his full share of work for the party to which he belongs. He has been chairman of the republican county committee of Mitchell County, president of the Fourth congreassional District Republican League and in other ways has served his party well. He is a member of the Methodist church and belongs to the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodsmen of America. His parents are Alba C. Barrett, a carpenter and farmer, who came to Waverly from Pennsylvania in 1856, and Sybilla C. Barrett, who maiden name was Bonstein. Mr. Barrett was married November 27, 1883, to Jeanette Armour Dean, the eldest daughter of Henry Dean of Minnesota. Ruth Dean, born March 22, 1890, is their only child.

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