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Frank A. Barrett

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Aloysius Barrett
United States Senator
from Wyoming
In office
January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1959
Preceded byJoseph C. O'Mahoney
Succeeded byGale W. McGee
21st Governor of Wyoming
In office
January 1, 1951 – January 3, 1953
Preceded byArthur G. Crane
Succeeded byClifford Joy Rogers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wyoming's At-large district
In office
January 3, 1943 – December 31, 1950
Preceded byJohn J. McIntyre
Succeeded byWilliam Harrison
Member of the Wyoming Senate
In office
1933-1935
Personal details
Born(1892-11-10)November 10, 1892
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 1962(1962-05-30) (aged 69)
Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Alice Catherine Donoghue (first wife)
Augusta K. Hogan (second wife)
ChildrenJames E. Barrett and Francis Anthony Barrett
Alma materCreighton University
ProfessionSoldier, lawyer and politician
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1917–1919
RankSergeant
UnitBalloon Corps
Battles/warsWorld War I

Frank Aloysius Barrett (November 10, 1892 – May 30, 1962) was an American soldier, lawyer and politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and as the 21st Governor of Wyoming.

Biography

[edit]
Barrett as governor.

Barrett was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to a family of eight. His parents were Patrick J. Barrett and Elizabeth A. Curran Barrett. His mother and his paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States from Ireland.[1] He studied law and science at Creighton University,[2] and worked as a postal employee at the same time. During World War I, Barrett joined the Balloon Corps of the United States Army for a two-year enlistment. He married Alice Catherine Donoghue on May 21, 1919, and they moved to Lusk, Wyoming.

After arriving in Lusk, Barrett put his law degree to good use, acting as county attorney for Niobrara from 1922 until 1934. He served in the Wyoming Senate from 1933 until 1935,[3] then served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming. He first ran for Federal office in 1936, but lost out to Paul Greever. He stood for Congress again in 1942, and won, serving there until 1950.[4] In 1951, Barrett was sworn in as Governor.[2] He resigned in 1953 after he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1952, when he unseated three-term incumbent Joseph C. O'Mahoney.[4] Barrett voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.[5] He was defeated after only one term by one of O'Mahoney's former aides, Gale McGee.

Family life

[edit]

On February 17, 1956, his wife Alice died of cancer. They had had four children together, one of whom had died in infancy. On April 4, 1959, he remarried, to Augusta K. Hogan. Barrett completed his term in the Senate in 1958, and narrowly lost his re-election bid. In 1959 he was appointed Chief Counsel of the Department of Agriculture and sat on the board of directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation. His son, James E. Barrett, was a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit and former judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review in Washington, D.C.

Death

[edit]

Barrett was diagnosed with leukemia on May 15, 1962, and died just fifteen days later, at the age of 69. He was interred at Lusk Cemetery in Lusk. Barrett was a devout Catholic, and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "United States Census, 1910", FamilySearch, retrieved April 24, 2018
  2. ^ a b "Wyoming Governor Frank A. Barrett". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  3. ^ "Barrett, Frank Aloysius (1892-1962)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Sen. Frank Barrett". Govtrack.us. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  5. ^ "HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957". GovTrack.us.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by
Earl Wright
Republican nominee for Governor of Wyoming
1950
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Harry B. Henderson
Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Wyoming
(Class 1)

1952, 1958
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wyoming's at-large congressional district

January 3, 1943 – December 31, 1950
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Wyoming
January 1, 1951 – January 3, 1953
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by
Joseph O'Mahoney
U.S. senator (Class 1) from Wyoming
January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1959
Served alongside: Lester C. Hunt, Edward D. Crippa, Joseph C. O'Mahoney
Succeeded by