Daniel Hudson Barton, 1836–1911

Born in St. Louis on 10 February 1836, Daniel Hudson Barton was the second of seven children of John Barton and Huldah Rundell. In April 1839, he was baptized at the Catholic cathedral on Walnut Street.

His father was a carpenter, but sometime before 1845 he started a soda water business in his home at Fourteenth and Clark Streets.

The Barton family all survived the massive fire in 1849 and the cholera epidemic that followed, but there were at least six deaths that summer at the house across the street, which was a male orphan asylum. It was not yet known that cholera was a water borne disease. Did the Barton family survive the epidemic by drinking only pasteurized soda water?

In 1852, the Barton family moved to Montgomery County, Missouri, and became farmers; except for Pa, who had business in town. About 1858, Daniel’s father sold his soda water business to Haight & O’Brien, manufacturers of soda water and dealers in lake ice, but he stayed in town to work for them. Daniel also worked for them, as a teamster delivering ice to customers. Their factory was at Seventeenth and O’Fallon Streets and Daniel lived at that same address.

Daniel became a Presbyterian, but in 1856 was again baptized Catholic, perhaps in anticipation of his marriage to Mary Elizabeth Tipton, daughter of John Tipton and Mary McDonnell, on 11 October 1857. They were to have eight children, five sons and three daughters. However, the 1900 census indicates they had lost four of ten children.

On 7 February 1862, Daniel took a loyalty oath, swearing to uphold the constitutions of the United States and the state of Missouri. Why did he do this? Probably he had to in order to keep his job or to get permission to leave the city as Missouri was under martial law. His parents and siblings all supported the Union and his maternal grandfather was an abolitionist.

By 1864, Daniel had moved to Twentieth Street, between Market and Estelle, and was working as a streetcar conductor. He was medically exempt from the draft during the Civil War. Later he worked as a watchman, a stable man, and finally as a carpenter at the Missouri-Pacific Railroad shops. Two of his sons later became machinists there. In the final decades of his life, Daniel lived at 3311 Rutger Street. He had his children baptized at St. Malachy’s Catholic Church.

Daniel died on 29 October 1911 and was laid to rest at Mount Olive Cemetery. His wife Elizabeth died on 11 May 1913 with burial at Calvary.

(Sources include censuses and city directories, church records, Civil War letters, a book of Civil War exempts, a Civil War loyalty document, obituaries, cemetery and death records.)

Written by John Sullivan
November 2017

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Last Modified: 25-Oct-2018 21:36