Born November 17, 1809, in Somerset, Pennsylvania, to William C. Barton and Mary Brewer. He made his way west to Iowa, where he served the people of Van Buren County in the House of Representatives of the Fifth Legislative Assembly of the Iowa Territory. On July 31, 1844 he married Thankful Amanda Brock in Sweet Home Township, Clark County, Missouri. The couple then relocated to Iowa together, where Barton died on July 11, 1856.