Kings County CA Archives Biographies.....Barney, B. L. March 24, 1849 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Kellie Crnkovich markkell95@aol.com and Kathy Sedler December 21, 2005, 1:55 pm Author: History of Tulare and Kings Counties At Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., B. L. Barney was born, March 24, 1849. Educated in the public schools and at the Gouverneur Wesleyan seminary, he was early interested in merchandising, farming and the tannery business in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties, N. Y., until 1891, when be settled at Hanford. For a time he engaged in ranching and later he went into the grocery trade at Hanford, under the firm name of Foster, Barney & Felton. He sold his interest in the business to Mr. Foster and with Mr. Birkbeck as a partner organized a new enterprise under the style of Barney & Birkbeck. Later he became sole proprietor and after a time the firm became known as Barney, Kelly & Widner, and under the last name a store was conducted at Grangeville. Eventually Mr. Kelly bought Mr. Barney's interest at Hanford and Mr. Barney became sole proprietor of the Grangeville store and conducted it until he sold it to J. C. Stewart, in order to give attention to his ranch interests. While Mr. Barney was interested in the grocery trade he engaged in the raisin and dry fruit packing business as head of the firm of Barney & Cameron, which was succeeded by the B. L. Barney com¬pany, of which Mr. Barney was proprietor until he retired from that branch of business. He has purchased a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, three miles and a half east of Hanford, which is given to the production of fruit and vines, cattle, horses and hogs, and is now conducted by his son, Fred M. Barney. One of the most active advocates of the formation of Kings county in 1892 was Mr. Barney. He was elected as a Republican to the office of supervisor, in which he served four years, during which time the present courthouse and jail were built. He was chairman of the building committee and was active in the superintendency of the work. He has been a member of the Hanford Chamber of Commerce and of commercial bodies having for their object the promotion of the interests of the county. In 1908 he was elected a member of the board of trustees of the City of Hanford and in 1909 was made chairman of that body, which office he filled one term. He is junior warden in the Episcopal church of Hanford and a member of the local lodge of Knights of Pythias. In 1873, Mr. Barney married Mary E. Herring, a native of New York state, and they have two children, Anna Louise and Fred M. Anna Louise Barney was graduated with honors from the grammar and high schools at Hanford and from the University of California, and during the last four years has been a teacher of English in the Hanford high school. Fred M. Barney is operating the ranch near town. Additional Comments: History of Tulare and Kings Counties, California with Biographical Sketches - Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company, 1913 pp. 552-553 Transcribed by Kathy Sedler File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/kings/bios/barney204bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 3.5 Kb