Charles Henry Barrett Biography


	This biography appears on pages 43-44 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				CHARLES HENRY BARRETT.  

	As president of the Vermilion National Bank, Charles Henry 
Barrett is a prominent figure inn financial circles of that city. He 
was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, April 5, 1859, a son of Artemus 
and Fidelia R. (Brown) Barrett. The father was a hatter and engaged in 
that business until he retired from active life. He dried at Saratoga 
Springs in 1904 but his widow survives and makes her home in 
Bernardston, Massachusetts, with a daughter. Mr. Barrett was twice 
married, his first union being with Miss Lovisa Chose, of New York, by 
whom he had three children: John R., a retired business man residing in 
Los Angeles, California; Beebe R., deceased; and Lovisa A., the widow 
of E. H. Potter, and a resident of Bayonne, New Jersey. To the second 
marriage four children were born: Addie P., who married Rev. Eugene 
Frary, a Congregational minister of Bernardston, Massachusetts: Charles 
Henry; Orie L., who is at home; and Frederic A., a linotype man of 
Newtonville, Massachusetts.  

	Charles H. Barrett passed his boyhood days in Saratoga Springs 
and there attended school, being graduated from the high school in 
1875. For the following three years he taught school and worked in his 
father's hat store but at the end of that time removed to Manchester, 
Iowa. He arrived there in 1878 and taught school there for two years. 
In 1880 he took a position as bookkeeper with a large mercantile 
concern, with which he was connected for three years. He then entered 
the employ of Conger Brothers, bankers, as bookkeeper and teller, 
remaining in that capacity for four years, and in 1887 removed to 
Vermilion, South Dakota, in company with L. T. Swezey. They purchased 
the Clay County Bank, which they reorganized and conducted under that 
name until 1904, when they took out a national charter and changed the 
name to the Vermilion National Bank. Mr. Barrett was cashier of the 
institution until the death of Mr. Swezey in 1912, when he was elected 
president. He is thoroughly familiar with the practice, and policies of 
the bank and is also well informed as to banking conditions in the 
country at large, He is very efficient as president of the bank and 
under his direction its continued growth is insured. The safety of 
funds on deposit is the first consideration of the officers of the 
institution but they extend credit to individuals and business houses, 
thus promoting the commercial development of Vermilion. The bank pays 
good dividends and enjoys the full confidence of the public. Mr. 
Barrett is not only president and a director of this bank but is also 
interested in the Bank of Wakonda, this state, he and his associates 
buying it in 1903 when it was in danger of collapse. They reorganized 
it and placed it upon a sound financial basis and it has since been a 
paying institution and has come to be regarded as one of the strong 
banks of this section. Mr. Barrett was one of the organizers of tine 
Vermilion Hotel Company and is an executive officer of that 
corporation. His standing among the bankers of the state is indicated 
by his election in 1910 as president of the South Dakota State Bankers' 
Association. 

	Mr. Barrett was married, September 17, 1889, to Miss Laura E. 
Dunham, a native of Manchester, Iowa, and a daughter of Francis and 
Mary A. (Stark) Dunham, both natives of Vermont. The father, who was an 
educator, passed away in 1880, but the mother survives and makes her 
home in Manchester, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Barrett five children were 
born: John F. and Ruth, both of whom died in infancy; George, who died 
in 1909, when fifteen years of age; Charles S., now twelve years of 
age; and Marjorie, who died in infancy.  

	Mr. Barrett is a progressive republican and for several years has 
served as city treasurer of Vermilion. For ten years he was a member of 
the city council. He has always taken an interest in politics but has 
not been a politician in the sense of office seeking. His connection 
with the Congregational church and the Masonic order indicate the 
principles that govern his life. In the latter organization he has 
taken high rank, belonging to all of the bodies from the blue lodge to 
the commandery in the York Rite and also to the Shrine. He has served 
as worshipful master and has held other high offices in the lodge. He 
is now treasurer of the blue lodge and also of the chapter. His 
fraternal associations also include membership in the Modern Woodmen of 
America. He has done his full share in promoting the development of his 
city along all lines and takes great pride in its advancement and 
prosperity.