# Alphonso Barto *Minnesota legislator and seventh lieutenant governor of Minnesota (1834–1899)* Alphonso Barto (May 24, 1834 – November 4, 1899) was a lawyer and [[Minnesota]] officeholder. He served one term in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] and was the state's seventh [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota|lieutenant governor]].[^1] Barto won his House seat in 1871 and the lieutenant governorship in 1873, serving under [[Cushman K. Davis]].[^1] He later held local offices around Saint Cloud and was named a regent of the [[University of Minnesota]] by Governor [[David Marston Clough]]. He also worked as a Republican Party organizer and was a delegate to the 1884 Republican National Convention.[^1] ## Life and career Barto was born in 1834 in Hinesburg, Vermont.[^1] His father, William Barto, belonged to a French family that had come to the United States before the American Revolution, when the name was spelled "Barteau." His mother, Mary (née Gage), was descended from English settlers.[^1] He was schooled in Ferrisburgh, Vermont.[^1] Barto and Harriet E. Hitchcock married in 1854 and soon moved to Elgin, Illinois. There he farmed and then studied law.[^1] In the American Civil War he served three years in the 52nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and left the service as a captain in October 1865.[^1] Harriet died shortly before he came home.[^1] Back in Elgin, Barto was elected treasurer of Kane County, Illinois, for a single term. In 1866 he married Charlotte "Lottie" A. Allen.[^1] Barto moved to [[Sauk Centre]], Minnesota, in 1869 to practise law.[^1] Two years later he was elected to a two-year term in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In 1873 he was elected lieutenant governor, serving under Davis.[^1] He held no state office after that.[^1] In later years Barto filled several local offices in and around Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Governor Clough appointed him a University of Minnesota regent.[^1] He stayed involved with the [[Republican Party (United States)]] as an organizer and attended the 1884 Republican National Convention as a delegate.[^1] He died in Saint Cloud on November 4, 1899.[^1] ## See also - [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]] - [[Governor of Minnesota]] - [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Alphonso Barto* (cached revision 1365499761, retrieved 2026-10-25) — Barto's birth, family, Civil War service, Illinois and Minnesota offices, regency, Republican Party activity and death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso_Barto