William A. Barstow

William A. Barstow
1850s portrait
3rd Governor of Wisconsin
In office January 2, 1854 – March 21, 1856
Lieutenant	James T. Lewis Arthur MacArthur Sr.
Preceded by	Leonard J. Farwell
Succeeded by	Arthur MacArthur Sr. (acting) Coles Bashford (elected)
2nd Secretary of State of Wisconsin
In office January 7, 1850 – January 5, 1852
Governor	Nelson Dewey
Preceded by	Thomas McHugh
Succeeded by	Charles D. Robinson
Personal details
Born	(1813-09-13)September 13, 1813 Plainfield, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	December 13, 1865(1865-12-13) (aged 52) Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S.
Resting place	Brookmere Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio
Spouse	Maria Quarles ​ (m. 1844)​
Children	Frank Quarles Barstow (b. 1846; died 1909) Augustus Quarles Barstow (b. 1848; died 1906) William Augustus Barstow (b. 1850; died 1910) Horatio Nelson Barstow (b. 1854; died 1891)
Parents	William Augusta Barstow (father) Sally (Hall) Barstow (mother)
Relatives	John L. Barstow (1st cousin, once removed)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Brig. General, USV
Commands	3rd Reg. Wis. Vol. Cavalry
Battles/wars	American Civil War First Battle of Newtonia Battle of Prairie Grove

William Augustus Barstow (September 13, 1813 – December 13, 1865) was an American businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was Wisconsin's third governor (1854–1856) and second Secretary of State (1850–1852). Barstow's administration was infamous in its era for corruption involving the railroad industry. For decades after, Barstow's name became synonymous with the epithets "Barstow and the 40 thieves" and "Barstow and the balance", phrases that referred to the participants in a scheme in which Barstow and dozens of lawmakers of both parties received bribes from the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad to influence land grants. Barstow also attempted to steal the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, and then illegitimately occupied the office of governor for the first three months of 1856 until compelled to resign. Despite the ubiquity of the charges against him and a lengthy investigation by the Wisconsin Legislature, Barstow never faced criminal liability over these events.

Before Wisconsin became a state, Barstow had been instrumental in the creation of Waukesha County, from the western half of what had been a larger Milwaukee County. After his gubernatorial term, during the American Civil War, Barstow volunteered for service as a Union Army cavalry officer and rose to the rank of brigadier general, serving mostly in the trans-Mississippi theater of the war. He struggled with disease during nearly his entire service in the war, and died just a few months after the war's conclusion.