Born near Greeneville, N.C. (now Tennessee), Senator Barton moved to the Territory of Missouri in 1809. He was elected attorney general of the Territory in 1813, served as first circuit judge of Howard County in 1815 and its presiding judge in 1816, and became a member of the territorial house of representatives in 1818, where he served as speaker. In 1820, he served as president of the convention that formed the state constitution. Upon the admission of Missouri into the Union. he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served from August 10, 1821 to March 3, 1831. During his 10 years in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, a position from which he opposed many of President Andrew Jackson’s policies. Returning to Missouri following his 1830 reelection defeat, he was re-elected to the state senate in 1834-1835.