William S. Barry

William S. Barry (born William Taylor Sullivan Barry; December 10, 1821 – January 29, 1868) was a Mississippi politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was president of the January 1861 Mississippi Secession Convention, and served as a member of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. After leaving the Confederate Congress, he enlisted as a soldier in the American Civil War, serving as commanding officer of the 35th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.

Biography Born in Columbus, Mississippi, William S. Barry graduated from Yale College in 1841 and was initiated into Skull and Bones Society in his last year. He was admitted to the bar in 1844 and then practiced law in Columbus, Ohio. He served as member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1849 to 1851. He was elected as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives in the Thirty-third Congress (March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855), then returned to the state legislature, becoming Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1856 to 1857. By 1860, he held seven people as slaves.

A staunch secessionist, Barry served as president of the Mississippi secession convention in January 1861. He was captured and paroled at the Siege of Vicksburg,

Personal life and family Barry was the son of Columbus residents Richard Barry and Mary (Sullivan) Barry. He was married to Sarah Fearn. Their son, William Shelby Barry (born 1857), represented Leflore County in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1888 to 1890 and from 1912 to 1920.