Creation Date

1880s
circa 1900

Description

Richard and Miranda Barnes and their descendants played and important part in the history of Fillmore County and Minnesota. Richard Duxbury was born in Lancaster, England in 1833. He came to America in 1848 with his parents. Richard came to Fillmore County, Minnesota in June 1858 and made a claim on a farm near Harmony. He married Mary Miranda Barns on March 11, 1858. Richard enlisted in the Hotchkiss' Battery Light Artillery on September 13, 1864 and served for the remainder of the Civil War, being discharged on August 16, 1865. 

M. Miranda was born on March 25, 1843 and was the daughter of Moses and Polly (Bingham) Barnes. This family came to Big Spring, Fillmore County in February 1854. In April of that same year, Moses Barns built a double log house and ran a hotel there for several years. As this hotel was on the Dubuque-St. Paul Stage line, it was a successful business. Moses Barns was appointed Postmaster of the Big Spring Post Office in 1856.

Richard and Miranda had 10 children. One of them, F.A. "Bert" Duxbury, was a school teacher and lawyer. Eventually he became a Minnesota State Senator from Caledonia in 1910 and was re-elected in 1914. He was also a Republican candidate for Congress in 1916. His grandson, Lloyd Duxbury, Jr., later followed his tracks and was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1950, serving as House minority leader from 1950-1962 and then Speaker of the House from 1963 to 1970. 

This framed portrait shows the patriarch, Richard, and matriarch, Miranda, of the Duxbury family. Richard is seen in his older years, having lived until the age 74, but Miranda is shown at a younger age, having died at the age of 48.