Danford N. Barney

Who was Danford N. Barney?

Danford Newton Barney was an American expressman who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company from 1853 to 1866.

Some writers have incorrectly rendered Barney's given name as "Danforth", but his brother Ashbel H. Barney spelled it "Danford" in a notice to Wells Fargo shareholders in 1869, and D.N. Barney himself signed the articles of incorporation of the New York Elevated Railroad in 1871 as "Danford N. Barney".

Barney was born in 1808 at Henderson, New York, the son of John and Sarah Barney. He was a descendant of Jacob Barney of Bradenham, Buckinghamshire, England, who settled at Salem, Massachusetts, about 1630. John Barney was a farmer in Jefferson County, New York, when his sons Danford and Ashbel were born.

As a young man, Danford Barney went to Sacketts Harbor, New York, where he was cashier in a bank. On October 8, 1833, he married Cynthia Maria Cushman, daughter of Peter Newcomb Cushman and Sally Cushman. The couple were the parents of three children:

Danford Newton Barney, Jr., d. 1861, Irvington-on-Hudson, New York.

father of Danford Newton Barney III, Hartford Electric Light Company