Early Life
Barringer was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, the ninth of ten children of Elizabeth Brandon and Paul Barringer. His brother Victor Clay Barringer was also an officer in the Confederate States Army. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1842. He studied law in Concord with his older brother, Daniel Moreau Barringer, who would enjoy a successful law practice and serve two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Entering politics as a Whig, Rufus Barringer represented Cabarrus County in the House of Commons in the North Carolina General Assembly from 1848 until 1850. A Unionist in his political views, he represented his district as an elector during the 1860 presidential election.
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