Born in 1760, Barton was the third son of William Barton (1723–1792), of Grove House,
Fethard,
County Tipperary, by his marriage to Grace Massy, a daughter of
Charles Massy,
Dean of Limerick. He was baptized into the
Church of Ireland on 25 April 1760 at
St Peter's, Aungier Street, Dublin. His brothers included
Thomas Barton (1757–1820) and
General Sir Robert Barton (1768–1853). In 1792, he was promoted to Major, and in December 1796, still serving in the 2nd Life Guards, from Lieutenant-Colonel to Major-General. In 1805 he again became Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Life Guards by
purchase, by which he gained command of the regiment. He was still its Lieutenant-Colonel in 1811, while it was fighting in the Peninsular War. During that war, on 25 April 1808, Barton was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and was still a serving officer when he died in 1819 at the age of 59. In 1816, while Barton was living at 1, Montague Place,
Mayfair, a man was hanged for breaking into his house and stealing a pistol. At the time of his death, Barton owned an estate in
County Fermanagh called the Waterfoot, near
Pettigo, which was inherited by his eldest son.
Thomas Carlyle later described Barton as "...an Irish landlord and a man of connections about Court, lived in a certain figure here in Town; had a wife of fashionable habits, with other sons, and also daughters, bred in this sphere. These, all of them, were amiable, elegant, and pleasant people." ==Private life==