Bert J. Barnett

Bert Jefferson Barnett^[1] was born on April 30, 1884, in Standing Pine, Mississippi.^[2] He was the son of Confederate veteran John William Bennett^[3] and his wife Virginia "Jennie" Chadwick (died 1933).^[4][5][6] His siblings included future Governor Ross Barnett (1898-1987),^[5] Horace Chadwick Barnett (c. 1882 - 1937),^[7] John W. Barnett (June 1, 1893 - June 17, 1971),^[8][9] Dr. F. J. Barnett (c. 1874 - 1935),^[10] Mary Barnett, Nell Barnett Brown, and Ruth Barnett Phillips.^[4][11] Barnett attended the public schools of Leake County.^[12] He then attended Western Kentucky State Normal College and then Mississippi Normal College.^[12][5]

He worked as a teacher in Central Mississippi.^[2][12] This included a stint as superintendent of the Agricultural High School in Leake County.^[3] In 1927, Barnett was elected chancery clerk of Leake County and served a term from 1928 to 1932.^{[13][14][2][12]} In August 1931, he ran for re-election against George Chadwick and two other candidates, and had to face Chadwick in a runoff election.^[15] He was re-elected and served a second term from 1932 to 1936.^[12]

In February 1935, he announced his candidacy to represent the 17th District (Leake & Neshoba Counties) in the Mississippi State Senate for the 1936–1940 term.^[5] He was elected over two opponents in the first Democratic primary.^[16][2][17] In the primary results, Barnett received 6100 votes, while W. A. Ellis received 2048 votes and Dr. O. C. Ingram received 3053 votes.^[16] During that term, he was chairman of the Pensions Committee, vice chairman of both the Constitution and County Affairs Committees, and also served on the following committees: Agriculture, Commerce & Manufacturing; Fees & Salaries; and Roads, Ferries & Bridges.^[2] In March 1937, Barnett was injured while inspecting timber near Lena, and was subsequently hospitalized.^[18]

In March 1938, Barnett announced his campaign for the office of State Auditor of Mississippi for the 1940–1944 term.^[19][20] The campaign was formally announced on January 1, 1939.^[21] In August 1939, shortly before the first Democratic primary, a rally was held for him by citizens of Carthage in his home county.^[22] In the first primary on August 8, Barnett got the second-most votes out of four candidates.^[23] During the runoff primary on August 29, Barnett was the sole opponent of top vote getter, Field Auditor James M. Causey; Barnett lost the runoff with 134,650 votes compared to Causey's 153,580 votes.^[23] From 1940 to 1943, Barnett served as auditor and business manager of the Mississippi State Hospital.^[24]

In March 1943, Barnett announced his candidacy for auditor for the 1944–1948 term.^[24] Barnett ran unopposed in the primary and in the November 2 general election.^[25][26] He was inaugurated in January 1944.^[27] On January 23, 1944, Barnett announced the names of his staff, including Deputy Auditor J. S. McIlwain.^[28] His term ended in 1948.^[27]

On January 1, 1949, Governor Fielding Wright appointed Barnett to be business manager of the State Charity Hospital in Jackson.^[11] He died in the Foundation Hospital at New Orleans on the morning of March 17, 1949.^[11]

Barnett was a member of the Baptist Church.^[12] He was also a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Rotarians.^[12] He was married to Joyce Ellis (c. 1886 - 1959)^[29] and they had one daughter, Marjorie (September 12, 1919 - February 3, 1999).^{[11][30][31][32]} Marjorie married Champion Merle Wilbourn in 1941 and they had a daughter.^[33][30] She later married James Harold Roberts in 1956 and Lindsey M. Hoover in 1967.^[1][34]