John M. Barnett

BARNETT, MCARTHUR, PEARSON, WILSON

Posted By: Judy Wight Branson (email)
Date: 8/14/2004 at 21:48:31

“History of Madison County Iowa and Its People”
Herman A. Mueller, Supervising Editor
Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1915

John M. Barnett, an honored veteran of the Civil war, is one of the venerable and esteemed citizens of Earlham, where he has lived retired since 1912. His birth occurred in Ross county, Ohio, on the 17th of February, 1837, his parents being Hiram and Pauline (McArthur) Barnett, likewise natives of the Buckeye state. They removed to Indiana in 1838 and in that state the father worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker during the remainder of his life, passing away in 1849. His wife was called to her final rest in the year 1848.

John M. Barnett, who was a lad of but twelve years when he lost his parent and was thus early thrown upon his own resources, and he worked in Indiana until he had attained the age of seventeen. He then came to Iowa and for some time was employed as a farm hand in Dallas county, while subsequently he worked at the brick business in Des Moines until the outbreak of the Civil war.

In April, 1861, Mr. Barnett enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of Company D, Second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, continuing with that command for four years, four months and four days and making a most creditable record as a brave and fearless soldier. He participated in the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, on the 6th and 7th of April, 1862, and in numerous other conflicts manifested his unflinching and courageous spirit. The flag of his company now rests in the historical building at Des Moines.

After the cessation of hostilities Mr. Barnett returned to Des Moines and resumed work in the brickyards, also learning the blacksmith's trade. In 1871 he removed to Dallas, county and there followed farming for three years, on the expiration of which period he began the operation of a gristmill in Dexter, being thus engaged for some time. Subsequently he spent several years as a stationary engineer at Des Moines and Grinnell and later made his way to Jamestown, North Dakota, where for two years he manufactured brick for the state asylum. He then went to Oklahoma and took up a claim, which he began improving, operating the place for about eighteen years or until 1912.

In connection with the production of cereals he devoted considerable attention to live stock, raising high-grade animals and owning the finest breed of milch cows in the country. In 1912, however, he put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Earlham, Iowa, there purchasing a pleasant and attractive home in which he has since resided.

In June, 1871, Mr. Barnett was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Wilson, a daughter of John and Lydia (Pearson) Wilson, both of whom were natives of South Carolina. They removed to Ohio in an early day and in 1827 went to Indiana, in which state the father followed farming until 1853, when he came to Iowa, settling on a farm a half mile from Earlham, in Dallas county. There he successfully carried on agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his active business career, accumulating twenty-four hundred acres of valuable and productive land and giving each of his children a quarter section. His demise occurred on the 1st of September, 1881, while his wife was called to her final rest on the 15th of December, 1878.

Mr. and Mrs. Barnett have two children, namely: Ralph W., who is a miner of Cripple Creek, Colorado; and Arthur B., the proprietor of the Progressive Welding Company of Kansas City, Missouri.

Mr. Barnett gives his political allegiance to the Republican party and is a Methodist in religious faith, while his wife was reared a Quaker. He still maintains pleasant relations with his soldier comrades as a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and proudly wears the little bronze button of the organization. He has now passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey and his career has ever been such as to win and hold the friendship and esteem of those with whom he has come in contact.

Madison Biographies maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
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