John A. Barnet

John A. Barnet served in the 3^rd U.S.C.T with Company B from December 23, 1864, to October 31, 1865. He was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1845, to parents John J. Barnett and Mary Cook.¹ According to the 1860 Census, before his enlistment he was living with the family of Alexander and Eunice Stewart, in Shippensburg. The census lists his occupation as “laborer”, so it is possible he was living with them as hired help, as there are no other sources connecting him to that family, and he is not listed as a child or other relation.² On December 8, 1862, two years before his enlistment, he married Rebecca Dedford in a Presbyterian church in Shippensburg, and according to the ages listed on the 1870 Census, they had their first child, Mary, before Barnet’s enlistment.³ He enlisted in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1864, as a private. He sighed up to serve for a period of three years, and he was listed as being five feet and seven and a half inches tall, with dark hair and eyes, and a dark complexion, and being employed as a barber. He was able to sign his name and could both read and write. Barnet was discharged in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 31, 1865, and the money due to him from the military came to $26.44 for clothing and $6.00 for arms and equipment.⁴ He was likely discharged due to the end of the war, and there are no medical, court, or prisoner of war records from his time in the military.

According to the 1870 Federal Census, John Barnet lived in Southampton, Pennsylvania for a short period of time after his discharge, with an Orrstown post office. He is listed as having three children, Mary, John, and Ellen (listed as Ella or Helen in later census records).⁵ Sometime between the 1870 and 1880 Census, Barnet moved his family back to Shippensburg, where his occupation is listed as “barber”, but at the time of the census he had been unemployed for eight months.⁶ On December 18, 1893, he was installed as an officer in the Masons, as a member of Lincoln Lodge No. 38. The Shippensburg News reported that he also assisted in the ceremony.⁷ His obituary states that he was the oldest African-American member of Lodge No. 38. On the 1900 census, he is recorded to own his own home, with no mortgage, and his daughter Mary had left home.⁸ Her life is not recorded until she appears in John Barnet’s obituary as Mrs. Mary Brown. Between 1900 and 1910 his wife Rebecca passed away, and the 1910 census records him as widowed. At that point he is also listed as working in a barber shop, and as living with his son John, and his daughter Helen Hinton (formerly listed as Ellen or Ella), who was widowed. The 1900 census also calls Helen’s children Charles and Catherine John Barnet’s niece and nephew, but that is probably an error, as every other census record from 1920 forward records them as his grandchildren.⁹ According to the 1920 census, Barnet was living on South Penn Street in a rented home, with his son John, and grandson Charles.¹⁰ Helen does not appear again until Barnet’s obituary, where she is referred to as Mrs. Ella Lewis, living in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. While the year he joined is unknown, Barnet’s obituary states he was a member of the Orange Street A.M.E Church in Shippensburg.

John A. Barnet died on March 9, 1925, at the age of 79, and the funeral ceremony was held in the home of Mrs. Mary Brown, his oldest daughter, on South Penn Street, at 2:30pm. He was survived by all three of his children, as well as four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and his sister, Mrs. Catherine Wilson. He is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.¹¹

1. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967.
2. 1860 United States Federal Census for John Barnetz, 5A.
3. Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013.
4.  Military Service Record of John Barnet, United States Colored Troops.
5. 1870 United States Federal Census for John Barnett, 558B.
6. 1880 United States Federal Census for John Barnett, 494A.
7. “Officers Installed”, The Shippensburg News, 3.
8. 1900 United States Federal Census for John A Barnette, 3.
9. 1910 United States Federal Census for John A Barnett, 6B.
10. 1920 United States Federal Census for John A Barnetts, 5A.
11. “Barnet”, The Chronicle, 4.

Bibliography:

1920 United States Federal Census for John A Barnetts. Ancestry.com. 5A. NARA: Washington, n.d. 1920 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1910 United States Federal Census for John A Barnett. Ancestry.com. 6B. NARA: Washington, n.d. 1910 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1900 United States Federal Census for John A Barnette. Ancestry.com. 3. NARA: Washington, n.d. 1900 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1880 United States Federal Census for John Barnitt. Ancestry.com. 494A. NARA: Washington, n.d. 1880 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1870 United States Federal Census for John Barnett. Ancestry.com. 558B. NARA: Washington, n.d. 1870 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1860 United States Federal Census for John Barnetz. Ancestry.com. 743. NARA: Washington, n.d. 1860 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

John Barnitz. Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records. Ancestry.com. Philadephia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania and New Jersey, U.S., Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 - AncestryLibrary.com

John A Barnett. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1967 - AncestryLibrary.com

“Barnet”. The Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. March 12, 1925. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/88822869

“John A. Barnet Dies”. Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. March 12, 1925. Page 20. https://www.newspapers.com/image/40799349

“Officers Installed”. The Shippensburg News. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Dec 22, 1893. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/88823718

Military Service Record of John Barnet, United States Colored Troops: Company B, 3th US Colored Infantry. National Archives and Records Service.