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John W. Barbee
John Wesley Barbee Jr. (February 12, 1885 - September 2, 1956) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He was a member of the Mississippi Legislature from DeSoto County in the 1910s and 1920s. Early lifeJohn Wesley Barbee Jr. was born on February 12, 1885, near Horn Lake, Mississippi.[1] He was the son of John Wesley Barbee Sr., a former Ku Klux Klan member and Sheriff of DeSoto County, and Isabella McKamy (Frazier) Barbee.[1] He was of Irish and Scottish descent.[2] Barbee attended the public schools of DeSoto County before entering Bethel College in 1900.[1] He spent one year (1902) at Mississippi A&M and graduated from Bethel with a B. S. degree in 1905.[1] He then attended Cumberland University and received a L. L. B. degree in 1910.[1] Professional careerBarbee started practicing law in May 1911.[1] In November 1911, Barbee was elected to represent DeSoto County in the Mississippi House of Representatives, and he served from 1912 to 1916.[1][2] In November 1915, Barbee was elected to represent the 35th District in the Mississippi State Senate for the 1916-1920 term.[1] During his service, he was the Chairman of the Senate's Military Affairs Committee.[1] In 1916, Barbee was a delegate to the year's Democratic National Convention.[3] In 1917, when he was elected to the office of County Attorney of DeSoto County, Barbee resigned from the Senate and was replaced by Joseph Neal Brown.[1] In 1923, Barbee was re-elected to the Senate for the 1924-1928 term.[3] He was appointed to be a special State Circuit Court judge from September to November, 1926.[3] From 1943 to 1948, he was the sheriff of DeSoto County.[4] Personal life and deathBarbee was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and he was also a Freemason and a Knight of Pythias.[3] He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity during college.[3] He married Cora Edna Seitz in 1923.[3] Barbee died after a long illness on September 2, 1956, in Hernando, Mississippi.[4] References
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