J. M. BARTLETT, ex-mayor of Batesville, is of Indiana nativity, born in Owen County, on the 4th of November, 1844, and since his location in this county in 1883, he has been closely identified with its material affairs, and associated with its progress and development. His parents, James C. and Sarah (ALEXANDER) BARTLETT, were natives of Kentucky and North Carolina, respectively. The father settled in Owen County, Ind., in 1831, locating at Gosport, and was a tanner by trade, which occupation he followed for years. He subsequently engaged in tilling the soil, and has lived on the same farm for fifty years, residing within four miles of Gosport. In their family were twelve children, four only now living: Louisa, wife of James ALVERSON; Richard P., Jesse M. and Jackson A. The father was married the second time in February, 1859, and one child was born to this union, Lawrence, who is now at home.
       The maternal grandfather of J. M. BARTLETT emigrated to Indiana and located in what is now Owen County, then a territory adjoining the Indian Nation. He erected a house within half a mile of the Indian Nation line. He was a farmer by occupation, and died in that county in his eighty-fourth year. The paternal grandfather died in Kentucky. J. M. BARTLETT’s youth and early manhood were passed in his native county, and there he attended the schools which favored him with a good education. Reared to the arduous duties of the farm, he continued this pursuit until in October, 1875, when he removed to Paris, Ill., and there remained about one year. From there he went to St. Louis, where he was engaged in the livery business for six years, and after that was with the Christian Mfg. Company for one year. In 1883 he came to Batesville, Ark., and in 1884 he embarked in the livery business, which he still carries on. He owns a fine sandstone quarry near Batesville, and is president of the Zinc-Blende Mining Company, who are operating over 250 acres of mining land, with a capital stock of $1,500,000. He was elected mayor of Batesville, in 1886, and re-elected in 1887, which position he held until 1889. He owns a stone building on Main Street, two stories high, 38 feet front and 120 feet long, the lot 150 feet deep. Mr. BARTLETT is also a stockholder and director in the Batesville Telephone. On the 2nd of September, 1869 at Charleston, Ill., Miss Mary A. DUNIVIN, a native of Coles County, became his wife. One child was born to this union, Edwin C. Mr. BARTLETT is a member of the I. O. O. F., K. of H., and he and his wife are members of the K. & L. of H.
~~~~~~~ [Ref: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeast Arkansas: Independence County. (Chicago: Goodspeed Publishers, 1889), p. 639.

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