Cody Barnett was born on August 1, 1889 in Leslie, Arkansas. He was the second husband of Michelle’s great-grandmother Bessie May.

Cody was the oldest child of 5 born to Charles and Francis Ragland Barnett. They were a farm family in Arkansas. In 1900, we find the family in Grant County, Arkansas. At the time they have four living children. One child has died.

By 1910, another child has died as has Charles. Frances and Cody are working the farm with Cody’s two younger siblings, sister Myrtle and brother Marshall living with them. By 1920, Cody is living in Portland and working as a sawyer in a sawmill. It states that he is married but living as a boarder.

Cody’s many marriages

Cody was married at least 4 times that I have traced. His first marriage I found was to Ruby Adams on April 27, 1921 in Vancouver, Washington.

The 1930 census shows him living in Pendleton, Oregon and working as a salesman for life insurance. He is living with a wife at this time. The census lists his wife as Ruth, but I haven’t found a record for a Ruth.

The 1940 census shows him as married and living as a renter in Lane county, Oregon and working as a sawyer again. His second or third marriage was to Lennie Adams, on May 29, 1936 in Portland, Oregon. Cody and Lennie divorced on July 21, 1942.

According to the records, Cody married Jennie Mack on April 4, 1942 in Vancouver, Washington. This was a few months before his divorce, but may have been the cause of it! Jennie died on April 2, 1947.

Cody Barnett married Bessie May Trevett Hodge on July 3, 1949 in Multnomah, Oregon. I wrote about Bessie in this post. 1950 finds them in the Portland area. Cody is working in construction and Bess is working as a salesclerk.

Cody Barnett died on November 21, 1962 in Multnomah, Oregon.

This was a really interesting post to research. I knew about Jennie and Bessie, but had no idea about the other marriages.