Interview begins with discussion of Henry Barnett's parents, Emma Klein and Benjamin J. Barnett. While little was known about the Klein family, Barnett recalls his mother grew up in Pennsylvania and her father was a rabbi; the family may have originally come from Austria-Hungary. As for the Barnett family, Benjamin J. Barnett emigrated from Europe (possibly Estonia) in the 1830s-1840s and settled in Manville, South Carolina, for reasons unknown. B.J. Barnett (as he was known) fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and surrendered at Appomattox. After the war, Barnett married his wife, Lauria (a Canadian) and made his living as a peddler. The Barnett family moved to Sumter, South Carolina, around 1880, and B.J. Barnett opened a general merchandise store called B.J. Barnett's. The family built several large homes in Sumter and settled into a comfortable lifestyle. Barnett notes that his grandfather's store often served as a gathering place for area farmers who accompanied their wives to Sumter for shopping excursions. Barnett's father later ran the business until it was bought out by the A & P Grocery store in the mid 1940s. The family maintained a smaller version of B.J. Barnett's, which was incorporated in 1948 and still exists today. Barnett also describes his grandfather and father's farming ventures and association with sharecropping. Interview continues with further recollection of the Barnett family's history in Sumter. Barnett describes his family's cotton business and the way it was moved and sold. He recalls various schools he attended as a child and his father's experience as Sumter's first city manager. He mentions his family's background as Reform Jews and notes that he was confirmed rather than bar mitzvahed; discussion regarding the difference between the two ensues. Barnett did not recall anti-Semitism in Sumter and notes that Jewish inhabitants were an honest lot. Interview concludes with discussion of Harry and Patty Levi Barnett's courtship and subsequent marriage. The two grew up together in Sumter and their families were close. They married in 1950 after Barnett's return from World War II, and they regularly attended Sumter's Reform temple. Both note that intermarriage of gentiles and Jews is prevalent in Sumter and did not strengthen the temple. Patty Barnett also mentions her ancestor Moses Levi, a famous South Carolina Jew.
