J. F. Barbour III

Jeptha Fowlkes "Jeppie" Barbour III was born on September 7, 1940, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, the eldest child of Jeptha Fowlkes Jr. and Grace LeFlore (Johnson) Barbour. His father was a lawyer who died when he was a child. His mother served as a notary public and gave him the oath of office when her son was elected mayor.{{cite news |author=|date=April 11, 1968 |orig-date= |title=His Honor sworn to duty by mother |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/261320754/ |url-status= |format= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |editor2-link= |editor3-last= |editor3-first= |editor3-link= |editor4-last= |editor4-first= |editor4-link= |editor5-last= |editor5-first= |editor5-link= |display-editors= |department= |work=The Yazoo City Herald |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location= |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page=1 |pages= |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=January 16, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=Mayor J. F. Barbour III was sworn into office Monday night by his mother, Mrs. J. F. Barbour, Jr. and became one of the youngest chief executive officers in the history of the city.}} Jeppie is the older brother of former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour.

In 1968, Barbour became one of the youngest mayors in the history of Yazoo City, when he was elected at age 27. Although he was elected as an independent, Barbour was closely aligned with the Republican Party, having previously served as finance chairman for the Yazoo County GOP. At this time, there was no Republican Municipal Committee to hold a GOP primary.

In 1972, Barbour ran for re-election as a Republican. Despite a record turn-out, Barbour lost to Floyd E. Johnson, a Democrat. Eugene Ward, an African-American, running as Independent, finished a close third behind Barbour.{{cite news |author=|date=April 6, 1972 |orig-date= |title=Floyd Johnson elected mayor |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/254146233/ |url-status= |format= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |editor2-link= |editor3-last= |editor3-first= |editor3-link= |editor4-last= |editor4-first= |editor4-link= |editor5-last= |editor5-first= |editor5-link= |display-editors= |department= |work=The Yazoo City Herald |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location=Yazoo City, Mississippi |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page=1 |pages= |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=January 16, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=Mr. Johnson, the Democratic nominee, won out over incumbent Mayor Jeppie Barbour, who polled 1,099 votes as the Republican nominee and over Eugene Ward, Negro Independent candidate who received 911 votes. }}

After he left office, Barbour became the Mississippi state director of FHA.{{cite news |author=|date=September 2, 1973 |orig-date= |title=FHA approves loan for Yazoo |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/184397525/ |url-status= |format= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |editor2-link= |editor3-last= |editor3-first= |editor3-link= |editor4-last= |editor4-first= |editor4-link= |editor5-last= |editor5-first= |editor5-link= |display-editors= |department= |work=Clarion-Ledger |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location=Jackson, Mississippi |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page=11 |pages= |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=January 17, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=J. F. Barbour, state FHA director, made the announcement to the residents of the eastern section of Yazoo County. }}

{{Portal|Mississippi|Politics}}

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{{succession box

|before=Harry Applebaum

|title=Mayor of Yazoo City, Mississippi

|years=1968–1972

|after=Floyd E. Johnson}}

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Category:1940 births

Category:American Presbyterians

Category:Christians from Mississippi

Category:Living people

Category:People from Yazoo City, Mississippi

Category:Mississippi Republicans

Category:20th-century mayors of places in Mississippi

Category:University of Mississippi alumni

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