Like his brother Congressman/General William Barksdale, Ethelbert Barksdale was born in Smyrna, TN. The Barksdale family moved to Mississippi around 1837. He had a career in journalism and founded the Yazoo Democrat newspaper and ended up editing the Clarion Ledger newspaper. He was elected to the US Congress for the terms 1883-1887. Previously he was elected to both of the Confederate Congresses and was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
He and his wife the former Jane Harris of Holmes County are buried in Greenwood Cemetery.