Joe Bartlett

Dorsey Joseph Bartlett was born on August 7, 1926, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He was the sixth of ten children of Flavius Dorsey Bartlett, an efficiency engineer in the glass business, and Blanche (Hacker) Bartlett. Bartlett lived on the family farm in central West Virginia and attended local schools. After being named "America's Typical Schoolboy Patrolman," he was awarded a 30-day appointment as a HousePage on August 1, 1941,  with the help of Representative Wright Patman of Texas. Later, having impressed Doorkeeper Joe Sinnott and House Clerk South Trimble, Bartlett received Page appointments while serving as Page Overseer and attending the Capitol Page School. Upon graduating in 1944, Bartlett enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was honorably discharged as a Private First Class in September 1945.

Returning to the Capitol after his service in World War II, Bartlett was appointed the Republican chief of Pages by Speaker Joe Martin of Massachusetts. He oversaw the work of several dozen House Pages, some as young as 11 years old. Commissioned from the ranks of the Marine Corps Reserve, Bartlett was recalled to active duty in January 1951 and served until June of 1952. From 1953 to 1971,Bartlett was a House reading clerk, sharing duties on the rostrum and working with the Speaker's and the Clerk's offices on numerous floor-related and administrative tasks. Bartlett also served as chief reading clerk for six Republican National Conventions. From May 1971until he retired, Bartlett served as Minority Clerk.

In January 1979, a year after retiring from the Marine Corps as a Brigadier General, Bartlett retired from the House. During his career, Bartlett received honorary law degrees from the Atlanta Law School and Salem College. He was also awarded the Legion of Merit, and in 1982 he was the Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Federal Executive Institute. Joe Bartlett died on March 1, 2013, at his home in Richmond, Virginia.