While en route to California, the Barnett family, along with a group of enslaved individuals, reached Utah in either 1848 or 1849. They did not stay long. Utah military records dated February 1850 include the name "B. B. Barnett" along with his signature. It is unclear as to when the family left Utah, but they had reached California by October 25, 1850. That is the date they were enumerated on the 1850 California census.