William Robbins Barnes (1866 - 1945)

Born 12 May 1866 in Hinsdale, DuPage, Illinois

Ancestors

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Biography

William Barnes is Notable.

Who was William Robbins Barnes?

William Robbins Barnes was a co-founder of the bookselling firm Barnes & Noble. His partner in the venture was his father’s friend Gilbert Clifford Noble. Shortly after the Civil War, William’s father Rev. Charles Barnes was the first to buy a lot in a new town being put together in Illinois just west of Chicago. The town was Hinsdale and it was being created by a man named William Robbins. Robbins created a marketing promotion that offered a free lot to the first boy born in Hinsdale. On May 12, 1866, the Rev. Charles Barnes and his wife Ellen had the winning boy and fittingly named him William Robbins Barnes.

Famous Kin

It seems only fitting that among the famous kin of William Barnes is the dictionary publisher Noah Webster. Other literary kin for William Barnes include Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, and Clarence Day. Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy Magazine, is also among the kin of William Barnes.

William Barnes is a descendant of Mayflower passenger and Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford. Former U.S. Presidents in his family tree include Franklin Pierce, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, and both Presidents Bush. William Barnes also has a number of celebrity kin including actor Clint Eastwood, TV chef Julia Child, actor Christopher Reeve, actress Sally Field, actor James Spader, singer Grace Slick, actor John Lithgow, singer and actor Bing Crosby, TV host Dick Clark, actress Jodie Foster, singer Janis Joplin and many others.^[1]

Marriages for William Robbins Barnes

Spouse: Blanch Estelle Wilcox

Marriage Date: 30 Nov 1896

Spouse: Ella Hurtt

Marriage Date: ABT 1912^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Famous Kin
2. ↑ Famous Kin

• Wikipedia, "Barnes & Noble", (accessed 10/19/2016)
• Federal Census, NY, New York County, 1930, Manhattan, E.D. 31-552, Sheet 5A, Image 9 of 58, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• Federal Census, NY, New York County, 1920, Manhattan A.D. 11, E.D. 834, Sheet 19A, Image 37 of 37, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• Federal Census, IL, Cook County, 1910, Chicago Ward 25, E.D. 1047, Sheet 11B, Image 22 of 28, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• Federal Census, IL, Cook County, 1900, Chicago Ward 25, E.D. 770, Sheet 1A, Image 1 of 34, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• Federal Census, IL, Cook County, 1880, Chicago, E.D. 114, p. 18, Image 18 of 44, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• Federal Census, IL, Kane County, 1870, Elgin, p. 120, Image 120 of 169, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Death claim for William Robbins Barnes, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• Dunham, Isaac Watson, Dunham Genealogy: Deacon John Dunham of Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1589-1669, and His Descendants, Norwich, Connecticut: Bulletin Print (1907), 84, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
• U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, SAR #24144, Application for William Robbins Barnes, Ancestry.com (Online Database).