Alfred Smith Barnes
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__NOTOC__ Alfred Smith Barnes (January 28, 1817 – February 17, 1888) was an American publisher and philanthropist.


Early life

Barnes was born in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, to Eli Barnes of
Southington, Connecticut Southington ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion, Mil ...
, a farmer and innkeeper, who founded the hamlet of "Barnesville", which is now
Fair Haven, Connecticut Fair Haven is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of New Haven, Connecticut, between the Mill and Quinnipiac rivers. The northeast section of the neighborhood is also known as Chatham Square. Fair Haven is located about two miles eas ...
. His mother's maiden name was "Morris", and her family came from Morris Cove, Connecticut. Barnes went to primary school in
Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( ) is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 27,298 at the time ...
, but he left when his father died in 1827. At the age of 12, Barnes was placed with an uncle, Deacon Norman Smith, who lived near
Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, and he was schooled by Prof.
Jesse Olney Jesse Olney (12 October 1798 – 31 July 1872) was an American geographer. He was active in the improvement of school textbooks on the subject of geography. His work was rewarded with substantial sales, second only to Noah Webster's ''American Spe ...
, working on his uncle's farm in the summer.


Career

As a young man, Barnes worked as a clerk in a shoe store, then for D. F. Robinson & Co., a publisher in Hartford, where he learned the publishing trade. While in Hartford, he successfully published books aimed at the educational market by Charles Davies on mathematics and
Emma Willard Emma Willard ( Hart; February 23, 1787 – April 15, 1870) was an American female education activist who dedicated her life to education. She worked in several schools and founded the first school for women's higher education in the United State ...
on history, in a joint venture between the three of them. Barnes then moved to Philadelphia in 1840, where for four years he built a publishing company, which he then transferred to New York City. After passing through a number of partners and company names, Barnes settled on "A. S. Barnes & Co." in 1865. A. S. Barnes was a family operation: eventually, his five sons, his brother and one nephew were connected to the firm, which became the leading publisher of
textbooks A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...
in the United States, as well as issuing general interest books on a wide range of subjects. Barnes himself became well-connected in New York society. He was a member of the
Union League Club of New York The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hi ...
, a long-time member and supporter of the
Long Island Historical Society The Center for Brooklyn History (CBH, formerly known as the Brooklyn Historical Society) is a museum, library, and educational center founded in 1863 that preserves and encourages the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. The center's Romanesque ...
and its Director for 21 years from 1867 until his death, ''Proceedings of the Long Island Historical Society in memory of ... Alfred Smith Barnes''
pp. 14–15.
and a trustee of the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, where he lived for many years. He was associated with the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
, the
New York Elevated Railroad New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...
– for which he was a notable proponent – the
Hanover Bank Manufacturers Hanover Corporation was an American bank holding company that was formed as parent of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company (MHT or, informally, Manny Hanny), a large New York City bank formed through a merger in 1961 with ancestor c ...
, the
Dime Savings Bank Dime Savings Bank may refer to: * Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh, Brooklyn * Dime Savings Bank of New York The Dime Savings Bank of New York, originally the Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn, was a bank headquartered in Brooklyn, New York City ...
and the Home Insurance Company. As a
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, Barnes was a major benefactor of
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, where he founded
Barnes Hall Barnes Hall is a student-services building located in the center of the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. It was built in 1887 in a Romanesque style and has 21,618 sq ft. History John R. Mott, Cornell Class of 1888, was concerned ab ...
, and was also associated with
Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...
in Tennessee. He supported academies and churches in Brooklyn as well, and contributed $3000 towards the construction of a building for the Long Island Historical Society.


Family life

Barnes managed his company until his retirement in 1880. He was married twice, in 1840 to Harriet E. Burr, with whom he had ten children, and in 1883 to Mary Matthews Smith. His son,
Alfred Cutler Barnes __NOTOC__ Alfred Smith Barnes (January 28, 1817 – February 17, 1888) was an American publisher and philanthropist. Early life Barnes was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Eli Barnes of Southington, Connecticut, a farmer and innkeeper, who foun ...
, took over the business after the death of his father, later helping to form the conglomerate American Book Company, under which "A. S. Barnes" continued as an imprint. Barnes died at his Brooklyn Heights home, which later became the
Brooklyn Women's Club The Brooklyn Woman's Club was an organization founded in 1869 and incorporated in 1871. Laura Curtis Bullard cofounded the organization along with her friend Elizabeth Tilton and others, and served as its first president. In 1912, the club moved t ...
.


A. S. Barnes & Co.

A. S. Barnes published textbooks under the "Library for Teachers" imprint: one of their earliest best sellers was ''Clark's English Grammar''. Barnes published
Joel Dorman Steele Joel Dorman Steele (May 14, 1836 – May 25, 1886) was an American educator. He and his wife Esther Baker Steele were important textbook writers of their period, on subjects including American history, chemistry, human physiology, physics, as ...
's ''Fourteen Weeks'' science book series beginning in 1867 and his ''Barnes Brief History of the United States'' in 1871. The company also put out ''Watson's Readers'', ''Davies' Arithmetic'', ''Monteith's Geography'' and the ''National Series of Standard Science Books''. Barnes occasionally published fiction, such as Joseph Lincoln's first novel, '' Cap'n Ernie''. The company also published trade magazines (''Education Bulletin'', ''National Teacher's Weekly'', ''International Review''), manufactured furniture for schools, and sold classroom supplies. After Alfred Barnes' death, and the takeover of the company by his son, Alfred C. Barnes, and the formation of the American Book Company conglomerate,
Ripley Hitchcock Ripley Hitchcock (born James Ripley Wellman Hitchcock; 1857–1918) was a prominent American editor. He edited the works of Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Zane Grey, Joel Chandler Harris, Stephen Crane and Theodore Dreiser. Biography Rip ...
became editor-in-chief, bringing with him
Gilbert Parker Sir Horatio Gilbert George Parker, 1st Baronet (23 November 1862 – 6 September 1932), known as Gilbert Parker, Canadian novelist and British politician, was born at Camden East, Addington, Ontario, the son of Captain Joseph Parker, R.A. Ed ...
,
Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...
and
Stewart Edward White Stewart Edward White (March 12, 1873 – September 18, 1946) was an American writer, novelist, and Spiritualist. He was a brother of noted mural painter Gilbert White. Personal life White was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Mary E. ...
. The new regime published educational books edited by Margaret Sangster as well as her ''Woman's Home Library'' series; the 17-volume ''Trail Makers'' series and ''New Barnes Writing Books'', which created a sensation. The company incorporated in 1909, in order to provide fresh working capital, needed after acquiring another publishing firm. In 1917, a merger with Prang Co. was attempted, but abandoned after a few months. The company split up, with John Barnes Pratt acquiring the rights to the company name and much of the back catalog. 1941, the American Sports Publishing Company, publishers of the
Spalding Athletic Library Spalding Athletic Library were a series of sports and exercise books published through "American Sports Publishing Company" from 1892 to 1941. Both brands were owned and founded by American sporting goods manufacturer Spalding (company), Spalding. ...
, was sold to A.S. Barnes. The Spalding Athletic Library provided books for over 30 different sports. In the 1950s, A.S. Barnes & Company became the major publisher of sports reference books, with groundbreaking books such as ''The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball'' by Hy Turkin and S. C. Thompson and Roger Treat's ''Football Encyclopedia.'' Both titles represented the first entry in the genre for their respective sports. In 1958, A. S. Barnes was acquired by Thomas Yoseloff, who merged his namesake publishing company into Barnes as an imprint.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Alfred Smith American book publishers (people) 1817 births 1888 deaths People from Brooklyn Heights 19th-century American businesspeople