Charles Edward Barns

Charles Edward Barns (July 23, 1862 - May 24, 1937) was an American writer, journalist, astronomer, theater impresario, and publisher. Charles Barns was born on July 23, 1862 in Burlington, Wisconsin. He is found in the 1870 and 1880 Censuses of Burlington, Wisconsin enumerated in a household of five children and youths, a housekeeper and a domestic servant. Some background reveals how this came about. The parents of Charles Barns, Caleb Paul Barns/Barnes and Elizabeth Ann (Eddy) Barns, emigrated from New York State to Wisconsin Territory with the early Euro-American settlers, and Caleb Barns began practicing law. He soon gained a reputation as a skilled and conscientious lawyer. Though claiming little motivation for public life, Caleb Barns served in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1850 and 1855). By his mid forties his health was declining, forcing him to abandon the practice of law, and he turned to banking, where he was likewise highly successful. Charles Barns' mother, Elizabeth Eddy (later Barns), along with her sister, Cornelia, was educated at the renowned Emma Willard School for Girls in Troy, New York. As new brides, both sisters settled in Burlington, Wisconsin. Cornelia (as Mrs. David L. Wells) gave birth to two sons; Elizabeth and Caleb Barns had a daughter and two sons. In 1848 David Wells lost his job as Burlington postmaster, rumored to be a result of his liberal, anti-slavery politics. In the early 1850s, the Wells family headed for California, where, within six years, Cornelia died of consumption (tuberculosis). A short time later, David Wells was thrown from a horse and mortally wounded. Sons Asa Eddy Wells and Frederick Elisha Wells boarded a ship in San Francisco and soon joined the Barns household in Wisconsin.