Charles Edward Barns

{{Short description|American journalist (1862–1937)}} {{Infobox writer  | name = Charles Edward Barns | image = Charles Edward Barns 1862-1937 boyhood.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Charles Edward Barns, early 1870s | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date |1862|07|23}} | birth_place = [[Burlington, Wisconsin]], US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1937|05|24|1862|07|23}} | death_place = [[Morgan Hill, California]], US | resting_place = | occupation = journalist, short story writer, novelist, science writer {{Infobox person |child=yes| employer = New York Tribune}} | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = Columbia University | period = 1889-1929 | genre = short stories | subject = science, travel | movement = | notableworks = The Amaranth and the Beryl; An Elegy, 1001 Celestial Wonders as Observed with Home-Built Instruments | spouse = Mabel Balston (1884-1936) | partner = | children = 3 | relatives = [[Caleb P. Barns]] (father), Elizabeth Eddy (mother), [[Cornelia Barns]] (daughter) | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = {{URL|www.burlingtonhistory.org}} | portaldisp = }}'''Charles Edward Barns''' (July 23, 1862 – May 24, 1937) was an American writer, journalist, astronomer, theater impresario, and publisher.

== Early life == Charles Barns was born on July 23, 1862, in Burlington, Wisconsin. He is found in the 1870 and 1880 [[US Census|Censuses]] of [[Burlington, Wisconsin]], enumerated in a household of five children and youths, a housekeeper and a domestic servant.<ref name="1870 Census">{{cite web|author=National Archives and Records Administration|title=Burlington, Racine, Wisconsin|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=1870 United States Federal Census 1870|publisher=Ancestry.com|access-date=28 Jan 2013}}</ref><ref name="1880 Census" /> Some background reveals how this came about.

The parents of Charles Barns, [[Caleb P. 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.<ref name="WI Bar Assoc 1905">{{cite book|last=State Bar Association of Wisconsin|title=Proceedings of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin|date=1905|publisher=Wisconsin State Bar Association|location=Madison, WI|pages=243–244|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eM8AAAAIAAJ}}</ref> 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).<ref name="Legis 1849">{{cite news|title=The Next Legislature|newspaper=Wisconsin Democrat|date=24 Nov 1849}}</ref> 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.<ref name="WI Bar Assoc 1905" />

Charles Barns' mother, Elizabeth Eddy (later Barns), along with her sister, Cornelia, was educated at the renowned [[Emma Willard School|Emma Willard School for Girls]] in [[Troy, New York]].<ref name="Honeymoon Home 1954">{{cite news|title=Honeymoon Home Built Century Ago By David Wells is New Bus Station|newspaper=Burlington Free Press|date=15 Apr 1954}}</ref> 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, [[Free Soil Party|anti-slavery politics]].<ref name="Wells 1848">{{cite news|title=David L. Wells|url=http://www.genealogybank.com|access-date=3 Feb 2013|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|date=6 Dec 1848}}</ref> In the early 1850s, the Wells family headed for California, where, within six years, Cornelia died of [[Consumption (disease)|consumption]] (tuberculosis).<ref name="Honeymoon Home 1954" /> A short time later, David Wells was thrown from a horse and mortally wounded.<ref name="Honeymoon Home 1954" /> Sons Asa Eddy Wells and Frederick Elisha Wells boarded a ship in San Francisco and soon joined the Barns household in Wisconsin. After their arrival, two Barns boys, Frederick and Charles were born. When young Charles was two years old, his mother Elizabeth died from tuberculosis.<ref name="Honeymoon Home 1954" /> Just three years later, his father, Caleb, finally succumbed to his chronic illness.<ref name="CP Barns Obit">{{cite news|title=Obituary|newspaper=Burlington Standard|date=30 Oct 1866}}</ref> In a note to the Teutonia Glee Club, which had recently performed at their house, Charles' dying father, Caleb, had written,

<blockquote>But I commend the childhood of my two little boys to your kindness and care so far, that you shall be ever ready to discourage in them every deviation from the path of rectitude and virtue––and whenever in after years, you shall meet them and think of me––tell them that I have charged you to repeat the words: Industry––Integrity and Truth.<ref name="Teutonia Glee Club">{{cite news|last=Barns|first=Caleb Paul|title=My Good Old Neighbors and Faithful Friends|newspaper=Burlington Standard|date=30 Oct 1866}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Three orphaned children === Caleb Barns left a sufficient estate to provide for his children's education and well-being.<ref name="Fred Barns Memoriam">{{cite book|last=Friend|first=A. I.|title=In Memorial: Fred W. Barns|date=1883|location=Burlington, WI|pages=14|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Three carefully chosen guardians (family friends Antony Meinhardt and C. E. Dyer and older cousin Asa Eddy Wells),<ref name="Fred Barns Memoriam" /><ref name="Probate 1876">{{cite news|title=In Probate|newspaper=The Standard|date=10 Feb 1876}}</ref> oversaw the housekeeper and servant who managed the home. In their teens, the Barns brothers, who had been educated in Burlington’s schools, enrolled at the newly opened Racine Academy.<ref name="Racine 1879">{{cite book|last=Butterfield|first=C. W.|title=The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties|date=1879|publisher=Wisconsin Western Historical Company|pages=420}}</ref> Frederick Barns entered [[Williams College]], where he was an outstanding student, but dropped out in favor of a business career.<ref name="Fred Barns Memoriam" /> By 1880, at 17 and 19, Charles and Frederick Barns were enumerated in the [[U.S. Census]] as clerks in a loan office.<ref name="1880 Census">{{ cite web|author=National Archives and Records Administration|title=Burlington, Racine, Wisconsin|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=Tenth Census of the United States, 1880|publisher=Ancestry.com|access-date=6 Feb 2013}}</ref> They were involved at the time as partners in a new bank. In 1883 Frederick and Asa Eddy Wells had gone to Nebraska as banking partners. On a visit home to Burlington Frederick died suddenly of typhoid fever. Only Charles and his sister, who had lived with a grand aunt much of the past 20 years and studied in Europe, remained. She married a Canadian-born lawyer, Hector Baxter, in 1885.

== Career == Barns began to follow his father’s footsteps by enrolling in the [[Columbia University Law School]] in 1884.<ref name="Sawyer 1922">{{cite book|last=Sawyer|first=Eugene T.|title=History of Santa Clara County, California|date=1922|publisher=Historic Record Co|location=Los Angeles|pages=1111–2|url=http://www.santaclararesearch.net/SCBIOS/cebarns.html}}</ref> He was a man of many interests, and soon drifted toward the study of science and math, launching a lifelong fascination with astronomy and related fields.<ref name="Sawyer 1922" />

After his first semester of law school, Charles Barns married Mabel E. Balston on December 17, 1884.<ref name="Barns-Balston">{{cite news|title=Married|url=http://www.genealogybank.com|access-date=28 Jan 2013|newspaper=New York Tribune|date=19 Dec 1884}}</ref> Mabel was the daughter of a businessman who immigrated from Nova Scotia and sold hay and cotton presses in Brooklyn. Their first child, [[Cornelia Barns|Cornelia Baxter Barns]], was born on 25 September 1888. Frederick Balston Barns followed on 19 November 1890. The third child was Mabel Anne, born 19 November 1892.<ref name="Anne 1885">{{cite web|title=San Francisco: Mabel Anne Barns|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]|publisher=Ancestry.com|access-date=7 Feb 2013}}</ref> Charles Barns, meanwhile, had gained a staff position on the ''[[New York Herald]]''.<ref name="Sawyer 1922" />

=== Novelist and short story writer === [[File:Charles Barns title page Amaranth and the Beryl 1889.jpg|thumb|160 px |Title Page to ''The Amaranth and the Beryl'', 1889.]] [[File:Black cat 189510 v1 n1.jpg|thumb|160 px |Magazine Cover for ''The Black Cat'', October 1895.]] While in his early twenties Charles Barns experienced a severe health problem. To regain his strength, he set out on a trip to the Orient, where he visited towns in China, Japan, and India.<ref name="Sawyer 1922" /> His experiences during this time served as a rich source of material for later short stories and novels.

After his travels, Barns published six literary works, all in 1889, and printed by Willard Fracker & Co. of New York:<ref name="New books 1889">{{cite news|title=New Books and New Editions|url=http://genealogybank.com|access-date=28 Jan 2013|newspaper=New York Herald-Tribune|date=26 Jun 1889}}</ref> * ''The Amaranth and the Beryl; an Elegy'' * ''Digby: Chess Professor'' * ''A Disillusioned Occultist'' * ''A Portrait in Crimsons''. A Drama-novel. * ''Solitarius to His Dæmon; Three Papers'' * ''A Venetian Study in Black and White''

The dedication to ''The Amaranth and the Beryl'' stated "In Memoriam, My Brother." It was a poem written for Frederick, who died at twenty-two.<ref name="Fred Barns Memoriam" /> ''Solitarius'' was dedicated to his older cousin and guardian: "To A. Eddy Wells These Efforts Are Warmly Dedicated."<ref>{{cite book|last=Barns|first=Charles Edward|title=Solitarius to his Daemon, Three Papers|date=1889|publisher=W. Fracker & Co.|location=New York}}</ref> ''A Disillusioned Occultist'' was dedicated to "My Companion and Fellow Student in India."<ref name="Disillusioned Occultist">{{cite book|last=Barns|first=Charles Edward|title=A Disillusioned Occultist|date=1889|publisher=Fracker & Co.|location=New York, NY|url=http://www.Googlebooks.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208035725/http://www.googlebooks.com/|archive-date=2010-02-08}}</ref> One reviewer, however, evaluated the books' appearance as worthier than the content. Barns responded by dedicating his next book, <blockquote> To My Unappeasable Critics, . . . I Dedicate This Volume With the rash hope of some day meriting their love, their admiration, and a hearty hand-shake.<ref name="Portrait in Crimsons">{{cite book|last=Barns|first=Charles Edward|title=A Portrait in Crimsons|date=1889|publisher=Fracker & Co.|location=New York|url=http://www.Googlebooks.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208035725/http://www.googlebooks.com/|archive-date=2010-02-08}}</ref> </blockquote> By 1900 Charles Edward Barns had gained high regard as a writer and journalist. Such was his reputation, that he undertook a little scheme. Three colleagues were of the opinion that a third-rate submission by a known writer would be accepted by editors over a first-rate work by an unknown.<ref name="Prize winner 1900">{{cite news|last=Barns|first=Charles Edward|title=The Story of a Prize Winner|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html|access-date=6 Feb 2013|newspaper=New York Herald|date=26 May 1900}}</ref> As the ''[[The Black Cat (US magazine)|Black Cat Magazine]]'' was sponsoring a contest, Barns proposed to write two short stories of equal merit, submitted under two different names: "Charles Edward Barns" and "S. C. Brean," the latter a transposition of the letters of his name. When the contest closed, the $500 prize was awarded to "S. C. Brean," while the work of Charles Edward Barns failed to merit distinction.<ref name="Prize winner 1900" /> Barns was pleased to discover one publisher for whom "pure merit" determined the outcome.<ref name="Prize winner 1900" />

=== Representative short stories === Some of Barns's short stories include:<ref name="Barns pubs">{{cite web|last=Contento|first=William|title=Stories, Listed by Author|url=http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/s363.htm#A6011|work=The FictionMags Index|publisher=Galactic Central Publications|access-date=12 Feb 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113011236/http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/s363.htm#A6011|archive-date=13 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Title !! Magazine !! Date |- | The Tragedy of Khartoum || ''Munsey’s'' || 1895, Jun. |- | In a Tiger Trap || ''The Black Cat'' || 1895, Oct. |- | The Great Dongool Diamond Robbery || ''Comfort'' || 1895, Nov. |- | In Solomon's Caverns || ''The Black Cat'' || 1896, Jan. |- | Only a Woman’s Wit || ''Blue Pencil Magazine'' || 1900, Oct. |- | Cupid and Neptune, or, A Pair . . . || ''Blue Pencil Magazine'' || 1900, Oct. |- | The Point of View || ''The Smart Set'' || 1902, Mar. |- | Strategy and the Secret || ''The Argosy'' || 1905, Jul. |- | Cap’n Ham and the Lioness || ''The Popular Magazine'' || 1905, Aug. |- | The Substitute Orchid || ''The All-Story Magazine'' || 1905, Aug. |- | Rajah Singha’s Crown Jewel || ''The All-Story Magazine'' || 1906, Oct. |- |}

A short time later it became apparent that Charles Barns was reaching into other interests. An advertisement for ''Redfields Magazine'' appeared in the ''Jefferson County Journal''. It read, "An excellent theatrical department conducted by Charles Edward Barns. Latest news of plays and players, illustrated with photographs."<ref name="Theatrical Dept">{{cite news|title=Advertisement|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html|access-date=6 Feb 2013|newspaper=Jefferson County Journal|date=29 Jul 1902}}</ref> At about the same time, Barns was writing words to vaudeville songs, "The Popular Man About Town" and "Keep up the Bluff."<ref name="Vaudeville 1902">{{cite news|title=For Singers and Vaudeville Persormers [advertisement]|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html|access-date=6 Feb 2013|newspaper=New York Clipper|date=31 May 1902}}</ref> and had lent his name for a Bush and Gerts piano advertisement. <blockquote> "We refer with pride to . . . thousands of purchasers of Bush & Gerts pianos. Among them we may mention Mr. Charles Edward Barns, scientific writer for one of the best New York papers."<ref name="Piano 1902">{{cite news|title=TheBush & Gerts Piano [Advertisement]|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html|access-date=6 Feb 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 1902}}</ref> </blockquote>

=== The Philadelphia years === Around 1905 the Barns family relocated to Philadelphia. After the move, Charles Barns had largely abandoned writing. He established himself, however, as a theater manager or impresario.<ref name="Census 1910">{{cite news|title=Philadelphia Ward 46, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|work=1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]|publisher=Ancestry.com}}</ref><ref name=Zurier>{{cite book|last=Zurier|first=Rebecca|title=Art for the Masses|date=1988|publisher=Temple University Press|location=Philadelphia}}</ref> The reason for the move is unknown, but it allowed his older daughter, Cornelia, to enter the [[Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts]].<ref name=Petteys>{{cite book|last=Petteys|first=Chris|title=Dictionary of Women Artists: An International Dictionary of Women Artists Born before 1900|date=1985|publisher=G. K. Hall|location=Boston, MA|pages=45}}</ref> His younger daughter, Mabel Anne Barns, was listed in 1907 among the local “army” of children headed from grammar school to more advanced institutions, in her case, the High School For Girls.<ref name="higher schools 19 7">{{cite news|title=Army Marches Up To Higher Schools|url=http://www.genealogybank.com|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=29 June 1907}}</ref> Mabel Balston Barns, Charles wife, was listed in 1910 as the buyer of a three-story brick store and dwelling at 2319 Brown St.<ref name="Brown Street 1910">{{cite news|title=Building Record Rises and Falls|url=http://www.genealogybank.com|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=1 July 1910}}</ref> Son Frederick Balston Barns studied engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and showed up in Philadelphia in 1914, for a group tour of local factories as part of his training.<ref name="technology pupil 1914">{{cite news|title=Technology Pupil to see Local Works|url=http://www.genealogyBank.com|access-date=7 February 2013|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=5 February 1914}}</ref> Charles and Mabel Barns accompanied their artist daughter, Cornelia, on a trip to Europe, sailing home from [[Marseille]] on the ship ''Germania'' and arriving home in December 1913.<ref name="passenger list 1913">{{cite web|title=1913; arrival|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=Passenger List, 1820–1957 [database on-line]|publisher=ancestry.com}}</ref>

== California years == [[Image:Lick Observatory from Park.jpg|thumb|280px|Lick Observatory from Grant Ranch.]] In 1915 Charles Barns visited [[Charles Kellogg (naturalist)|Charles Kellogg]], a close friend, bird call imitator, and environmentalist, at his home in [[Morgan Hill, California]], near [[San José, California|San José]]. Barns was so impressed with the landscape and its proximity to the renowned [[Lick Observatory]] on [[Mount Hamilton (California)|Mt. Hamilton]] that he moved his family there. In 1918 Charles and Mabel purchased a sizable orchard. Soon he added a house, study, shop, printing press and observatory. His daughter Cornelia, married to Arthur Garbett, purchased a nearby ranch two years later.<ref name="society 1920">{{cite news|last=José|first=Donna|title=Of Interest to Women|url=http://www.genealogybank.com|access-date=27 January 2013|newspaper=San Jose Evening News|date=13 July 1920 }}</ref>

=== Orchard === The 20-acre orchard that became his business<ref name="Fraternity 1936">{{cite journal|last=Pickering|first=David B.|title=The Astronomical Fraternity of the World|journal=Popular Astronomy|date=March 1936|volume=44|issue=3|pages=117–118|bibcode = 1936PA.....44..117P }}</ref> had [[plum]] and [[apricot]] trees. For the 1920 [[U.S. Census]], Charles Barns listed his occupation as “[[orchardist]]," Mabel as a housewife.<ref name="1920 census">{{cite web|title=Burnett, Santa Clara, California|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920|publisher=Ancestry.com|access-date=8 February 2013}}</ref> In 1922 and 1924, Charles Barnes [''sic''] was again listed in the voter registration as orchardist.<ref name="Madrone 1922">{{cite web|title=Index to Precinct Register, Santa Clara County, Madrone Precinct, 1922|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968|publisher=Ancestry.com}}</ref><ref name="Madrone 1924">{{cite web|title=Index to Precinct Register, Santa Clara County, Madrone Precinct, 1924|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968|publisher=Ancestry.com}}</ref> By 1930 in the U.S. Census, he was a “farmer,”<ref name="Census 1930">{{cite web|title=Burnett, Santa Clara, California|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line].|publisher=Ancestry.com|access-date=8 February 2013}}</ref> while the voter registration called him a “[[rancher]].”<ref name="Madrone 1934">{{cite web|title=Index to Precinct Register, Santa Clara County, Madrone Precinct, 1934|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968|publisher=Ancestry.com}}</ref><ref name="Madrone 1936">{{cite web|title=Index to Precinct Register, Santa Clara County, Madrone Precinct, 1936|url=http://search.ancestry.com|work=California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968|publisher=Ancestry.com}}</ref>

=== Astronomy and printing press === The addition of a home observatory at Morgan Hill culminated years of interest in astronomy as a hobby. Barns was a charter member of the Association of Variable Star Observers and member of the [[American Astronomical Society]]. For the former organization, he cataloged their membership, library, and [[lantern slide]] collection.<ref name="Pickering 1936">{{cite journal|last=Pickering|first=David B.|title=The Astronomical Fraternity of the World|journal=Popular Astronomy|date=March 1936|volume=44|issue=3}}</ref> Barns was similarly active in the [[British Astronomical Association]] and the [[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]]. To support his interest in astronomy, Barns obtained a [[printing press]], which he named the "Diana Printery."<ref name="Sawyer 1922" /> He began turning out "neatly printed booklets," such as ''The Practical Observing of Variable Stars.''<ref name="Sawyer 1922" /> Upon the death of noted astronomer [[Edward Charles Pickering]], Charles Barns published ''Memorial to Edward Charles Pickering,''<ref name="Sawyer 1922" /> which included his own poem of tribute. Within the decade he had named his press "Science Service Press" and later "Pacific Science Press."<ref name="1001 Wonders 1927">{{cite book|last=Barns|first=Charles Edward|title=1001 Celestial Wonders|date=1927|publisher=Science Service Press|location=Morgan Hill, CA}}</ref><ref name="RAS of Canada 1929">{{cite journal|last=C.A.C.|title=Review of Publications|journal=Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|date=1929|volume=23|pages=411|bibcode = 1929JRASC..23..411.}}</ref>

=== ''1001 Celestial Wonders'' === [[File:Charles Barns 1001 Celestial Wonders title page.jpg|thumb|150 px | Title Page for ''1001 Celestial Wonders'', 1927.]] In 1927 Charles Barns, now in his mid-sixties, published ''1001 Celestial Wonders as Observed Through Home-Built Instruments.''<ref name="1001 Wonders 1927" /> The book contained 72 color charts prepared by Barns himself, definitions of astronomical terms, photographs, and additional information.<ref name="RAS of Canada 1929" /> In his dedication to grandson Charles Garbett, Barns described astronomy as a “thrilling adventure” for youth, an “engrossing problem” for adults, and “a joy always” in old age. He "wrote the text, prepared the charts, set the type, stereotyped the forms," and ran the press.<ref name="Sinnott 1929b">{{cite news|last=Sinnott|first=Philip J.|title=this' Start Reporter' Made the Stars have intelligible to the Layman|url=https://www.newspapers.com|access-date=8 February 2013|newspaper=Freeport Journal-Standard|date=1 March 1929}}</ref> The combination of his thorough understanding, unbridled enthusiasm, and missionary zeal made for instant success among both professional and amateur astronomers. Charles Barns showed readers with clarity and precision how to build their own equipment, while simultaneously urging the pursuit of meaningful science.<ref name="Sinnott 1929b" /> The book was described as “unique in astronomical publications”<ref name="RAS of Canada 1929" /> and a “splendid astronomical hand-book.”<ref name="Pickering 1936" /> The first edition sold out almost immediately, followed by the second edition in 1929.<ref name="RAS of Canada 1929" /> Coinciding with the second edition was a [[Newspaper Enterprise Association]] (NEA) press release by [[San Francisco]] newspaperman Philip J. Sinnott. Appearing across the country was the subtitle “Ex-Newspaperman with Scientific Bent Studies Stars Through Homemade Telescopes.”<ref name="Niagara Falls 1929">{{cite news|last=[Sinnott|first=Philip J.]|title=Star Reporter Wins Praise of Astronomers for Making Heavenly Research Popular|newspaper=Niagara Falls Gazette|date=27 February 1929}}</ref> An “Oakland All-American Six” delegation from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110202005630/http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/Our_1926_OAKLAND Oakland Motors] Division of General Motors arrived to tour the “Famous Farm" and to obtain a photograph of scientist Barns beside an Oakland model car.<ref name="Oakland Six 1929">{{cite news|title=Oakland Six Party Visits Famous Farm|url=http://genealogybank.com|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=San Diego Evening Tribune|date=5 October 1929}}</ref><ref name="All-American 6 1929b">{{cite news|title=Newspaperman, Farmer and Astronomer|url=https://www.newspapers.com|access-date=8 February 2013|newspaper=Casa Grande Dispatch|date=19 September 1929}}</ref> On January 11, 1929, Charles Barns was elected a Fellow of the prestigious [[Royal Astronomical Society]].<ref name="Royal Astro 1938" />

=== Final years === After about 17 years as fruit growers, Charles and Mabel Barns were growing older. They left the orchard and moved to the San Francisco Bay area, near daughters Anne and Cornelia (Mrs. Garbett). Mabel Barns died on October 31, 1936.<ref name="death Index 1936">{{cite web|title=Mabel B. Barns|url=http://www.archives.com|work=California Death Index, 1905 to 1997|publisher=Archives.com|access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref> She was about 71. Seven months later, Charles Barns died on 24 May 1937, at the age of 73.<ref name="death Index 1937">{{cite web|title= Charles E. Barns|url=http://www.archives.com|work=California Death Index, 1905 to 1997|publisher=Archives.com|access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref> His passing was reported in the ''Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society''.<ref name="Royal Astro 1938">{{cite journal|title=Obituary Notices : Fellows :- Barns, Charles Edward|journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]]|date=February 1938|volume=98|pages=245|bibcode=1938MNRAS..98Q.245.|doi=10.1093/mnras/98.4.245|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The lines that Charles Barns wrote for Pickering,<ref name="Sawyer 1922" /> are fitting for Barns himself.

: Monarchs maintain and pass, forsooth— : The exiled kings, unsceptered czars; : But who adds one cosmic truth, : He shall be deathless as the stars.<ref name="Sawyer 1922" />

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barns, Charles Edward}} [[Category:1862 births]] [[Category:1937 deaths]] [[Category:People from Burlington, Wisconsin]] [[Category:Columbia Law School alumni]] [[Category:American male non-fiction writers]] [[Category:American astronomers]] [[Category:Journalists from Wisconsin]] [[Category:Writers from Wisconsin]] [[Category:Publishers (people) from California]] [[Category:Orchardists]]