John Rhea Barton Willing

John Rhea Barton Willing (December 21, 1864 – September 2, 1913) was an American music enthusiast and violin collector who was prominent in New York and Philadelphia society during the Gilded Age.[1]

John Rhea Barton Willing
Willing in 1905
Born(1864-12-21)December 21, 1864
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedSeptember 2, 1913(1913-09-02) (aged 48)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
Christ Church, Oxford
Parent(s)Edward Shippen Willing
Alice Bell Barton
RelativesSusan Ridgway Willing (sister)
Ava Lowle Willing (sister)
Vincent Astor (nephew)
Ava Alice Muriel Astor (niece)
John Rhea Barton (grandfather)

Early life

Willing was born in Philadelphia on December 21, 1864. He was the only surviving son of Edward Shippen Willing (1822–1906) and Alice Bell (née Barton) Willing (1833–1903).[2] His siblings included Susan Ridgway Willing, who married Francis C. Lawrance Jr.; Edward Shippen Willing Jr. who died at age six; and Ava Lowle Willing who was married to John Jacob Astor IV and Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

His maternal grandfather, and namesake, was Dr. John Rhea Barton, an orthopedic surgeon best remembered for describing Barton's fracture.[9][10] His paternal great-grandfather was Thomas Willing, mayor of Philadelphia and the first president of First Bank of the United States.[11]

Willing entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1881 and graduated with an A.B. degree in 1885.[12] There, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).[13] He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1886.[14][15]

Personal life

Willing occupied 511 South Broad Street in Philadelphia, which was directly across the street from the home of his grandfather, John Rhea Barton, where his mother grew up.[11]

In 1892, Willing was included in Ward McAllister's The Four Hundred purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[16] Willing moved in the "highest social circles" and was considered an accomplished athlete.[1] He was a founding member of the Philadelphia Fencing and Sparring Club.[1]

He collected art, including a renowned copy of the Henry Inman portrait of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States.[17] He also made and collected violins, including several instruments considered the finest known.[18] After several years of prominence in society in New York, Philadelphia and Newport, around 1893 he "gave up the usual social gayeties" to travel around the United States and Europe "in search of violins and violin lore. His passion for music and for the violin especially soon grew until he gave most of his time to its indulgence."[19]

Willing did not marry and had no children.[1] He died from diphtheria at the Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia in 1913 at the age of 48.[1][20][21] He was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.[1]

Willing left the bulk of his estate to his sisters.[19][22][23] In his will, he left a Stradivarius violin to his longtime friend, A. Lanfear Norrie, who predeceased him.[19]

References
  1. "J.R. Barton Willing Dead. Brother of Mrs. John Astor Succumbs to Diphtheria at 48" (PDF). The New York Times. September 3, 1913. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  2. Klein, Randolph Shipley (1975). Portrait of an Early American Family: The Shippens of Pennsylvania Across Five Generations. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812277005. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  3. "Lady Ribblesdale Dead. First Wife of John Jacob Astor IV. Mother of Vincent Astor". The New York Times. June 11, 1958. Retrieved 2008-08-11. Ava Willing Ribblesdale, she took up residence here. She continued to be listed in the telephone directory as Lady Ribblesdale.....
  4. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), Frank Willing Leach, Genealogies of Old Philadelphia Families Published in the Sunday North American, vol. 1, p. 133.
  5. Browning, Charles Henry (1891). Americans of Royal Descent: A Collection of Genealogies of American Families Whose Lineage is Traced to the Legitimate Issue of Kings. Porter & Costes. p. 86. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  6. Keen, Gregory Bernard (1913). The Descendants of Jöran Kyn of New Sweden. Swedish Colonial Society. p. 188. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  7. Jordan, John W. (2004). Colonial And Revolutionary Families Of Pennsylvania. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 129. ISBN 9780806352398. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  8. "Would Probably Share $100,000,000 Estate with Stepmother in Event of His Father's Death". The New York Times. April 17, 1912. Retrieved 2008-08-11. Mrs. Ava Willing Astor, obtained her divorce from John Jacob Astor, in November, 1909
  9. Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (eds.). "Barton, John Rhea" . American Medical Biographies . Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company.
  10. Barton JR. Views and treatment of an important injury of the wrist. Medical Examiner, Philadelphia, 1838; 1: 365-368
  11. VanSant, Kimber (May 4, 2009). "Dr. John Rhea Barton Residence | 512 South Broad Street" (PDF). vansant.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  12. General Alumni Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania, 1922. University of Pennsylvania General Alumni Society. 1922. p. 61. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  13. Catalogue of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi. Fraternity of Delta Psi. 1889. p. 62. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  14. Oxford, University of (1887). Oxford University Gazette. Oxford University Press. p. 60. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  15. Pennsylvania, University of (1894). Biographical Catalogue of the Matriculates of the College Together with Lists of the Members of the College Faculty and the Trustees, Officers and Recipients of Honorary Degrees, 1749-1893. University of Pennsylvania Society of the Alumni. p. 398. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  16. McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "The Only Four Hundred! Ward M'Allister Gives out the Official List" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  17. "$1,005 for John Marshall Portrait" (PDF). The New York Times. December 6, 1913. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  18. Publishers Weekly | Auction Sales. F. Leypoldt. 1914. p. 419. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  19. "Vincent Astor Inherits $1,500 J.R.B. Willing's Penciled, Undated, and Unwitnessed Will Probated" (PDF). The New York Times. October 18, 1913. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  20. The Alumni Register of the University of Pennsylvania. General Alumni Society. 1913. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  21. District and County Reports: Containing Cases Decided in All the Judicial Districts of Pennsylvania. Howard W. Page. 1959. pp. 15–16. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  22. New York Times Index for the Published News. New York Times Company. 1914. p. 29. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  23. "$1,500 Not Left to Astor. Uncle Wrote 'Mr. and Mrs. Vincent, Not "My Nephew Vincent.'" (PDF). The New York Times. October 19, 1913. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
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