John Rhea Barton Willing
socialite
John Rhea Barton Willing (December 21, 1864 – September 2, 1913) was an American socialite and violin collector who was prominent in New York and Philadelphia society during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Willing was born in Philadelphia on December 21, 1864. He was the only surviving son of Edward Shippen Willing and Alice Caroline (née Barton) Willing. 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.
His maternal grandfather, and namesake, was Dr. John Rhea Barton, an orthopedic surgeon known for describing Barton's fracture. His paternal great-grandfather was Thomas Willing, mayor of Philadelphia and the first president of First Bank of the United States.
Willing entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1881 and graduated with an A.B. degree in 1885. There, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St.
“John Rhea Barton Willing” enters the record as socialite. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what John, Rhea and Barton can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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