Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse

Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse (September 1, 1862 - July 25, 1931), was the owner of the Al G. Barnes Circus

Biography

Barnes was born on September 1, 1862, in Lobo, Ontario, Canada, to Thomas S. Stonehouse (1826-1882) and Sarah Barnes (1825-1883). He married three times: Dollie Arminta Barlow [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Mrs. Al G. Barnes |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D12FF3A541B728DDDAB0A94DD405B878FF1D3 |quote=Glendale, California, May 21, 1937 (Associated Press) Mrs. Dollie Arminta Barnes, widow of Al G. Barnes, circus owner, died here on Wednesday at the age of ... |work=New York Times |date=May 22, 1937 |accessdate=2008-07-22 ] , Sarah Jane Hartigan, and Margaret Goldsboro. All three wives survived him. Dolly accused him in divorce court in 1916, of having many lovers and deserting her. The divorce proceedings lasted five years and he became involved with Babe Eckhart, his calliope player. When he refused to marry her, she killed herself with a gun on the steps of his Pullman railcar in Idaho in 1919. In 1922 his divorce from Dolly was complete. He then married Sarah Jane Hartigan, his circus bareback rider, they already had a child before the marriage. The marriage didn't last long. Their divorce proceedings lasted six years and didn't end until he admitted that two of their three children were his. He then married Margaret Goldsboro. [cite web |url=http://www.westland.net/venicehistory/articles/BarnesCircusZoo.htm |title=Barnes City Zoo |accessdate=2008-07-22 |quote= |publisher=Westland ]

In January of 1929, he sold his circus to the American Circus Corporation. He died on July 25, 1931 in Indio, California. He had been ill for most of the past year with pneumonia. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Story of a Big-Top Circus Man; Al G. Barnes, Master Showman. By Dave Robeson, as told by Al G. Barnes. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70C15FA345B107A93C3A81783D85F418385F9 |quote=Al G. Barnes, proprietor and manager of the famous circus that bore his name, who through many years gave pleasure and entertainment to numberless thousands all over this country, died a year or so ago at the date ranch of Dave Robeson in Indio, near the southeastern border of California. |work=New York Times |date=August 11, 1935 |accessdate=2008-07-22 ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Died |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846966-2,00.html |quote=Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse (Al G. Barnes), 68, circusman, founder and longtime owner of Barnes's Circus; after a lingering illness; in Indio, California. He started his show in 1895 with a pony, a phonograph, a stereopticon. A colorful participant at every performance, he would lead the opening parade seated on the head of a mammoth elephant. Two years ago he sold his interests to Circusman John Ringling for $1,000,000. |work=Time (magazine) |date=August 3, 1931 |accessdate=2008-07-22 ] cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Al G. Barnes Dies |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~esthersgenealogypage/al_g_barnes.html |quote=The well-known circus owner of the Pacific coast, Al G. Barnes, died July 25, at his ranch in Indio, California. He was 68 years of age. He had been ill for most of the past year, pneumonia and complications being given as the cause. His right name was Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse. He was born in Lobo, Ontario, Canada, September 1, 1862. He was married three times and is survived by all three, Mrs. Dollie Barnes, Mrs. Jane Barnes, and Mrs. Margaret Goldsboro Barnes who at his death was at his bedside, he having married her last December. |work=White Tops Circus Magazine |date=September 1, 1931 |accessdate=2008-07-22 ]

References