Raeburn E. Barnes Trust
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“Sidney was good to me and I have a great love for the city and am concerned for the advancement of young people.”
Mrs. Raeburn E. Barnes’ maiden name was Epler. The Eplers came to Shelby County, Ohio around 1815 and cleared an 80 acre farm in Perry Township, “having no means of support but their willing hands.” Mrs. Barnes’ great-grandfather served in the Revolutionary War and her father, Thomas Epler, fought in the Civil War. She was born in Maplewood, Ohio in 1873, moved to Sidney at the age of 13 and subsequently graduated from Sidney High School in 1892. Raeburn taught in the Shelby County schools until she married Joseph D. Barnes in 1899.
Throughout her married life, Mrs. Barnes maintained an active interest in the community. She was a member of the New Century Club, the Book Club, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Hospital Benefit Club and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
A friend of Raeburn Epler Barnes related that she once said, “Sidney was good to me and I have a great love for the city and am concerned for the advancement of young people.” Her early experience as a teacher and her life-long interest in youth certainly played a part in the establishment of this loan fund for educational purposes. Mrs. Barnes died in 1964 at the age of 91. A close companion in her later years said, “To know Mrs. Barnes was to love Mrs. Barnes — really a great lady.”
Read about Judge Barnes.
