Dr. William S. Barnes, who since opening an office in New Haven in 1897, following the completion of his professional course at Yale, has built up a large and lucrative practice, demonstrates in his career the fact that ability will come to the front and that true worth will win recognition. He was born February 28, 1874, in the city which is still his home, his parents being Samuel and Mary Jane (Thompson) Barnes, and the latter was a native of Branford, Connecticut. In early life the father removed to New Haven and became an active factor in political interests of the fifth ward. For a number of years he was called upon to represent his ward on the board of aldermen and at one time was president thereof. He also soon gained a position of leadership in business circles and established the City Market at New Haven, in connection with which he conducted a large meat trade for many years. His activities made him a valued resident of New Haven, to the welfare and progress of which he made substantial contribution. He here passed away in November. 1908, and is still survived by his widow. They had a family of three children: Fred K., now a resident of Paterson, New Jersey; William S.; and Mrs. Arthur W. Bacon, of New Britain, Connecticut.
     Dr. Barnes was at one time a student in the Russell Military Academy and afterward attended the public schools. In 1892 he was graduated from the high school of New Haven. He next entered the Sheffield Scientific School and was graduated with the class of 1895. lie regarded this as a preliminary step toward preparation for a professional career, it having become his earnest desire to enter upon the practice of medicine and surgery. Accordingly he matriculated in the medical department of Yale and won his M. D. degree in 1897. He at once opened an office in his native city, where he has since built up a large and lucrative practice. In 1911 he took post-graduate work at Harvard and he has ever remained a close and discriminating student of the profession, keeping in touch with the latest and most valuable contributions to medical literature. He specializes in urology and in that field has gained much more than local prominence. He now has membership in the New Haven Medical Society and since 1906 has been clerk of the New Haven County Medical Society for ten years. He belongs also to the Connecticut State and American Medical Associations and the American Urological Association.
     In June, 1901, in New Haven, Dr. Barnes wedded Miss Charity Blackman Hyde, a daughter of Captain and Mrs. William M. Hyde. Both Dr. and Mrs. Barnes represent old families of Connecticut well connected. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is also connected with the Phi Sigma Kappa, a Yale fraternity, with the Knights of Pythias, the Red Men. the Modern Woodmen of America and the Union League Club. The fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present indicates that his has been an honorable and upright career and that his record is as an open book which all may read.