Philander Barclay in 1919. Studio portrait by George E. Birdsall. Photo from The Oakparker, November 11, 1927.
The Barclay Blog
A detailed exploration of the life of Philander Walker Barclay (1878 - 1940),
bicycle mechanic and Oak Park's first Village Historian.
Article Menu
Philander Barclay as he appeared in the Oak Leaves, November 13, 1903.
William Frederick Barnard. From Oak Leaves; September 8,1949; pg. 57.
Roy E Weed. From Oak Leaves; February 19, 1904; pg. 15.
George Weed Jr. (in 1895) under red arrow. From Oak Leaves, September 6, 1924, cover photo.
The Youthful Daredevils Later in Life
By Anna-Maria Manuel
Published January 19, 2024.
So, what became of the three daredevils when they grew up?
William Frederick Barnard (November 29, 1879 – August 31, 1949) [1]
Barnard became a printer and president of Barnard and Miller, the Chicago printing company founded by his father in 1857. In the printing field, he invented numerous labor-saving devices. [2] One of them, an “Apparatus for Type-Printing,” patented on June 2, 1914, offered a “simple, cheap and practical” way to print updated (revised) versions of catalogs, in which most information, such as a description or list price, remained constant, but another factor, such as a discount rate, varied. [3]
In Oak Park, he was a member of the Special Police Force, and served as Police and Fire Commissioner and Public Safety Commissioner. [4]
Barnard was Barclay’s “dear friend.” After Barclay’s death on July 7, 1940, Barnard served as Executor of his will. Barclay’s will “listed all his collections, told where they were located and directed Mr. Barnard how to dispose of them for preservation.” [5]
George R. Weed Jr. (September 30, 1878 – August 2, 1933) [6]
George was a locomotive engineer. [7] After losing track of each other for many years, Barclay found where his “good friend” George resided (in Chicago, near Washington Boulevard and Crawford Avenue (now Pulaski Road)) about six months before the engineer died. Some days after the two friends reunited, Barclay took an album of old photos with him and visited George. For three hours, Philander and George reminisced about the “old town [Oak Park] of years ago.” [8]
Roy Easton Weed (April 19, 1876 – January 7, 1927) [9]
Roy was a principal actor in the Gibney-Weed Stock Company. [10] During World War I, he was the Secretary of the American Druggist Syndicate Incorporated of Missouri. [11] At the time of his death, Roy was a traveling salesman for a St. Louis, Missouri chemical company. [12]
1. Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998.
2. “William Barnard, Former Village Official, Dead”; Oak Leaves; September 8, 1949; pg. 57.
3. United States Patent Office search December 28, 2023. https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/1098367
4. “William Barnard, Former Village Official, Dead”; Oak Leaves; September 8, 1949; pg. 57.
5. “Philander Barclay, Village Historian, Dead in 62nd Year”; Oak Leaves; July 11, 1940; pg. 7.
6. Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998.
7. 1910 U.S. Census and 1930 U.S. Census.
8. Philander Barclay; “What Oak Parkers Did Back in the Gay ‘90s”; The Oakparker; August 31, 1934; pg. 11.
9. Birth: WWI Draft Card. Death: “Salesman Dies in Room at Hotel Here”; Miami (OK) News Record; January 7, 1927; pg. 1.
10. “Gibney-Weed Stock Company”; Oak Leaves; February 19, 1904; pg. 15.
11. WWI Draft Card.
12. “Salesman Dies in Room at Hotel Here”; Miami (OK) News Record; January 7, 1927; pg 1.