William Barclay remembered

Friends and family say late business owner was a man of the land

By: Jessica Beym
   There is an empty booth at Teddy’s Restaurant. It’s the same booth that lifelong Cranbury resident and farmer William Barclay used to sit every morning.
   Starting his day off with a cup of coffee and an English muffin or bagel, Mr. Barclay, who died May 13 at age 78, used to joke with his farming and hunting buddies before heading over to his family-run business, Chamberlain and Barclay on Station Road.
   Those who knew him said Mr. Barclay was a practical joker, a hard worker, and just an all-around personable and honest man.
   "Even after he retired, he never missed a day of work," said his daughter, Ellen DeBlois, who lives on North Main Street. "He was there every day as the official greeter at the front door. People who didn’t even really know him by name knew who he was."
   As the third generation of a family of local farmers, Mr. Barclay’s family history dates back to the 18th century.
   Born in Orange, N.J., he grew up on North Main Street in Cranbury with his uncles and their families just across the street. He attended The Peddie School and graduated from Proctor Academy in New Hampshire in 1945. His wife, Elizabeth, who lived in Hightstown before she met and married Mr. Barclay in 1954, said that since they were both from small towns, they were destined to meet.
   "Hightstown would walk to Cranbury, Cranbury would walk to Hightstown," Ms. Barclay said Tuesday. "Hightstown had the only movie theatre. It was a chance meeting."
   After he graduated, Mr. Barclay joined the U.S. Navy, where he developed a passion for boats, and served in World War II. When he returned, he picked up his family interest in farming. He became an apprentice to a local farmer and his grandfather bought him his first tractor.
   During the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. Barlcay was a prominent potato farmer, growing over 250 acres at his Station Road farm, where the family lived, and also on land in Allentown.
   "The farmland was all around the house," Ms. DeBlois said. "He just loved to watch things grow. I can remember going out into the fields with mom to bring all the guys lunches."
   Mr. Barlcay’s son, David, worked on the potato farm when he was a teenager and he said that during the height of the farm’s success, they held contracts with Lays Potato Chips, selling 50-pound bags to the company.
   "People say that your father teaches you everything," David Barclay said. "It’s true. He taught me how to farm, how to hunt, how to fish. Farming back then was a lot less simpler than it is now."
   When the potato business began to decline, Mr. Barclay sold his farmland to a development company, which put up warehouses. While they don’t own it now, the old family barn still stands near the Home Depot warehouse.
   At the time, the family moved to George Davison Road and Mr. Barclay continued to farm, but not nearly as much, as he took over the family fertilizer business when his father, Isaiah, died.
   As the third generation president of the company, which originated in 1904, Mr. Barclay took pride in his business of supplying seeds and fertilizers to farmers throughout the state. Situated at the old Cranbury Station, the company would receive freight cars full of fertilizers and seeds, which it still does today even though the market has changed, Ms. DeBlois said.
   Even though his children were capable of running the business after he retired, Mr. Barclay still came to work every day. But when he wasn’t working, he continued to spend time outdoors on many hunting and fishing trips around New Jersey and even out in Wyoming.
   His passion for boats continued even after serving in the Navy and Mrs. Barclay said she can remember many weekends at their Shore house in Tuckerton or out on the water.
   "Every time we bought a boat it got a little bigger," she said.
   Every week, Mr. and Mrs. Barclay would leave for the Shore at 10 a.m. Friday and return at the same time Monday.
   "He always had a boat and was always out on the water, always with his friends," David Barclay said. "He lived for his friends and always looked forward to getting together with them for card games or dinner. His friends were my friends and they were all ‘uncle’ to me."
   Known lovingly by his friends and children as a practical joker and a hot-tempered man, Mr. Barclay was also said to be an honest man.
   "He would shoot from the hip," Ms. DeBlois said. "If you asked him something, you would get the honest answer. He was always fair to everyone and treated everyone equally and that was true for his workers and his family."
   Friends said they would remember Mr. Barclay for his loving and joking personality. Every Tuesday through Friday morning, Mr. Barclay would join a group of gentleman at Teddy’s for breakfast.
   Township Administrator Tom Witt was one of those gentlemen. Mr. Witt, whose father was friends with Mr. Barclay, knew the man all his life. He said they sat in the same booth every day for the last seven years, enjoying the same breakfast and each other’s company.
   "We’d kid each other a lot, beat up on each other," Mr. Witt said.
   Mr. Witt said their conversations were about hunting, fishing, farming, current events and Cranbury happenings.
   "He was just a down to earth guy," Mr. Witt said. "There’s no way of printing what I’m trying to say. Everyone’s life was enriched by knowing him. He was a true friend.
   Son of the late Isaiah D. and Gladys (Snedeker) Barclay, Mr. Barclay is survived by his wife of 52 years, Elizabeth (Murphy) Barclay; a daughter, Ellen DeBlois and her husband, David, of Cranbury; a son, Isaiah David Barclay and his wife, Lynn, of West Windsor; a sister, Elizabeth Poling of Florida; and six grandchildren, Amanda, Cynthia and Rebecca Barclay, Kate, Kimberly and Kyle DeBlois.
   A memorial service for Mr. Barclay was held May 18 at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury.
   In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mr. Barclay’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association, 2550 Route 1, North Brunswick, N.J. 08902 or the America Cancer Society, 3076 Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville, N.J. 08648.