In 1891 the heirs of the late Isaac Bell, Jr. sold their Bellevue Avenue cottage to Samuel F. Barger of New York, who named the house “Edna Villa” after his wife. He had previously rented “Heartsease” on Kay Street for several seasons.
Barger was an attorney and director of the New York Central and other railroads under the Vanderbilts. His daughter Maud Barger-Wallach was a celebrated sportswoman who won the 1908 U.S. Women’s Singles tennis championship against Evelyn Sears in Philadelphia. Son Milton S. Barger perished in the sinking of the liner “Berengaria” in 1925 and daughter Edna remained in the house until it was sold in 1952 and converted into a nursing home. Today it is now known as “The Isaac Bell House,” a property of the Preservation Society of Newport County.
A photo of Mrs. Barger Wallach, holding a raquet. Image courtesy The Library of Congress.