Editing Barbara Stanwyck (section)

==Early life==
Stanwyck was born Ruby Catherine Stevens on July 16, 1907, in [[Brooklyn]], New York.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|p=13}}{{sfn|Wayne|1985|p=7}} She was the fifth and youngest child of Kathryn Ann "Kitty" (née McPhee) and Byron E. Stevens. Both parents' families had been in North America since the 1740s.{{sfn|Wilson|2015|pp=2-10}} Byron, of English descent, was a native of [[Lanesville, Massachusetts]], where his father was a significant landowner.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=2-10}} He had aimed to become a lawyer, but had dropped out of college in favor of work after his father's death, eventually becoming a bricklayer and stonesetter.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=2-10}} Stanwyck's mother Kitty was a Canadian immigrant of Scotch-Irish descent from [[Sydney, Nova Scotia]].{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1p=2-10|2a1=Callahan|2y=2012|2p= 5–6|3a1=Madsen|3y=1994|3p=8}} They had met when Kitty was visiting family in [[Boston]].{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=2-10}}

Stanwyck had three older sisters, Laura Mildred (called Millie, b. 1886), Viola Maud (b. 1889) and Mabel (b. 1890), and one older brother, Malcolm Byron (b. 1905).{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=2-10}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stanwyck, Barbara (1907–1990) |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/stanwyck-barbara-1907-1990|access-date=February 11, 2022|website=[[Encyclopedia.com]]}}</ref> The family had relocated from [[New England]] to [[Flatbush]], Brooklyn the year before Stanwyck was born in search of better work opportunities for Byron.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=11-13}} In July 1911, four-year-old Stanwyck and her six-year-old brother were riding a streetcar with their mother when a drunk passenger fell and pushed the mother off the vehicle.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1p=13-14|2a1=Callahan|2y=2012|2p= 5–6}} Kitty Stevens was heavily pregnant at the time, and the accident induced early labor, which caused fatal [[sepsis]].{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1p=13-14|2a1=Callahan|2y=2012|2p= 5–6}} Byron Stevens' alcoholism worsened after his wife's death, and he left the family soon after.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=13-15}} He joined a work crew digging the [[Panama Canal]] in 1912, dying there some years later in an epidemic.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1pp=2-10; 36|2a1=Madsen|2y=1994|2p=9}}

Stanwyck's sisters were already adults when their mother died, but while they stayed closely involved in their younger siblings' lives, they could not take care of them full-time.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=19-20}} In the years following the disintegration of their family, Stanwyck and her brother lived in a series of unofficial foster homes (mostly friends of the family) in Flatbush.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=14-20}} As the foster homes could only accommodate one child at a time, the siblings were separated, which caused them additional distress.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=19-20}} Around 1919, Stanwyck and her brother moved in with their older sister Viola Maud and her family.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|p=26}}
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I knew that after fourteen I'd have to earn my own living, but I was willing to do that&nbsp;... I've always been a little sorry for pampered people, and of course, they're "very" sorry for me.
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| style="text-align: left;" |Barbara Stanwyck, 1937<ref name="M12">Madsen 1994, pp. 11-13.</ref>
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Stanwyck attended [[List of public elementary schools in New York City|Public School 152]] in Brooklyn.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|p=18}} She hated school with the exception of literature, and received generally poor grades.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1p=18|2a1=Madsen|2y=1994|2p=10}} She was bullied and routinely picked fights with the other students.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1p=18|2a1=Madsen|2y=1994|2p=10}} Stanwyck started to dream about entering show business in childhood. Her sister Millie had become a successful vaudeville dancer and took Stanwyck with her on summer tours.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1pp=22-26|2a1=Madsen|2y=1994|2p=10}} She also idolized film star [[Pearl White]], whose serial ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)|The Perils of Pauline]]'' (1914) was popular at the time.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1p=19-22|2a1=Callahan|2y=2012|2p= 222}} As a teenager, Stanwyck began performing in amateur theater and in shows at film theaters in Flatbush.{{sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=26-27}} 

After graduating from P.S. 152, Stanwyck decided to not attend high school.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1pp=27-28|2a1=Madsen|2y=1994|2p=11}} Starting at 14, she took a series of customer-service and secretarial positions, which allowed her to gain financial independence while pursuing her goal of becoming a celebrated dancer.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=2013|1pp=27-30|2a1=Madsen|2y=1994|2p=12|3a1=Prono|3y=2008|3p=240}}