Barbara van Patten was born in Camden, New Jersey on October 30, 1907 and grew up in Glen Ridge. She graduated from the Emma Willard School in 1926 and, after spending her junior year in France, she graduated from Smith College in 1930. She married lawyer Charles van Patten in 1932 and the two went on year-long honeymoon to Europe, Asia, and Africa. She was an extremely active member of the Women's Committee of Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital, and served several terms as its chair. She died in 1975.