 Barbara McClintock was born Eleanor McClintock on June 16 , 1902 in Hartford , Connecticut , the third of four children born to physician Thomas Henry McClintock and Sara Handy McClintock . Thomas McClintock was the child of British immigrants , and Sara Handy , born Grace , descended from an old American Mayflower family . Marjorie , the oldest child , was born in October 1898 ; Mignon , the second daughter , was born in November 1900 . The youngest , Malcolm Rider ( called Tom ) , was born 18 months after Barbara . As a young girl , her parents determined that Eleanor , a " feminine " and " delicate " name , was not appropriate for her , and chose Barbara instead . McClintock was an independent child beginning at a very young age , a trait she later identified as her " capacity to be alone " . From the age of three until she began school , McClintock lived with an aunt and uncle in Brooklyn , New York in order to reduce the financial burden on her parents while her father established his medical practice . She was described as a solitary and independent child , and a tomboy . She was close to her father , but had a difficult relationship with her mother , tension that began when she was young . 
