The Eagle was founded by Jesse G. Hawley and William S. Ritter in 1868 and has been owned by Hawley’s descendants since then. Barbey’s family owns part of the publicly traded VF Corp. whose stock has soared with the popularity of such style brands as North Face and Timberland. Peter Barbey owns 15.6 percent of the Reading Eagle, according to court documents. Siblings John E. and Pierre S. DuPont, along with their sister Catherine Varacchi, own a total of 15.4 percent of the Reading media company through trusts.