The Barker Family
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| Great grandparents William Barker and Elizabeth Ann Woods Barker, ca early 1940s |
The family chain: Relation to
Author Lifetime
Benjamin Barker 6th
Great Grandpa Abt 1700 - ?
John Barker 5th
Great Grandpa Abt 1728 - 1821
William Barker 4th
Great Grandpa Abt 1771 - ?
Benjamin Barker 3rd
Great Grandpa Abt 1800 – Bef
1841
William Barker 2nd
Great Grandpa 1829 - 1902
William Barker Great
Grandpa 1864 - 1946
Mary “Polly” Barker James Grandma 1889 - 1978
Edna James Gallagher Mom 1923 -
2018
Thanks to work done by
cousin Ronnie Brander, and to the information found on Ancestry.com, the Barker
family tree goes back to the early 1700s in England, almost to the 1600s. John Barker was born in 1728 to Benjamin and
Mary Barker. Given John’s birthdate, it is
possible that his father Benjamin was born some time just before 1700. Benjamin and Mary may have lived in Shelsley
Beauchamp (aka Great Shelsley), Worcestershire as that is where son John was
baptized in 1730.
Nothing more has been found on Benjamin and Mary Barker.
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| 1730 register for the Parish of Shelsley Beauchamp John's name is the last entry on the list |
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| Red marker shows location of Shelsley Beauchamp within England |
John lived and apparently
died in Clifton upon Teme, Worcestershire, England some three miles southwest from
Shelsley Beauchamp (see map below).
He worked as a laborer. Clifton upon Teme is a small village (population of 821 in 2021) situated about 40 miles southwest of Birmingham and 37 miles due west of Stratford-Upon-Avon. It is named after the river Teme which runs nearby. It is considered a fine example of an Anglo-Saxon settlement, dating from 934 AD, 132 years before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
On April 25, 1766, John
married Mary Fyfield in the parish church, St. Kenelm’s. The church dates from the 1300s and is still
standing today. However, the church
spire was rebuilt in the 1600’s after being blown down and it was struck by
lightning in 1884 when it was replaced by the present wooden spire.
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| Parish register showing the record of John and Mary's marriage |
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| St. Kenelm's Church in Clifton Upon Teme |
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| Interior of St Kenelm's Church |
It is not known how many
children John and Mary had, but they did have at least one son, William. Not much more is known about John and Mary
except that they lived their whole lives in Clifton upon Teme and they lived
rather long lives for the time. Mary
passed away in 1823 at the age of 85 and John passed away in 1821 at the age of
93. Long lives seem to be a rather
consistent theme over the generations of the Barker clan.
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| Parish record listing the burial of John Barker |
William Barker (Abt 1771 – Before 1851) - The first of many named
William
John and Mary’s son, William Barker, was born in 1771 in Clifton
upon Teme and his wife, Ann Gray (or possibly Grey) was born in 1773. The couple was married at St Mary’s Church
located almost 25 miles to the northeast in Old Swinford, Worcestershire, on July 26,
1793. William was 22 and Ann was 20.
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| Clifton upon Teme to St. Mary's Church in Old Swinford |
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| St Mary's church today |
St Mary’s is the mother church of Stourbridge. A church has stood on this site since at
least the 10th century. The only surviving part of the medieval church is the
fourteenth century west tower. Church
records indicate that this was Ann’s parish.
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| William and Ann's marriage record at the bottom of the page |
They had five children – William (1795), Benjamin (1800), Mary Ann (1808), Maria (1811) and Isaiah (1815). According to Isaiah’s baptism record, William’s occupation was that of a carpenter (see next to last entry in exhibit below).
The family lived in a
hamlet called Brettell Lane. This was an industrial hub with foundries,
collieries, glassworks, and firebrick works were built up around the road. Several of these are noted on the map shown below.
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| Brettell Lane is in the middle of the map |
William passed away before 1851.
His wife Ann is listed in the census of that year as a widow. She is 77 by then and appears to be
supporting herself by taking in lodgers. Ann appears to have passed some time before
the 1861 census. Not much else is known
about the couple.
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| 1851 UK Census - Ann Barker is listed at the bottom of the schedule |
Benjamin Barker (Abt 1800 –
Before 1841)
Benjamin, born about 1800,
is the author’s 3rd great grandfather.
His wife was Anne Shakespeare.
There is no known connection to the writer, William Shakespeare, but
it’s certainly cool to have that name in the family tree! Anne
was also born about 1800.
They were married on
December 28, 1828, in St John the Baptist Church, Hales Owen, Shropshire. The church
is notable for its Norman arches, Nave and font being the oldest parts of the
building dating to the early 12th Century. The town is now referred to as Halesowen and
it is in Worcestershire.
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| Benjamin's and Ann's wedding record |
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| St John the Baptist Church, Hales Owen |
Benjamin and Anne lived in
Brierly Hill, Staffordshire. They may
have had two or three children. Only one
is known for certain – William, born in 1829.
It is not known for certain when Benjamin or Anne passed away or where
they are buried.
Benjamin disappears from any
record before the 1841 UK Census. It
appears that Ann may have remarried in 1835.
There is a record of an Ann Barker, widow, marrying Samuel Whitehouse on
April 20, 1835, in Dudley, Staffordshire (see below).
Dudley is about three and a half miles from Brierly Hill. If that is Ann Shakespeare, then Benjamin
likely died before he was 35.
In the 1841 Census there is an Ann Whitehouse, age 30 living on Moor Lane in Kingswinford, Staffordshire with four children: James Whitehouse, 4; Phoebe Whitehouse, 1; William Barker, 11 and Ann Barker, 7 (see below).
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| Ann is listed at top of second page, her husband is listed at the bottom of the first page; see yellow marks |
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| Brettell Lane to Dudley to Kingswinford |
The ages of Ann and son William are close and the family is only three miles from their former residence in Brierly Hill. However, no record has been found of Benjamin and Ann having a daughter. More research is needed to determine who the children were and what happened to Benjamin.
William Barker (1829 –
1902)
William was born in Brierly
Hill, Staffordshire on October 4, 1829.
He married Mary Ann Rowland in 1850 at the age of 21 in Handsworth,
Staffordshire (now West Midlands) which is some ten miles from where he was
born. In the 1851 census the young
couple lives on Victoria Street in West Bromwich, Staffordshire (house number
unknown). William is working as a coal
miner. Their daughter Maria (or possibly
Mariah) is listed as one month old.
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| From Brierly Hill to Handsworth for the wedding and then on to West Bromwich |
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| 1851 UK Census - William and family are listed in the middle of the page |
By 1861 the family has moved about a half mile over to Lyttleton Street in West Bromwich (house number unknown). William and Mary Ann now have five children: Maria (1851), Emma (1854), Benjamin (1856), Louisa (1858) and Mary Ann (1860). A sixth child, Elizabeth, was born in about 1855, but died in 1856.
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| 1861 UK Census - William and family are at the bottom of the page and the top of the next |
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| The move from Victoria Street to Lyttleton Street |
William and Mary Ann
ultimately had twelve children between 1851 and 1873 with ten of them surviving
into adulthood. Elizabeth was the first
child they lost.
The second child lost was Maria,
the oldest. She died in 1866 at the age
of 15. According to Ronnie Brander she died
in a house fire. Sometime between 1866
and 1871 the family packed up and moved north about 45 miles to Tunstall,
Stoke-on-Trent. Maria’s death
may be one reason why the family moved away from West Bromwich.
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| West Bromwich to Tunstall |
By the time of the 1871 Census the family had grown by three more children: Phoebe (1862), William (1864), James (1866) and Mariah (or Maria, 1869). This youngest daughter was no doubt named after the daughter they lost in the fire. They now have a total of nine children, but only seven are listed on the 1871 census.
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| 1871 UK Census for Tunstall |
They are living in an area of Tunstall called Clay Hills. The name "Clay Hills" is a direct reference to the abundant clay in the area that fueled the Staffordshire pottery industry.
Phoebe was not living with them, but with the Heaton family, also in Clay Hills. At the age of eight she is listed as a servant in that household.
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| Phoebe in the 1871 Census; on line with yellow marking |
She is not the only child that is working – Emma (17) and Louisa (13) are working as potters in the local pottery industry and Benjamin (14) as a coal miner – but Phoebe is by far the youngest and, curiously, she is not in school. James (4), William (6) and older sister Mary Ann (11) are all listed as scholars, meaning they were attending school. It is a bit of a puzzle as to why the eight-year-old Phoebe is sent off to work, but not Mary Ann (11).
The house in Tunstall must
have been appreciably larger than the family’s former home in West Bromwich as
it housed William, Mary Ann, their seven children and four lodgers. Josiah Dutton (34), his wife Susannah (19)
and Josiah’s daughter Ann Elizabeth (8) and son Henry (7) are also living in
the home. It is not known if there was
any connection between the Barkers and the Duttons that may have led to them living
in the same house.
By 1881 the family had
moved again. The 1881 Census shows them
living at Chapel Field in Rainford, almost 50 miles northwest of Tunstall. The
census shows they have seven children living with them – Benjamin (24), Phoebe
(18), William (16), James (14), Maria (11), John (9) and Elizabeth (8) – plus a
granddaughter, Emma Wood (1). Elizabeth
was born in Tunstall in 1873, so the family moved sometime after that.
.jpg) |
| Clay Hills, Tunstall to Rainford |
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| The 1881 UK Census William and Mary Barker are listed at the bottom of the top schedule. The children are listed on the top of the next schedule below |
Emma (27), Louisa (23) and
Mary Ann (21) are not with the family. Emma
was married and had her first child before the rest of the family moved from
Tunstall. Louisa was married in 1874 at
age 16. She had her first child, Emma
Wood, in 1880. It is this Emma, age 1
year old, who is living with William and Mary Ann Barker in 1881. Louisa may be working as a housemaid for the
Samuel Stott family living in Southport, Lancashire, about 15 miles northwest
of Rainford. Samuel Stott is listed in the 1881 census as
an “Ironfounder.” In fact, he was owner
of S.S Stott and Co. The company’s
products included stationary steam engines, screens for sewage works and elevators
for bulk materials.
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| 1881 UK Census - Louisa is on the line marked in yellow |
Daughter Mary Ann was still back in Staffordshire. She was working as a general servant in the home of William Seabrook. He was a grocer in Rugeley up until his death in 1899.
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| Daughter Mary Ann in 1881 UK Census; on line with yellow marker |
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| Seabrook's store is on the left |
In 1891, William, age 61, was living with his family on Ormskirk Road in Rainford. He was still employed as a coal miner. Unfortunately, the census does not indicate their house number.
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| 1891 UK Census - William and family are 185 on the list, at the bottom. |
Living with William and Mary Ann were their sons James (24) and John (19). Both sons were also working as coal miners. Also in the home was Emma Wood (11), the Barker’s granddaughter. It appears that Emma was raised by her grandparents. Her mother Louisa remarried in 1884. By 1891 she had three children by her second husband, William Wright.
The Wright family was living at 32 Reservoir Street in Aspull, about 15 miles northeast of the Barker family. Louisa’s younger sister Maria (22) was living with the Wright family. She was employed as a domestic servant for the Wrights.
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| Rainford to 32 Reservoir Street, Aspull |
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| 1891 UK Census - Wrights are at the top of the schedule at #86 |
By 1901, William and Mary
Ann have moved again. This time to 78
Church Street in Westhoughton. They are
living with their daughter, Maria and her husband, Henry Rotheram. William and Mary Ann are both 71 years old by
this time. William is finally retired from
his work as a hewer in the coal mines.
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| 1901 UK Census - Rotherams are in the middle of the schedule at #68 |
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| 78 Church Street Residence is to the right of Greengrocers |
Henry Rotheram worked as a
clogger and a boot and shoe repairer.
Clogs were wooden sole shoes that were typically worn by workers in the
factories and mills of the day. The census
indicates that he worked at home for his own account, meaning he was
self-employed. Henry and Maria had three
children: Jane (5), William (4) and Mary (1).
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| Henry and Maria Rotheram are on the right Maria's brother William and his wife Elizabeth are on the left William's youngest child, daughter Hilda Barker, is in the middle |
William and Mary Ann’s granddaughter
Emma Wood, now 21, was at last able to move in with her mother Louisa and the
rest of her family in Westhoughton. She
is listed as an adopted daughter. So it
appears that William Wright may have adopted Louisa’s daughter sometime between
1891 and 1901.
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| 1901 UK Census - William Wright and family are listed in the middle at #3 |
William Barker (1864-1946)
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| His granddaughter Edna James said William always had a twinkle in his eye (and candy in his pocket). This photo seems to catch that twinkle. |
William and Mary Ann’s eighth child, William, was born on July 24, 1864, in West Bromwich, Staffordshire. By the time he was 16 he was working as a coal miner in Rainford. That is where he met Elizabeth Ann Woods. It is not known how they met. Elizabeth’s family lived on School Brow (house number unknown) and William’s family lived on Chapel Field (house number and location also unknown).
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| View of School Brow area. |
The Barkers and the Woods may have known each
other before William and Elizabeth got together. The elder William Barker and Elizabeth’s
father, George Woods, were both coal miners as were Elizabeth’s older brothers Henry
and Thomas. The younger William Barker was
about the same age as Thomas Woods.
William and Elizabeth married in 1888. He was 24 and she was 19. They had nine children in a twenty-six-year span (!) between 1889 and 1915. All but one survived to adulthood. In 1891 William and Elizabeth lived with their first two children, Mary (2) and Benjamin (3 months), on Victoria Street in Rainford.
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| 1891 UK Census - William Barker and Family are at entry #156 |
By 1901 the family had grown to five children, adding Elizabeth, William and Arthur.
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| 1901 UK Census - William Barker and Family are at entry #155 |
So it is no surprise that the family moved as
they may have needed a larger home. They
were now living at 14 Wesley Street in Westhoughton. A move of less than 20 miles. Admittedly the house does not
look big enough for a family with five kids.
It must have been tight quarters!
William was still working in the coal mines as a hewer.
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| Move from Victoria Street in Rainford to 14 Wesley Street, Westhoughton |
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| 14 Wesley Street is the one with the black door |
The next few years were mostly tough ones for William. In 1902 his father passed away. In 1905 his sister Louisa passed away. She was only 47 years old. In 1906 William’s mother passed away. Both William and Mary Ann are buried in the cemetery of St. Bartholomew Church in Westhoughton. The one bright spot during this decade was the birth of a daughter, Edna, in 1904, the year William turned 40.
In 1911 the family was still living at 14 Wesley Street, but now with seven children. Only two of the children were under the age of 10. The home must have been busting at the seams!
By 1921
the family had moved one more time to 186 Manchester Road in Westhoughton. William worked for the Westhoughton Coal
& Cannel Company, Ltd as a hewer, although at the time of the census he was
out of work. One of his sons, Arthur,
22, also worked for the same company and he was out of work as well.
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| 1921 UK Census |
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| 186 Manchester Road, Westhoughton Their home is the narrow one in the middle; the bay window on the right belongs to #188 |
The Westhoughton Coal &
Cannel Company did own several mines. It
is not known which mine Willam and Arthur worked at. The Company did own the mine known as the
Pretoria Pit or Bank Pit No. 3. That
mine suffered a firedamp explosion on December 21, 1910, which killed 344 men
and boys. It is to this day one of the
worst mining disasters in British history.
Fortunately, neither William nor Arthur were there.
The term "cannel"
in the company name refers to cannel coal, a type of coal prized for its high
quality, its ability to be carved and molded for use in decorative items and as
a source of gas.
In 1938 William and
Elizabeth celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It caught the attention of the local newspaper
and the result was a nice article (below).
By the time of the 1939 census, William was 64 and listed as a retired coal miner. He was still living at 186 Manchester Road, along with his wife and daughters, Edna and Hilda.
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| 1939 UK Census - the Barker family is listed in the middle at #186 |
William died on March 10, 1946 at the age of
81. Elizabeth continued on at the
Manchester Road residence until she passed on January 23, 1957. Both William and Elizabeth are buried in the cemetery
next to St Bartholomew Church in Westhoughton.
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| Great grandma Elizabeth with Edna on the left and Lizzie on the right. Probably taken in the early 1950s. |
William and Elizabeth’s
children
Mary (1889-1978)
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| 1936 passport photo |
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| Mary, age 19 |
Mary (“Grandma” to the
author) was born in Rainford on February 18, 1889. She was known as Polly. She is not listed as a worker in the 1901
Census when she would have been 12 years old.
It is possible she was still in school.
By the time she was 22 in 1911 she was working as a winder in a cotton
mill.
As a winder she would have
been responsible for operating machinery that wound raw cotton thread from one
type of spool onto another, such as bobbins, reels, or cones, for the
subsequent spinning and weaving processes. Their primary duties involved
keeping the winding machines running smoothly, loading empty spools, removing
full ones, and attending to any broken threads to ensure continuous
production. Winding was a preparatory stage in cotton cloth
production, following spinning. After cotton yarn was spun, it needed to
be transferred onto suitable spools to be used in weaving machines. Winders
played a vital role in this transition, ensuring the yarn was in the correct
form for the next step in the manufacturing process.
On September 26, 1914 Grandma married
Thomas “Tom” James (“Grandpa”, 1887-1976). They got married in the Primitive Methodist Chapel, Grove Lane, Westhoughton. He was employed as a hewer
in the local coal mines. On December 26,
1918, the couple had a son, Albert Barker James (1918-1997). Yes, they did give him "Barker" as his middle name, something he took pride in.
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| 1914 Wedding photo From the left - William Barker, father of the bride; Amelia "Millie" James, Tom's sister; Polly & Tom; Ben Barker; bride's brother and Lizzie Barker, bride's sister |
According to the 1921 Census, Grandpa had been working for the Wigan Coal & Iron Co., Ltd., at their No.2 Hewlett mine (located at Hart common in Westhoughton), but at the time he was out of work.
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| The Hewlett Colliery, Westhoughton Photo from the Northern Mine Research Society |
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| 1921 UK Census |
The family lived at 127 Park Road. When he was working Grandpa had about a two-mile walk to work.
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| The white door leads to 127 Park Road |
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| The walk to work from 127 Park Road to the Hewlett Mine |
In the 1920s the mine was beginning to play
out. It closed completely by 1930. This lack of work may have been a big factor
in what the family did in 1922. They
emigrated to America. Grandma’s daughter
Edna (“Mom”) said that her dad was also influenced by an aunt of his that had
already emigrated to America. She
apparently had nothing but good things to say about her newly adopted
country. It is unknown who this aunt
was. The only family that has been found
to have preceded Grandma and Grandpa to America was Grandpa’s uncle Joseph
Holden Newton (his mother’s brother) and his family. But the Newton’s went to Providence, Rhode
Island on the east coast and Grandpa took his family to Cle Elum, Washington on
America’s west coast. So it seems unlikely
that it was the Newton’s who influenced them.
Grandpa, Grandma and Albert
sailed out of Liverpool on December 23rd on the SS Marloch. They landed at St. John’s, New Brunswick,
Canada on January 3, 1923, a journey of eleven days. Hard to imagine such a long journey, with a four-year-old
son and celebrating both Christmas and New Year’s aboard ship. Grandma mentioned that it wasn’t all smooth
sailing either. At one point the movement
of the ship caused her to fall down a set of stairs. She had a pronounced hump on her back which
she always attributed to that fall.
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| SS Marloch's ship manifest for trip to North America. Tom James and family can be found starting at line 7. |
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| SS Marloch |
Somehow they made their way from St. John’s to Cle Elum, Washington. From one small town to another. A journey of over 3300 miles most likely made by train. Grandpa and Grandma never spoke of that journey, so unfortunately the details of how they made it out of Canada and clear across the US is lost to history.
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| Map of journey from St John, New Brunswick , Canada to Cle Elum, Washington, 1923 |
On November 2, 1923, the
couple added a daughter to the family, Edna Marie James (Mom, 1923-2018). In the 1930 Census they are listed as living
on Roslyn Street in a house that they own.
Grandpa is working as a loader at a local lumbermill. He was also known to have worked at the mines
in the area when they first arrived in town.
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| Mom as a toddler, ca 1925 |
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| Mom as a little girl, ca 1930 |
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| 1930 US Census for Cle Elum, WA Polly and family can be found as family #15 on line 43 |
Sometime after 1930 the family moved to the west side of the state. Grandpa went back to work in the coal mines. He would work in the mines near Renton and when he was laid off he would move up to Bellingham, a journey of about 100 miles. His brother Albert James and his family lived there. Albert also worked in the mines and Grandpa would join him. Mom said that they made that move between Renton and Bellingham several times.
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| Trip from Renton north to Bellingham It would have taken much more than 2 hours in the 1930s since there were no freeways |
In 1936 Grandpa went to work in Alaska. He took a steamer from Seattle operated by The Alaska Steamship Company and they likely landed in Anchorage. The mine was about 100 miles inland from Anchorage. He never spoke of the journey to Alaska or of his time there, so more details are lost to history. No one in the family is completely certain why Grandpa went to Alaska. Possibly it was for some steady work and possibly it was just to see what Alaska was like. In either case he ended up mining coal. He stayed and worked near Anchorage at the Lucky Shot Mine for about a year.
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| Grandpa's trip to Anchorage, 1936 He went by steamer, not by air or the road |
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| Once in Anchorage his journey was not done; he had to travel inland about 100 miles |
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| Oh Joy! Grandpa's destination and home for a year, the Lucky Shot Mine |
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| Grandpa Tom James at the mine |
At the time Grandpa left, Grandma
and Mom (now 13) packed up and went to England for a visit. They stayed for about a year. Mom was enrolled in school there, which she
did not care for as her teachers were not too nice to “the American girl.” Son Albert had joined the Navy by this time,
so he was away from home.
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| Albert Barker James in his Navy uniform |
While they were in England
King Edward VIII abdicated the throne as King of England and his brother Prince
Albert was crowned King George VI. Mom
remembered folks being so angry about the abdication that they smashed their
Edward VIII coronation mugs on the walkways outside their homes. For much of the general public, the news was
an enormous shock, largely because the British press had a voluntary news
blackout on Edward's relationship with Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced
American woman, until the last minute.
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| Edward VIII Coronation mug, 1936 |
Mom did bring home a
coronation cup and plate with her, but not of Edward VIII, it was his brother
and successor, King George VI (Queen Elizabeth’s father).
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| King George VI Coronation Cup, saucer and plate, 1937 |
Here are three photos from
the 1936 Trip -
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Mom and Grandma – Probably taken at the time they got their passport photos. Mom was about 13 at the time. |
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| From the left, likely Hilda Beers (a relative on the James side of the family), uncertain of the lady behind her, Hilda Barker, unknown gent, Grandma Polly Barker James, Edna Barker, Edna James, 1936-37 |
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| From the left: Hilda Byers, Arthur Barker, Nora Byers Edna James is behind them, 1936-37 |
That was the only time that
Grandma went back to England. Mom said
that her mother was very homesick and missed her family in England. So it must have been particularly difficult
in 1946 when her father died and in 1957 when her mother passed away.
By the time of the 1940 Census,
they were back in Renton and this time to stay.
They were living at 231 No Williams. Grandpa was back at work in the mines near
Renton.
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| 231 No Williams, Renton, WA, ca 1940 The "window" near the ground on the right was actually an opening to a coal chute. Coal would be delivered through that opening and it ended up in the basement on a dirt floor, grandpa would then shovel into the furnace to heat the house. |
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| 1940 US Census for Renton, WA, Polly's family can be found on lines 26, 27 and 28 |
Mom graduated from Renton High School in 1942.
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| Mom's Senior Year Photo, 1942 |
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| Mom is the first one on the left in the back row. Her best friends were Mary Hilson (author's god mother) front row, first on the left, and Grace Gallagher, fourth one from left on back row (sister of Edna's future husband!) |
In 1943 Mom married Ken Gallagher at the family’s church, St Luke’s Episcopal Church in Renton.
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| In St. Luke's Episcopal Church |
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| Cutting the cake |
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| On the Church steps, off to a honeymoon in Victoria, BC |
By 1950, Grandpa and
Grandma were in their early 60’s. Grandpa
was out of the mines and working as a gardener for the city of Renton taking
care of the city’s parks. Grandma was
working as a postal carrier for the US Mail.
This is a bit of a surprise as Grandma never talked about any kind of
working career in the US, only her time at the textile mills in England.
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| 1950 US Census for Renton, WA Tom and Mary James are listed on lines 4 and 5. |
In 1964 Grandpa and Grandma celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary.
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| Golden Wedding Anniversary, 1964 The party was held at daughter Edna's home |
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| Grandma and Grandpa with anniversary cake |
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| 60th Wedding Anniversary, 1974 The party was held at daughter Edna's home |
Late in life Grandma would enjoy visits from her brother George and a visit from her sister Hilda. George would visit in 1970, 1972 and in 1974. Hilda visited in 1972. In fact, Hilda and George met up at the airport as one was coming in and one was going home in 1972.
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| First visit 1970 - road trip to see Mt. Rainier |
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| George and Betty treated the family to a Lancashire Hot Pot dinner |
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| George & Betty Barker with Polly & Tom James |
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| Hilda, George and Grandma meeting up at the airport, ca 1972 |
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| Southlawn Building, Greenwood Cemetery, Renton, WA |
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| Tom & Polly James, Son Albert & wife Lillian, and daughter Edna & husband Ken are all interred next to each other in the niches shown above |
For more information on the Thomas James Family, see https://barkerjames.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-james-family.html
Benjamin (1890-1994)
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| Ben in 1914, age 24 |
Ben was born in Rainford just
eleven days before Christmas 1890 when the family lived at 155 Victoria Street. That particular address no longer exists
based on a Google maps search. Ben was
the youngest of two children at that time.
It is not known how long
Ben was able to stay in school. In those
days it was not unusual for children to start working by age 10. Ben seems to have been able to avoid
that. The 1901 Census does not list an
occupation for him. By the 1911 census
he is twenty years old. He is still
single and working as a warehouse man at the cotton mill. At that time the youngest child working was
Ben’s brother William, age 14. The
oldest child still in school is Arthur, age 12.
So it is quite possible that Ben went to work sometime after his 12th
birthday, meaning that he had the equivalent of an elementary school education.
What the census record does not reveal, is that while he was working in the warehouse, he was also attending school. He had enrolled in a four year engineering course through the Lancashire and Cheshire Institute. He graduated in 1914.
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| Article from the July 7, 1914 edition of the Bolton Evening News mentioning Ben's completion of his fourth years of studies. Article provided by great grandson, Gary David Armstrong. |
On October 6, 1917, Ben married Margaret Lee at the Daisy Hill Primitive Methodist Chapel in Westhoughton.
By 1921 the couple had a daughter Hilda (1918-1994). Ben listed his occupation as boiler fireman. His employer was the Wigan Coal and Iron Co. Ltd and his place of work had been at the No. 2 Hewlett Pit in Westhoughton, but at the time of the census Ben was out of work. He was just thirty years old.
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| 1921 UK Census - a unique feature of the 1921 census is that it contains the signature of the head of the household. Ben's signature is in the lower right corner. |
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| Ben, Margaret and a very young Hilda, ca 1919 |
Later that year son Kenneth (1921-1998) was born. In 1925 Ben and Margaret had a son, Benjamin (1925-1978) and in 1931 they had a daughter, Margaret (1931-2016). In 1937, nineteen year-old Hilda won the beauty pageant in Westhoughton. She was crowned Queen of the British Legion's Coronation Gala, no doubt as part of the celebration of the coronation of King George VI (photo below; provided by great grandson, Gary David Armstrong).
In 1939 Ben and Margaret lived at 32 Mabel Street in Westhoughton.
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| 1939 UK Census - Ben and family are listed towards the bottom of the schedule |
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| 32 Mabel Street is the white door on the right. Photo is from Google Maps. |
Ben was working at an air screw factory as an
engine and boiler attendant. The air
screw factory was operated by De Havilland, a British aircraft manufacturer. “Air screws” was the term for a plane’s
propellers. De Haviland made the DH 98
Mosquito, among other aircraft. The DH
98 was known as the “Wooden Wonder” for its speed and versatility during
WWII. It was used as a fighter-bomber, a
night fighter and a reconnaissance aircraft.
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| Ben at work in a boiler room |
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| The DeHavilland Mosquito |
Ben and Margaret were living
with three of their four children at the time.
Hilda, 21, was working as a cotton weaver. Son Benjamin, age 14, is listed as working as
a machinist for an aircraft manufacturer.
Fourteen seems rather young for a machinist, but it was about the right
age for a lad to begin his apprenticeship.
Also, he may have been operating some of the less complicated machinery
such as a drill press. The factory he
worked at may have been the Vickers-Armstrong factory that operated in
Westhoughton making parts for the Vickers Wellington bomber, a very durable
plane that was manufactured throughout WWII. Daughter Margaret, age 8, was still attending
school. Kenneth, 18, was
not living at home in 1939. It is not
known where he was at that time.
 |
| The Vickers Wellington bomber |
The family made it safely
through WWII, but in 1951 Margaret passed away.
She was only 58. Ben stayed on in
Westhoughton. Later in life he became
well known as a cyclist in the area. He
covered over 30,000 miles on his bicycle! The length of Britain’s island, from Land’s
End in the south to John O’Groats in the north, is about 874 miles using public
roadways. That means that Ben would have
travelled the length of Great Britain over 34 times! The continental US (sometimes referred to as
the lower 48) is 2800 miles wide from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast. Ben would have travelled a distance
equivalent to crossing the US over 10 times.
That is some serious cycling.
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| Ben on a cycling holiday |
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| And he kept on cycling! A 1965 article on reaching 30,000 miles |
The author had the privilege of meeting Ben in 1975 and again in the mid-1980s.
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| Uncle Ben, 1975 visit |
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| Uncle Ben in front of his home, 1975 |
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| Uncle Ben and the author, 1985 visit |
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| Edna James Gallagher, the author & wife Jeanne, Uncle Ben, Ken Gallagher, 1986 |
In 1990 Ben turned 100 years old. Virtually all of the Barker family turned out for his party. Of course, Ben received the much-cherished birthday letter from Queen Elizabeth and an acknowledgment in the local press.
 |
| The Barker Clan turned out for Ben! Back row - Michael Barker, Edna Gallagher, Ron Brander, Bunty Wood-Johnson, Ken Barker, Hilda Lacy, Edna Middlehurst, and Edna's husband Tom Middlehurst (a Barker wanna-be perhaps?) Front Row - Hilda Brander, Ben's daughter Margaret, Birthday Boy Ben, Ben's daughter Hilda, Nora Smith, Arthur Barker |
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| Local paper coverage for his birthday; picture of Ben with the Wigan players is below |
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| Everyone loves a birthday boy! Ben with his letter from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and sister Hilda Brander on the left and niece Hilda Lacey on the right. |
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| Uncle Ben with Joe Lydon & Graeme West, Wigan Rugby League players with The Rugby League Challenge Cup |
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| Uncle Ben cutting his cake Take a big slice Ben, you've earned it! |
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| The article that appeared in the Ulverston paper on Ben's 101st birthday. Ben receiving honors from Ulverston's Mayor, assisted by Betty Barker |
Ben
passed away in July 1994 at the age of 103, just five months shy of 104. He is buried with his wife Margaret and his daughter Hilda Urmston who passed away earlier in 1994.
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| Ben's, Margaret's and daughter Hilda's grave |
James (1890-1891)
James was born in 1890 in Rainford, which meant he was Ben’s twin. According to Ron Brander, who knew his grandmother (James’ mother), Elizabeth, James was only a month old when he died. He is not listed in the 1891 census which was taken early in April of that year. The cause of his death is not known.
Elizabeth (1893-1977)
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| 1921 UK Census - Lizzie is on line #3 |
On July 6, 1927, Lizzie married Benjamin “Ben” Byers (1896-1981). She was 34 and he was 31.
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| Ben Byers and Lizzie Barker Byers Wedding photo, 1927. Lizzie's father William and sister Edna are on the right |
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| Ben and Lizzie |
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| Ben and Lizzie with young Nora |
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| Hilda, Lizzie, Lizzie's mother Elizabeth, Nora with bike and Ben |
Ben was a well-known trombone player in his day. He was the principal trombone for Wingates Band. The song, The Joker, was written for Ben by conductor Harold Moss. Ben's band played at the National Brass Band Championship at the Crystal Palace in 1931. They were the 22nd of 24 bands to play and they won. The song they played was "Honour and Glory". The label, shown below, mentions their first place victory.
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| The Wingates Temperance Band Ben and his trombone are front row, center |
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| The label of the recording of "Honour and Glory" Photo provided by granddaughter Julie Hill. |
"The Joker" (H Moss) Played by Wingates Temperance Band Regal Zono MR 412
A recording of the band playing "Honour and Glory" can be found at:
Honour and Glory (Bath) Wingates Temperance Band Harold Moss
So the family moved south and were living in Kettering by at least 1939. Lizzie passed away on April 24, 1977, and husband Ben passed on October 26, 1981.
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| Lizzie & Ben Byers, 1975 |
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| Lizzie & Ben in front, Hilda Lacey and daughter Sarah in back with the author and Nora's husband Phil Smith and daughter Elaine, 1975 |
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| Ben and Lizzie relaxing at the back of their home |
William (1896-1959)
William Barker was born on July 9, 1896, in Adlington, Lancashire. It is not known why the family left Rainford and ended up in Adlington just long enough for William to be born there and then no later than 1898 end up in Westhoughton. Adlington is 20 miles east of Rainford and Westhoughton is 6 miles south of Adlington.
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| Rainford to Adlington to Westhoughton, a move taken between 1894-1898 |
By 1911 William is 14 and
he is working in the mines in Westhoughton as a rope lad. A "rope lad" in UK mines was a
boy who worked on the haulage systems that moved coal tubs (or trams) through
the underground roadways. When full each coal tub could weigh between 448
pounds (“4 hundredweight”) up to a full ton (2240 pounds) depending on the size
of the tub.
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| 1911 UK Census, William is listed on line 6; a rope lad in the coal mines |
Key responsibilities and
duties of a rope lad included controlling the tubs as they were moved by a rope
or chain-driven system; manually coupling or uncoupling the tubs as they came
on or went off the rope; attending to the rope or chain haulage systems,
cleaning and oiling pulleys, sheaves, and rollers; and depending on the setup,
they may have also been responsible for operating the signals that directed the
movement of the tubs.
While the exact job details
could vary slightly depending on the specific mine and the era, the role of a
rope lad was extremely dangerous, with historical records detailing numerous
fatalities among these young workers.
The dangers of the job
included: crushing injuries from being caught between carts or the machinery; and
constant risk of accidents, explosions, and cave-ins due to the poorly lit and
confined conditions deep in a mine. It
was common for child workers to spend 10 to 12-hour shifts in these harsh
conditions.
By 1916 William is 20 years
old and in the military. It is unknown
what unit he was in, but the photo the family has of him shows him wearing a
kilt and he has a rifle. So he was in a
rifle battalion of a regiment with Scottish connections, though not necessarily
from Scotland. His nephew, Ronnie
Brander, had this to say about William’s service:
“Something reminds me that
he was in a Scottish regiment. The story goes that when he was called up, he
asked NOT to be put into a Scottish one, but that was what happened. It depends
when he joined up, as there was a time when certain regiments were very short
of men as they had lost that many in large battles. As a result, when new men
came along they were allocated to any regiment that was short. Hence him being
in a Scottish regiment. Again, I think he was in the HLI, (Highland Light
Infantry), which was a very famous Scottish regiment of the day.”
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| William in uniform |
William married Ann “Annie”
Grayson in 1920. By 1921 William and
Annie were living in St Helen’s, Lancashire with a son, William Edward, age 10
months. William was working as a police
constable for the St Helen’s County Borough Police Force. The couple went on to have two more children,
Edna (1925-2022) and Kenneth (1934-2014).
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| 1921 UK Census |
In 1939 William and his family were still living in St Helen’s and he was still with the police force. They were living at 164 Doulton St.
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| 164 Doulton Street, St Helens - the white door on the left is #164. |
Unfortunately, William came down with
multiple sclerosis. He passed away on
February 2, 1959, in St Helen’s.
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| William with his daughter Edna, date unknown |
Arthur (1898-1978)
Arthur Barker was born on December 5, 1898, in Westhoughton, the last of the Barker children to be born in the 1800s and the first one in Westhoughton. By 1911, Arthur is 12 years old and was still allowed to go to school. That soon changed and by 1921 he was hewer in a coal mine and working for the same company as his father, the Westhoughton Coal and Cannel Co., Ltd. At the ripe old age of 22, he was also unemployed at the time of the census, just like his father.
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| 1921 UK Census - Arthur is #4 on the schedule |
On October 3, 1925, Arthur married Dorothy Radway at Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church in Westhoughton. On January 30, 1929 the couple had a son, Arthur Barker (1929-2020). On February 23, 1935, Dorothy passed away leaving Arthur with a six-year-old son.
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| Son Arthur out playing with the ladies, his cousins Edna James and Nora & Hilda Byers, 1936-37 |
In 1938 Arthur married
Margaret “Maggie” Hurst (1909-1997).
Together they raised Arthur but had no children of their own. They lived at 393 Manchester Road in
Westhoughton right next door to Maggie’s widowed mother and her two younger
brothers. Arthur was
working in the mines and Maggie was working as a cloth weaver at a local cotton
manufacturer.
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| 1939 UK Census Arthur and Margaret are #33 on the schedule, right below Margaret's parents and siblings |
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| Front row - Edna, Elizabeth, Arthur's wife Margaret Back row - Arthur and Ben |
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| Arthur and Maggie, 1975 |
They continued to live at
393 Manchester Road up to Arthur’s passing on June 14, 1978 and Maggie’s
passing on August 10, 1997. They are buried
in the Westhoughton cemetery with Maggie’s parents and one of her brothers.
The inscription on the headstone reads:
In Loving Memory Of
JOHN HURST
Who Died Sep 5th 1926 Aged 51 Years
Also EMILY His Beloved Wife
Who Died Jan 8th 1950 Aged 74 Years
We Thank The Lord For Two Of Whom
We Have Such Beautiful Memories
Also JOSEPH Their Beloved Son
Who Died Aug 10th 1976 Aged 64
Lifes Work Well Done
Also ARTHUR The Dearly Loved Husband Of
Margaret Barker (nee HURST)
Who Died June 14th 1978 Aged 79 Years
Also The Above named MARGARET BARKER
Died Aug 10th 1997 Aged 88
Re-United
George (1901-1981)
George Barker was born on
November 11, 1901, in Westhoughton. At
the time of the 1911 Census, George was nine years old and still in school.
At the time of the 1921
Census George was 19 and worked as a goods yard porter for the Lancashire &
Yorkshire Railway at their warehouse on Manchester Road in Westhoughton. Goods yard porters were responsible for
managing the movement of freight. This
included: loading and unloading goods from wagons and vans by hand; distributing
and conveying goods on hand-trucks or barrows across the platforms and
warehouse; and keeping the goods sheds, platforms, and yard clean and
organized.
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| 1921 UK Census - George is listed at #5 on the schedule |
On August 30, 1924, George married Ada Hodson. She was working as a cotton weaver In Westhoughton (and may have known some of George’s sisters). George had now moved on from his porter job to that of a police constable. He was living in Ribchester and that was some 25 miles away.
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| The trip from Ribchester south to Westhoughton |
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| Ada Hodson |
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| George and Ada's wedding, 1924 |
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| Constable George Barker, ca 1924 |
The couple did not have children of their own, but on January 2, 1928 they adopted four-and-a-half-year-old James Lee. James Lee's birthmother was Elizabeth Schofield Lee. She died in 1925 when James was only 2. Ada was a cousin of Elizabeth's as Ada's mother was a Schofield.
Unfortunately, Ada died on
March 2, 1931. It is not known what the cause of death was. After Ada’s passing adopted son James went to
live with other members of Ada's Hodson family.
 |
| James Barker, 1923-1978 |
In 1933 George married
Betsy “Betty” Crompton. The
couple went on to have three children Michael (born 1934), Peter Barry (born 1938)
and Dorothea “Bunty” (born 1941). During
these years the family was living in Middleton, some 15 miles due east of
Westhoughton.
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| George Barker's and Betsy Crompton's wedding party George's sister Edna is on the right |
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| Does anyone know what's going on here? Betty and George are on the right and that is all the author knows (or will admit!) |
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| Elizabeth, George holding baby Michael, Betty, and William Barker, ca 1934 |
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| Westhoughton to Middleton, UK |
At some point after Bunty’s
birth in 1941, Betty, George and family moved to Ulverston in the Lake District. He took a job as a plain clothes Police
Detective. He continued as a detective for the rest of his career. George and
Betty retired in Ulverston. They lived
first on Alexander Road and then they downsized and moved to 39 Tyson
Square.
George and Betty made two trips in the 1970s to the US to visit Polly and family. The first trip to the US marked the first time that Polly had seen her brother George in at least 35 years.
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| George and Betty serving up Lancashire Hot Pot at the Gallaghers in Seattle, WA |
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| George and Betty at Mt Rainier, Washington state |
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| Betty & George enjoying tea at Albert & Lillian James' home, Seattle, WA |
George passed away in 1980.
Betty made a couple more trips to the US before her passing in 1997. She was definitely the life of the party!
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| Betty enjoying dinner at the Author's home From the left - Betty, Albert & Lillian James, Ken Gallagher, Edna Gallagher and daughter Trish |
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| Betty trying to remember her lines from one of Stanley Holloway's monologues Albert James, Betty, Lillian James and Edna Gallagher |
Edna (1904-1979)
Edna Barker was born on
November 5, 1904, in Westhoughton. By
1921, Edna was a 16 year-old cotton weaver.
But like her father and brother Arthur, she was out of work at the time
of the census. She had been working for
the Taylor & Hartley Mills in Westhoughton.
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| Taylor & Hartley Mills, Bolton Road, Westhoughton, 1913-1970 |
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| 1921 UK Census - Edna is listed on line #6 |
By 1939 Edna was still
living at home with her parents at 186 Manchester Road in Westhoughton. Edna was employed as a cotton weaver. Edna never married and continued to live with
her parents and cared for them right up until their passings.
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| 1939 UK Census - Edna is listed on the middle of the page, #3 under the 186 Manchester Road address |
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| Edna with her mother Elizabeth |
At some time, Edna came
down with Paget’s disease of bone.
According to the Mayo clinic, Paget’s “interferes with the body's normal
recycling process, in which new bone tissue gradually replaces old bone tissue.
Over time, bones can become fragile and
misshapen. The pelvis, skull, spine and
legs are most commonly affected. Complications can include broken bones, hearing loss and pinched
nerves in the spine.”
When the author met Edna in
1975 it was clear that she had severe hearing loss and the disease had affected
her legs and her spine. She could not
stand straight and walking appeared to require real effort.
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| Edna, mother Elizabeth and Lizzie |
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| George and Betty with Edna, 1975 |
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| Great photo of Aunt Edna in her home, 1975 |
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| Edna and Betty - these ladies look like they are up to a bit of mischief. To heck with Paget's Disease, this lady still has spunk! |
Edna passed away on October
1, 1979 in Westhoughton. She was buried
with her parents in St Bartholomew’s cemetery, Westhoughton.
Hilda (1915-2006)
Hilda Barker was born on April
5, 1915. Her mother Elizabeth was just
a few days away from her 46th birthday! Hilda was the last of eight children and
eleven years younger than Edna, the next older sibling. There must be a story here! Unfortunately, it is another one lost to history.
By 1939 Hilda is working as
a ladies’ hairdresser. Even though she was
24, she was single and still living at home.
In 1946 Hilda married John Brander (1896-1971) and moves to his hometown
of Glasgow, Scotland.
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| Hilda's wedding photo From left - sister Edna, brother Arthur, groom John Brander, Hilda and William Tunstall, cousin to the Barkers from Elizabeth Woods Barker's side of the family |
In 1948, the couple had a son, Ronnie Brander.
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| In back - Hilda Lacey and Hilda Brander in front - Elizabeth, Ronnie and John Brander |
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| The Branders at Blackpool, early 1950s |
John passed away in 1971 and Hilda stayed on
in Glasgow for the remainder of her life.
Like her brother George, Hilda traveled to the US to see her sister
Polly. She even met up with George at
the Seattle-Tacoma International airport in the 1970s as one was headed home
and one was arriving. She passed away in
2006 at the age of 91, continuing the trend of Barkers living a long life.
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| Hilda, George and Grandma at the airport A photo worth repeating - love the look of delight on Grandma's face! |
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| Ronnie Brander with the Hildas Hilda Lacey on the left and Hilda Brander on the right |
The Barker Sisters, 1936-37. Taken when Polly visited England. From the left: Lizzie (43), Hilda (21), Edna (32) and Polly (47). |
Coming Next.....
The Barker Family connection to the Smith Family and the Clay
Pipe Industry in Rainford
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