Hi Don & Derek,
As a novice ancestry researcher, I've found your thread really interesting, both in confirming some details and shedding light on more complex areas. I've been trying to find info on Caleb's parents so would be grateful for any more details you might be able to give me. Thanks for all the info re Caleb Barker and his parents. He was the father of my great grandmother, Annie Maria Barker (always pronounced Mar eye uh by my mother). I struggled to "find" her in the records, but eventually succeeded as fortunately my mother had noted her exact dob & place of birth. She is registered on her birth certificate as Maria, presumably as it was the same name as her mother, she was distinguished in the family by the addition of Annie! On her birth certificate her mother is Maria, formerly Woolhouse, her father Caleb, of Cemetery Road, Ecclesall, a table blade forger. So she was the sister of Mary (Veronica's g grandmother, and Frederick (1855-1925) I think your great grandfather, Don? My mother would often tell stories about her family, some of which I actually listened to and remembered! Interestingly, she never mentioned how and where exactly her great grandfather Caleb died! A shocking and terribly sad end. I have found the listings of his, his wife and son's arrival in Brisbane, as bounty immigrants on the Kincardineshire in 1883 after 3 months at sea. He did send his son back to Sheffield to try to persuade Annie Maria to join them when her husband died but, at the last minute she was a unable to leave "all her graves behind". I think that the prospect of the 3 months journey by sea must have been terrifying, given the fate of her uncle's family on board the Wallace. I've just started looking at the other Barker relatives who emigrated to Australia in 1800s, using Ancestry.co.uk.
My mother said that the family set up a business making circular saws in Australia, presumably using their blade forging skills - do you have any info about that? Also someone on the thread said they had some old photos - was that you?
Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Susie
PS you've probably seen this, but I've just found this page online about the Barkers of Bubnell
http://places.wishful-thinking.org.uk/DBY/Baslow/BarkersandWeavers.html
Show Posts