Frances Hornby Trevor was just 17 years old when Captain Charles William Barkley sailed into the port of Ostend in 1786. Within a few weeks Charles and Frances were married and together they set sail on an epic round the world voyage.
This story has already been told. It captured the imagination of a Canadian author and resulted in a book, The Remarkable World of Frances Barkley: 1769-1845 (Heritage, 2003) by Beth Hill and Cathy Converse.
https://www.touchwoodeditions.com/book/the-remarkable-world-of-frances-barkley/
Stop Press May 2023: Cathy Converse has a new book just published, Frances Barkley Eighteenth-century Seafarer:
https://www.cathyconverse.com/books.html
Charles and Frances were courageous and heroic; Frances was the first woman to sail, openly as a woman, around the world. Over a period of six and a half years their two perilous sea voyages took them to Hawaii, Canada, China, India and Russia. Their story was also one of failure; their ship was confiscated, their infant daughter died at sea, they were kept prisoners on the island of Mauritius for a year and they returned to England without having made their fortune. The link below provides a short account of their travels.
Charles William Barkley
Charles and Frances are my four times great grandparents. Accepting that their arrival on the shores of British Columbia was not good news for sea otters, their motivation was to get rich quickly and sailing the Imperial Eagle flying the flag of the Austria East India Company was a bit dodgy, I am quite proud of them. Their children led far less adventurous lives but several of their 31 grandchildren, 81 great-grandchildren and 115 great-great grandchildren appear to have inherited a spirit of adventure from Charles and Frances, setting sail to live in North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia and other parts of Europe. If we think of social, political and economic progress, empire, religion, military might, construction, the rule of law and sporting prowess as being features of the Victorian age the descendants of Charles and Frances were significant players. Here are some of their stories.
Charles and Frances returned to England with a six year old son and further children followed. They had at least seven children, four of whom grew to adulthood. They were:
1. William Andrew Hippolyte Barkley (1789-1802)
William was born on the island of Mauritius during his parents' first voyage. William and Andrew were uncles to Charles William Barkley. Hippolyte was in recognition of the kindness Charles and Frances received from Mr and Mrs Hippolyte Collignia. One report suggests that William had a twin who died at birth. William died of scarlet fever and was buried in Enfield churchyard.
2. Martha "Patty" Barkley (1791-1792)
Martha was born at sea during a violent gale off the Cape of Good Hope. She was christened in Calcutta. She died at sea and was buried on the island of Celebes (now Sulawesi).
3. Jane Hornby Barkley (1796-1884) - further information here
4. John Charles Barkley (1799-1883) - further information here
5. Martha "Patty" Barkley (1802-1867) - further information here
6. William Barkley (1805-1806)
This William died in infancy. He is also buried in Enfield churchyard.
7. Charles Francis Barkley (1808-1845) - further information here
If you want to find out more about the parents of Charles and Frances check out this website:
https://sites.google.com/site/fenwickoflambton/
You might be interested in looking at some facts and figures about the descendants of Charles and Frances Barkley - click here.
Header image reproduced from a painting by the late Harry Heine, permission kindly granted by his son.