John Charles
John Charles Barkley (1799-1883) married Mary Yarker (1798-1894)
Rev John Charles Barkley married Mary Yarker in 1823. Mary, the daughter of Henry Yarker (1761-1826) and Elizabeth Green (1764-1808), came from Lowther, Westmorland (Cumbria). John Charles and Mary were married in Clifton-upon-Dunsmore, Warwickshire. It is not clear why the marriage took place in Warwickshire. The Remarkable World of Frances Barkley suggests that it did not have parental approval and a diary kept by his sister, Martha, refers to a fall-out between John Charles and his family.
Rev John Charles Barkley is the subject of these two photos.The photo of him seated (Image G-08026 courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives) is held in the archives of the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British Columbia
The cartre de visite (standing) is in the possession of one of his descendants as well being in the Royal BC Museum archives. The photo was taken at the Norwich studio of William Boswell Junior; he had a photography business in Norwich from about 1860 to 1870 so John Charles would have been in his sixties.
A portrait of a much younger John Charles in his army officer's uniform is reproduced in The Remarkable World of Frances Barkley (page 173).
In 1816 John Charles was the recipient of an army commission in the 53rd foot regiment purchased for him by his uncle, John Barkley.
John Charles and Mary spent the early years of their married life in Leigh, Dorset. In 1831 when he was over 30 years old and the father of five children, John Charles decided to join the church. By this time he was fully reconciled with his family. In her diary his sister, Martha, describes him as 'a truly good and dear fellow'. That year he was admitted to Emanuel College, Cambridge and he was ordained in 1835. In 1839 he became Vicar at All Saints, Little Melton, Norfolk.
John Charles was certainly not as adventurous as his father and mother. He seems to have led a quiet life as a country parson, serving as Vicar at Little Melton for 44 years until his death in 1883. Henry Barkley, son of John Charles and Mary, provides glimpses of family life in his book, My Boyhood. His parents come across as benign figures giving him plenty of opportunities to explore the surrounding countryside and indulge a passion for hunting with dogs.
Mary Barkley (nee Yarker) is the subject this photo (Image G-08028 courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives).
Describing Sundays at the vicarage in Little Melton, Henry Barkley recalls 'dear mother regularly asking for just a little bit of cheese on a plate to be fetched for her, which she ate with bread and apple, a good old Westmoreland habit that she learned to like as a child'.
John Charles and Mary produced ten children and all but one survived childhood.
1. Charles William Barkley (1824-1885) - further information here
2. John Trevor Barkley (1825-1882) - further information here
3. George Andrew Barkley (1826-1913) - further information here
4. Edward Barkley (1829-1909) - further information here
5. Martha Barkley (1831-1924) - further information here
6. Frances Jane Barkley (1833-1834) - died in infancy
7. Frances Jane Barkley (1835-1914) - further information here
8. Henry Charles Barkley (1837-1903) - further information here
9. Robert Arthur Barkley (1839-1910) - further information here
10. Louisa Elizabeth Barkley (1842-1926) - further information here
In a 1831 diary entry Martha Shaw describes her nephews: 'I was most happy the day John and his family spent here. His boys are indeed fine fellows. Charles the handsomest – he is fair with blue eyes, brown hair and a soft voice, pretty manners, good figure and a most winning smile. John, (Grandmamma’s pet) is a noble boy – but not so pretty, George a merry little fellow – 3 yrs and ½ old and looks 7, quite a boy, does not strike one at all as a child – indeed they all look two years older than they are without exaggeration. Edward at 14 months a great bluff fellow, very fat and large but not pretty.'
Four of John Charles and Mary's sons were involved in building railways in what was then the Ottoman Empire. John Trevor Barkley’s success greatly helped his younger brothers. A paper written by two historians notes:
'As J. Trevor’s business career prospered, his brothers came out to Turkey to keep books, prepare working drawings, and supervise labour on projects in which he took a leading part. They acquired engineering ‘educations’ in the process, and signed themselves ‘civil engineer’ later on their careers. This affectionate, close knit and energetic group was able to forge ahead against all kinds of obstacles, natural or human; J. Trevor Barkley could devote himself to dealing with financial backers, business colleagues, and government officials, while his brothers saw to it that the work was done. The Barkleys were an excellent team.'
Jensen J.H. and Rosegger G. British Railway Builders along the Lower Danube, 1865-1869 in The Slavonic Review Vol. 46, No. 106 (Jan 1968)