Scope and Contents of the Collection
Arrangement of the Collection
Series 1: : Correspondence, 1802-1813
Series 2: News Clippings, 1842
John Barker family correspondence
A Guide to the Collection
Creator: Barker family
Title: Collection of John Barker family correspondence
Abstract: This manuscript collection comprises letters written by British Anglican clergyman Rev. John Barker (1748-1816) to his son, Rev. Henry Barker (1779-1839); letters written to Rev. Henry Barker by his brothers Rev. Samuel Barker (1781-1859) and Rev. William Barker (1772-1838). Navy Chaplain Rev. Henry Barker served aboard H.M.S. Defiance in 1805 and H.M.S. Renown in 1806 and 1808. The collection also includes published articles on the death and burial of Rev. William Barker (1805-1841), son of Rev. William Barker (1772-1838).
Accession No: Collection BridArch 2.035
Language: Material is in English
Repository Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
Yorkshire clergyman Rev. John Barker served the Church of England as minister of St. Mary parish church, Kingston-on-Hull, for thirty-four years. Rev. Barker and his wife, Eleanor, raised four sons: Rev. William Barker (1772-1838), Rev. John Barker (1778-1802), Rev. Henry Barker (1779-1839), and Rev. Samuel Barker (1781-1859). Rev. Henry Barker, to whom all of the letters in this collection are addressed, was a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge University, who served as Chaplain in the Royal Navy under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson at Trafalgar. He died on December 15, 1839 at Hayden, near Taunton, Somerset, England at the age of 60.
The Rev. William Barker (1805-1841) whose death notices are filed in the last folder of this collection was the son of Rev. William Barker (1772-1838), who had served as Rector of Silverton, Devon, from 1806 to 1838 and as Vicar of Broadclist from 1819 to 1838. The younger William Barker was Curate of St. Mary Church for several years before succeeding his father as Vicar of Broadclist (also spelled Broadclyst) in 1839. He was made Prebendary of Cutton in Exeter in 1840 and died on December 31, 1841, at the age of 36.
Foster, Joseph. Index Ecclesiasticus; Or, Alphabetical Lists of All Ecclesiastical Dignitaries in England and Wales Since the Reformation…. Oxford: Parker & Co, 1890.
Oliver, George. Ecclesiastical Antiquities in Devon, Being Observations on Several Churches in Devonshire, with Some Memoranda for the History of Cornwall. Exeter: W.C. Featherstone, 1842.
Venn, John, and John Archiband Venn. Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1922.
"Deaths." The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle 86 (1816): 468.
"Deaths." The Ecclesiastical Gazette; or Monthly Ledger 1 (1838-1839): 139.
"Trafalgar." Lincolnshire Notes & Queries 9 (1907): 27.
Maser, Frederick E. "Discovery." Methodist History 23:2 (October 1985): 46-50.
This collection features nineteen early nineteenth-century letters written to the Rev. Henry Barker by his father and brothers. The letters include passages voicing concern for the poor, criticism of Church of England hierarchy, and both anti-Catholic and anti-Methodist sentiments. Other topics discussed in the letters include Napoleon, Trafalgar, and the deaths of Nelson, Pitt, and Sir John Moore of Corunna.
The collection is organized into two series:
Access to Collection:
Collection is open for research use.
Publication Rights:
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Head of Special Collections of the Bridwell Library.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
Sensitive Materials Statement:
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which Bridwell Library assumes no responsibility.
This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.
Barker family.
Church of England -- Clergy.
Letters -- England -- 19th century.
Barker, Henry, 1779-1839.
Barker, John, 1748-1816.
Identification of item], John Barker family correspondence, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.
Acquisition Information
Acquired circa 1985.
The letters were purchased as a set in London by Methodist historian Frederick E. Maser (1908-2002) circa 1984. Maser published an essay about the Barker letters in the October 1985 issue of Methodist History.
Processed by Timothy S. G. Binkley, 2014.
Finding aid written by
Timothy S. G. Binkley, 2014.
Encoded by
Ada Negraru, 2014.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The first series begins with seventeen letters from John Barker to his son, Henry Barker, in chronological order. The John Barker letters are followed by single letters to Henry Barker written by his brothers, Samuel and William Barker.
2123A 01 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1802 August 26-28
01 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Defiance, 1805 June 18
01 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Defiance, 1805 December 4
02 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Defiance, 1805 December 11
02 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1805 December 17
02 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Renown, 1806 February 8
03 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Renown, 1806 August 14
03 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Renown, 1806 October 21
03 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Renown, circa 1806
04 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1808 June 11
04 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Renown, 1809 March 28
05 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1811 January 5
05 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1811 July 4
05 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1811 August 17
06 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1813 January 12
06 John Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1813 February 27
07 Samuel Barker letter to Henry Barker, 1802 August 22
07 William Barker letter to Henry Barker, H.M.S. Renown, 1808 October 21
The second series, News Clippings, consists of published notices concerning the death and burial of Rev. William Barker (1805-1841), Vicar of Broadclist, son of Rev. William Barker (1772-1838), Rector of Silverton.
2123A 08 William Barker death notices, 1842 January