Edward Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber
Encyclopedia
Edward Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber (1865 1948) was born on 1 July 1865 in the Spanish colonized capital city of Santa Isabel
on the island of Fernando Po
in West Africa
.
He was one of the first black people in York
and is presumably linked with William N Barleycorn, the first native Primitive Methodist Minister in Fernando Po. Other leading Creole families in Fernando Po (now Bioko
) around this time included the Barber family, as well as Davis
, Barleycorn, Vivour, Kinson, Dougan, Balboa, Knox, Coker and Collins, although an ancestral link has been suggested with Francis Barber
, Samuel Johnson
's man-servant.
records show him as entering in September 1886 and leaving in April 1888. He is described as the son of "Mrs Julia A. Barber" of "Calle de Rene, Santa Isabel", born on 25 July 1868.
Records from the University of Edinburgh
show that he was educated for 5 years at the C. M. (Church Missionary) Grammar school in Sierra Leone
, West Africa
. It is estimate that he would have been aged 12–17 during this period. He would have been sent to Sierra Leone to study since Fernando Po
only offered minimal education in Spanish and being from the English speaking Creole tribe. Sierra Leone offered English based education, at the time, with such schools as the Church Missionary Grammar School, and the then prestigious Fourah Bay College
still in existence to day.
The records also showed that he then travelled to Britain to study the equivalent of A Levels at Elmfield College
in York
aged 18 which would have been in 1886-1887. Elmfield College
was opened in 1864 and soon took a foremost place amongst the middle-class schools in England
. It was established as a Primitive Methodist boarding school. After this he became a doctor and barber.
is the easternmost suburb of Edinburgh
. It is bounded on the north by the coast of the Firth of Forth
estuary.
Prior to starting his medical degree at Edinburgh University he studied preliminary courses and examinations which he took at Edinburgh University during 1887-1988 and covered subjects such as English, Latin, Philosophy, French and Math. His medical course started in 1888 and covered many subjects including botany, anatomy, surgery, midwifery
, pathology and pharmacy. He sat both oral and written exams with his final medical professional exams taking place in June 1892 when he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Medicine and a Masters in Surgery
.
, Barber worked at a hospital there for a few years. He also worked as a doctor in Cameroon
were it is believed he met and married his wife Edith Barber before returning to Fernando Po once again. In 1919 he traveled to Calabar
, in the then Eastern Nigeria where he worked as a doctor at the St Margaret’s Hospital which was the first public (general) hospital in Nigeria
. He later arrived at Aba
(also in the Eastern Nigeria) in 1924 where he started his own infirmary and surgery whilst also helping at the Aba public hospital.
He trained quite a few nurses and dispensers at his infirmary including two of his daughters. He continued to provide medical services to the people of Aba
until his death in 1948.
He was later honored by the people of Aba
where they named a road in the Government Residential Area (GRA) Dr. Barber Avenue.
Malabo
Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island on the rim of a sunken volcano....
on the island of Fernando Po
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
.
He was one of the first black people in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and is presumably linked with William N Barleycorn, the first native Primitive Methodist Minister in Fernando Po. Other leading Creole families in Fernando Po (now Bioko
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
) around this time included the Barber family, as well as Davis
Davis family (Sierra Leone)
The Davis family was one of the last of the Nova Scotian settler families and though the family has descendants in the United States and Europe. The Davis family was one of the original African American families of Sierra Leone, thus part of the Sierra-Leone Krio population; and they are mentioned...
, Barleycorn, Vivour, Kinson, Dougan, Balboa, Knox, Coker and Collins, although an ancestral link has been suggested with Francis Barber
Francis Barber
Francis Barber was the Jamaican manservant of Samuel Johnson in London from 1752 until Johnson's death in 1784. Johnson made him his residual heir, with £70 a year to be given him by Trustees, expressing the wish that he move from London to Lichfield in Staffordshire, Johnson's native city...
, Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
's man-servant.
Early years and first experience in Britain
There is little information about the early years of Edward Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber. Elmfield CollegeElmfield College
Elmfield College, York , originally called "Connexional College" or "Jubilee College" in honour of the Primitive Methodist Silver Jubilee in 1860, was a Primitive Methodist college on the outskirts of Heworth, York, England, near Monk Stray.-Primitive Methodism in York:The college was a national...
records show him as entering in September 1886 and leaving in April 1888. He is described as the son of "Mrs Julia A. Barber" of "Calle de Rene, Santa Isabel", born on 25 July 1868.
Records from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
show that he was educated for 5 years at the C. M. (Church Missionary) Grammar school in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. It is estimate that he would have been aged 12–17 during this period. He would have been sent to Sierra Leone to study since Fernando Po
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
only offered minimal education in Spanish and being from the English speaking Creole tribe. Sierra Leone offered English based education, at the time, with such schools as the Church Missionary Grammar School, and the then prestigious Fourah Bay College
Fourah Bay College
Fourah Bay College is the oldest university college in West Africa. It is located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone...
still in existence to day.
The records also showed that he then travelled to Britain to study the equivalent of A Levels at Elmfield College
Elmfield College
Elmfield College, York , originally called "Connexional College" or "Jubilee College" in honour of the Primitive Methodist Silver Jubilee in 1860, was a Primitive Methodist college on the outskirts of Heworth, York, England, near Monk Stray.-Primitive Methodism in York:The college was a national...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
aged 18 which would have been in 1886-1887. Elmfield College
Elmfield College
Elmfield College, York , originally called "Connexional College" or "Jubilee College" in honour of the Primitive Methodist Silver Jubilee in 1860, was a Primitive Methodist college on the outskirts of Heworth, York, England, near Monk Stray.-Primitive Methodism in York:The college was a national...
was opened in 1864 and soon took a foremost place amongst the middle-class schools in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was established as a Primitive Methodist boarding school. After this he became a doctor and barber.
Edinburgh University
When Barber first enrolled at Edinburgh University in 1887 the records showed that his address was 8 Brighton Terrace, Joppa. JoppaJoppa
Joppa appears in the Bible as the name of the now Israeli city of Yafo, otherwise known as Jaffa.Joppa can also refer to:-Locations:United Kingdom...
is the easternmost suburb of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. It is bounded on the north by the coast of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
estuary.
Prior to starting his medical degree at Edinburgh University he studied preliminary courses and examinations which he took at Edinburgh University during 1887-1988 and covered subjects such as English, Latin, Philosophy, French and Math. His medical course started in 1888 and covered many subjects including botany, anatomy, surgery, midwifery
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
, pathology and pharmacy. He sat both oral and written exams with his final medical professional exams taking place in June 1892 when he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Medicine and a Masters in Surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
.
Back to Africa
On his return to Fernando PoBioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
, Barber worked at a hospital there for a few years. He also worked as a doctor in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
were it is believed he met and married his wife Edith Barber before returning to Fernando Po once again. In 1919 he traveled to Calabar
Calabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....
, in the then Eastern Nigeria where he worked as a doctor at the St Margaret’s Hospital which was the first public (general) hospital in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. He later arrived at Aba
Aba, Nigeria
Aba is a city and a big trading center in Abia State, southern Nigeria, located on the Aba River. Aba was established by the Igbo People of Nigeria as a market town and then later a military post was placed there by the British colonial administration in 1901...
(also in the Eastern Nigeria) in 1924 where he started his own infirmary and surgery whilst also helping at the Aba public hospital.
He trained quite a few nurses and dispensers at his infirmary including two of his daughters. He continued to provide medical services to the people of Aba
Aba, Nigeria
Aba is a city and a big trading center in Abia State, southern Nigeria, located on the Aba River. Aba was established by the Igbo People of Nigeria as a market town and then later a military post was placed there by the British colonial administration in 1901...
until his death in 1948.
He was later honored by the people of Aba
Aba, Nigeria
Aba is a city and a big trading center in Abia State, southern Nigeria, located on the Aba River. Aba was established by the Igbo People of Nigeria as a market town and then later a military post was placed there by the British colonial administration in 1901...
where they named a road in the Government Residential Area (GRA) Dr. Barber Avenue.
See also
- Edward BarleycornEdward BarleycornEdward Emilio Barleycorn a member of one of the prominent Fernandino families of Spanish Guinea . In 1928, at the age of 39, he negotiated a labor contract between African farmers of Santa Isabel and the Spanish leaders of Fernando Po .He farmed his father's lands in places like Achepepe and...
- Francis BarberFrancis BarberFrancis Barber was the Jamaican manservant of Samuel Johnson in London from 1752 until Johnson's death in 1784. Johnson made him his residual heir, with £70 a year to be given him by Trustees, expressing the wish that he move from London to Lichfield in Staffordshire, Johnson's native city...
- Gertrude Johnson Barleycorn
- Jeremiah (Jeremias) Barleycorn
- Napoleon BarleycornNapoleon BarleycornNapolean Barleycorn, a Primitive Methodist missionary in Spanish Guinea, a Fernandino of Igbo descent, who sent his sons to be educated at Bourne College in Quinton, Scotland...
- William Napoleon BarleycornWilliam BarleycornWilliam Napolean Barleycorn , born in Santa Isabel, Fernando Po, Spanish Guinea and a Fernandino of Igbo descent, was Primitive Methodist missionary who went to Fernando Po in Africa, about 1880. From there, he traveled to Edinburgh University...