The Barkley Family
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Wedding of John Armstrong Barkley and Jane Geary |
Church records show this name, with a variation or two, has been in existence in Liverpool for nearly three hundred years. In 1713, Elizabeth , daughter of John Berkley, was baptised in St Nicholas Church. In 1747, James, son of Thomas Barcley, was baptised there, and in 1749 Nancy, daughter of Thomas Barkley also was baptised there. In 1758, there were two Barkley marriages, Thomas and James. St Peter's, Church Street, records a Nancy, daughter of a William Barkley, baptised in 1763. My research traces Shirley's Barkley connection back to before 1809, although one or two links have yet to be confirmed.
Frank worked for Liverpool Corporation as a shunter at Walton bus depot, and before that, as a bus driver. His 1937 marriage certificate indicates he was a fruiterer's motor driver. His father, John Armstrong Barkley, was born in Liverpool in 1887, and in 1914 he married Jane Geary. The marriage certificate shows John to have been a dairyman and Jane a laundress. After World War I, he and Jane emigrated to Shanghai, taking with them only their youngest child, Joan. Frank and Vera remained in Liverpool. John later became Chief Inspector in the Public Works Department of Shanghai Council. Sadly, Jane died in Shanghai when only 36. It is understood that John returned briefly to Liverpool, marrying a second time then returning to Shanghai.
John's parents were William Francis Barkley and Catherine Mary Byrne. William Francis, who was born in 1861, became a seaman, and the 1881 census records him as being on 'SS Palmyra.' In the 1901 census, he is shown as a dockgate-man, married to Catherine and having six children.. William Francis's parents were William Barkley and Ellen (Eleanor) Haywood. William was born in 1822, and he, too, was a seaman. His parents were Francis Barkley and Mary Whitehead, and they married in 1809. I have been unable, so far, to trace the birth of this Francis Barkley.
The Torr Family
Bertha's father, William Henry Torr, was born in Basford, Nottinghamshire, in 1881 and the Torr family appear to have been established in Nottinghamshire for nearly four hundred years. There is record of an Elizabeth Tor being christened in 1627, a William Turre marriage in 1638, and an Ann Torr marriage in 1670. So far as Bertha's ancestors are concerned, they can be traced back with some certainty to around 1725, and with less certainty to 1693. The earliest linked Basford church record I found initially was the 1773 marriage of a John Torr to a Sarah Richards, followed by baptisms of their children, John in 1774, Ann in 1776 and James in 1778. What helped further though, was the discovery (by Ann Torr) that a headstone for this couple had been built into the inside wall of the church tower in Basford:-
Sacred to the Memory of John Torr
died Nov.13th 1805 in the 80th year of his Age.
Also Ann Daughter of the above
died 16th June 1792 aged 16 years.
Likewise Sarah Wife of the above John Torr
died 23rd Jan. 1814 in the 60th year of her Age.
This ties in with the church records above. It also indicates that John would have been born around 1726, and that when he married Sarah, he was 48 and she was 22. This is the family to which Bertha Torr links. Later, I found even earlier details, which seem to tie in, although with less certainty. There is a John Torr christening in 1726, which is believed to be the same person, his father being John Torr and his mother named Hannah. This latter John could be the John christened in December 1699, who had a brother Samuell christened in 1693, their father also being a John Torr, thought to have been born circa 1670.
Bertha was born in Liverpool in 1915, and her parents were William Henry Torr
and Mabel Pryor. I searched several times, under both names, for their marriage
registration, without success. When Liverpool Register Office marriage registrations became
available, these, too, were searched, without success. Then the 1901 census was checked, and
a suspicion started to form. William Henry was already married! But not to Mabel.
He was living in Nottingham, age 20, with his wife Margaret, age 26, and two daughters, one age 4
years and the other 3 months. (The
birth registration for the younger child has now been found. She was
registered as Lottie Torr Foster, which probably confirms the suspicion that
the marriage was an afterthought.) His marriage to Margaret in Basford earlier that year was then
located. Mabel Pryor was found to be working in Leicester as a domestic housemaid, age 18.
So, the suspicion is that William Henry and Mabel didn't actually marry. Bertha was the
first-born, in 1915, and with five further children in the next few years, it is probable that
William Henry and Mabel came together around 1914. But, why did he leave Nottingham and what of
his wife and their children? There were already Torrs in Liverpool, but a puzzle remains. In fact, at the time of the 1881 census, there were three
Torr butcher's shops in the Kirkdale district of Liverpool.
Two of the butchers were
cousins, and almost certainly all three were, but the parents of the third can't be traced.
One of the three, George, was William Henry's uncle so that was probably a factor in his moving to
Liverpool. Having now discovered that Daniel Torr had married
twice, it now transpires that all three of them were brothers, and that
William Henry Torr was their half-nephew.
The Pryor Family
Bertha's mother, Mabel Pryor, was born in Great Dalby, Leicestershire, in 1882. Church records there show Pryors as far back as 1757, and elsewhere in Leicestershire to 1618, with a few spelling variations. Mabel's father, George, and his father George, were born in Great Dalby, the latter's father, also George, moving there from nearby Ashby Folville, where he was born in 1761. His parents, Thomas Pryor and Eleanor Haines were married in Ashby Folville in 1760. In this parish, the Pryer/Pryor/Priers records go back to 1618.
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