Thaddeus Barleycorn-Barber (1865–1948) was born on 1 July 1865 in Santa Isabel, capital of the Spanish colony on the island of Fernando Po in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. He was one of the first black African students in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and is presumably linked with William N Barleycorn, the first native

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

minister in Fernando Po. Other leading Creole families in Fernando Po (now Bioko) around this time included the Barleycorn family, as well as Vivour, Jones, Kinson, Dougan, Grange, Davies, Balboa, Knox, Coker and Collins. An ancestral link has been suggested with

Francis Barber Francis Barber ( – 13 January 1801), born Quashey, 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, express ...

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

's man-servant. His Barber surname was from Sierra Leone Creoles who settled in Fernando Po.

Early years and first experience in Britain

There is little information about the early years of Thaddeus Barleycorn - Barber.

Elmfield College Elmfield College, York (1864–1932), originally called Connexional College or Jubilee College (or School) in honour of the Primitive Methodist Silver Jubilee in 1860, was a Primitive Methodist college on the outskirts of Heworth, York, Engla ...

records show him as entering in September 1886 and leaving in April 1887. He was the son of "Mrs Julia Barleycorn-Barber" of "Calle de Rene, Santa Isabel". Records from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

show that he was educated for 5 years at the C. M. (Church Missionary) Grammar school in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. It is estimated 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 Fernandinos, 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 today. The records also showed that he then travelled to Britain to study the equivalent of A Levels at

aged 18 which would have been in 1886–1887. He spent a year at Elmfield College before proceeding to Edinburgh University aged 19years.

was opened in 1864 and soon took a foremost place amongst the middle-class schools in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was established as a

boarding school. In October 1887 while at Elmfield, his "interesting recitation" at the Victoria Bar Primitive Methodist Chapel in York, "for which he was enthusiastically applauded", was reported in the local newspaper.

Edinburgh University

When Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber first enrolled at Edinburgh University in 1887 the records showed that his address was 8 Brighton Terrace, Joppa, Edinburgh and later at 3 Valleyfield St, Edinburgh Prior to starting his medical degree at Edinburgh University he studied preliminary courses and examinations which he took at Edinburgh University during 1887-1988University of Edinburgh Record Library and matriculated in 1888, taking examinations in English language and literature, history and geography, mathematics, Latin, French, natural philosophy and mechanics, in the last of which he passed "with credit." 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

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Medicine and a Masters in

Surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Thaddeus Barleycorn 1865 births 1948 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Black British people in health professions Fernandino people 19th-century British medical doctors 20th-century British medical doctors People from Malabo

Early years and first experience in Britain

Edinburgh University

See also

References