William Barker (1817–1894), also known as Billy Barker, was an English prospector who was famous for being one of the first to find a large amount of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He was also the founder and namesake of

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

, the most significant town during the region's gold rush, which is preserved today as a historic town.

Biography

Barker was born in 1817 in

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

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 ...

, and was baptised on 7 June 1817 in St Wendreda's Church, March. As a child he worked as a waterman on the waterways of England. He married widow Jane Lavender in

Bluntisham Bluntisham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,003. Bluntisham lies approximately east of Huntingdon. Bluntisham is situated within Huntingdonshire whi ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

in 1839, and they had one daughter named Emma Eliza (born 1840). By the 1840s, railways had begun to replace canal transport in England, and Barker decided he would try his luck in America. He left his wife and child in England in penury; his wife died in the

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

Doddington, Cambridgeshire __NOTOC__ Doddington is a village and civil parish lying just off the A141 in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, approximately half way () between Chatteris (to the south) and March (to the north) History St Mary's Church, Doddington is a G ...

in 1850. Barker traveled to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he made little during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

, and afterward moved to

with many fellow miners as part of the

British Columbia gold rushes British Columbia gold rushes were important episodes in the history and settlement of European, Canadian and Chinese peoples in western Canada. The presence of gold in what is now British Columbia is spoken of in many old legends that, in part, led ...

. His party discovered gold in the Williams Creek area, and his fellow crew member "Dutch Bill" Wilhelm Dietz was the first to find a good amount of gold in the Creek Valley area. In 1862, Barker decided to search for gold downriver, close to Stout's Gulch. Many people said he was crazy for doing this, but, after a short period of time, his party pulled out about of gold at a depth of about 52 feet below ground. Barker's claim turned out to be the richest in the area, and the settlement of

was set up around his claim. He ultimately pulled out roughly 37,500 ounces of gold during his life. It was said that Barker smoked as many as 30 cigarettes a day, finding it hard to deal with the stress of having that much gold, as well as the progressive symptoms of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. In 1863, Barker married the widow Elizabeth Collyer; she died on 21 May 1865 at the age of 38. The previous year Barker had sold his shares in the claim that had made him famous, since most of the "lead" gold had been cleared out. He may have thought he had made enough to live comfortably and still invest in further ventures, but his fortunes declined. His reputed generosity may also have contributed to his impoverishment. He died penniless in a

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

nursing home on 11 July 1894 with symptoms of Parkinson's disease and/or possible cancer in his jaw. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the

Ross Bay Cemetery Ross Bay Cemetery is located at 1516 Fairfield Road in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada. Many historical figures from the early days of the province and colony of British Columbia are buried at Ross Bay. History The ceme ...

but there has been talk of moving his grave to Barkerville, which is preserved today as a historic town.

Notes

External links and references

Barkerville Historic villageBiography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Billy Barker Days
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, William 1817 births 1894 deaths Gold prospectors Canadian gold prospectors Pre-Confederation British Columbia people People from March, Cambridgeshire Canadian miners Canadian prospectors Cariboo people People of the California Gold Rush Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) English emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia

Biography

See also

Notes

External links and references