My mother's grandfather, Samuel Barnard was born in 1832 in Antigua and died September 23, 1912 (my birth day) at the age of 80 in Castries, St. Lucia, then the British West Indies. He was a wealthy man of mixed race, including African. He married the strong willed and lighter complexioned Isabella de Beausire Parker on December 16 or 18, 1862. At that point he was 30 years old and Isabella was 20. The Governor of the island was among the illustrious guests at their wedding. Samuel began his career as a school teacher, his father (Samuel Sr.) having been sent to the island about 1840 by the Lady Mico Charity to start a school in Vieux Fort, when Samuel Jr. was a small child. Samuel later worked for a local company, Jones & Co??. , a shipping/import company, working his way up and eventually inheriting part of the company then taking over the rest and renaming it Barnard & Sons. He bought numerous properties, both commercial and residential and owned ships and yachts, and eventually, towards the end of his life, the first Jaguar auto dealership on the island. He was a justice of the peace and a member of the local legislature, and was well liked for both his honesty and outspokenness although he was inclined to be quite litigious. His nickname was Papie Sam, by which he was known throughout the island.
His wife, Isabella, was renowned for her difficult nature, but she and Samuel had a long marriage and produced seven children, 6 boys and one daughter, Lillian. Samuel liked to tease the boys by quoting the nursery rhyme "What are little boys made of ?" He was an affectionate and generous man, buying Lillian jewelry from France, one of which was later given to his first granddaughter, Pamela. Even in England his reputation was known to be honest and trustworthy. Comments were made by the family regarding the unfortunate way he was treated by Isabella.
Isabella's parents, Catherine Ann (Beausire) and Thomas Collingwood Parker, had owned a house in Morne Fortune known as 'Retreat' during her childhood, but it burned down in one of the frequent fires that struck the island. The house was rebuilt by Isabella with money provided by Samuel.
The house where the children were raised was named Sans Souci (French for 'without care'). It was built on Barnard Hill (originally Barnardsville c. 1901). Later some of the grown children had homes on the same hill, which overlooked the harbor. There was a view of the pier which held the shipping office and at the very end was a large warehouse. Steamships (some owned by the family) came into the deep water harbor to refuel with coal, and a huge pile of this was available. The coal was unloaded by porters with baskets on their heads. The warehouse contained numerous imports - food, including butter in cans, and many items needed on the island. Samuel likely had business dealings with the West India and Pacific Steam and Navigation Company which was managed by Catherine Ann's uncle, Joseph Beausire, who resided in Liverpool. Isabella spent quite a bit of time in England, even as a child, since her uncles lived there. She, together with her mother and 2 sisters, Lydia and Agnes are to be found at Robert Beausire's house in Wallasey in 1851 when the census was conducted. They must have been in England for several years since two of her siblings died there. Her only brother Thomas Parker in 1849 age 7, and an older sister, Helen in 1852. Both are buried in the Beausire family plot in Wallasey, Cheshire.
Samuel died of influenza, complicated by dementia. The day before he became ill he was at work as usual at his car dealership. He loved to socialize about town and was often to be found chatting with other locals. His sons were extremely proud of their father. He was seriously ill about 4 years before his death and after that had to curtail his activities, but spent time on a plantation of lime trees in the garden of Sans Souci. If he had lived for another 3 months, he and Isabella would have been married for 50 years. He was a member of the Legislature and mentioned in Debrett. He would have been angry and appalled to know that his granddaughter, Naomi Isabel Barnard, was later turned away from Government House when she arrived in the mid1920's dressed in finery for a ball and escorted by a beau. Nibs was fair skinned with blue eyes, being 3/4ths white but was not allowed in due to her negro origins. She was devastated by this and it affected her behavior for the rest of her life. The Governor General at that time was Sir Frederick Seton Jones who held the post from 1924 through 1930.. The island must have become more racist as white people (British ?) moved there, since Samuel and Isabella's wedding was attended by all sorts of dignitaries, including the Governor-General at that time.
Photos of Isabella de Beausire Parker (born 1842 in St Lucia, died there August 9, 1936 age 94) show a handsome woman, dressed in long black dresses with white hair piled on her head. She was of Arawak, French, English and Alsation background.
The Beausires were from Alsace Lorraine, where they were a wealthy family involved in raising thoroughbred horses. Isabella's father was an auditor on the island and believed to be great friends with Isabella's oldest brother, Robert Beausire
Family rumour has it that Isabella's great grandmother, who was from Martinique, was a Creole and very lovely. She had an affair with Admiral Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet. Research has proven all other family rumours but one to be true, so this is probably correct. He was widowed, in the West Indies hunting pirates and reputedly fell madly in love with her, which union produced a son, who may have been named either William Parker or Thomas Collingwood Parker (Sr.) after Hyde Parker's good friend, Admiral Collingwood. His ship the Cato disappeared at sea a few years later but he bequeathed our ancestor various items from his estate that were not entailed, and quite a bit of money. Some of his family were furious when they found out, but his sister was friendly and wrote her various letters. That son then had a daughter, Elizabeth Parker, who had several children, including Thomas Collingwood Parker (Jr.)
Isabella was partially educated in England, She was raised Catholic but later joined the Anglican Church, perhaps due to Samuel's aversion to Catholicism or because her brothers were Anglican. There was a Catholic school in St. Lucia at one point and she most likely attended there during her early years.
Isabella was not well liked by her grandchildren or daughters in law, being described by one of them as "a dreadful woman, ignorant and bad tempered.". If she saw the grandchildren eating her grapes she would come storming out to chase them away. She had a cherry tree cut down after she saw her granddaughter, Joan, eating the fruit ! Sans Souci was a lovely house, with a long balcony, kept shady and cool with twining vines and flowering bougainvillea. The house was painted white and there were tall statues of graceful females displayed here and there on the stairs. Isabella died of cardiac arrest at the age of 94, in 1926.
In his Will Samuel requested that their children not sell the real property he had accumulated, in particular Sans Souci, but that request was ignored, although the family company continued for many years after his death. Sans Souci burned down in another large fire after Isabella's death in 1936 and Barnard Hill is now home to a small museum ?
(c) Elizabeth Donnell November 15, 2015
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