The BARKMEYER story

The BARKMEYER story

Death of William BARKMEYER
Deaths in the District of Swan Hill, Victoria, Entry No. 978, William BARKMEYER, Laborer, aged 76 yrs, died 3 June 1898 at Swan Hill Hospital, Shire of Castle Donnington, County of Tatahera, Father: Ulrich Christian BARKMAYER, Seaman, Mother: Unknown. He had suffered from hemiplegia (following a stoke?) and exhaustion for 9 months. Informant: E BARKMEYER, Son, Farmer, Swan Hill. Registered 3 Jun 1898, Swan Hill. Buried 4 Jun 1898 Swan Hill Cemetery, Charles Herridge, Undertaker, James Patterson, Presbyterian Minister. Birthplace: Emdon (Emden), Germany, 46 yrs in Victoria. Married aged 34 yrs at Clunes, Victoria to Ann WHITEHILLS (WHITEHILL). Issue: Edward 41 yrs, Christina 38 yrs. [Vic Death certificate No. 9965, provided by Peter Spark]

The elder son Alexander who would have been 44 yrs was not mentioned. According to the information given for this certificate, the marriage of the deceased would have been in 1857 and the informant Edward Jnr was born in 1856. We know the marriage of Edward MANGAN and Ann WHITEHILL SPARK took place in Markinch, Scotland in 1849 and therefore the marriage place was not Clunes.
The most likely year of birth for 'our' Edward MANGAN was 1815 so if this was him his age should have been about 87 yrs at his death in 1898.
Edward MANGAN Jnr had assumed the surname BARKMEYER by the time of his marriage in 1887, but his brother Alexander and sister Christina did not.

There is a BARKMEYER family story written by Etta (Henrietta Matilda) supposedly in 1912, the year after her father's death. At that time Etta would have been aged abt 13, born 1898 Swan Hill d/o Edward BARKMEYER/Alice HARTLAND YATES. The handwriting is fluent and clearly not that of a child and in any case it is signed by Etta MAKEPEACE.

Henrietta Matilda BARKMEYER m1. 1921 Frank Arthur Leslie McNAMARA [Vic 390]
Henrietta Mathilda McNAMARA m2. 1932 Robert Hector MAKEPEACE [Vic 5169]
Henrietta Matilda MAKEPEACE d 1966 aged 68 yrs Swan Hill d/o Edward BARKMEYER/Alice HARTLAND [Vic 9061]

So the story must have been written after 1932 when Etta was aged abt 34. The handwriting could be that of a young woman but not of an elderly lady. It says:

Father Willholm Barkmeyer
Edward Barkmeyer died 1911. Father's Father sent home Ł900 bags of gold which went down in the sea. I think the ship Madagascar, carrying fabulous cargo of gold from the Australian mines to London disappeared at sea & neither her passengers or her crew were heard of again. (In the year 1853)
Gran daughter & dau of the above
Etta Makepeace
(from Peter Spark)

The Madagascar was a 1200 ton English wool clipper that sailed from Melbourne, Australia, in 1853. She carried a shipment of gold dust valued at several million dollars. The ship went east and was never heard from again. One of many rumors was that she went down off the north coast of Brazil a few miles from Cabo Garupi. Not very definite, but at least a general location to start with. Source: TreasureNet/ The Madagascar arrived in Melbourne from Plymouth on 10 June 1953.

Edward MANGAN (aka Willholm/William BARKMEYER) would have been aged about 38 in 1853. Three of his children were still to be born to Ann WHITEHILL SPARK. The split with her is supposed to have occured over the gold which was sent back to bring out a German spouse. There were two stillborn children of this first marriage but the wife died before the bullion ship would have arrived. Ann left when she discovered the truth.
The problem with this story is that Ann and Edward were still together until at least the 1860s and Edward was still living at Ascot in the 1870s. Their marriage probably lasted about 20 years.
Although there was evidence that 'our' Edward MANGAN was a miner in 1854, we don't get the impression that he was ever wealthy. By 1856 he was a dairyman presumably working the same dairy which was at Mr Spark's farm next to the Wheatsheaf Hotel at Ascot. His stepson John relinquished this dairy business and it was auctioned off on 24 June 1859. Edward MANGAN was henceforth known as a labourer or farmer.

BARKMEYER is an unusual name in the Victoria records. Here are two early references at Creswick.
Edward CROSSMAN Vs Olric BARKMEYER, 12 Oct 1855
Charge was unlawfully detaining in his possession a mare claimed by the Complainant as his property. The mare ordered to be restored upon payment to the Defendant of five pounds expenses in recovery of the same. [VPRS 5797 Creswick Police Record Book 1855-60 Vol 1]

Top image: enlargement of Complainant William Barkmeyer. Lower image: full transcription below.

William BARKMEYER v John SPARK, 24 Jan 1859
Claiming Ł7-18-6 cash lent
Decision: Order for payment with 2/6 costs, in default of sufficient distraint, twenty one days imprisonment. A LEWERS JP, T LEWERS JP
[Creswick Court Papers VPRS 5943 Box 1 1856-1863]

The significance of this entry is that William BARKMEYER was at Creswick in the 1850s and knew John SPARK and also presumably John's mother, Ann who was married to Edward MANGAN. Their son Edward MANGAN Jnr was born in 1856. By the time of his marriage in 1887 Edward Jnr had assumed the surname of BARKMEYER. We are left to ponder the question of why he believed his natural father was William BARKMEYER.

Edward Barkmeyer has produced a Barkmeyer Family History book which is still available for $35.00 per copy.
Ted Barkmeyer informed me in March 2010 that he had found the arrival of his ancestor in Victoria. Ulrich Johan Christian Barkmeyer arrived at the Port of Melbourne on the 13th of December 1840 as a member of the ship's company, aboard the ship Orient.

Edward MANGAN m 1849 and Ann WHITEHILL SPARK

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© Last Modified : 3 December 2023
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