Castine
family descendants in Australia
(best to view on computer)
Jean-Vincent, 3rd Baron de Saint-Castin
Unfortunately - our paid research in early 2025 did not find a link to the Baron. We knew records in France were incomplete, but thought the experts might uncover something. We are unable to find where Daniel Castine was born, we know he married Honor Squire in 1697 in JW's boyhood church in Cornwall.
The BARKLA family story A brief outline of Nannie’s correct family detail - compiled by Judy Prior, July 2021.
Until 2019 there had been nothing recorded in our Australian Castine History of the BARKLA family. It was widely known locally at Auburn that a Barkla family had lived at Koonowla for quite some time. In late August 2019, after finding William’s grave detail online at the Gilbert Valley Council it was obvious that all of our Australian Castine descendants had an earlier generation on the maternal side of our family who migrated to South Australia. I began with the TIMELINE of where William lived and when, backed up by any relevant documents to prove theory.
Born 1795 Cornwall, England
Married 1826 Cornwall children x5 1826-1835 Cornwall
Relocated c1836 Waterford, Ireland children x6 1836-1851 Ireland (approx. 15 years)
Migrated 1852 Kapunda, Australia children x1 1853 Kapunda
St Agnes, Cornwall, ENGLAND
William Barkla was born 7 Jul 1795 in St Agnes, Cornwall, England to Francis and Rebecca (nee Sandery) and baptized on 16 Aug 1795.
He became a miner and married Elizabeth Prout, at St Agnes, Cornwall on 23 Apr 1826.
In her 1975 book ‘The Wakefield , it’s Water and it’s Wealth’ by Jean Moyle (nee Castine) some more facts were noted that fit with Barkla detail.
Looking at Willian’s timeline—in Cornwall, he and wife Elizabeth had Rebecca 1826, William 1829, Abraham 1832, Elizabeth 1833 and Nanny 1835. Cornwall Online Parish records show four of the children but not Elizabeth Anne who was supposedly born in 1833 before Nannie in 1835. Elizabeth’s birth is noted in Mark Roach’s family tree in Ancestry as 7-9-1833 but not sure where he obtained that detail, her headstone states she died in her 70th year 11-4-1903. A year ago I determined, with Mark’s help, that he is not in fact related to Captain William Barkla as he is a descendant of the Captain James Barkla who mined at Moonta, SA.
William Barkla had gained his initial mining experience in the St Agnes district on the central north coast of Cornwall. By 1837 he was employed by the Mining Company of Ireland at their copper mine near Knockmahon in County Waterford on the south-east coast of Ireland.
Monkton, Waterford, IRELAND
Their next child Emily Jane was presumably born in Waterford, Ireland in 1837. The book mentioned above, states William Barkla had been 15 years in Ireland and experienced the disastrous potato famine in 1846. There were a further five children added to the Barkla family and they attended Knockmahon School. This fact was obtained from a book about the Kapunda Mine workings, ‘Captain Bagot’s Mine’ p149, author G J Drew. I was unable to find any birth or baptism records but two marriages appear to be connected to our Barkla family.
Their first child Rebecca’s life remains a mystery, she may have married a Thomas Harvey in Ireland but if so they did not migrate to Australia with the rest of William’s family.
Marriage 20 Jun 1849 of Rebecca BARKLE and Thomas HARVEY Address: Knockmahan
Church of Ireland, Parish: Monksland, County: Waterford. Wife’s father was noted as William Barkle, occupation Mine Captain
Their second daughter Elizabeth Anne married William MOORE.
Married in Ireland, she migrated to Australia with the family, although husband was not listed. She used her maiden name and there was also a male C Moore on same ship. Documents support fact he became a reverend in Adelaide.
On the closure of the mine, William aged 55 was referred to Captain C H Bagot and accepted a position with the Kapunda Mine Company in South Australia. Elizabeth was 18 when married on 25 December 1851 and the family left Liverpool on 9th January 1852 and she is listed as migrating with the Barkla family.
The Barkla family travelled to South Australia in the ‘Waterlily’ – 130+ passengers from Liverpool 5/5/1852.
BARKLA children – as determined in July 2020
1 -BARKLA, Rebecca b 1826 Cornwall m 1849 HARVEY, Ire d 1836 New York, USA
2 -BARKLA, William Sandry b 1829 Cornwall single d 1887 Pine Creek (Koonowla), SA
3 -BARKLA, Abraham Prout b 1832 Cornwall m 1868 LORD d 1881 Kapunda, SA
4 -BARKLA, Elizabeth Anne b 1833 Cornwall m 1851 MOORE, Ire d 1903 Millswood, SA
5 -BARKLA, Nannie b 1835 Cornwall m 1868 CASTINE d 1909 Auburn, SA
6 -BARKLA, Emily Jane b 1837 Ireland m 1859 HARDEN d 1875 Kapunda, SA
7 -BARKLA, Julia b 1840 Ireland m 1868 HAWKE d 1917 Norwood, SA
8 -BARKLA, Richard James b 1843 Ireland m 1868 OAKEY d 1910 Bowden, SA
9 -BARKLA, John b 1844 Ireland single d 1916 Gawler, SA
10-BARKLA, Priscilla b 1846 Ireland m 1868 SABINE d 1925 Tumby Bay, SA
11-BARKLA, Francis Henry b 1851 Ireland m 1880 BLEECHMORE d 1928 Gawler Sth, SA
12-BARKLA, Clarissa Gertrude b 1853 Kapunda m 1877 BLEECHMORE d 1935 Renmark, SA 12 children
Kapunda, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Therefore 10 children arrived at Port Adelaide in May 1852 (ten years before JW Castine) and went directly to Kapunda.
This was only a few months after the impacts of the Victorian gold rush were beginning to be felt at the Kapunda Mine.
A second Cornish engine was now used exclusively for pumping water out of the mine to allow the workings to be developed to a deeper level. William was the 3rd Underground Mine Captain until 1861 when he resigned, then worked at the North Rhine mine for a short time. Their last child daughter Clarissa Gertrude was born at Kapunda in 1853.
Auburn, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
On 15th November 1859 William purchased 840 acres of land on Pine Creek and named the property ‘Koonowla’. His wife Elizabeth died at Pine Creek in 1863 and is possibly buried at Koonowla as she was definitely not buried in Auburn cemetery. Her official death registration was listed with surname as Barklay. Following her mother’s death, Nannie would have been left looking after the household duties for the ten remaining family living at home. She may have prompted four to marry before she became Mrs JW Castine in December 1868 – the 5th family wedding that year. The two story Corn Mart in Auburn was built for William Barkla, ready for the harvest of 1868.
Captain William Barkla died at Kapunda 20th Nov 1874 aged 78 years and was buried in the Auburn cemetery 21 Nov 1874 – there is no registration of his death with SA Births, Deaths and Marriages so I resorted to cemetery records and newspapers.
Therefore I can say that Captain William Barkla’s immediate family story is as complete as I can ascertain at this time.
Notes
June 2020 – I had a plot map of the Auburn Cemetery and made a detailed plan of all BARKLA plots. Then soon after revisited that cemetery and discovered there is absolutely nothing above ground to mark the graves of Captain Barkla, his son William or granddaughter Caroline Gertrude.
August 2019 - Discovered via Ancestry in late 2017 that Nannie’s headstone was in North Brighton Cemetery – why it was moved remains a huge mystery. It was officially relocated back to her grave in the Auburn Cemetery. PS: As her husband spent some time at Glenelg during his years in parliament, presume he ‘shifted’ it close by!
The 10 children’s marriages have been proved along with their date of death and burial place.
His 2nd and 9th children, both boys, did not marry.