John Augustus Barry I
His 1915 death notice types the birthplace as at sea and his mother as “born Neagle” — but the older document wins: his 1903 death registration, made by a son who was in the room, enters him as AN IRISHMAN BORN IN IRELAND. THE CAPE MOUNTED RIFLES ARE NOT HIS REGIMENT, and this entry used to end with their name in a way that read as though they were. They are the RECORDING AUTHORITY on that 1903 certificate — the corps was the authority in the district, stationed at Johnson’s Leap — and nothing here says he ever served in them or in anything else. Their own registers at Johnson’s Leap are on this archive’s list of things that would settle question 5; a soldier’s discharge paper is not, because there is no evidence he was a soldier.
This is the archive's clearest example of two men merged into one profile. The link below him is drawn because the tree draws it, and for no other reason.
Every record naming John Augustus Barry I →
The marriage record
Married Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe · 23 Feb 1846 · Colesberg a record read hereREAD AT THE PAGE, 9 OCTOBER 2026 — ENTRY 735 OF THE COLESBERG MARRIAGE REGISTER. FamilySearch 1:1:6FB4-KHS4, image 3:1:3Q9M-CSV8-8SZQ-L, image 189 of 202. THE CLERK WROTE “JOHN BERRY” AND THE MAN SIGNED “JOHN BARRY”, three lines apart on the same entry — which is the whole reason this record was invisible: every search this archive ever ran was for Barry, and the index follows the clerk. She is entered Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Kolbe and signs Margaret Wilhelmina Elizabeth Kolbe. Both jongman and jongedochter; married na huwelijks geboden, after banns; residence STORMBERG SPRUIT; by THOMAS REID, Leeraar der Nederduitsche Hervormde Kerk, in the presence of G. W. VOLBERG and a VAN DER WALT — the same two witness entries 734, 735 and 736, so they are the church's standing witnesses and not family. AND THE CONSENT COLUMN IS THE FINDING. It reads “DE WEDUWE KOLBE, MOEDER” — the widow Kolbe, mother: Margaret Downing, consenting for her daughter fourteen months after the Settler died. NOBODY IS NAMED ON THE GROOM'S SIDE. The entry above names two fathers and the entry below names two; this one names one parent and leaves the other half of the column empty. A register with a column for his father, left blank, is the same answer his death notice gives — the colony had nobody to ask. THIS ROW SAID 1850 UNTIL 28 SEPTEMBER 2026, AND THEIR ELDEST SON WAS BORN IN 1847. The 1850 came from the word “probably”, written by their son R. P. Barry on his father's death notice in 1915 — the same son who had written “Unknown” on his mother's notice three months earlier. The archive's own kin file drew JOHN AUGUSTUS BARRY II, born 13 March 1847, under that marriage the whole time. A gate refuses that arrangement now. THE DATE AND PLACE ARE FROM A BOOK AND ARE MARKED inf ACCORDINGLY: Prof. C. Pama's South African family genealogies, reported to David by a correspondent in November 1999 — “John who married Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Kolbe in Colesberg on feb 23, 1846”. What makes it safe to adopt is not the book. It is that this archive's own people file has said married 1846 all along, and that 1850 is arithmetically impossible. The Colesberg marriage register would make it doc, and it has not been read. An Irish carpenter and a Settler's daughter. Both their death notices survive, filed on the same day in 1915, and the two disagree about when he died. AND THIS ARCHIVE INDEPENDENTLY PUTS THE FAMILY AT COLESBERG THAT FORTNIGHT. Her brother the Commandant had a son, GEORGE AUGUSTUS, baptised at Colesberg on 8 MARCH 1846 — thirteen days after this wedding, in the same town, at the same font. Their father the Settler's own death notice had been signed at Colesberg in January 1845. Pama's date is not corroborated by Pama: it is corroborated by a baptism register this archive read on its own account, for a different household, a fortnight later.The Barrys →
The record
| Name | John Augustus Barry I |
| Born | 1819, “at sea (exact whereabouts unknown), British” |
| Died | 1903 |
| Line | Barry |
| Confidence | Documented |
What the archive holds
His 1915 death notice types the birthplace as at sea and his mother as “born Neagle” — but the older document wins: his 1903 death registration, made by a son who was in the room, enters him as AN IRISHMAN BORN IN IRELAND. THE CAPE MOUNTED RIFLES ARE NOT HIS REGIMENT, and this entry used to end with their name in a way that read as though they were. They are the RECORDING AUTHORITY on that 1903 certificate — the corps was the authority in the district, stationed at Johnson’s Leap — and nothing here says he ever served in them or in anything else. Their own registers at Johnson’s Leap are on this archive’s list of things that would settle question 5; a soldier’s discharge paper is not, because there is no evidence he was a soldier.
Where the archive puts John
Each carries the document that puts them there. The atlas →
- 13 Sep 2026 — Margarietha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Barry was John Augustus Barry I’s daughter
She was his granddaughter. The 1915 death notice names eight children and she is not among them; her father is Hendrik Nicholaas Barry, whose other children were baptised at Dordrecht and Slang River between 1888 and 1900. Moved down a generation — which is where the cousin marriage of 1924 needs her to be, and the archive had her in the wrong place while asserting it. Where it stands → - 28 Sep 2026 — John Augustus Barry I and Margaretha Kolbe married about 1850 at Burghersdorp
THEIR ELDEST SON WAS BORN IN 1847, AND THIS ARCHIVE DREW HIM UNDER THAT MARRIAGE. The 1850 rested on one word — “probably” — written by their son R. P. Barry on his father's death notice in 1915, sixty-five years after the event. The same son had written “Unknown” on his mother's notice three months earlier, which this archive quoted elsewhere as a sign of how little he knew, and then used his guess as a date anyway. Meanwhile people.js said “married 1846” the whole time. Two of this archive's own files disagreed, and the marriage page published the wrong one. WHAT IT IS NOW: 23 FEBRUARY 1846 at COLESBERG, markedinfbecause the exact date and place come from Pama, reported in a letter of November 1999 that had been in David's files for twenty-seven years. THE BOOK IS NOT WHAT MAKES IT SAFE — this archive does not let a book overrule a page. 1850 is refuted by arithmetic on the archive's own data, and 1846 was already here. HOW IT WAS CAUGHT MATTERS MORE THAN THE DATE. Not by a gate, not by an audit, but by a stranger's letter arriving at a page nobody had re-read. There is a gate now —child-before-weddingrefuses a household whose marriage postdates a child drawn under it, and it fired on this row and on James Henry Barry, born 1848, before the fix. Where it stands →
The Barrys
…Everything from 1819 forward is solid. Everything before it falls apart. John Augustus Barry I, 1819–1903 The most documented person in the Booyzen ancestry, and the least certain. Born 8 June 1819 — recorded in the tree, literally, as "?Sunderland, Durham, England? Ireland? High Seas?" Trades Carpenter and Builder · timmerman en bouwvakker · Grocer · Labourer — five occupation records, all working trades Married c.…
The cousin marriage
…They were cousins — and their marriage folds the family tree back on itself. The two descents John Augustus Barry I (1819-1903) === Margaretha W. E. M. Kolbe (1826-1912) | | +-------------------+--------------+-------------------+ | | Catherine Maria Sophia Hendrik Nicholaas Barry (1857-1931) "Kathleen" Barry (1859-1940) === Anna Johanna Maria Schoemann (1859-1923) === Willem Hermanus Booyzen | (1851-1905) | | Margarietha W. E.…
Disputed
…His son’s 1903 registration says only an Irishman, born in Ireland. → John Barry — his parents Recorded as “Unknown Barry” and “Unknown Barry”, with a brother entered as “Other Barry's - South Africa Barry”. Fatal These are placeholders, not people. The Barry line ends here, whatever the profile suggests. → John Augustus Barry I & James Barry Both sons recorded born 8 June 1819 — one at “?Sunderland? Ireland? High Seas?”, the other in County Cork. Serious Twins born in two countries, or one man duplicated. If duplicated, “County Cork” is John Augustus's own birthplace and the Irish claim strengthens.…
The documents
…Doop Register, Barkly Oost , entry 40 , 15 September 1889: Johanna Catharina , geb. 20 Juni 1889; Ouders Willem Hermanus Booijsen and Catharina Maria Sophia Barry ; Getuigen John Barry and Margaret Wilhelmina Elizabeth Kolby . The godparents are the child's own maternal grandparents — John Augustus Barry I , the Irishman born at sea, and Margaretha Kolbe , the 1820 Settler's daughter, standing together at a font in Barkly East in September 1889. Her surname is written "Kolby" — a phonetic variant, twenty-six years before her own son would tell a magistrate he thought his grandfather's name was James . The Kolbes → And on the facing page, entirely by accident 6 October 1889: George , geb.…
Households
…Barkly East, 1938 George Mountjoy of Barkly East Maria Sophia Diesel Annie Louisa Nepgen Ellen Sophia Schmidt Charles Mountjoy James John Mountjoy the younger 30 May 1895 – 20 Jul 1948 Emma Jane Mountjoy Mathilda Elizabeth Shooter Lena Millie Frachet Louisa Elizabeth Diesel d. 11 Jun 1923 John Augustus Barry I and Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 10 head born 1819 – 1903 a record read here Married 23 FEBRUARY 1846 at COLESBERG — entry 735, read at the page on 9 October 2026, where the clerk writes the groom JOHN BERRY and the groom signs JOHN BARRY. Residence STORMBERG SPRUIT; after banns; by Thomas Reid.…
The Marriages
…1828 David Schalk van der Merwe & Jacoba Catharina Mountjoy · Cradock Petrus Jacobus Booysen & Johanna Catharina Mountjoy · Cradock John Augustus Barry I & Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe · Colesberg George Mountjoy & Maria Sophia Botha · Cradock Petrus Jacobus Booysen & Johanna Margaritha Pretorius · bef.…
The People
…ALFRED IS A MOUNTJOY OF KOKSTAD. He is the seventh of the nine children named on George Mountjoy of Kokstad’s 1943 death notice, so she married into the Transkei household and not into this archive’s. HER OWN PARENTS ARE NOT RECORDED ANYWHERE THIS SESSION REACHED — a register row has no question three. The Women What Has Been Read John Augustus Barry I Documented 1819, “at sea (exact whereabouts unknown), British” 1903 His 1915 death notice types the birthplace as at sea and his mother as “born Neagle” — but the older document wins: his 1903 death registration, made by a son who was in the room, enters him as AN IRISHMAN BORN IN IRELAND.…
Catherine Maria Sophia “Kathleen” Barry
…Recorded at her death as a Military Pensioner. Buried on 6 SEPTEMBER 1940 at the City of Johannesburg NEW CEMETERY — Brixton — aged 82, in the DUTCH REFORMED section, GRAVE 9760. An Irishman’s daughter out of Barkly East, in the Dutch Reformed ground on the Rand. Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record Catherine Maria Sophia “Kathleen” Barry 4 Aug 1859 – 1940 Barry married Willem Hermanus “William Henry” Booyzen 4 May 1851 – 13 Sep 1905 record 9 children with Willem John Barry Booyzen b. c. 1884 record Willem Hermanus Booyzen of Indwe c.…
Frederick Fortunatus Barry
…Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record Frederick Fortunatus Barry b. 10 Nov 1863 Barry 9 siblings John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 George Augustus Barry b. 26 Apr 1850 Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama Richard Peter Barry b.…
George Augustus Barry
…Named on his father's 1915 death notice and nowhere else this archive has looked. He carries his grandfather George Augustus Kolbe's names entire. Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record George Augustus Barry b. 26 Apr 1850 Barry 9 siblings John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama Frederick Fortunatus Barry b. 10 Nov 1863 Richard Peter Barry b.…
Hendrik Nicholaas Barry
…This archive holds the WIFE, Anna Johanna Maria Barry née Schoeman, who died in 1923. No daughter is entered on that basis : a compiler confusing a mother with a daughter of the same name is exactly the error this archive made five days ago with a widow, and one letter is not enough to make a person. Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama Barry married Anna Johanna Maria Schoeman record 5 children with Anna Margarietha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Barry 1880 – 1961 record Ruben Jacobus Hosea Barry b. 7 Oct 1888 inferred Dorothea Regina Barry of Slang River b.…
James Henry Barry
…Two brothers cannot share it. A relationship search on his mother's surname turned up a HENRY JAONAS BARRY born 13 July 1848 and baptised at twenty, which is where a next child belongs; whether that is this man under a clerk's ear is UNPROVED and the register is unread. Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 Barry 9 siblings John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 George Augustus Barry b. 26 Apr 1850 Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama Frederick Fortunatus Barry b. 10 Nov 1863 Richard Peter Barry b.…
John Augustus Barry I
…THE CAPE MOUNTED RIFLES ARE NOT HIS REGIMENT, and this entry used to end with their name in a way that read as though they were.…
John Augustus Barry II
…The eldest son on the 1915 notice, carrying his father's name exactly — which is why this archive calls the father John Augustus Barry I. His own documents call him simply John Barry, and that is the third man in this family the name has to be shared out between. His birth date does one more job than it looks: being HARD, off a register, it is what forces his brother James Henry's “about 1847” to move.…
John Barry
…And a caution worth keeping — a Whitby SHIP OWNER is exactly the kind of man whose son could be born AT SEA, which is what John Augustus Barry's death notice says of 1819. That coincidence is not evidence, and the censuses say it is not the same man. John Barry — — 1796 was the OTHER man’s year – 1853 Barry 1 child John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 family tree This is the archive's clearest example of two men merged into one profile. The link below him is drawn because the tree draws it, and for no other reason. the direct line, argued on the line from a record this archive has read inferred, not stated from the family tree, unverified 0 of the 1 relationships shown are written in a record this archive has read.…
Kathleen Mary Barry
…Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record Kathleen Mary Barry Barry 9 siblings John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 George Augustus Barry b. 26 Apr 1850 Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama Frederick Fortunatus Barry b. 10 Nov 1863 Richard Peter Barry b.…
Margaret Mary Bedford
…The tree carries a Margaretha Louisa Maria who married Thomas Bedford in 1875; the notice gives her as Margaret Mary, and the archive has not reconciled the two. Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record Margaret Mary Bedford Barry 9 siblings John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 George Augustus Barry b. 26 Apr 1850 Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama Frederick Fortunatus Barry b. 10 Nov 1863 Richard Peter Barry b.…
Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe
…And she names NINE children where her husband’s notice names eight. The ninth is WILLIAM. Parents George Augustus Kolbe 7 Dec 1802 – 1 Dec 1844 record Margaret Downing 23 Feb 1803 – 25 Nov 1867 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 Kolbe married John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record 10 children with John John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 record William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 record James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 record George Augustus Barry b. 26 Apr 1850 record Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama record Frederick Fortunatus Barry b. 10 Nov 1863 record Richard Peter Barry b.…
Margarietha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Barry
…A correction here is filed against the page it changed, not against a person, so until now it could be read on the corrections register and nowhere else — least of all on the page of the person it was about. 13 Sep 2026 — Margarietha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Barry was John Augustus Barry I’s daughter She was his granddaughter. The 1915 death notice names eight children and she is not among them; her father is Hendrik Nicholaas Barry, whose other children were baptised at Dordrecht and Slang River between 1888 and 1900. Moved down a generation — which is where the cousin marriage of 1924 needs her to be, and the archive had her in the wrong place while asserting it.…
Richard Peter Barry
…Kathleen's brother. Signed his mother's 1915 death notice as "Son in whose house deceased died", at Manorowen, Barkly East. A Richard Peter Barry, plaasboer of Jerpoint, is on the Cape Rebel roll — same name, right region, identity not proven. Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record Richard Peter Barry b. 1866 — from Pama Barry married Jeannie Maria Catharina Botha record 1 child with Jeannie Richard Pieter Kolbe Barry b. 1899 record 9 siblings John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 George Augustus Barry b.…
William Barry
…He is not on his father's notice, not on the Cape Rebel roll, and nowhere else in this archive. His father's 1903 registration said ELEVEN children; with William there are nine named and two still missing. Parents John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 record Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe 1826 – 2 Aug 1912 record William Barry b. 23 Aug 1853 Barry 9 siblings John Augustus Barry II b. 13 Mar 1847 James Henry Barry 13 Jul 1848 – 23 Jun 1939 George Augustus Barry b. 26 Apr 1850 Hendrik Nicholaas Barry b. 1857 — from Pama Frederick Fortunatus Barry b. 10 Nov 1863 Richard Peter Barry b.…
The Register
…ont no public link reconstructed by this archive Jacobus Ellinckhuizen Barry reconstructed 25 Mar 1877, baptised 22 May 1877 at Burgersdorp no public link reconstructed by this archive James Henry Barry reconstructed 13 Jul 1848, baptised 13 Nov 1848 at Graaff-Reinet · 23 Jun 1939, Barkly East no public link reconstructed by this archive John Augustus Barry I reconstructed 1819, “at sea (exact whereabouts unknown), British” · 1903 no public link reconstructed by this archive John Augustus Barry II reconstructed 13 Mar 1847, baptised 12 Apr 1847 at Graaff-Reinet, entry 80 no public link reconstructed by this archive John Augustus Barry III reconstructed 9 May 1873, baptised 9 Jun 1873 at Burgersdorp no public link reconstructed by this archive John Bar…
Sources
…It runs on demand and writes what it finds here. One published address was wrong → Testimony Tersia Booyzen , recorded on the MyHeritage profile of Willem Hermanus Booyzen — the name-change and Anglo-Boer War account, given as told to her by her father. Quoted in full → An unattributed earlier researcher , recorded on the profiles of John Augustus Barry I and Margaretha Kolbe — the account of the three conflicting birth records, the "Neagle" maiden name, and the anti-English reputation.…
The Timeline
…1843 — Johanna Booyzen dies at 28 Roze Street, Cape Town 3 Apr 1843 — John Gerson Eliezar Kolbe marries Anna Jacoba van der Merwe 1 Dec 1844 — George Augustus Kolbe dies at “Wurtemburg”, Colesberg 15 May 1844 — Johanna Catharina Booysen born at Brak Rivier 26 Nov 1845 — Johan Gottlieb Kolbe buried at the German Savoy Church 23 Feb 1846 — John Augustus Barry I marries Margaretha Wilhelmina Elizabeth Mary Kolbe at Colesberg 8 Mar 1846 — George Augustus Kolbe baptised at Colesberg, the first of the twelve this archive can name 12 Mar 1848 — Willem Johannes Kolbe baptised at Fauresmith, entry 18 20 Aug 1848 — George Mountjoy, saddle maker, marries Maria Sophia Botha 9 Oct 1849 — Jan Hendrik Kolbe baptised at Fauresmith 3 Jul 1850 — A Booijzen marries at P…
Our line, drawn
…1825 Anna Maria van der Merwe c. 1785 – bef. 1825 Petrus Jacobus Booysen 1812 – 1884 James Montjoy's parents James Montjoy c.1782 – 1827 Anna Catharina Sleer 1787 – 1885 Johanna C. Mountjoy 1819 – 1863 Willem Hermanus Booyzen 1851 – 1905 John Barry, died 1853 — no birth, no arrival, no burial John Barry — – 1853 John Augustus Barry I 1819 – 1903 Johan Gottlieb Kolbe 1765 – 1845 George Augustus Kolbe 1802 – 1844 John Paul Downing — – — Margaret Downing 23 Feb 1803 – 25 Nov 1867 Margaretha W. E. M. Kolbe 1826 – 1912 Catherine M. S. “Kathleen” Barry 1859 – 1940 George Downing M.…
Others on the Barry side
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A dossier is every mention of a person anywhere in this archive, gathered automatically after the site is built and linked back to the page it appears on. Identity here is by NAME, not by resolved individual — where two people share a name they share this page, and the archive says so rather than guessing. Nothing on a dossier page is new evidence; it is the same evidence, brought together.