As I walk around that cemetery … it seems like practically every other gravestone is a relative.”

Christopher Barker, on the cemetery at St. Mary's Church

History buffs pack society event

A strong turnout filled the Portsmouth Historical Society on Thursday, July 16 for an evening exploring the origins of the American Revolution and Rhode Island’s pivotal role in the fight for independence.

The Society’s annual Burt Quist Memorial Lecture featured noted historian and author Christian McBurney, who examined the forces that led the 13 colonies to declare independence 250 years ago. McBurney is the author of The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War.

Before the lecture, attendees were treated to the premiere of the Battle of Rhode Island Association’s new 18-minute documentary, “1778: The Battle of Rhode Island,” based on McBurney’s book. The film was co-produced by Fresh LLC and ParMedia and narrated by Michelle Girasole, Christian McBurney, Rebecca Sattel and Jim Stearns.

The Portsmouth Historical Society said dates for future public screenings of the documentary will be announced on its Facebook page.

PORTSMOUTH — For Christopher Barker, genealogy isn’t simply about discovering who his ancestors were.

It’s about discovering home.

Standing before an audience at the Portsmouth Historical Society last month, Barker encouraged residents to look beyond names and dates and instead imagine the stories hidden beneath the town’s familiar landscape.

“When you’re tracing back 400 years,” he said, “it becomes very expansive … but how fun it would be on a community scale to try to fill in as many of those gaps as we can.”

His presentation, “Pocasset Legacies: A Deeper Experience of Home Through All-Lines Genealogy,” explored centuries of Portsmouth history through his own family tree. Along the way, he shared stories of governors, Revolutionary War spies, church founders and ordinary residents whose lives still echo across the town today.

One of his favorite examples begins on what is now Montaup Country Club.

Using historic maps, Barker overlaid Nicholas Easton’s original 1638 farm allotment onto a modern aerial photograph, allowing viewers to see where one of Portsmouth’s founders once lived.

“I find it really interesting to superimpose it on modern maps,” Barker said. “As we drive by a certain spot, maybe pass by it on a daily basis like I do, it’s fun to have that place have additional meaning.”

Perhaps no ancestor fascinated Barker more than James Barker, who arrived in New England under heartbreaking circumstances.

Orphaned by age 2 after losing his father — likely at sea — and later his mother and baby brother, James was raised by relatives before emigrating to New England as a child. Nicholas Easton eventually welcomed him into his household, treating him as family rather than a ward.

From those difficult beginnings, Barker said, James rose to become a corporal, helped raise money to obtain Rhode Island’s royal charter, served as one of the colony’s assistants and was eventually elected Rhode Island’s 10th deputy governor.

“So from orphaned toddler to deputy governor,” Barker said.

A spy for our side

Another family story reads almost like a Revolutionary War thriller.

Isaac Barker secretly relayed British troop movements and military intelligence to Patriot forces across the Sakonnet River while British troops occupied Aquidneck Island.

The danger was amplified by one remarkable detail: The British colonel responsible for that section of the island was living in Isaac Barker’s own house.

According to an account Barker shared, the colonel once complained during dinner that a spy was operating nearby and vowed the culprit “shall soon go into eternity.”

Isaac calmly agreed.

“’Yes,’ said he, ‘the traitor ought to be hung,’” Barker quoted from the historical account.

The colonel never realized the spy was sitting across the table.

Barker also described the ingenious signaling system used by Isaac and his relatives, who placed coded markers atop Gray Craig and, when necessary, hid written messages beneath a rock near what they called the “post office” at Woods Castle — both in Middletown — before rowing them across the river under cover of darkness.

Deep roots at church

For Barker, however, one of the most meaningful discoveries wasn’t about governors or spies.

It was about church.

When he and his family first attended St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, he had no idea his ancestors had deep roots there. Years later, after tracing his family tree, he discovered generations of relatives buried in the churchyard.

“I had no notion of any family connection whatsoever to the property,” he said.

Today, Barker has identified 57 relatives buried there.

“As I walk around that cemetery … it seems like practically every other gravestone is a relative,” he said. “It’s amazing.”

Barker hopes his research will become more than a personal project.

‘We’re all related’

He envisions a collaborative genealogy database hosted through the Portsmouth Historical Society, allowing residents to contribute family information and connect their own ancestors with Portsmouth’s founding families.

“The goal here,” he said, “is to start to collaboratively build a community-scale database of genealogical interconnections.”

He even suggested someday holding a picnic exclusively for descendants of Portsmouth’s founding families.

“We’re all related,” Barker said. “I think in these times, we all need connections more than we’ve ever needed connections before.”

Anyone interested in sharing genealogical information or comparing family histories may contact Barker at christopherbarker@cox.net.