The du Barry family were of French Huguenot extraction. John and William Barry became Wesleyans in the 1780’s but William entered the ministry of the Established Church. John was received on trial as a Methodist preacher in 1816 and was ordained in 1824 when he was appointed as a missionary to Jamaica. He returned in 1832 and provided evidence to Parliament regarding the slave trade. Afterwards he went back to Canada and Bermuda but ruptured a blood vessel and returned to England in 1836 for health reasons. After a period in Guernsey he revisited America and the West Indies finally dying at Montreal on 21st June 1839.

The family history was examined in the Cork Historical and Archaeological Journal [June 1928]. The family had links with the Viponds who played an important role in Wesleyan and musical circles in Dublin and London. They were also related to the McIntosh family…