Ernest Barclay

Ernest J. Barclay was the older brother of Arthur Barclay and the father of Edwin James Barclay. Like them, he was an Americo-Liberian politician.

Early life

Ernest Barclay was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, as one of the twelve children of Sarah Ann Bourne Barclay, the daughter of London Bourne. His father Anthony Barclay Jr. led the Barbados Emigration Society that organized the 1865 exodus of 346 people from Bridgetown to Liberia. When his father died in 1866 soon afterwards, his mother Sarah took over leading the Barbadian immigrant community in Liberia while continuing to parent her 10 surviving children.

Later life

Ernest J. Barclay twice served as Liberia's Secretary of State, his second term likely cut short by an illness that he would later pass away from. He also served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. At some point shortly before his premature death, he had an affair with Isabel Williams and they had a child out of wedlock they named Edwin James Barclay. It may be noted that an older source lists his death year as 1894, while a newer source lists it as 1896.