Joseph Barker was born in West Hartlepool, on February 19th, 1890 and baptised at All Saints Church, Stranton, on March 16th. His father, Ephraim Ebenezer Barker, was born in Belper, Derbyshire, in 1860; his mother Susan, was born in West Hartlepool in 1863, and the family were living in Canada Terrace at this time. Ephraim’s occupation is recorded as a Turner.
The 1891 Census shows Ephraim was now a Joiner, was living with his wife and son at No.42 Gill Street, West Hartlepool. By 1901 Ephraim was listed as a Joiner/Carpenter, but curiously the Census records for this year shows that 11-year old Joseph now has an older brother (Ernest, aged 13), and a younger brother (Ephraim E., aged 7). The 1911 Census shows that Susan is now the widowed Head of the family, living with her widowed mother, Mary Clark (aged 81), and two of her sons (Ernest and Joseph, both recorded as locomotive firemen at the local Steel Works), still at No.42, Gill Street.
