Barrymaniac
/ˈbɑːri meɪnɪak/
noun
person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal for Dr James Barry (1789-1865), a 19th century transgender army surgeon from Cork City, Ireland.
[image description: part of a page of a book focusing on the words "a aintín, Mrs Bulkeley". Bulkeley is spelled B U L K E L E Y. End description]
Very interestingly Ruairí Ó Bléine, in his 2007/2008 piece on Barry, uses the Bulkeley spelling rather than the more predominant Bulkley (B U L K L E Y). The only other person I've seen use that extra E is Isobel Rae.
[Image description: a closeup of a handwritten letter sent from Merhcant's Quay, Cork. The caption reads: Fig 2. Final portion of the letter of 14 April 1804 in the hand of Margaret [Anne] Bulkley. (Reproduced with permission from the National Library of Ireland, Dublin. Ref. NLI Ms 2068.) End description.]
This image of Dr Barry's letter (taken from Hercules Michael du Preez' 2008 piece here) to his uncle shows that he signed his name as Bulkley (without that extra E).
However, in the reprint of a letter Barry sent from Edinburgh that Isobel Rae includes, Barry includes that E. I'm inclined to believe the letter shown in Barry's own hand. But I am also inclined to believe that Isobel Rae wouldn't have started messing around with the spelling. Rather than there being a single 'correct' spelling, I'm wondering if Barry (and his extended family) didn't have a consistent spelling for their name? I know many names are disputed on spelling especially before spelling and literacy became standardised so that would make sense - several of my own family members from living memory have disputed spellings.
[Image description: page 5 of Isobel Rae's biography The Strange Story of Dr James Barry showing the end of a letter written by Dr James Barry. The letter fragment reads:
I am, Dear Sir, With respect and Esteem
Yours grateful and obedient humble servant
James Barry.
If you should favor me with a line please direct to James Barry Student at the University, Edinburgh.
As Lord B- nor anyone here knows anything about Mrs Bulkeley's Daughter, I trust my dear General that neither you or the Doctor will mention in any of your correspondence anything about my Cousin's friendship and ca [care?] for me.
The book continues to say "The postscript, unfortuantely, remains a tantalizing enigma. Who Mrs Bulkeley's daughter was, and how she". The page ends there. End description.]
[image description: part of a page of a book with the sentence partially cut off. It reads “Well, you can see why she’s in love. “…Jeremiah Bulkeley was a better catch”. End description.]
Ah hah! Another Bulklely with that extra E! This time it’s Patricia Duncker’s 1999 book James Miranda Barry (also published as The Doctor).