The book, "Burnt Cork: Traditions and Legacies of Blackface Minstrelsy," edited by Stephen Johnson, has a sheet music engraving of W. R. Barlow and his banjo (3.12, p. 96).
Seems he was English, and performed in Australia and America, but the book cited above may have further information.

See thread 146333 posted by Joybell.
Origin I Saw Miss Rosa Dancing