Spelling variants found: Foran and Phoran

I was in Little Bay this weekend. I took a little walk up the hill to visit the old Catholic cemetery in the Bight. I’ve been pondering over what stories to tell for a guided tour of the new hiking trail when it opens to the public this summer. I stopped at the headstone of a man named William Foran. He turned out to have a tale to tell. My research has resulted in an odd talent. I’ve found an ability to speak to the dead or, perhaps more accurately, through lots of archival research, I’ve found a means of listening to them.

This one is the tale of the Foran brothers. You’ll find a rather extensive source list at the bottom of this piece which functions both as a resource for you and a chance for me to show off my process. This one was a lot to untangle but it’s a treat.

Our story today concerns three sons of Patrick Foran (1818-1897). The trio came from Argentia, Placentia Bay. Their names were John (1841-1898), William (1847-1908), and Patrick (1853-1918). They each represent differing aspects of Newfoundland’s mining history.

John William (JW) Foran had left home for St. John’s by 1864. He lived there for a few years before briefly venturing off to the United States. He returned rich – like filthy rich. He opened a confectionary which he expanded into the Atlantic Hotel by 1875. The Atlantic Hotel was the most prestigious on the island. JW Foran was also responsible for bringing the city of St. John’s both its rink and its Opera House. The latter having its highest ticket prices valued at $6 which was more than the average person’s salary! I’ll reiterate the fact that Mr. Foran had somehow acquired this wealth in the United States in an undisclosed way in a very short period of time. It’s difficult to imagine anything other than crime explaining this, however, it is interesting to note the timing as his trip corresponds with the California gold rush.

He ends up finding gold in Newfoundland in the summer of 1880 near Brigus. Now, my ability to connect JW Foran to Little Bay is weak at best. Howley notes in his journal that the discovery occurred during his absence from Notre Dame Bay that season and an article found in the Harbour Grace Standard about the find mentions another alongside it involving a discovery of horse-flesh copper at Conception Bay. The prospecting party sent to investigate the second claim went from Little Bay lead by Adolph Guzman. Guzman was in the company of Mr. Sinnott. Mary Sinnott would be William Foran’s wife back in Little Bay. JW Foran also invested in a silver mine with Little Bay’s founder Baron Ellershausen. Maybe he was in Little Bay and maybe he wasn’t – for the most part JW Foran’s involvement in Newfoundland mining concerned investing in it which he did from his home in St. John’s where he ran his various establishments.

The brothers William and Patrick Foran were in Little Bay early, likely right from its beginning in 1878. I don’t know if they were with the Germans previously at Betts Cove but the family appears tight with them. I’d imagine this could be partially due to JW’s investments. William is of particular note as he rose the ranks in the Little Bay mines rather quickly. This stands out for someone Newfoundland born who didn’t follow the Germans here from Nova Scotia. Sergeant Wells’ diary refers to William Foran as the boss of the mine and mine overseer in an entry from 1884. I suspect this means he was the mine captain underground at the time. An accident at the mine that February took the life of miner Luke Madden and his brother blamed Overseer Foran for the tragedy. Mr. Foran, in turn, had to give a statement about the mine’s safety to Sergeant Wells as part of the subsequent investigation.

William’s position at the Little Bay mine was listed as copper dresser later in 1898. That was a job that would have required a detailed knowledge of ore. The dresser selected which material went to waste and which continued on to processing. I have no evidence that William travelled with John to the United States but I entertain the possibility that JW’s finances and William’s intimate knowledge of the elements could have both been found in California in the 1860s. That’s my best guess anyway – it’s that or crime!

JW Foran used his money to the benefit of St. John’s and played a huge role in the city’s cultural development. He is found noted contributing to everything from fashion to the culinary arts. Like the Baron he seemed to have a particular interest in raising Newfoundland’s high brow culture. Back in Little Bay we find William was likewise socially engaged. He participated in the debates at the Public Hall and was a member of several committees including the education board. He also helped organize political support for Premier Whiteway. William Foran’s concerns appear mostly locally focused on the town of Little Bay itself while JW’s perhaps can be seen to consider the colony more broadly. I don’t know if they coordinated or if any of William’s efforts were aided by his brother’s money.

The success wouldn’t last. The great St. John’s fire of 1892 took JW’s assorted properties from the city. He ran for politics the following year but lost. Finally, like the Baron, he ended up investing much of what he had left in Placentia’s Silver Cliff mine. Perhaps, in the end, he just wanted to revitalized his hometown. If so his attempt at community contribution was misaimed as that was an investment he’d regret for the rest of his life. The operation proved itself a monumental failure. He died from heart failure in Nova Scotia a few years later in 1898 and his obituary credited his death to his insatiable work ethic. He didn’t die poor by any means but what he left for his children in St. John’s was a far cry from the money he must have had to fund both the Atlantic Hotel and the Opera House.

William Foran never left Little Bay and died there from la grippe in 1908. It was his grave that I’d visited. Their youngest brother Patrick flew largely under our radar for this piece. He followed the exodus of miners from Little Bay to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia but returned later to Grand Falls, Newfoundland when paper production started there. Patrick Foran remained a labourer all his life. Perhaps he lacked his brothers’ ambition but that fact may have contributed to his living the longest of the lot. He died in Grand Falls in 1918 from the Spanish Flu during the destruction caused by that terrible epidemic.

Patrick’s children remained in Grand Falls and worked the paper mill there before enlisting for service in the First World War. One of William’s kids followed suit. William’s son Patrick took a different route and immigrated to the United States where he found folks from his homeland – he married the daughter of Little Bay police Constable Michael Sutton in New York City in 1920. Maybe he’d looked south wondering, like we do now, how exactly his uncle made all that money.

That’s all folks, thanks for reading!

* Notes: If you’re doing genealogical work on this family there are a lot of wonderful sources. JW has an obituary, a will, and a brief biography. The last is found in Mott’s Newfoundland Men. You can also find stories pertaining to his Atlantic Hotel on the site archivalmoments.com and there are a lot of military documents from Patrick and William’s sons following their enlistment for the First World War on The Rooms website. I’ll also point out that the family trees I’ve found online are missing one of William’s wives. Also William’s job was taken over by another William Foran following his death so there might be a son missing as well. The 1911 census claim that John Phoran was born in Little Bay in 1878 is odd as the month given predates the town. I am following the lead of other researchers in asserting that these three men are brothers so if you have evidence to the contrary please let me know. Any claims on the timeline below lacking a source refer to information I’ve found on genealogy sites that I have no reason to doubt but lack original sources. My focus is on Little Bay’s history itself as oppose to the broader history of particular families – I’m pretty good but it’s still always a good idea to do your own research! It helps me find new material when you share these from the Facebook page and if you’d like to donate to this research you can do so – here. I’ve also published my posts on the churches as an ebook which you can buy – here. Thank you for any contribution as it helps with the overhead costs!

Sources:

• The first image is of William’s grave in Little Bay. The second is of JW Foran found in Mott’s biography. The third is of William and Mary (Sinnott) Foran as submitted by Kathie Wagner
• 1841, April – Birth of John William Foran in Placentia (Mott’s Newfoundland Men)
• 1844 – Birth of William Foran in Argentia (Leo Allen’s MyHeritage)
• 1847 – Birth of William Foran (deduced from 1908 death at 61 years)
• 1853, Dec – Birth of Patrick Foran in Placentia (age deduced from 1918 death at 65 years)
• 1864 – Marriage of JW Foran to Martha Geary (daughter of John) in St. John’s (Morning Courier / info from JW’s will)
• 1875 – JW Foran opens the Atlantic Hotel in St. John’s (archivalmoments.com)
• 1876 – JW Foran on the board of engineers (Journal of the House of Assembly)
• 1878, March – Birth of John Phoran to Martha Phoran in Little Bay (1911 GF census)
• 1880, July – Mr. Foran is one of the men to discover gold in Brigus (HGS)
• 1881 – John W. Foran discovers gold in Brigus (Howley)
• 1882 – William and Patrick Foran living at Little Bay Bight (Voter’s List)
• 1882 – Birth of Thomas Foran in Little Bay (1921 census)
• 1882, Sept – JW Foran awarded 3rd class in geography (EM)
• 1882, Sept – Mrs. W. Foran collects donations for construction of Her Lady of Carmel (ET)
• 1883 – Birth of Thomas Foran in Little Bay (1945 census)
• 1884, March – William Foran mine overseer (Wells)
• 1885 – Death of Mary Foran (Sinnot) wife of William Foran
• 1886, Jan – JW Foran attacked by pastry chief (ET)
• 1888, Jan – Marriage of William Phoran to Annie L. Rideout. He is listed as a miner and a widower (TS)
• 1888, July – JW Foran opens the Opera House in St. John’s
• 1889 – William and Patrick Foran living at Little Bay Bight (Voter’s List)
• 1889, Jan – P. Foran donated to the Parnell Defence Fund (SJC)
• 1889, Feb – Rhubarb pie served at Atlantic Hotel for the first time in winter (DC)
• 1889, April – Mr. Foran participated in a debate at the Public Hall (TS)
• 1889, July – Marriage of William Foran to Rosanna Dwyer (Leo Allen’s MyHeritage)
• 1889, Oct – Mr. Foran participated in political support for Whiteway (ET)
• 1890, Jan – William Phoran listed as a member of Little Bay’s Billiards and Reading Room club (ET)
• 1891, Nov – William Phoran listed on the RC education board for Little Bay (Bromley)
• 1892 – Atlantic Hotel and other Foran properties lost to St. John’s fire (Mott)
• 1892 – Birth of Patrick Foran in Little Bay to William Foran and Annie Dwyer (NYC marriage records)
• 1892 – JW Foran obtains the Silver Cliff mine property in Placentia (Martin)
• 1893 – JW Foran has a retail store in St. John’s (City directory)
• 1893 – JW Foran lost a political race (Mott)
• 1893, June – Birth of Sebastian Foran in Little Bay to Patrick John Foran and Martha Ledwell
• 1894 – Patrick and William Foran listed as fishermen at Little Bay Bight
• 1895 – John Foran, William Foran, and Patrick Phoran living in Little Bay and vicinity (Requisition for Honourable Robert Bond)
• 1897 – John W. Foran & Sons, Water Street (Devine and O’Mara’s City Directory)
• 1897, July – Birth of Martin John Foran to William Phoran and Rosanna Dwyer in Little Bay
• 1897, Aug – Death of the trio’s father Patrick Foran in Argentia 
• 1898 – Death of John William Foran in St. John, New Brunswick. Body returned to St. John’s Newfoundland (Obituary of JW Foran)
• 1898 – William Foran listed as copper dresser while Patrick and Patrick jr. Foran are listed as labourers living in Indian Bight, Little Bay (McAlpine’s)
• 1901 – Patrick Foran living in Glace Bay, NS
• 1905, Feb – Death of Gearld Foran in Little Bay age 1 year and 6 months. Son of William (Headstone)
• 1908 – William Foran listed as Little Bay’s gaoler (Civil services)
• 1908, July – Death of William Foran age 61 years in Little Bay (Headstone)
• 1908, Aug – Following the death of William Foran his position as Inspector of Weights and Measures is taken up by William S. Foran (ET)
• 1913, Dec – Death of John Phoran in Grand Falls (1911 census)
• 1914 – Sebastian Foran (paper maker) son of Patrick J. Foran enlists from Grand Falls (Military records)
• 1914, April – Marriage of Patrick Foran to Georgina O’Keefe in Grand Falls
• 1917 – Martin Foran (paper maker) son of William Foran enlists from Grand Falls (Military records)
• 1918 – Thomas Foran (iron worker) son of Patrick Foran enlists from Grand Falls (Military records)
• 1918, Oct – Death of Patrick Foran in Grand Falls (Headstone)
• 1919 – Patrick Foran moves from Grand Falls, Newfoundland to Vermont where his uncle Dwyer lives via St. John, New Brunswick (Immigration doc)
• 1920 – Marriage of Patrick Foran (son of William) to Alice Sutton (daughter of Michael) (NYC marriage records)