According to information found at the Springdale Heritage Centre the Gillard family moved from Germany to England in the 18th century and from there emigrated to Newfoundland in the early years of the following. They worked as fishermen and operated out of an area near Twillingate called Gillard’s Harbour. Several members of the family moved to Little Bay at the start of mining operations there. My first record of the Gillards in Little Bay comes from 1881. Only one of the brothers worked there as a miner while the others listed as either fishermen or trappers. Of particular interest is George. George Whitehorn Gillard (1867-1940) was born to Henry and Harriet. He worked as a furrier and sportsman’s guide. He ran a service out of Little Bay with access to Grand Lake which consisted of various boats, stores, and camps. I think it’s a reasonable guess that he was with Mr. Burgess during the 1888 expedition into Grand Lake when they captured four live caribou with the intent of domesticating them for mail service. This experiment was likely a failure as I’ve found no record of its success. According to the Western Star George Gillard killed a sizeable bear in the winter of 1900 near Sandy Pond.

We last find George Gillard living in Little Bay in 1906 with the birth of his daughter Percy. By 1909 he was living in Springdale where he and his brother Joshua continued their work fishing, trapping, and guiding sportsmen for hunts. During this period, likely due to his time in Little Bay, he also prospected with claims staked across the Green Bay area. His biggest find was the Gull Pond copper deposit in 1905. By the 1920s he took work as a winter mail carrier although it should be noted that he did this work with the aid of thirty well trained huskies and without any trained caribou at all. This he continued doing well into his old age. He also kept up the guiding and was hired for fishing trips into the 1930s. Some of these trips took him back to the town of Little Bay. George Gillard died in Springdale in 1940.

Gillard Sources:

• The photo included shows the brothers George, Joshua, and John Gillard in 1900 and was found with information submitted to the Springdale Heritage Centre by Doreen Loveys and Carl Gillard.
• 1881 – Birth of Sylvester Gillard to Henry and Lucy (Vit stats)
• 1881 – Birth of James Gillard (1921 census)
• 1883 – Henry Gillard married Lucy Maria Burt (Vit stats)
• 1885 – William Waterman (merchant) vs Henry Gillard (fisherman) debt of $725.12 for goods sold and delivered (Supreme Court docs)
• 1887, Feb – Henry Gillard married Annie Witt (Meth marriages)
• 1892, March – George Gillard (furrier) married Ada Oxford with Hy Gillard and Annie Gillard witnesses (Civ marriages)
• 1892, March – Birth of Annie Beatrice Cooper to William and Annie (Gillard) (Civ births)
• 1892, Oct – Birth of Annie Dora Gillard to George and Ada (Civ births)
• 1893, Aug – Solomon Gillard born to Joseph and Annie (Civ births)
• 1893, Dec – Roland Gillard born to Elijah and Rowena (Civ births)
• 1894 – Joseph, Henry, George, Andrew, and John Gillard listed as fishermen at Little Bay harbour (Census)
• 1894, May – John Gillard married Ellen Warren with Annie Gillard witness (Civ marriages)
• 1895 – A. Gillard owed a debt to John Lamb (Lind ledger)
• 1895 – George, George, Henry, Henry, and Joseph Gillard living at Little Bay and vicinity (Requisition for the Honourable Robert Bond)
• 1895, March – Dorman Gillard born to John and Ellen (Civ births)
• 1896, Jan – Andrew Gillard married Evangeline Richards (Civ marriages)
• 1898 – Joseph, Henry, Andrew, Theophilus, and Joshua Gillard listed as fishermen living at St. Patricks while George is there listed as a guide and John as a miner (McAlpine’s)
• 1900, Nov – George Gillard (sportsman’s guide) killed a bear near Sandy Pond (WS)
• 1903, Sept – George Gillard offered a sportsman’s guide service out of Little Bay with was outfitted with three boats and three camps for station Grand Lake (WS)
• 1903, Oct – Birth of Henry Gillard (Buchans employee list)
• 1904 – Henry, George, Andrew, Theophilus, Joshua, and John Gillard listed as fishermen at St. Patrick’s (McAlpine’s)
• 1905 – George Gillard discovered the Gull Pond copper deposit (Heritage sign)
• 1907 – James Howley hired Mr. Gillard to take him across Grand Lake on his boat (Howley)
• 1920s – George and Joshua Gillard worked as mail carriers (Heritage sign)
• George Gillard continued working as a mail carrier well into old age (NL Q vol 73 no 3)