medals

Burke

Patrick Burke was born in Fogo in 1859 to Myles and Margaret Burke. He traveled to Little Bay with his widowed mother and was present in the town by 1888. I have reference to a Margaret Burke in Little Bay in 1883 which could place the family there earlier. According to a student interview with Leo Hayse in the 1980s the Burkes and Hearns were the first two families to operate stores in Little Bay. If accurate that would put Patrick Burke in Little Bay almost immediately. I can confirm that he i ...

albert colbourne

Colbourne

The history of the Colbourne family and the history of Little Bay are intertwined. When the Colbourne family arrived in Newfoundland they set up shop in Twillingate but many relocated to Wild Bight (known now as Beachside). It began in the 1850s. The Colbourne family were among the first families there. Robert Colbourne and his brother cleared the forest there for farming. They worked there as fisherman farmers.Thomas Colbourne built the 18-ton schooner Annie Laura (Evans). According to the obit ...

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Armstrong

The Armstrong family of Witless Bay immigrated to Little Bay via Betts Cove at some point prior to 1886. I’d guess it was after 1882. One of my first records of them is the obituary of Rosanna Armstrong. She died in Little Bay in 1886. It reads “At Little Bay Mines, on the 9th Dec., Rosanna, relict of the late Mr. James Armstrong. and eldest daughter of Mr. Michael Cahill, of Newtown, aged 76.” I believe Rosanna was with her adult sons, among which was Michael. The following generations of Armst ...

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Anstey

OverviewThe Anstey family first appears in my records for Little Bay in 1880. They were Methodists. According to information derived from a MyHeritage family tree ran by Hubert Glyn McKay and a sign at the Springdale Heritage Centre sourced to Chelsley Anstey the family came from Twillingate with some lineages ending up in Springdale and Little Bay Islands following the loss of the Little Bay mine. Sources FoundBelow is what I have on the Anstey family in Little Bay. 1880 - Birth of Elsie Jane H ...

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Boyde

https://historyoflittlebay.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Boyd_Arthur_Arthur_Boyd_interview_February_14_1986.mp3 According to the 1986 interview with Arthur Boyde embedded above the Boyde family came from England when his great grandfather landed at Twillingate. The family spread out from there. His grandfather, Thomas Boyde, moved to Little Bay following the closure of the mine at Tilt Cove but appears to have originally come from Tizzard’s Harbour. My first references to the family in Litt ...

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Dillon

This is what I have on the Dillon family in Little Bay. The miner John Dillon (pictured) was present by 1882 and two of his sons remained in town into the 1950s. I’m pretty proud of my research work on this one. I remembered a Dillon reference in the police diaries but when I went back to double check I found I was mistaken. It was a man named William Ditton referenced in the diaries of Constable Thomas Wells and not a Dillon. I contacted my friend and fellow researcher Doyle Wells as he had tra ...

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Hearn

The Hearn family came to Little Bay from St. John’s. They make their first appearance in my records in 1882 with Patrick Hearn. Thomas Hearn, the man who first opened Hearn’s store, was likely Patrick’s son. He was 15 years old in 1882. According to an interview with Leo Hayse, the first stores operating in Little Bay were those of Hearn and Burke. If that is the case then Patrick may have been a shopkeeper or trader prior to his son Thomas opening the family store in 1892. The Hearn family sto ...

rev. walker

Walker

According to the oral history the first Walker in the area was John Walker from Brigus and his wife Agnes Summers. They both died and are buried in Little Bay. They had five children all born in St. Patrick’s; Ellen (1883) married Tom Armstrong, Joseph (1888) married Margaret Cleary, Margaret (1889), John who died as a baby, and William (1906) who died in a mining accident at Bett’s Cove when he was only 19. The remaining Walkers in Little Bay descend from this lineage. My first record of John i ...

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James

1881 - James, William (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) James, Louisa - wife of William (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) James, Frederick Jacob - born to William and Louisa (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) 1882 - James, James (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) James, Harriett - wife of James (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) James, William - born to James and Harriett (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) 1883 - James, William (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) James, Louisa - wife of James (Vital Stats, 1753-1893) James, Mona Bell - born ...

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Keefe

1886 -J. Keefe played in a game of cricket (Twillingate Sun, July 24 1886)1890 -Death of Daniel J. Keefe age 1 - son of Daniel and Maggie Keefe (Evening Telegram, Oct 28 1890)1891 -John Keefe involved in a billiards tournament (Twillingate Sun, July 4 1891)1892 -Birth of Moses Patrick Keefe to Daniel and Margaret Keefe (Civ births)