Posts - Page 4 of 15 - The History of Little Bay

Mining shafts

I'd like to address the how and why of my work so if you're just here for the shaft data just jump ahead to the bolded words. If you do read this one to the end… who knows, you might just get rich!The Little Bay Heritage Society has asked me to figure out the names and start dates for the shafts of Little Bay Mines for information signs to be placed on their upcoming el Dorado hiking trail which will see its grand opening on August 12th this year (you better come!). I’ll first address the diffic ...

Drummond

The case of William Drummond is a curious one.On the morning of June 12th 1882 a punt with sail was observed adrift off of Little Bay Islands. Two boys set out to investigate. They found no one onboard but the boat appeared to have recently held two people. The boat contained a jar of spirits, a box of tobacco, and biscuits. From the boat they noticed one of the ship’s oars floating in the water. Attached to the oar was the stiffened body of one William Drummond. No other body was found and no o ...

Rapter

Rapter is an odd one. I have one singular reference to the name in Little Bay found in the Twillingate Sun from March of 1882. It lists Rapter, Esq, as manager of the mine among those of note found in audience during the first performance of Little Bay’s Choral Society. I’d previous thought that the Mine Manager’s job had gone directly to EC Wallace from Adolph Guzman but it appears Mr. Rapter held the post briefly in between. Wallace was certainly in town already as my earliest reference to him ...

Little Bay’s population numbers

I’m occasionally challenged on the claim that Little Bay was once one of the biggest spots on the island. This isn't surprising considering the contrast between a current population of 100 and the 19th century hub I describe. I’ve decided to list my sources for the total population numbers.I’ve made a list of all the references to the population of Little Bay I’ve collected so far which you’ll find below. I’ve included the number of men employed at the mine with the total population numbers wher ...

Curtis

The Curtis family sawmill is an important piece in the history of Springdale. The family play an important role in Little Bay’s history as well. The histories of the two communities are intertwined as I’ll consider here.The Curtis family is primarily represented in Little Bay by Francis Edward. He was the son of an Englishman named William Curtis. The family had immigrated to the Twillingate region from Dorset, England in the mid 19th century. Francis was born in Durrell, Notre Dame Bay on Novem ...

Foran

Spelling variants found: Foran and PhoranI 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, thro ...

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McVicar

Spelling variants found: McVicar, McVicars, MacVicar, McVickarPhilip McVicar was born on May 9th 1848 in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to Scottish parents. He moved to Newfoundland in the 1870s and had close ties with the early German mining operations in Northern Newfoundland under Baron Franz von Ellershausen and Adolf Guzman. He likely started mining on the island under their leadership at the site of their first operations in Betts Cove. He was one of Little Bay’s pioneering mine captains so I pl ...

The districts of Little Bay Mines

There are several communities in Newfoundland called Little Bay. The one I research is located in Green Bay in Notre Dame Bay. It is prominent in media from its beginning in 1878 until the turn of that century. It was the site of a copper boom and was expected to rise. Little Bay was founded by the German Baron Franz von Ellershausen. It is the sister town to another he founded in Nova Scotia called Ellershouse. During the years of its prominence most references to a Little Bay in Newfoundland r ...

Gillard

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 ...

Rideout

Spelling variants found: Rideout / RidoutI lucked out with the Rideout family as there has been genealogical work done on them and I had a number of references in my Little Bay database already. The patriarch of 19th century Little Bay’s Rideout clan is Alfred (1840-1897). There is some disagreement among the family’s researchers as to his birthplace. The more detailed tree is found on ancestry.com and traces his lineage back to Nova Scotia. It should be noted that the Nova Scotia birthdate is o ...

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