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Connors

The Connors family first appear in my sources for Little Bay in 1881. They were Roman Catholic and came to the mines from Sound Island. They remain in town until at least the early 1920s before appearing in Buchans. 1881 John Connors present (Lind ledger) 1882 John Connors at Little Bay Bight (Voter's List) 1889 John Connors at Little Bay Bight (Voter's List) Thomas Connors at North Side Little Bay (Voter's List) On April 10th a raffle took place at the home of Frank Connors on New Line ...

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Coleman

The Coleman family arrived in Little Bay at some point prior to 1882. I’d guess an arrival between 1878 and 1881 as they likely followed the influx of Newfoundlanders seeking work at the mines. There they would have received training in the industry from the Presbyterian German miners already present. The Coleman family appears to consist of a group of brothers traveling with their elderly widowed mother and their families. They were Roman Catholic members of Her Lady of Carmel Parish. Their wor ...

Diem

I was contacted recently by David Bergeron, curator for the National Currency Collection. He is working on the Betts Cove Mining Company’s currency for an upcoming publication and was curious about my findings on the Little Bay script. In looking over the notes I noticed a signature on one of them for a name which I recognized but had not yet worked on. It was signed by J.P. Diem, Little Bay mine’s cashier. I decided to compile my references for Mr. Diem to narrow in on his time ...

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John Bernard Croak

When I was a child I thought my Uncle Paul served in the Little Bay army. It was a belief that got a few chuckles from the adults around me. Since I’ve started uncovering Little Bay’s history I’ve found the concept of the Little Bay army to feel a little closer to truth. Little Bay can claim a proud military history with recognized veterans of both world wars. A more recent conflict claimed my cousin and dear friend Stephen Bouzane. We lost him in Afghanistan in 2006. My research on Little Bay f ...

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Foote, Hacker, Melephant, and Quenby

I’ve been working on family names associated with the mine’s management but I’ve been having trouble tracking down any photographs. I’m hoping you can help. Below you’ll find links for four names. On those pages I’ve written brief summaries and listed the sources I’ve got for them. I hope it helps a fellow researcher. If you’re working on any of these genealogies and have more you might help me back. I’d like to find images for these men but such things are hit and miss. It usually comes down to ...

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Foote

Giles Foote worked as Shopman and Cashkeeper for the Mining Company Store location in The Bight. I believe he arrived in Little Bay from Tilt Cove in 1880 as the family name was present in town that year. He was voted MHA for the Twillingate district in 1894 and died at Bell Island where he worked as Sub-collector for Customs in 1914. 1879 - Giles Foote is operating a shop at Tilt Cove (Supreme Court docs) 1880 - At Little Bay Mines on January 24 Rev. A. Gunn married James F. Kentie to Mary J. ...

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Betts Cove

Betts Cove was Little Bay's sister town as they were both founded by the same German Baron. They, along with Ellershouse in Nova Scotia, are the only communities I know to have been created by Baron Franz von Ellershausen. What follows is a timeline of the Betts Cove mine which was discovered in 1865 and ran from 1875 until 1886. This list is drawn near entirely from my existing sources on Little Bay as I just wanted to get my references to Betts Cove into chronological order.1865Robert Knight o ...

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The Company Store

The Mining Company owned and operated stores in Little Bay. The stores were present immediately in 1878. There were two Company store locations. One at each of the main districts, namely the Bight and Loading Wharf. Miners were paid in a Company script which could be used to purchase provisions from the stores.I believe I’ve flushed out how the Company stores operated with references to the employees and their job titles for the mid to late 1880s. George Quimby held the position of Head Shopman. ...

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Cleary

Thomas and Josephine Cleary came to Newfoundland in 1820 from Ireland. Thomas worked as the keeper for the Amateur Theatre in St. John’s. This may explain his grandchildren’s later interest in performance. Our tale follows their second child, a boy named Philip, born in 1825. He took a job as cabin boy aboard the Royal William at the age of 11 and sailed all the way to Brazil. His work impressed Captain Brooking who offered him a position as seaman. Philip Cleary became first mate in 1848 at the ...

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Stuckless

The Stuckless family came to Little Bay from Twillingate in 1883 or ‘84. They were members of the Church of England. Brothers Albert and William arrived with family including two possibly single mothers; Susanna and Emma Stuckless who I suspect were widows of other brothers.The Stuckless migration was due to the booming copper mine. Little Bay mines offered a substantially higher income than fishing and the brothers would have sought for those wages alongside Newfoundland’s other would-be miners ...