Screen Shot 2022-12-11 at 4.44.55 AM

Sutton

Michael J. Sutton (1861-1918)Constable Michael Sutton was 25 years old when he arrived in Little Bay. The Irish born policeman had been ordered to the unofficial capitol of the northern mining region by Inspector Fawcett on December 1st 1886. He traveled by steamship from St. John’s and disembarked the SS Plover at Little Bay a week later. He reported to Sergeant Thomas Wells on the night of December 8th at roughly 10pm.The next morning on December 9th he joined Constable Meany for street duties ...

30707146_10156354909823410_8732358499264102400_o

Sculley

Someone asked me to compile my references for the last name Sully but when I looked into it I only had one reference to a Mr. W.T. Sully in the RC school reports. I found a handful of references to a Mr. W.T. Sculley in the newspapers and realized that was his actual last name. William Walsh (1880-1948) had mentioned being educated at Little Bay by Dr. Scully. That title made more sense once I found reference to a medical student named W.T. Sculley travelling from St. John’s to New York in 1894 ...

Taverner

Captain Joseph Henry Taverner (1845-1920) arrived in Little Bay in 1883 with his new wife Mary Elizabeth. They’d travelled by steamer from Twillingate where they had been married the pervious year. J.H. Taverner was originally from Trinity Bay where his family were longstanding landowners. I suspect the move to Little Bay was motivated to avoid debt collectors as he owed money to several people and by 1885 was declared insolvent. This didn’t seem to slow him down. In 1888 he obtained a well ma ...

Patrick and Katherine (Foran) Dunphy

Dunphy

The Dunphy family first appears in my Little Bay records in 1884. They are Roman Catholic and seem to have come from the Avalon. They relocate to Nova Scotia in the mid 1890s likely for mining work at Glace Bay before finally ending up in the United States. The image is of Patrick and Katherine Dunphy and was submitted by Kathie Wager who is working on connections between the Sinnott, Foran, and Dunphy families. My Little Bay references to the Dunphy family are listed below with one variant spel ...

Feature_516x289

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 ...

30707146_10156354909823410_8732358499264102400_o

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 ...

VC John Bernard Croak

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 ...

30707146_10156354909823410_8732358499264102400_o

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 ...

Feature_516x289

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. ...