Posts - Page 8 of 15 - The History of Little Bay

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

Notre Dame Masonic Lodge

The Notre Dame Masonic Lodge was once located in Little Bay. In 1950 the last meeting was held there before it was relocated to Springdale. The Lodge in Little Bay held balls and banquets. Its membership travelled to nearby towns for concerts and hosted in return. Its silver working tools came from Swansea in Wales and were acquired by the mining company. The original building was lost in the fire of 1903 but replaced in 1917. Historical details about the Notre Dame Lodge are spotty before 1903 ...

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Delaney

The Delaney family came to Little Bay from Bay Roberts. My first reference to them in the area is from 1883. They are absent from the Voter’s list for 1882 further suggesting 83 for their arrival. Captain John Delaney was then 38. His son Edward was 20. Other sons were present. It’s likely the James and Patrick Delaney Sr. there were his sons. There are also at least two daughters - Nora and Bridget. Some of these Delaneys lived at Loading Wharf and some in the Bight but Captain John lived in St ...

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Kidston

This Little Bay research is a journey. It takes unexpected turns. It twists. Working on the Kidston family is a fun little example of that. Kidston is a name I’ve only recently gotten anywhere with. It was one lonely reference for a long time, only the name on a gravestone in the Bight. At the United Church cemetery was inscribed the name Edward A. Kidston. The headstone said he’d died in April of 1881 and that he was the son of A. S. Kidston but that was it. For a long time that was all I had.W ...

Mayo Lind

The summers of my childhood were spent in Little Bay. I fished for trout out of a small pond off the main road. It’s called Lind’s Pond. I didn’t understand the name’s significance to Newfoundland’s military history when I played by that pond as a child. It was named after the Lind family. They resided in Little Bay from the mid 1880s until the early 1940s. Likely you already know the name Mayo Lind. It was a nickname given to a man who also spent his boyhood summers playing next to Lind’s Pond. ...

Boyles

Benjamin T. Boyles (pictured with his wife Jemima) moved to Shoal Arm, Little Bay from St. John’s with his sister Martha in 1878. Benjamin Boyles worked as a general dealer there. There were other Boyles present in the area including William G. Boyles at Tilt Cove in 1882 and a teamster named Henry Boyles at Little Bay by 1892. The Boyles family intertwined with the Benson family in 1885 as Johnathan Benson was also a dealer from St. John’s who lived in Little Bay at the time.1878 - Mr. B. T. Bo ...

Richards

This one has it all - rum running, arson, religious intolerance, and perhaps even hints of murder - if you'll allow me my suspicions anyway! What follows is the Richards family's journey in Little Bay.John Thomas Richards married Sarah Dawe at New Bay Head in March of 1865. The couple moved to Little Bay in 1882 with their children - William, Isaac, Temple, and Evangeline. John listed as a trader during the mining boon but later as a fishermen when mining operations stalled. A letter to the edit ...

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