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 but reported feeling under the weather that evening. The next day he was back to work and the pair arrested John Cooney for drunk and disorderly. A meeting on December 13th saw many of the community’s men of high standing signing collectively on a petition to forbid the sale of liquors. On December 15th the police made several arrests at Big Dan Courtney’s Little Bay Hotel. Sutton’s arrival that December had coincided with the increased Temperance attention on the drinking establishments and on the 18th of that month police began investigating patrons of John Lamb’s Skittle Alley. They made related arrests daily in the weeks that followed, mostly for alcohol related offences but on December 22nd they got Simon Power for robbing the Company Store.

On January 22nd of 1887 Constable Sutton was involved in an undercover operation to catch Michael and Mary McLean, Little Bay’s most notorious bootleggers. This earned the local police much praise and attention and the media nicknamed the local detachment “The Invincibles” after the constabulary had dressed in disguises in order to trick the slippery husband and wife team into exposing their homespun rumrunning operation.

In October of 1887 Constable Meany left town after a number of incidents had ruined his reputation with Wells. This left only the twosome of Sutton and Wells to police the place. In December that year a Constable Broderick joined them briefly but none were impressed with his contribution. Constable Sutton was left in charge of the man while Sergeant Wells was away from town but Sutton couldn’t get much work out of the newcomer. Broderick stayed in town only briefly and departed again after only a few weeks. This once again left only Sutton and Wells to run the place.

The pair were busy with police duties and made arrests daily. Many such arrests involved violent altercations and further required guarding prisoners once they were locked up at the jail. They were responsible for keeping the peace in the booming mining town and had further duties to represent the town during festivals and public events. As an example, on August 7th 1888, Constable Sutton along with Sergeant Wells and Magistrate Blandford entertained the Governor of Newfoundland – Governor Blake. The policemen while acting as dignitaries hosted the politician and his entourage as they toured the mining town.

Sutton was once again left in charge during Wells’ absence in February of 1888 and fell ill the following month after Wells returned. He was in bed with the flu on March 11th and the Sergeant let him sleep it off. Up until this point Constable Michael Sutton appears to have been mostly in Sergeant Thomas Wells’ good books but that changed early in 1888 when the Constable requested permission from Inspector Fawcett to marry a local lady named Maggie Loader. Permission was granted but the wedding was cancelled before the ink had dried on Fawcett’s reply letter and Sutton requested the application be resubmitted with Annie McLean replacing Maggie Loader as Sutton’s future wife. This didn’t sit well with Sergeant Wells as Annie McLean’s parents were none other than the infamous bootleggers Michael and Mary McLean. Wells didn’t hide his displeasure in related correspondence shared with Inspector Fawcett. Fawcett approved the union but expressed concern over the conflict of interest caused by a policeman marrying into a family of bootleggers. Fawcett thought Sutton should change districts but this of course would leave Sergeant Wells patrolling Little Bay by himself. Constable Sutton’s application for leave of marriage was officially received on December 9th 1888.

In May of 1889 Sutton was responsible for shooting a number of stray dogs. The dog population was ever increasing as everyone needed to keep dogs for winter sledding purposes and there was no way to control their breeding. Dogs found wandering the community were to be shot and local children were paid to dispose of the bodies. This could sometimes lead to conflict between police and the owner of a beloved pet who’d gotten loose. One such incident occurred between Constable Sutton and Mr. Dunn on May 4th 1889. Another took place between the officer and one Joseph Bussey on June 6th that year. Sutton didn’t handle these incidents well and his lack of professionalism marked a sign of things to come.

By July 10th of 1889 things between Michael Sutton and his boss, the good Sergeant Thomas Wells, had come to a head. Sutton had been staying at the Wells’ home while falling in with a disreputable crowd. His living with Wells suggests the relationship with Annie McLean had ended and perhaps accounts for the change in attitude. According to a letter Wells wrote to Fawcett, Constable Sutton was frequently drunk, acting belligerent toward Wells’ wife and servant, and neglecting his police duties. Sergeant Wells suggested Sutton be removed from service immediately. The Wells’ had just lost a young son and the Constable staying with them was often intoxicated and had once invited an intoxicated guest. Mrs. Wells expressed concerns over Sutton being drunk around the kerosene lamps at night while the family slept.

On September 9th 1889 Hector McKenzie issued a complaint of abusive slander against Constable Michael Sutton after an incident during a game of Four Hands at the Little Bay Billiards and Reading Room. Constable Sutton had been accused of cheating and exclaimed with regard to the game rules “You fool. Where would you learn it? You were born in the woods!” at Mr. McKenzie. McKenzie brought Sergeant Wells’ attention to the event. When Wells confronted Sutton about it the Constable responded by turning his back to him. This was perceived as a grave and discourteous offence. In Sutton’s official response to the incident he explained that the Billiards and Reading Room was a private club for member’s only and therefore not likely a police matter.

On October 1st 1889 Inspector Fawcett came to Little Bay on board the SS Conscript to confront Sutton in person and warned him that any further transgressions would result in his immediate dismissal. Wells was told to once again board Constable Sutton at his home and he went back to work but only for a few brief days as on October 5th Micheal Sutton requested leave in plain clothes and planned to board a boat bound for St. John’s to attend to private matters. When Wells brought Sutton’s request to Fawcett it was denied in light of an upcoming election. Sutton was unwilling to wait until after the election was over and so gave his resignation to Inspector Fawcett on the deck of the Conscript on route to the city.

By the end of 1889 Michael Sutton was no longer employed as a policeman. I wonder if his split with Annie McLean played a part in that. He found love again in 1892 when he married Ann Kelly. You can bet they got married at Her Lady of Carmel Parish. They remained in town until 1894 when they made the move to Pilley’s Island where a pyrite mine was taking off. Sutton’s post-police work experiences are found with various job titles. He is listed at times as either a fisherman, merchant, trader, outport inspector, or inspector of weights and measures. His social activities were also varied. Mr. Sutton was heavily involved in a multitude of community endeavours. He was a member of Little Bay’s Roman Catholic Educational Board, Little Bay’s Road Board, and he was a member of Little Bay’s Billiards and Reading Room’s private club. He competed in several billiard’s tournaments in town in 1892. He does not appear on the town’s Voter’s list for 1889 but he made donations to both the Parnell Defence Fund and the Harbour Grace Cathedral Fund from Little Bay that year. He signed his support for Robert Bond in 1895 from Pilley’s Island.

I believe he may have been injured at some point after this. There is no mention of a disability during his time with the police in Little Bay but oral accounts of his life at the turn of the century mention a cane and he described himself as crippled in later court proceedings. According to descendants Michael became further unpleasant while living at Pilley’s Island. There is a story about Michael Sutton discovering his son David caring for a stray dog near his home in Pilley’s Island when his father found out and told him to get rid of it, when the boy failed to comply his father beat the dog to death with his cane. One has to wonder how his old police task of shooting strays factored into such behaviour later in life.

In 1912 Michael Sutton once again found himself dragged back to Little Bay when he was summoned to appear at the Supreme Court house there. He had been charged with bootlegging after his wife had sold rum to a police Constable. This irony would come all the way around with Mr. Sutton once again brought before his old boss Thomas Wells who now served there as Magistrate. Sutton appealed to the now Magistrate Wells saying, “I am a crippled man and have a hard helpless family to provide for; and, I will serve my punishment in jail as I have no means to pay the fine” and so opted for the jail time to avoid a fine he apparently could not pay.

Michael Sutton and his family remained at Pilley’s Island until 1918 when they relocated to St. John’s. Michael and Ann had adult children living in the city. They likely took Ann in giving her a place to stay in St. John’s while Michael was dying in the hospital there. He suffered an appendicitis and was likely in quite a bit of agony during the ocean journey from Pilley’s Island to St. John’s. He was 58 years old when he died in the city hospital. His widow, Ann Kelly, was in her 40s and with young children still. She left the island for the states after that and lived the rest of her life there, most likely living with their other adult children who had migrated there earlier.

And that’s the story of Constable Michael Sutton. He was born in Ireland in 1861. According to the Sutton family’s oral history Michael fled from Ireland to escape punishment for stealing horses. It adds up that he moved to Newfoundland as an adult seeing his parents stayed in Ireland. His life from 1886 until his death in 1918 is well documented and I think I’ve managed to uncover it with some details herein. Michael Sutton appears to have grown increasingly bitter with age. It’s worth noting that his descendants made a point of never naming anyone Michael again. As a sidenote Ann Kelly mother’s maiden name was Sinnott – I remember those of you working on the Sinnott’s in Little Bay were looking for leads so perhaps contact between the Sutton and Sinnott researchers could produce some.

I’ll close this with some resource suggestions for anyone doing research on this family. There are a number of Ancestry and My Heritage trees containing them so I know you’re out there. If this article finds its way to you there are a number of great resources I can suggest for Michael Sutton. Constable Sutton’s police work in Little Bay from 1886 to 1889 is documented in great and first person detail by Sergeant Wells in his diaries. Those have been transcribed and published by his great, great grandson Doyle Wells. I can’t recommend enough that you buy yourself a copy of his book which is called “All Quiet” (2012). You can find the military files for Michael and Ann’s son John online. John Powers Sutton served with the Canadian forces during WWI. Michael Sutton’s job titles can be traced using the various Newfoundland Almanacs and the Journals of the House of Assembly. The image I’ve included was used on various genealogy sites so I don’t know its original poster, if you do please reach out. If you want to reach me use the Facebook page and if you want to support this project use my Patreon – I had to sign up for a number of paid sites again for this one! That’s it! Thanks for reading. You’ll find my Sutton sources below. Bye!

Sources:

• 1886
• On December 1st Constable Michael Sutton was ordered to Little Bay by Inspector Fawcett at Fort Township Constabulary Office (Wells)
• Constable Michael Sutton arrived in Little Bay on the Conscript on December 8th and reported to Sergeant Wells (Wells)
• On December 15th Sutton was assaulted by Stephen Mullowney (Wells)
• 1887
• Undercover police operations as a member of the invincibles (1887, April 2 – TS / Wells)
• Sutton requests to marry Maggie Loader (Wells)
• 1888
• Sutton requests to marry Ann McLean the daughter of Michael and Mary McLean (Wells)
• 1889
• Donated to the Parnell Defence Fund (1889, March 9 – SJC)
• Donated to the Harbour Grace Cathedral Fund (1889, Oct 11 – SJC)
• Left police work that October (Wells)
• 1891
• Travelled on the Conscript (1891, May 22 – HGS)
• Competed in a billiard tournament (1891, June 14 – TS)
• Competed in a billiard tournament (1891, July 4 – TS)
• 1892
• Marriage to Ann Kelly (MyHeritage)
• 1893
• Alice Mary Sutton born to Michael and Ann Sutton. Michael is listed as a merchant (Civ births)
• Michael Sutton fishing from Little Bay (1893, May 31 – ET)
• 1894
• Michael Sutton is listed as a fisherman at Little Bay Harbour (1894 census)
• Michael Sutton joins the Road Board for Little Bay (1894, June 14 – Weekly News)
• Birth of David John to Michael and Ann. Michael listed as trader (Vit stats)
• 1895
• Signs for Robert Bond from Pilley’s Island (1895, Sept 21 – TS)
• 1896
• Birth of Patrick J. Sutton to Michael and Annie at Pilley’s Island. Michael is listed as a merchant (Vital stats)
• 1897
• Birth of John Powers Sutton to Michael and Ann (Military files)
• 1904
• Listed as fisherman at Pilley’s Island (McAlpines)
• 1912
• Listed as a member of the Roman Catholic Educational Board for Little Bay (1912 Almanac)
• 1913
• Michael Sutton was an outport inspector and forwarded his report from Pilley’s Island (1914 Journal of the House of Assembly)
• 1914
• Listed as a member of the Educational Board (1914 Almanac)
• 1915
• Listed as a member of the Educational Board (1915 Almanac)
• M. Sutton is inspector of weights and measures for area of Little Bay to Leading Tickles (1915 Almanac)
• 1917
• Listed as a member of the Educational Board (1917 Almanac)
• 1918
• Michael Sutton died of appendicitis on June 11th in the General Hospital in St. John’s. He was buried at Mount Carmel (Vital records)
• Buried in St. John’s (Grave)
• Mrs. Ann Sutton living in St. John’s (Military files)

*Special thanks go to Doyle Wells, Milt Anstey, and JP Sutton for contributing to this piece.