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Sparrow

The Sparrows were a Newfoundland-born Catholic family who arrived at Little Bay Mines for work.John Sparrow (1850–1920) first appears there in 1889. His wife, Mary Ellen, died there in 1895, and by 1901 the family had moved to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, ...

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Power

Recently I received a request to put together what I've got on the Power family in Little Bay. Well, I've come to suspect more than one Power family were present. All appeared to be Catholic but little else connected them. I had a lot of pieces that ...

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Loader

Spelling variants found: Loader, Loder, Lowder, Loather, Loathers, Louther, LouthersMy first reference to the Loader family in Little Bay appears on the 1882 electoral list for the region. It has recently been suggested that voters had to have lived ...

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Eagen

The Eagen family was in Little Bay by 1882 and remained in town until at least 1904. John and Patrick Eagen worked as miners. John has a series of run-ins with the law due to public drinking. His wife was Ann. However, it is Patrick’s wife Catherine ...

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Delouchrey

Spelling variations: DeLouchrey, Delouchery, Delucry, Deluchry, Deloughry, Deloughery, Deloughrey, Delouckry, Delucre, Delacour - those are the easy ones. They can also be found with a separation between with the first E and L or between the L and th ...

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McKinnon

Joseph Justis McKinnon (1849-1936) was known to his friends as Joe. He was the machinist who oversaw the hoist engine, pumps, and other surface equipment for the Little Bay mine. He was described as a hardworking and intelligent fellow.Joe had been b ...

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Grey

Richard Grey (1823-1907) was an Irishman who worked the dressing floor of Little Bay’s mine as the right-hand-man to Walter Spinney. He was known for his wit and was a popular character among the working men (St. John’s Daily News, May 13, 1955).He i ...

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1891 RC parishioners

I made a fortunate discovery recently. In January of 1891 the Colonist published the list of parishioners for Little Bay’s Catholic Church. This was in response to Father O’Flynn thanking them for the gift of a new horse.  This was a fortunate find i ...

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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 ...

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McGrath

The tailor Richard J. McGrath arrived in Little Bay from St. John’s in 1886. His business’s first location in the mining town was found above the Redden Brother’s shop. He wasn’t satisfied with renting his workspace and had acquired his own location ...