Spelling variants found: Whitten / Witten

I can tell you a little about the miner Robert Whitten. I first find him recorded in Little Bay in January of 1884. It’s unlikely he arrived in the winter which pushes his arrival back. He was certainly present by 1883 but likely arrived earlier with the influx of Newfoundland born men following the departure of the Germans. The Germans had a lot of social control. The new owners did not. Many of the men newly arriving were single. The town got rowdy and dangerous. This lawless period is confronted by the arrival of Sergeant Wells in the summer of 1883. What few references to Robert Whitten I have are from that time.

Robert Whitten gives us a glimpse into a transitional period. I have only three references to him but all give example of reckless behaviour. Two come from the police journals. In 1884 he dropped a wheelbarrow full of rocks into the mine almost injuring several men below. This at a time when concerns of miner’s drinking underground was prevalent. The following year he was suspected of breaking into the Company Store during a night of drinking with John Mullowony.

The other reference I have to Mr. Whitten comes from a Supreme Court document and gives us another insight into life in town during this time. It refers to a debt he owed for board and lodging. Several townsfolk were running boarding houses to accommodate the town’s sudden growth. As many of these new miners were single they’d opt for this cheaper alternative over staying at the Little Bay Hotel or building houses. Mr. Whitten was lodged at the home of John Martin.

I’ll need more information before I can place this man into genealogical context. Let me know if you find him mentioned elsewhere. I’ll update this when/if I get more information.

Thanks for reading!

Sources:

1884, Jan – Robert Witten’s wheelbarrow tipped rocks that almost struck the men below in a mining accident (Wells)

1884 – John [[Martin]] labourer v Robert Whitten labourer debt $30 for board and lodging (SC docs)

1885, Dec 17 – The police were investigating a break-in at the company store. Robert Witten, who was lodging at Martin’s had been drinking with the suspect John C. Mullowony the night before (Wells)