|
Butler One Old Name In One Old Place Cupids - Port de Grave Prepared For Newfoundland and Labrador
Genealogical Society Copyright 1997-2002 All rights reserved November 1997 By Arthur Melvin Butler 2288 c/o 308 Colborne St. E., Oshawa, Ontario, Canada L1G 1M5
Butler: One Old Name In One
Old Place Cupids - Port de Grave The
celebration of the arrival of John Cabot in the Matthew from Bristol five
hundred years ago has reawakened interest in the history of the “New-Founde-Lande” and also
in the genealogy of its people. In this
review the focus is on one old place, Cupids, Conception Bay, and on one old
surname, Butler, of which in the seventeenth century there are two instances.
One is Samuel Butler, who may be English, possibly, from either Nottingham or
Bristol. The second is Thomas Butler, who may be Irish. If Irish, then he may
belong to the family of Butlers, known in Ireland since the twelfth century. Cupids,
as Cupper’s Cove, we are told by the historians, was a known
place before 1610 when official settlement began. It may, therefore, be
suspected that well before the dawn of the seventeenth century a rough trail
had been worn along the entire length of the shoreline. That shoreline we can
be sure John Guy had explored not long after his arrival in the above year.
Information about John Guy who, like Cabot a hundred or so years
earlier, also sailed from Bristol, is readily available from the standard works
of history and, indeed, from the evidence of recent archaeological digs. In a
word we learn that the first habitation in the actual cove of Cupids consisted
of lodging, storehouse, sheltered workplace, sawmill, most of which appears to
have been enclosed within a fortified protective shell, or palisade. I was
told by a relative of the existence of an old iron ring that had been embedded
in rock along a stream, or brook, leading from Cupids Pond into Cupids Cove.
This ring, now removed, served, presumably, as part of an apparatus to
facilitate the movement of timber to the mill. The cove
of Cupids is without doubt the site of the first official settlement in
Newfoundland, when from 1610-1613 John Guy was governor and Manager. In
addition to the enclosed area in the cove I include for the purpose of this
article references to two other structures and where, I have come to believe,
they stood. The
first of these was begun during the first winter which we are told was
unusually mild. Gillian Cell refers briefly to work begun “on a new and larger
house.” D. Prowse in his monumental history quotes John Guy from a letter, which
he had written to John Slaney, the treasurer of the chartered London-Bristol
Company to which Guy was responsible: “(We) worked toward the making (of) the
frame of timber of a far greater and fairer house than that which is as yet we
dwell in which is almost finished.” Since,
like Sir Percival Willoughby, Guy expected to receive a grant of land from the
Company, it is conceivable in the height of enthusiasm for a new home in
Newfoundland that Guy had this house in mind for himself and large family still
living in Bristol - a house he would call Seaforest. The
second structure, a fort, also noted by Gillian Cell, was begun in the summer
of 1612 to ward off any attack from enemies, notably, Peter Easton, who earlier
that year had thwarted Guy’s attempt to establish a second settlement for the
Newfoundland Company a place called Renewse, south of St. John’s. These
two structures appear to be outside the actual Cove of Cupids only further
along the same shoreline toward Burnt Head, and may have formed a unit
throughout the seventeenth century, as I hope to show. I offer here for
perspective a description of the seafront of Cupids as I remember it from
boyhood visits and later. It begins where a stream (not the one already alluded
to) empties into the cove from the west, a place called Riverhead. A walk
or drive along a road now paved takes one past a monument, recently erected to
the memory of John Guy and his workers, who had built on the site their first
habitation so long ago. The road continues eastward past the United Church of
Canada (formerly Methodist) and its school and cemetery to Smith’s Hill where
it meets the entrance road to the village from Brigus station and beyond. All
along the way are many adjacent residences and places of business. The Cove
of Cupids proper extends to a place called “the point”, referred to sometimes
as Bartlett’s Point. Here a branch of the old Dawe Family of Port de Grave have
lived from about the turn of the nineteenth century. Because of a rise in
elevation the road veers to the right up over Connolly’s Hill through Shark’s
Cove (pronounced Shock’s Cove in English fashion) on past a tree-lined area and
historic site (to which we shall return). The road
forks near a brook to form together what has been called the Burnt Head Loop,
that is, one can go on a back road to Burnt Head and return by the front one.
Both these roads pass through an old property of the Butler family. At Burnt
Head there are residences, the Anglican Church of St. Augustine, school and
cemetery. Beyond one may stroll to Deep Gulch and Greenland. You will
see that I have been trying to describe the Cupids of John Guy, albeit a modern
version of his most primitive one. The
historic property to which I have referred , adjacent to that of the Butlers
was owned for a time by the late Donald Butler, whose family and mine lived
nearby. The information is that at one time the two properties ran side by side
from the seashore to a trail leading to a flat area on a ridge between Cupids
and neighbouring Brigus Bay. Along the trail a walk takes one
along two familiar mounds of flat stones, erected in the distant past, called
for some reason “the American Men.” From the lower part of these two adjacent
properties there is a scenic view of the opposite shore of the Peninsula of
Port de Grave and from the upper part on the ridge a panoramic view of the
distant entrance to Conception Bay and of the approach of any vessel that might
present itself a threat to the community of Cupids. On the western section of the Butler
property (of William Butler) two schools were built. On the lower part a
Methodist school to serve the Butlers and others; and on the upper part later
sold to the Roman Catholic Church to serve newcomers with Irish names to the
area, who probably arrived by way of Brigus. The area where the Butlers lived came to
be known as Southside because they owned property on both sides of the narrow
inlet, that is, at Sandy Cove and also on the eastern edge of the small harbour
of Port de Grave. There they shared property with two other branches of the
family. Adjacent to the Butlers on the east was Ship Cove, probably so called because
it was the preserve of the annual fishermen. From this area later families
moved to Cupids. On the property that I have identified as
that of Donald Butler there was another mound of flat stones. I am indebted for
information about this to the uncle of Donald Butler, the late Robert Harold
Butler. In correspondence between 1970 and 1972 he wrote these words of great
interest: “Just outside my boundary --------there
was always a mound of stone exactly like a collapsed rock chimney -----I could
even trace out the form of a house foundation -----In my boyhood (that is,
before 1910) there was a huge tree----- growing directly in the centre of this
mound of flat stones so that it must have been in the late 1600's or early
1700's that this house or castle stood there, as it takes about two hundred
years or more for a tree, especially of white spruce, to grow to such an
enormous size-----I often wonder could it be the site of Guy’s Seaforest house?
One thing is certain. There is the sea and also plenty of forest.” Harold Butler’s curiosity remained
throughout his lifetime. In his senior years, glad to have someone with a
similar historical interest in Cupids, he hoped that I would be able to confirm
his tentative answer to his perennial question: “What mean ye by these stones?”
(Words from the Book of Joshua 4:16 in the Bible). “Bearing in mind,” he added,
“these mysterious stones of which I have written.” It is my opinion , based on the evidence,
that Harold Butler was right. The remains of the old residence are indeed the
remains of John Guy’s Seaforest House. It is also, my opinion, though not
discussed with Harold Butler, that the two mounds on the ridge just to the
south are remains of Guy’s fort, which he started to build in the summer of
1612 to protect the Cupids settlement. The two structures then, along with the
habitation in the cove, may be accepted as the main building activities of the
original pioneers. It is not known how much Samuel Butler
participated in these building projects, but we do know that he had a part in a
voyage of exploration during the fall of 1612 along the coasts of Conception
and Trinity Bays, including the allotment which Sir Percival Willoughby
expected to receive. On the expedition a pinnace and shallop were used. Samuel Butler, mentioned in John Guy’s
journal of 1612, describing the voyage, traveled in the shallop with four
others, including Willoughby’s agent, Bartholomew Pearson. On the return voyage
a violent storm arose when the shallop was destroyed. The five men had to make
their way on foot on Willoughby’s lot to Carbonear, probably along an old
trail. At Carbonear they found an abandoned fisherman’s boat, and thus made
their way to home base at Cupids, actually arriving there before Guy in the
pinnace, which had been severely driven off course. Samuel Butler may have returned to England as
did Guy. He may have been one of Willoughby’s men with particular
interest in Willoughby’s lot. Or, he may have been one of Guy’s men with
particular interest in Cupids. He was certainly involved in the first stage of
settlement at Cupids. We know that Guy retained an active
interest in his allotment, being involved in Bristol politics and Newfoundland
concerns until he died in 1628, shortly after he made his will. In his 1626
will he left his Seaforest lands, divided into four equal parts to his sons.
There is reason to believe, as I have noted, that Guy’s lands included Cupids,
which he knew best. It also reached to the beginning of the Finger Coast, near
Holyrood, where it joined the boundary of Lord Baltimore’s grant in 1623, as
described in Newfoundland Discovered, pp 250 and 259, Gillian Cell. Though no more is heard of Samuel Butler,
who was active at Cupids during the first quarter of the seventeenth century,
we do hear of another Butler later on in the century. In 1675 when Sir John Berry made a list
of Newfoundland residents it was noted that at Cupids Stephen Atkins was the
“keeper of Mr. Butler’s castle.” It was also noted that at Port de Grave, the
next settlement across the narrow inlet, Thomas Butler was one of three
planters. Though we are not told, Mr. Butler appears to be Thomas Butler,
working at Port de Grave, the better site for a fishing operation, and living
at Cupids during the winter months. It may be thought that Thomas Butler,
having become prosperous, either built or acquired a substantial home at
Cupids, where the soil was better for gardens and hay production. The evidence is that there has been a
continuous Butler family in direct descent from Thomas, as I shall attempt to
show, living at Southside, that is, the south side of Port de Grave, adjacent
to the site of the old collapsed chimney, about which I have already written.
The impression I have after much reflection, following the information once
given me by Harold Butler, first cousin of my father, is that Mr. Butler’s
castle is indeed John Guy’s Seaforest House on a site, which includes his fort
on the ridge toward the south. Thomas Butler, we may conjecture, was
born before 1640, probably, in Ireland, according to a widely held belief among
the Butlers. As a young man he left the homeland, possibly from Waterford, to
join the Newfoundland fishing fleet. Soon after he allied himself with the
Edwards family of Bristol and Carbonear, Newfoundland. Edwards and Butler
became involved in the export of fish, voyaging back and forth across the
Atlantic, probably, in a triangular trade, that is, with the Iberian Peninsula
and then with the import into England of Mediterranean products. On one occasion in particular, Peter
Edwards and Thomas Butler are on record as having arrived in Bristol at
Michaelmas (September 29th, 1672) and as having stayed the winter
there. A question had arisen that they might have contravened certain
navigation laws regarding foreign trade. However, when the two had asked for
permission to depart they were licensed to leave and to collect an adequate
crew to transport themselves and provisions for “their family” in Newfoundland.
A residence in Newfoundland was, therefore, admitted by the authorities. A residence in Bristol may also be
indicated in that the two men owned their own vessel, a ship called the Little
John of one hundred tons of Bristol registry. The wording in the relevant
document “their family” suggests a family relationship. Edwards and Butler were
not only business partners, but possibly brothers-in-law as well. It may be important to note as well that
in Berry’s 1675 census there is reference to another ship at Port de Grave
called the Thomas and Elizabeth, suggesting a business partnership between
husband and wife. Would they be Thomas Butler and Elizabeth (nee Edwards)? The
ship in question is said to be of London, bound for Lisbon, and the ship’s master is Stephen Tideman.
There may have been a London Business connection as well as a Bristol one. Further information in later documents
reveals that Thomas Butler had land extending westward from the small harbour
of Port de Grave, an ideal spot for the fishery, to Sandy Cove, including an
area called “the meadows” which was better for cattle grazing. This wide
property he may have shared with the two other planters, mentioned in 1675, who
themselves may have been associated with Butler at an earlier date, for the
cattle that are at Port de Grave are all lumped together in the listing. Thomas Butler is also said by Berry to
have a wife and three sons unnamed, but probably minors born from about 1660
on. By 1677 he is said to have three sons and a daughter, and by 1680, a year
when his operation had declined, only one child is at home. One of Butler’s sons may be the Charles
of St. John’s who in 1699 signed a petition, requesting the Bishop of London
(Anglican) to appoint a clergyman to serve in Newfoundland. A second son may be
Edward, whose name appears in the 1706 Board of Trade and Plantations records.
No more is heard of these, though their names recur, especially, Charles, soon
after, among the Port de Grave Butlers. John is most certainly one of the sons of
Thomas Butler, as we shall see. He and Edward Baker appear to have succeeded
Thomas at Port de Grave, carrying on with the export of fish. John, born by 1660 may be in fact the
John Butler, whose name is mentioned as an importer in the 1684 Exeter port
books. The estuary-like port of Exeter would include smaller harbours such as
Teignmouth, where one of the descending branches of John did have business
connections. In 1700 when Sir Stafford Fairborne was
“commander-in-chief of the Newfoundland convoy” there is reference in his
report for the years 1699 and 1700 to the ship Rebeckah of Teignmouth and
Topsham moored at Port de Grave. Stephen Tucker is named as master. There is a
known later connection between the Tucker and Butler families of Teignmouth. It
may be significant, too, that the ship, Thomas and Elizabeth, is also mentioned
in 1700 as an added note. The ship is of one hundred and fifty tons and of
London. John Fell is named as master. Then again in 1704 we read about a ship
of one hundred tons of Bristol called the Little John. In the record we are
told that the ship with a cargo of tobacco from Virginia by way of Newfoundland
- along with others- was captured as a prize, and brought to a French port. On inquiry at the Public Records office
in London, I found unfortunately, that no names of personnel were given. Might
it be, however, that we are thinking about the same ship belonging to Peter
Edwards and Thomas Butler and that the latter had named it after his son, John,
a child at that time? There is little information about the
fishery in the records during John’s career, though the years 1697 to 1713 were
to prove troublesome. During those years there were attacks and threat of
attack by the French, when the prolonged war between England and France had
spread to Newfoundland. Using the diary of Abbé Baudoin, the
French chaplain, D. Prowse wrote about the distruction in January, 1697 of the
English settlements in Conception Bay. (P.219) Alan F. Williams of Memorial
University has provided, also, a narrative of the events based on the same
diary, Father Baudoin’s War. (Pp.59-72). We learn from both accounts that
during the winter of 1697 places such as Port de Grave, Brigus and surrounding
area were burnt, so that local operations were temporarily disrupted. At some
point the Butlers and others resorted to Little Bell Isle and to nearby Kelly’s
Island for protection while they carried on with the fishery. There is one last reference to John
Butler. In the 1706 records of the Board of Trade and Plantations he is
mentioned among others, including Edward Butler and James Butler. These are all
of Conception Bay and are named as people in favour of Lloyd, the commander at St. John’s. I have been told that at Port de Grave
there was in existence at one time a headstone in the Butler cemetery, erected
in memory of a John Butler. He died in 1714, it is said, but I have not seen
it. Still, with the passage of time it may have fallen down and gradually
covered over. John had in turn a son, John, and another
son, James, who appears to be elder of the two. Born between 1680 and 1685 they
were still in their youth when the French under d’Iberville arrived in 1697 in
Conception Bay. Stories of a semi-legendary character that have come down in
both the Earl and Butler families reflect the frantic but clever attempt to
survive until help was provided by the mother country. In 1706 there is mention of James Butler
of Conception Bay, as already noted. Then in 1708 he is said to have a fishing
operation at Little Belle Isle, to have a wife and one child, neither name, nor
age, nor sex indicated. There is, however, reason to believe that the child is
another James and that later he would have a brother, George. In 1708, the same
year, John Butler is said to be at neighbouring Kelly’s Island, where he and
others had begun a fishery. At that time John is a single man, but he would
marry and have at least one son. In 1709, when there was danger of further
French hostility, James Butler was given command as governor at little Belle
Isle by Captain Taylor of the Royal Navy, stores of ammunition being provided.
Subordinate officers, including John Butler, “Junior”, first lieutenant were
also commissioned. In 1711 we find that the isle was still on use for the
defence of that part of Conception Bay. When peace was again restored in 1713 the
Butlers returned to Port de Grave, where the family had a prior history in the
seventeenth century. John Butler, Junior, brother of James,
had at least one son, Thomas, “son of John”, in the record. Thomas lived to be
an elderly man, and was buried in 1791 on his own inherited property at
Hussey’s Cove, as it came to be known, just west of the harbour of Port de
Grave. On his headstone these quaint words were inscribed: “Ancient and
respectable planter of Port de Grave.” Descendants have lived on this property
for generations though one at least going to Brigus and another at a later date
to British Columbia. John may well have had a second son, Charles, who in turn had a
son, John (1734-1784) buried at Port de Grave, and yet another son. In 1736 to
Charles Edward Baker deeded his property, which early in the century had
separated two Butler properties from each other in the harbour of Port de
Grave. Charles had descendants, some of whom went eventually to St. John’s. John may have had a third son, of unknown
name, who inherited the western section of the threefold Butler property in the
harbour, one of whose descendants, William, claimed property at Salmon Cove
(area of Clarke’s Beach), and another who later went to Montreal and Alberta. John and his wife of unknown name may
have both died not long after their return to Port de Grave from Little Belle
Isle. Their early deaths may account for the fact that Thomas Butler, their
son, was brought up in the family of Thomas Snow on a neighbouring property and
for the fact that Edward Baker in 1736 deeded his property to Charles (a second
son?) James, the elder brother of John, is said
by a descendent to have returned to Port de Grave where he built a “comfortable
home.” His inherited property formed the eastern section of the threefold
property in the harbour already referred to and another at Sandy Cove just west
of that of Thomas Butler. James, who may have had a predecessor by
the same name, has the honour of being the first in a known direct succession
of seven generations of James Butlers, living at Port de Grave and Cupids and
six in another. Inevitably, it is on this branch of the family that attention
has been focused in this article. It should, perhaps, be noted that James
and his wife, of unknown name, both died sometime before 1743 when a property
dispute had emerged between two cousins, namely, Thomas, “son of John” and
James son of James of Little Belle Isle. The dispute was finally resolved. The family of James, it seems, maintained
an interest in Cupids, Southside, carrying on their work at Port de Grave and using
Cupids for gardens and the production of hay. I was told by a descendent at
Cupids that at one point in history it took seven mowers to cut the grass in
the haying season. James, the second, appears to be the
child living with his father, James, and mother in 1708 at Little Belle Isle. A
later record shows that he would have a brother, George. He may be the George,
who went to live at Gastors, a place farther down on the northern coast of
Conception Bay, and who on March 25th, 1797 deeded this property to
Robert Anthony, witnessed by John Mahany. There was once a Mahany property at
Cupids. James, the second,
born about 1702, was still a minor, when his family returned to Port de Grave
after the cessation of hostilities. At Port de Grave, where the Butlers had a
prior history in the seventeenth century, the family of James built a
“comfortable home,” according to Philip Butler, whose branch of the family
afterwards want to live at Kelligrews, nearly opposite Little Belle Isle and
Kelly’s Island. The property of James the first at Port de Grave, Sandy Cove
and Little Belle Isle would eventually devolve upon James, the second. It is said that James, the second,
married an Irish Newfoundlander. If she
belonged to St. John’s the marriage may account for his going to live
there early in his career. He appears to have owned property on both sides of
the harbour of St. John’s and to have continued in the export business, having
connections with Teignmouth. His descendants did do so. He died in 1773 in
Teignmouth according to a funeral entry in the records of the parish church of
St. James-the-less. James had had a continuing interest at
Port de Grave during his time in St. John’s. For example, in the Newfoundland
Colonial Records for the period 1743-1763 we read of a long lasting property
dispute between him and, his cousin, Thomas “son of John”, a dispute between
these two Butlers which was eventually resolved. Thomas from the evidence
retained one property - the larger - in - the vicinity of Hussey’s Cove, a
recent name, and James - the smaller one - at Sandy Cove a little farther to
the west. We learn, also, in these documents that
in 1752 James had asked for permission to go on cutting grass on Little Belle
Isle. In a formal grant in 1757 and an indenture in 1807 half of Little Belle
Isle was given to James and his brother, George, and the other half to Mercer
and Garland with a reference to John Butler, grandson of James. The 1807
indenture confirms that James and George were brothers. James, the second, appears to have had
three identifiable sons and possibly a daughter. One of these, James, the
third, who maybe the eldest continued to live on the inherited property on the
east end of the threefold property extending from Back Cove on Bay Roberts to
the front, “the Sand”, on Bay de Grave. More about him below. There was Charles, who went to live at
Kelligrews, nearly across from Little Belle Isle and Kelly’s Island. The family
of Charles were boat builders at Port de Grave, but took up farming on their
new property. Charles had a son, John (d. 1853) who was buried in a “free stone
vault” at Kelligrews. He is said to be a grandson of Butler of Little Belle
Isle. Descendants have gone to live in St. John’s, northern and western
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Ontario. The family have had a strong belief in
an Irish ancestry, one member being prompted early in her life to visit Kilkenny, where she saw the Butler tombs. Then there was John, who lived and worked
with his father, James, in St. John’s, having a residence in west Teignmouth.
It is possible that all three sons of James worked together for a time to
supply fish for export from St. John’s. To son, John, and his family we shall
return. During the second half of the eighteenth
century the property of James Butler, the first, became divided into three
sections, one belonging to James Butler, the third, on the south, one belonging
to John Tucker in the centre and one belonging to Charles and John Butler on
the north. The arrangement suggests a family relationship among all three, just
as does the wider threefold property in the harbour of Port de Grave. Charles
and John appear to be sons of Charles, “son of James.” If James, the second, did in fact have a
daughter as well as three sons, then, she may have married John Tucker. (Was
he, perhaps, related to Lieut. Governor John Tucker, who was commissioned in
1709 for service in the area of St. John’s, when James, the first, was
commissioned at Little Belle Isle for service in that part of Conception Bay?
The younger John Tucker was born in 1740 in Teignmouth and died in 1828, an
elderly man, according to his headstone at Port de Grave. He went to Port de
Grave as a school master and “preacher of the Gospel.” A later chart of Port de Grave shows that
Tucker had a right of way through the property of John and James Butler to the
sea. In 1763 he bought a property in neighbouring Ship Cove, witnessed by John
Butler (his brother-in-law?). Then in 1781 he drew up the will of James Butler,
the third, witnessed by John Butler, and in 1814 at the request of John Butler
(probably one of the sons mentioned in the will) he confirmed it. What we know about James, the third, we
learn from his illuminating will of March 24th 1781, drawn up not
long before his death the same year. A number of names are mentioned in the
will. The basic plantation of James is left to
his “beloved sons, James and John”, including “dwelling house”, equipment, “boats and
craft” related to the fishery. James and John are to care for Thomas as best
they can and to maintain his daughter, Frances, for as long as she remains at
home. James and John are to cast lots to find which part of the dwelling house
is to fall to whom. (Would this be the “comfortable home” to which Philip
Butler of Kelligrew once referred?) James Butler in his will also bequeaths
to Richard Lamb and John Wells (we may guess to be sons-in-law) the “eastern
most fishing room from the rock” (which I have seen) down as far as my right
goes. Later information indicates a boundary shared on the east by Mugford, and
another by Mugford on the west
separating the two properties of James Butler at Sandy Cove from that of Thomas
Butler at Hussey’s Cove, already referred to. Other names mentioned in the will are,
presumably, four granddaughters and one grandson, minor children of either John
Wells, or Richard and “Anne Lamb”, for her son, “William.” At the time of James Butler’s funeral the
missionary at Harbour Grace could not attend because of a storm, and was likely
taken by John Tucker, the local lay
reader. The wife of James Butler is not
mentioned in the will. She having died on July 21st, 1777 (Mary
Butler wife of James Butler of Port de Grave, according to the Harbour Grace
entry) Sometime after 1773, the date of death of his father, James deeded his
Sandy Cove property to his sons James and John. James Butler, the fourth, and his
brother, John, carried on the Butler name in their branch of the family. They
would each have descendants of their own living in various places. John appears to be the John who had
property at the tip of the Peninsula of Port de Grave, that is, at Bay Roberts
Point, known as Johnnie Butler’s Stage. As well as his inherited piece in the
harbour of Port de Grave he seems to be the John of 1804 of Salmon Cove at the
foot of Bay de Grave. John and his immediate descendants lived
on property in the harbour, and had mining interests on Bell Island.
Descendants later lived at Topsail, across from Bell Island, Little Belle Isle
and Kelly’s Island. Jabez, John and Esau, grandsons of John had a trading
business in Conception Bay. Once they narrowly escaped losing their lives when
their vessel was damaged in a storm. Driven off course, they were rescued by a
passing ship, and ended up in Liverpool. It is said that the brothers
afterwards turned to other interests. Esau retired in Montreal, Quebec
(Verdun), where he died an elderly man. Other descendants have gone to live in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Montreal, Quebec. James Butler, the
fourth, maintained the ancestral link with Cupids (Southside). In 1804 James
Butler “Junior” claimed property there appealing to the 1699 Newfoundland Act of King
William III, intended to accommodate the right of residents and the annual
fishermen. Though his father had died in 1781 his use of the descriptive term,
“Junior”, suggests that his father before him had been active, or been known
there. James Butler was born in 1762 and died in
1851, an elderly man. His wife, Mary, nee Patton was born in 1763, and died in
1848 according to their headstone at the United Church (Methodist) Cemetery at
Port de Grave. They had been Married on May 16th, 1783 by J.
Balfour, the Anglican Clergyman, who served both Harbour Grace and Port de
Grave. They would have six known children, one of them a daughter, and they
would live at both Port de Grave and Cupids. A son, James, the fifth in the series,
was born in 1786 and died in 1847, according to the inscription almost
obliterated, on the headstone near that of his parents. He had a wife, whose
name was Grace, mentioned in the will of 1851 of father-in-law, James Butler.
They lived on part of the property, which James would leave to James (the
sixth), son of his son, George. George, a second son, died in 1855 (July
6th), sixty-five years of age, according to his headstone in the
same cemetery at Port de Grave. He appears to be the George, baptized in 1794
as stated in the Carbonear Methodist Baptismal records. He was married to Mary,
and had four sons: James (the sixth), Abraham, Samuel and Absalom. James
inherited at Port de Grave and may be the James who died in 1907 in St. John’s.
Abraham had descendants who went to St. John’s. Samuel’s family went to Verdun,
adjacent to Montreal, Quebec, while Absalom’s family went to Connecticut,
U.S.A. Edward another son of James born at an
unknown date died accidentally in 1830 from a fall from his boat off his own
place at Southside returning from a business appointment in Cupids proper. He
was married to Rebecca Mugford, a Port de Grave name, and had seven sons:
James(another sixth), cousin of James, son of George, son of James the fourth;
William, aged fifteen at the time of his father’s death, whom he was
accompanying home; Edward Hickson, called after his father and James Hickson,
the Methodist minister and friend of the family, who baptized him; Gideon, who
would inherit a piece of the Sandy Cove property as mentioned in the 1851
codicil of the will of his grandfather; Jonathan, whose son, James the seventh,
would have property deeded to him when still a child by his great grandfather,
James, the fourth; Joseph, a young single man who died away from home at the fishery;
and Nathan who would eventually inherit the home and piece of land from his
father, Edward, after the death of his mother, a noted mid-wife much in demand. James, the fourth, also had a son,
Joseph. He died in 1846 on the Southern shore, leaving two daughters. On May 24th,
1850, his widow, Rebecca, married William Taylor. William was the fifth son of James. He
inherited part of his father’s property in the harbour of Port de Grave. He had
two daughters, Hannah, who married William Brown and who appear to have lived
on part of the Sandy Cove property, while Grace who married her cousin, Gideon,
inherited another part. Virtue, James’ daughter, was born on
February 14th, 1800, married in 1818 Christopher Vey, teacher and son
of the well-known Methodist lay minister, George Vey. She died on Sunday,
September 4th, 1842 according to a memorial tribute written by her
husband. (Methodist Magazine 1845). Virtue and Christopher had children. He
later re-married. Three of Edward’s children have
descendants still living at Southside, that is Cupids and vicinity, namely,
Edward Hickson, James and William. Some now live in Montreal, Quebec, and
places near Toronto, Ontario, and in Ipswich in England. The property of James, the fourth, at
Southside appears to have extended from an old Mahaney property, later Morgan,
to a Thomas Dunn property, later Walter Whalen, the latter being the site of
the old collapsed Chimney. James left his Southside property to
three of his sons: to Joseph on the east, to George in the centre and to Edward
in the west. When Joseph’s widow re-married that piece passed into another
name. George’s descendants all moved away. Those who remain are descendants of
Edward. I
have left to the end an account of some length of one branch of the Butlers of
Cupids - Port de Grave and Little Belle Isle because of its importance in
tracing an Irish ancestry. The following narrative I have been able
to compose from an examination, mainly, of three sources of information; one,
items of family interest contributed by two sisters, Misses Florence Ellen and
Kathleen Brockelbank, elderly ladies of Hampshire, England, who in the 1950's,
sent it to Lord Dunboyne, genealogical assistant of the Butler Society, who
later gave it to me; two, a chart included in a book, John Job’s Family,
written by the honourable John Job which I consulted many years ago at the
Gosling Library in St. John’s; and, three, the parish records of the Church at
St. James - the less in West Teignmouth, Devon, for the years between 1680-1895
as provided by Mr. A. O’Connor Birch, Verger, who also told me ; “Prior to
1753, as far back as 1680, the name Butler does not appear in any respect.” I begin with John Butler, who appears
from the evidence to be son of James (the second). On March 6th,
1753 John married Jane Giles, daughter of Samuel Giles, merchant of Teignmouth,
who made his will in 1737 when a widower, and Catherine Nee Tucker, who had sisters,
Mary and Grace. There appears to be a relationship of long standing between
people by the name of Tucker and Butler. In 1763 John Tucker bought a property
at Ship Cove, adjacent to Port de Grave. It was witnessed by John Butler.
(brother-in-law?) Since Jane Butler, nee Giles, was
baptized on January 24th, 1731 in Teignmouth, it may be supposed
that John was born by that date but in Newfoundland, for it has been said that
the father of John married an Irish Newfoundlander. (See references to John
Butler earlier). John and Jane had at least four children
(possibly five, even six). There was James (fourth in this line of succession),
who was baptized on October 8th, 1754; Samuel Giles, who was
baptized on September 22nd, 1760;
Jane, who was baptized in 1765; and John S. baptized December 1st,
1771, the first two called, it seems, after their two grandfathers and the last
two after their parents. If there were five children, then, Joseph may have
been his name. If there were six, then, Elizabeth may have been her name. John of 1771, an orphan by 1778, his
father having died earlier, grew up to carry on the family business from St.
John’s, while retaining an interest in Little Belle Isle that had been formally
granted in part in 1757 to his grandfather, James (the second) and to his
brother, George, claiming a previous family connection. On January 15th, 1796, he,
“John of St. John’s” married in Teignmouth Elizabeth Bulley, daughter of Samuel
Bulley (born about 1730 d.1810) and of Johanna Wood (1747-1826), witnessed by
John Job, Mary Bulley, Rich Medland, probably, priest. John Butler’s sister,
Jane, appears to have married someone in the Bulley family, and had a son, John
Butler Bulley. John and Elizabeth became the parents of
a number of children, one of them James Henry Butler, who was baptized in
Teignmouth on November 2nd, 1812 (another fifth in the line of
succession), had a son, James (another sixth) and had a nephew, James Butler
Knill Kelly (also sixth), who became third Anglican bishop of Newfoundland and
later primus of the Episcopal Church of Scotland. The latter died in 1907, aged
74 years. John and Elizabeth, also, had a son, John - Samuel born in 1802, and
who was killed in 1819 on a wharf in St. John’s. James Henry Butler (the fifth), son of
John and Elizabeth, married in 1838 Elizabeth Edgecombe Ferris of Bristol, and
had grandchildren, among them the Misses Brockelbank, who provided Lord
Dunboyne with her interesting family information. These were children of Isabel
Edgecombe Butler, who married in 1868 Stanley Brockelbank. The sons of James
Henry Butler all predeceased him. Among the inherited papers of the
Brockelbank sisters were the grant and indenture relating to the family
possession of part of Little Belle Isle and a bookplate belonging to their
grandfather of special interest in tracing
ancestry. I Include a copy here along with an illuminating chart of the
Chief Butlers of Ireland prepared by Lord Dunboyne, taken from his work, “Butlers
of Kilkenny Castle; Their Kith and Kin”, centre pages, and used here with his
permission for publication. (See page 25 under sources.) Of the bookplate Lord Dunboyne has
written to me the following: “Miss F.E. Brockelbank sent me James Henry
Butler’s bookplate, which contained the family motto, ‘Soyez Ferme’, as well as
the shield of the Irish Butlers. This is the motto of the Carrick branch of the
Irish Butlers as opposed to the Ormondes or Dunboynes etc.” Short of actual documentation the
bookplate showing the heraldic device and motto of the Ikerrin - Carrick branch
of the Butlers, appears to provide evidence for research beyond Thomas Butler
of 1675 of Newfoundland. Born, it may be conjectured with good reason, before
1640, he would be a younger contemporary of Pierce Butler (d.1661), First
Viscount Ikerrin. The preponderance of the name James (not
to overlook John and Thomas, Charles and Edward) in the one instance in a
series of seven successive generations and in another six generations, suggests
an ancestor and by that name beyond Thomas among the Ikerrin group of Butlers.
If so, then, Thomas of Newfoundland may be in direct descent from John
(d.1330), second son of Edmund, Earl of “Karryk” (d.1321), who was father of James,
first Earl of Ormond (d.1338), all in descent from Theobald (d.1205), First
Chief Butler of Ireland. (Please, refer to chart of the Butlers of Ireland as
prepared by Lord Dunboyne). It should be noted, finally, that James
Butler, First Duke of Ormonde, brought up in the English court, was,
subsequently, caught up in the political turmoil of his time. Known for his
deep piety and high character, his loyalty to the crown was steadfast. In
Newfoundland, which I know best, he was revered among the Butlers there as a
kind of family folk hero. A lingering memory of him among my people reached me
during childhood visits to Cupids when school was out in the summer-time,
strong enough to stimulate a life-long interest in ancestry as a hobby, and, at
last, to write this article about one old name in one old place.
References Bookplate of James
Henry Butler (baptized in 1812 in West Teignmouth, Devon, England). Evidence
indicates a descent from Thomas Butler of 1675 Cupids - Port de Grave, and his
belief in a link with the Ikerrin group of Butlers, in particular, of the
Butlers of Ireland. For greater detail see relevant material in article, and,
also, chart prepared by Lord Dunboyne, used here with his permission. CONDENSED FAMILY
TREE, compiled by LORD DUNBOYNE Among many helpful sources consulted Journal of John Guy
1612. Lambeth Palace, London, England. Will of John Guy
1626. Archives, Bristol, England. John Guy. Address.
Raymond W. Guy Newfoundland Historical Society 1972 The Willoughby Story.
Cecil Reynolds. Butlers of Kilkenny
Castle: Their Kith and Kin. Revised Edition 1981 by Lord Dunboyne. This is a
later edition of a work the first edition of which was published in 1968 (the
current edition of which is the ninth) entitled, Butler Family History. A History of
Newfoundland 1895. D.W. Prowse MacMillan. English Enterprise in
Newfoundland 1577-1660. Gillian T. Cell. 1969 University of Toronto Press. Newfoundland
Discovered 1610-1630. Gillian T. Cell. 1982 Hakluyt Society London, England. Father Baudoin’s War,
Diary of French chaplain 1697. Alan F. Williams Memorial University. Life and Labour in
Newfoundland. Charles R. Fay. 1956 University of Toronto Press. A Faithful Narrative
---1699-1700. Sir Stafford Fairborne. Public Library Boston. Collection of
Newfoundland Names. Keith Matthews. 1970. Memorial University St. John’s. Kelligrews by the
Sea. Philip Butler 1960. Guardian Press St. John’s. Records Colonial Office c/o 1:35,
1:38, 1:44, List of Nfld. Plantations c/o 199:18. PRO London; Archives, St. John’s. St. John’s Board of Trade and Plantations
Early 18th Century. St. John’s Calendar
State Papers, America and West Indies 1709. Nfld. Colonial
Records 1743-1763. Archives St. John’s. Records
of Supreme Court 1780. Archives St. John’s. Grant Little Belle
Isle 1757, Indenture 1807. Registry Deeds, etc. Vol 4 St. John’s. Wills of James Butler
1781 and Son James 1851. Deeds Vol 17. John Job’s Family.
Honourable John Job. Gosling Library, St. John’s. Parish Records.
Anglican. Harbour Grace - Port de Grave 18th Century. Parish Records.
Anglican. St. James-the-Less West Teignmouth, Devon 18th and 19th
Century. Methodist Church
Records, Cupids 19th Century. Andrews Family of
Port de Grave. 1989 Gerald W. Andrews. Butler Canada. Herb
Taylor for Butler Rally June 1990 at University of Toronto. Earlier Articles.
A.M. Butler. The Family of Butler
in the New-Founde-Lande, Butler Journal Vol 1, No.5, Kilkenny, Ireland, 1973-4;
Reprinted in Newfoundland Quarterly Fall 1975. Canadian Butlers.
Address to Butler Society, St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, England, August
1979. Thomas Butler of
Seventeenth Century Newfoundland. Address to Butler
Society, Wilkes College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania June 1981. Postscript
and Charts Prepared
by Arthur
Melvin Butler November
27th, 2000 The following charts indicate from the evidence the likely relationship of the family of Thomas Butler of 17th century Newfoundland to the Butlers of Ireland through Pierce Butler (1587-1661), 1st Viscount Ikerrin, and of his wife, Ellen Butler, daughter of Walter, 11th Earl of Ormond (d. 1632). Thomas of Newfoundland, a great grandfather during the first decade of the 18th century, may have been born about 1620, a date earlier than first believed. Many thanks to Michael, my son, for the meticulous work of committing the prepared charts to print.
Charts: These are large files
|
||
