Introduction

This section includes information on my ggg grandfather, Philip Newell of ‘The Dock”, his children and their children.  It incorporates information from my original (1971) research and new information from the Internet and various other researchers (see my acknowledgements page).  The period covered extends up to the death of my gg grandfather (John son of Philip) in 1855 (his Will was an important data source).  The material is organized into three sections:

• Philip and his wife, his siblings and his parents,
• James son of Philip (Generation 2) and his children (Generation 3),
• John son of Philip (Generation 2) and his children (Generation 3).

Generation 1.  Philip Newell (Noel, Nule)

The first reliable evidence of the Newell family in The Dock is a copy of a land grant to Philip Newell dated 1785 which I still have in my possession. It states:

 “Philip Newell 175 yards from NE to SW bounded SW by Samuel Dawe on the NE by Thomas Sullivan 68 yards from HWM [High Water Mark] to the N by W bounded N by the woods. 1 stage 2 flakes 1 home 1 garden 1 meadow_____

          Cut and cleared agreeable to the act of Wm 3.  [King William III]  Chap. 25, Sect 7 ____________ date of Entry 1785 ________

The foregoing is a true Copy taken from the records this 28 day of Jan 1820 by me

                                                                             For Matthew Stevenson

                                                                             Registrar &  C.S.C

                                                                             Michael Kelly”

The Act refereed to in the grant was put forward in 1698 by King William III to encourage the trade to Newfoundland. Section 7 of the Act states “Provided always that all such persons as since the 25th of March 1685 have built houses and stages that did not belong to fishing ships since 1685 shall peaceably enjoy the same without any disturbance from any person whatever” (Prowse, 1895, p. 233). The date of entry of 1785 relates to a date when the claim was registered in some fashion. Unfortunately, we are not told where the grant was recorded or by whom (few records have survived from this period); however, I recently found a reference that explains why the data was recorded. In 1805 the governor, Sir Francis Gower, directed that returns be made of all property held on the Island, this was restated by Governor Halloway in 1807 but by 1810 Governor Duckworth noted that in many instances the returns have not to this day [Sept, 1810] been given in — I do hereby call upon all the surrogrates, Magistrates and Sheriffs, to use all possible diligence in preparing and transmitting such returns. This proclamation was issued in the Royal Gazette of September 27, 1810 and specified the information to be collected as:

So we can assume that Philip’s grant was recorded some time after 1810 by one of the officials specified. The date of 1785 would have been entered in government records based on information supplied by Philip or by the collector (i.e. there was no grant issued in 1700s) so the copy Philip had made in 1820 was likely a copy of information collected after 1810.

In November 1784 a Philip Noel married Amy Batton at St. Pauls’ Church, Harbour Grace (Church of England).  At that time this was the closest Church to ‘the Dock’ (~20 km north ) and many people from other communities in Conception Bay were married there.

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Vstats/pre-1891-hbr-grace-ce-mar-1776-1803-p-1-33-hg.shtml

On the same day that Philip and Amy were married a William Button (Batton) married a Mary Noel at St. Paul’s.

The Harbour Grace marriage records currently available on the Internet come from Government files which were transcribed from the original parish records in the 1940s; however, in the original church records there was additional information not in the Government files (source for online versions). This additional  information included the names of the brides parents; which for Mary Batten  née Noel were James and Anne (using the same data we know that Ann Noel née Batten parent’s were John and Mary). When I was conducting my original research in 1971 one of my sources was Harold Newell (at that time a retired teacher and librarian). Harold, had done extensive research on the Newell and Batten families of ‘The Dock’ and pointed out that this was almost certainly a case of brother and sister marrying another brother and sister.  At the time of this wedding the Battens were an established family in Port-de-Grave and Bareneed  (communities near ‘The Dock”). If Philip and Mary were siblings then this would mean that Philip’s  parents were James and Anne.  The fact that Philip named his first son James provides additional support for this conclusion. In addition, William and Mary Batten named their daughter, born at Harbour Grace in 1786, Anne. Recent research on my DNA supports this link between the families.

The conclusion that  the Philip Noel who was married in Harbour Grace in 1784  was Philip Newell from ‘the Dock’ is based on strong circumstantial evidence:

• in the late 18th century the closest C of E church to ‘The Dock’ was at Harbour Grace so it would not be unusual for Philip Newell to be married there;
• there is no further evidence of a Philip Noel living in Harbour Grace after this date;
• Philip Newell of ‘The Dock’ was recorded as Philip Noel in some other 18th century documents;
• Philip Newell received a grant for his land in ‘The Dock’ the year after this marriage and
• a census of Conception Bay conducted in 1817 list both Philip ‘Nule’ and William Batten as residing in ‘The Dock’.

Based on the census of 1817, Philip and Amy had at least four children.

See Merchant Connections section of this Site for more information on this census.

We know two of Philip’s children, James and John, since they inherited part of Philip’s ‘Plantation’ and had sons who inherited land from them.   Philip’s other children (may be more than 4 since adult children like James may not be counted in 1817 census) were either girls, who normally did not  inherited land, or sons who died before inheriting land, or sons that settled outside ‘The Dock’.  We can estimated when James and John were born from their age at death recorded in Port-de-Grave burial records (incomplete). Bareneed was in Port-de-Grave Parish and both towns (separate churches) would have shared a minister. Unfortunately, very few early  church records survived from Bareneed or Port-de-Grave;  however, there are Port-de-Grave Parish C of E burial records for 1828-1869 .  These list the following burials:

Source: http://ngb.chebucto.org/Parish/1pdg-parish-idx.shtml

Based on these records we can reliably estimate that James was born c. 1785 and John c. 1793.

The early Port-de-Grave Parish burial records have one other entry that  relates to the Dock:

This Emma Newell from ‘The Dock’ would have been born c. 1774 which is is too old for a child of Philip or the wife of one of his sons. Assuming that the age at death is correct and not a transcription error then there are two possibilities. Either that she was the wife of a younger brother of Philip, who possibly died before inheriting land, or ,more likely in my opinion, Philip may have remarried after John was born (she would only be ~ 19 when he was born).  This assumes that Amy died some time after John’s birth. There is no burial records for Amy after records started  in 1828 which suggest she died before this date.  If this is correct then it raises a new possibility. Up to this point I have assumed, based on Amy being approximately 18 when she married, that Philip had no children born after c. 1800. If Emma was a second wife then it extends the window for Philip’s children; this might include Martha Newell who married Simon Curlew in 1830 since based on the date of her marriage she was  likely born before 1814.  However, Martha is more likely to be a child of Philip’s son James who was a witness to the marriage or possibly even his younger son John  (more on James and John and their children below) .

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Parish/bareneed-ce-mar-pdg.shtml

Unfortunately, we have no burial records for either Philip or Amy; however, it likely that they were both buried in or near the old burial ground in the Dock which was located at the base of the hill east of the Newell land (see photo below).  Since neither is recorded  in Port de Grave burial records which start in 1828 we can assume, but not be sure, that they both died before that date.  We can be relatively confident that Philip died prior to 1835  since a Voters List compiled that year only included his sons James and John.

Photo of French Family Cemetery in Bareneed [Dock], Newfoundland (looking across Bay de Grave towards Cupids).   http://www.frenchfamilyassoc.com/FFA/CHARTS/Chart057/Chart57gen6.htm. This burial ground was also used by the Batten and French families of the Dock (see: http://www.angelfire.com/fl/atacamasam/srupert.html) and possibly by the early Newells.

As  I stated earlier, Philip and Amy had two sons (James and John)  that inherited land in ‘The Dock’. The following map from my 1971 report shows how Philip’s land was divided between James (to east) and John (to west).

At this time there was no road through ‘The Dock’ just a trail along the edge of the cliffs and the houses were on the north side of the trail. The following photo shows this old trail c 1970s.

The existing Dock/Otterbury) road was built around 1900 and extended along the northern end of the original grant; at that time the old houses were either abandoned or relocated.

My 1971 research focused on Philip and his descendants.  Philips son John (born c. 1793) was my gg-grandfather and because of this I had access to more family history and key documents, like his Will, so my research on this side of the family was more complete (more on this side later).  My research on Philip’s son James was much less detailed but I did identify many of his children and some of their descendants. The following section presents my original research on James (with more background info on sources) and some subsequent findings but it is still a work in progress.

Generation 2. James son of Philip (1785-1849)

I had much less information for Philips’ eldest son  James (born c. 1785) but I was able to establish the names and a few dates for some of his children.

Photo of my original 1971 tree for James son of Philip showing his children (see updated information below)

My tree for James and his children was much less reliable than the one for his brother John (my gg-grandfather). The information for James’ grandchildren is even less reliable since most members of this side of the family had left the Dock before the end of the 19th century. Subsequent research suggests that I may have missed some generations or mixed up ancestry for James’ grandchildren.  I suspect that the generation I missed was between James’ children and the generation born c. 1870’s . The generation after James is known since pattern of land ownership (boundaries) in the Dock was established when James and John divided their portions of the grant (after this point the allotments were too small to divide) so their names became associated with that land (e.g. John of John’s garden). The generation of James’ great grandchildren was captured since my father (a primary data source born 1908) would have been aware of this latter generation. So I suspect that I may have missed James’ grandchildren (Gen 4 below). For example:

As I indicated earlier Port-de-Grave Parish burial records indicate that James died in 1849 at which time he was 63 years old.

Based on information from the baptism records of his children (see following) we know that James’ wife’s name was Margaret and that they were likely married sometime before 1816.  In a working copy of my 1971 family tree there was a note where I wrote her name as Margaret Frathum.  I can’t remember how or where I got that information. Frathum (or Fratham) is not a family name associated with Newfoundland, or for that matter England. There is one indirect association with Newfoundland  and that is Unitas Fratrum [a name for the Moravian church]. There is also the town of Toller Fratrum in Dorset, it’s name translates as ‘Toller of the Brothers’, the brothers being the Knights Hospitallers.  At this time I don’t think this name should be included in the Newell family tree unless someone finds other support.

The following discussion outlines and updates my research on James’ children.

Generation 3. Richard son of James (1816-1893) married Wilmot Daw

The next documented reference we have for James is the baptism of his son Richard at St. Pauls’  Church, Harbour Grace in July 1816.

This son Richard married Wilmot Daw (Dawe) in 1841 (see below, note James as witness).

Richard and Wilmot had a daughter Mary Jane born in 1861  and this was the only child I could find for them.

However, in later research, my cousin Ted identified several other children born prior to 1859 (start of Port de Grave baptism records); these were: Susanna b.1843; Margaret b. 1845; b. 1853 died age 17; Amy b. 1850 and Elizabeth Ann b. 1857. I have not confirmed these.

Richard died in 1893 but I could not find a burial/death record for Wilmot.

Generation 3. Abraham son of James (1820-1900)

James and Margaret registered the baptism of another son Abraham at St. Paul’s in July 1820.

We have a record of Abraham’s marriage to Ann Morgan in 1843.

My cousin Ted indicated that Abraham died in 1878.  There was a Abraham Newell, fisherman in Killigrews (bottom of Conception Bay) in 1871 (Lovells Directory) ; however, I now know that this is incorrect since his death was recorded at Bareneed [The Dock] on  Dec. 2, 1900 at age 80 (est DOB 1820). Ted and I both missed this since the transcription we used incorrectly recorded his age as 50.

Based on my original tree, Abraham had at least two children: Abraham who was the father of Vera and William (see below) and Robert. As I indicated earlier, it is likely that I missed a generation in the tree for James’ descendants so Abraham and Robert are likely grandchildren of Abraham.

I have identified a Robert and Abraham Newell who were children of James & Fanny Newell who were married in 1870:

The following Fanny who died in 1893 (born c 1846) is a good candidate for Fanny of James & Fanny

and the following James who died in 1916 (also born c 1846) is a good candidate for James.

This James was born three years after Abraham (son of James)  and Ann were married, making him a good candidate for their son.

The following Abraham is listed in the 1921 census as born  c 1878  is  almost certainly the son of James and Fanny born in 1878. This Abraham was listed as the father of Vera and William.

This Abraham was also in the 1911 Census (see below).

I suspect that this Robert might be the Robert J Newell who was in McAlpine’s Dirctory for 1894 and 1898 and the Robert Newell who married Mary Grace Snow at the Bay Roberts Methodist Church in 1905.

This Robert was living in Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1921 with his wife, daughter and various members of the Snow family.  In 1925 this Robert John Newell moved to the US.

The following spreadsheet outlines the key events in the life of this Robert:

See original Spreadsheet here: Robert John Newell

In my original research I indicated that Abraham (son of James) inherited the eastern most part (1/4) of  the land  that James inherited from his father (Philip); this was likely based on information from my father John Robert Newell (b. 1908). My old working notes also indicate that Abraham’s son Robert (grandson) got his land, the notes also indicate that Robert’s house was moved up (away from trail along coast) to the new road before 1909 and that it was torn down in the 1930s.

Based on James of James and Fanny being Abraham’s son then the tree for this branch would be as follows:

My ancestry.ca tree shows Robert John and Abraham and their children with Vera daughter of Abraham in lower right.

Generation 3. Isaac son of James (1822-1840)  never married

Both Richard and Abraham (see above) were in my 1971 tree but there is one other documented son for James and Margaret that I missed. In January 1840,  Isaac Noel, son of James and Margaret, was buried at Bareneed; based on his age (17) when he died we know he was born c 1822 which would make him a younger brother of Richard and Abraham.

The remaining children I ascribed to  James  in my 1971 paper are based on indirect evidence.

Generation 3.  Philip son of James (born c.1824)

I had included Philip as a son of James in my original research; however, we have no direct evidence (e.g. birth record) for this so we must rely on  indirect evidence . One of the few sources that document  aspects of the lives of James son of Philip and his children are the Annual Reports of the Newfoundland Church Society . These reports started in 1840 but the earliest I could locate was for 1847. The Society was intended to allow Newfoundlanders to contribute to the support of the Church since before this time the Newfoundland Church was considered as a Mission.

https://books.google.ca/books?id=QGYEAAAAQAAJ

The report list subscribers (people who donated to the society)  by community. It should be noted that Bareneed had one of the first C of E churches in Conception Bay after Harbour Grace (First erected in 1805, see also Decks Awash, Vol 15, No.2, 1986).  The Newfoundland Church Society Report of of 1847 list the following contributors in ‘The Dock’ :

Notes:

Note: The Scrape is a beach just west of ‘The Dock’ in what is now known as Otterbury  and ‘The Ponds’ is an adjoining community just north of ‘The Dock’.

At this time the Newell family was the major contributor to the Church Society from ‘The Dock”.   We can assume that John Newell (15 shillings) was  John son of Philip (my gg-grandfather) and James (8 shillings 6) was James son of Philip (the two largest contributions for the Newell family).  I am assuming that the second John (5 shillings) must be John son of John (my g-grandfather) since he was the only John that we are aware of in this time period. This is a bit surprising considering this John would only be 19 at this time.  Richard could be Richard son of James (see above) born 1816 or Richard son of John born 1824 but I am guessing the son of John since the 1848 report only list one Newell in ‘The Dock’ referenced as ” Newell, R. (John)” who was likely Richard son of John. .  However, the person we are most interested in is Philip (5 shillings).  This is not Philip son of John, who was only a child at this time, so it was likely a son of James.  Reports for subsequent years are sporadic (available for 49, 50, 53, 54 & 55) but there were no further references to Philip in any of these!  One general comment is that John son of Philip and his sons appear to be either more dedicated to the C of E or better off financially.

During this period we do get a few other references to  Philip Newell as a witness to various marriages:

A Bareneed marriage 1842:

a Clarkes Beach Methodist marriage 1843

Perhaps the most telling evidence is a marriage record for Philip Newell of The Dock from 1844 which list James Newell as a witness.

Based on the date of his marriage this Philip would have almost certainly have been born prior to 1826  so definitely not Philip son of John.  The fact that Philip was a witness to a Methodist marriage in Clarkes Beach and married a girl from Clarles Beach suggest that his leanings might have been more Methodist than C of E. My original research list Philip’s children as John and George. I also had a note in my original working files that indicated that Philip’s land went to a Batten.

There was a Philip Newell of Bareneed listed in  McAlpine’s Maritime Provinces directory for 1870-1871; however, this might be Philip son of John who was born in 1844 (see later in this report).

I originally thought that this Philip might be the Philip Newell who died 1882 (see below) since his estimated DOB (c 1824) would fit the marriage record and would explain why he is not in McAlpine’s 1894-97 Directory.

Royal Gazette   January 24, 1882 (Tuesday)
DIED. … On the 19^th inst., Mr. Philip Newell, in the 58^th year of his age. [born c. 1824]

Further research showed that this Philip was living on Signal Hill Road, St. John’s as was his daughter who died in 1887.

The Times & General Commercial Gazette    May 18, 1887 (Wednesday)
Died, on the 9^th inst., Bertha, fifth daughter of Hannah and the late Philip Newell, aged 16½ years. [born c 1870]

This Philip was married to Hannah Newell and had a son John who were living at 48 Signal Hill Road, St. John’s in 1890.

Further research indicated that the Philip Newell who married Hannah was living in Pouch Cove in 1870.

Source: https://noelhistory.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/pouch-cove-parish-directories1.pdf

Unless our Philip moved to Pouch Cove this rules out Philip of Signal Hill Road as a candidate for Philip son of James. The last reference to Philip son of James was the Church Society Report for 1847,  after this he disappears from  the records.

Generation 3. James son of James (c.1814-1896)

James Newell who died in 1898 at age 82, which indicates he was born c, 1814 (2 years before Richard), is a good candidate for a son of James.

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Vstats/death-reg-bk-2-1894-1897-pdg.shtml

I have ascribed this James to James son of Philip based on his birth date and other information (land inherited); plus, even if Philip had a second wife it is unlikely that he would name another son James.  This is another case where reports of the Newfoundland Church Society can fill in some details. The James who contributed to the society in 1847 (see above) is likely James Sr. ; there was no data recorded for Port-de-Grave in 1848 and in 1849 (the year James Sr. died) the only Dock Newell recorded was likely Richard son of John (see earlier). However, starting in 1850 we have a James Newell contributing 3 shillings and 5 shillings in 1854. The last edition I could find with data for Bareneed was 1857 and this also had a James Newell.

James Newell was also a witness to a number of weddings in the 1860s:

In my original tree, based on information from my father and/or Harold Newell, I had two children for James. these were Joe (my working notes had Jake) who married Susie and a Jane; it also shows Joe and Susie having two children Jake (Jacob) and William. In my original 1971 paper I indicated that James son of Jane inherited the center part of the land passed on to James son of Philip (between Philip to the west and Abraham to the east).  My notes also indicate that Joe Newell’s house was relocated to the new road before 1909 and was torn down around 1920 when Joe moved to the US. The notes also indicate that as of 1971 grandchildren of James still owned the land.

There was a Jacob Newell who married Mary Ann French in 1857.

This Jacob would be the right age for a son of James. We have records for the following children born to Jacob and Mary Ann:  Mary Ann b. 1861, Margaret Jane b. 1863 and Joseph French Newell born 1866. A Joseph Newell married Elizabeth Ann Bradbury in 1882 (early for someone born 1866).

A Jacob Newell (Bare-Need) is listed in McAlpine’s Maritime Provinces Directory for 1870-1871. In McAlpine’s 1894 Directory there is a listing for  Jacob Newell, fisherman at the Dock.  A Jacob Newell died in 1912 at age 70 giving an estimated DOB of 1842 which would be young for someone married in 1857 but errors in age are common on burial records.

There are several issues with reconciling the theory that this Jacob was a son of James with my original tree. The first is transposing the names of the father and son (Jacob and Joe) which is an error that I could see myself making (the tree for James children was a secondary project). The other issue is where is his wife Susie? One possibility is that I mistakenly assumed Susie in Jake and Susie was a wife but she might have been a sister. There was a  Susannah Newell who married a William Richards in 1872.

At this point I think that there is no evidence disproving the theory that Jacob was a son of James but also only circumstantial evidence supporting it.

There are several other family trees that include this James on the Internet.

One of the best documented was developed by Tina Newell (we corresponded in the past but I lost contact several years ago).  Tina has a well documented tree with roots leading to James Edward Newell (born Bareneed, 1874, died Bell Island, 1937).  This is the Edward Newell and family recorded in Bell Island census of  1921 who is listed as being born in Bareneed. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries many people from Conception Bay moved to Bell Island (located in the center of Conception Bay) to work at the Iron Mines.  Tina indicates that this James Edward had earlier lived in Mackinsons (10 km inland from ‘The Dock’). The move to Mackinsons might be related to work on the Conception Bay branch of the Newfoundland railway or might be some how related to the Coveyduck family of Port-de-Grave that had moved there in the 1880s (see: http://www.explorenewfoundlandandlabrador.com/communities/makinsons.htm).  Tina identifies James Edward as a son of Isaac Newell  (b. 1844, d. Cape Breton N.S. in 1915)  and grandson of  James Newell Jr. (1814-1895).

Another researcher, Paula Matchim , also traces her roots to this Isaac.  She gives her ancestry as: mother Emily Brown, maiden name Newell, born May 26,1872 married to Samuel Brown. Emily’s father father was Issac Newell who married Sarah Morgan from Coley’s Point, Barneed area.

Both of these theories fit with the recorded information available for Isaac Newell. We have a record of his marriage in 1868 to Sarah Morgan of Coley’s Point which was witnessed by James Newell.

In addition, the recorded children for Isaac and Sara include an Emily and James Edward.

Paula Matchim also identifies Isaac’s parents as James Newell, born about 1814, from Bareneed and  Mary French, born about 1818, from North River.  She also lists Isaac’s siblings as: Mary Jane Newell born Sept.1847; Mary Ann Newell born Feb.1850; Sussannah Newell born about 1851 and Margaret Jane Newell born Sept. 1854.  Tina Newell indicates that Isaac was born in 1844.

I don’t see any conflicts between these two trees and they seem well documented from Isaacs marriage in 1868. The only question I have is the connection back to James (son of James). I have no reason to doubt this step but, without clear documentation, I still classify this as a theory. This theory that Isaac was a son of James does not necessarily conflict with the Jacob theory that I presented earlier; it is possible that James had several sons.

Generation 3.  Elizabeth daughter of James

This Elizabeth was in my original tree and the only information I had on her, from either my father or Harold Newell (source slipped my memory), was that she was the ancestor of Jess Richard’s mother. When I was a boy, Jess and Bertha Richards lived on the north side of the Dock road opposite the center portion of the land owned by James son of Philip (see my original sketch map for the later Newells below, note different orientation with water to left).

When my father went to the Dock to visit our land there we almost always stopped at their house. My father indicated that we were related to Jess through his mother who was a Newell.  Jess and Bertha and their children are listed in the 1921 census of the Dock and his  birth date is given as 1882 and in the census of 1835 his age is given as 52 (est birth 1883) and his religion as United Church.  Jess was buried in the United Church cemetery in Bareneed in 1967 and his name is listed as Jess M. and his DOB as 1880. Up until recently I was unable to identify Jesse’s parents ; however, I now have that information:

Apparently, Jesse’s birth was not recorded so he had the above copy made in 1949. This shows that Jesse was born in Sharestown (west of Bay Roberts) in 1882 and his parents were George Henry Richards (likely from Shearstown) and Elizabeth Ann Newell.  There was an Elizabeth Ann Newell witness to a marriage at Bareneed on Jan 1 1881 (possibly before her marriage).

George and Elizabeth were living in ‘The Dock’ at the time of the 1921 Census and from this we know she was born in 1857 (unfortunately no records available for that period).

This Elizabeth is likely the person my sources were referencing but someone born in 1857 is not a daughter of James son of Philip  (who died in 1849) so we are missing a generation.  My cousin Ted identified Elizabeth Ann b. 1857 as a daughter of Richard son of James.  If this is correct then this Elizabeth should be removed from the list of James’ children. This theory also fits with the pattern of land allocation. In my original research I had the land inherited by James son of Philip divided between three of his sons: Philip in the west, Abraham in the east and James with a double portion in the center.  Jess Richards’ land abuts Abraham’s land so this was likely Richard’s land between James and Abraham.

Generation 3. Martha Newell possible daughter of James (b before 1814)

As I indicated in the section on Philip Newell there was a Martha Newell who married Simon Curlew in 1830. Based on the date of her marriage she was  likely born before 1814.  Based on her birth date this Martha is likely a daughter of James (who was a witness to her marriage). The other possibilities are that she was a daughter of Philip’s younger son John  or even a child of Philip’s from a second marriage .

 Generation 2. John Newell son of Philip  (c. 1793- 1855)

John was my great-great-grandfather and we can estimate his DOB as 1793 based on his age (62) when he died in March 1855.

John married Patience (likely Porter) before 1821 (in his Will of 1855 he states: My wife Patience to have the room upstairs and a servant girl to attend her.

A Porter family history from Blowmy Down (Port de Grave) indicates that PATIENCE PORTER (daughter of Richard Porter) b. 1801, Blowmy Down; d. February 02, 1874 married John Newell of the Dock.

http://www.angelfire.com/nf/jhardy/rich.html

My 1971 research indicated that John and Patience had six sons (John, Richard, Nathaniel, Henry, Philip and William Henry) and 3 daughters (Amy, Mary Ann and Grace).

John’s Will of 1855 provides a snapshot of his male children (see my Early Research paper for a full copy of this Will). Daughters are largely ignored in this Will since they never inherited land and even wives of his sons were to be disinherited if their husband died and they remarried.

Generation 3. John’s daughter Amy  (1821- )

  She Married William (Richard) Bradbury in 1841

The Richard Newell who was a witness to this marriage was likely her brother (see below).

Generation 3. John’s son Richard (1824-1908)

We can estimate Richards DOB as 1824 from his age at the time of his death in 1908

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Vstats/death-reg-bk-5-1907-1910-pdg.shtml

In the case of Richard we also have the incription on his grave stone: In memory / of / Richd. NEWELL / Who died / May 12th, 1908 / Aged / 84 years / Calm me my God, / and keep me calm / soft resting on / thy breast, / soothe me / with / hymn and psalm / and bid my spirit / rest

Richard married Mary Anne Wells of Salmon Cove in December 1849:

An Ancestry family tree for Henry Wells of Salmon Cove lists one of his daughters as Mary Ann Wells born 1827.

In John Newell’s Will of 1855, his son  Richard  was referenced first which suggest he was the eldest son:

” 1^st and first I give unto my son Richard Newell the west part of the room  [the “room” indicates the land] and after his death to be his wife Mary Ann’s so long as she remain a widow with her children, But if there is no child and she should  marry again she is to have no part of the property but to be equally divided between the remaining brothers.

The reference to “if there is no child” in the Will suggest that Richard and Mary Ann had no children at the time the Will was written.  There was a Mary Ann Newell who was buried 1867 at age 45 (est DOB 1822) who was likely his wife.

The following suggest that she might have died in Labrador  (the date is a bit out but that could be confusion after the event):

Agent St. John’s, Newfoundland, report that the 9th of last month terrible storm with heavy fall of snow swept the coast Labrador, destroying nearly all the vessels lying in the different harbours. Upwards of 37  lives were lost among the vessels that foundered 

05 November 1867 – Globe – London, London, England

On October 9, 1867, the ‘Tangiers’ a 131-ton brigantine owned by THOMAS BUTLER, the merchant of Port de Grave, was lost at GRADY.  On the same day, the ‘Estelle’, a 176-ton brigantine, owned by RICHARD HENNEBURY was destroyed nearby at Indian Tickle.
http://ngb.chebucto.org/MList/ngb_info/200308/789.html

The Newell family rooms in Labrador were at Rovers Island in Indian Tickle and Richard Hennerbury was a neighbour in Bareneed and a partner with the Newells in Labrador so possibly Mary Ann was travelling in this boat.

Richard married his 2nd wife Selina Jane Wells at Salmon Cove in June 1870:

Selina Jane was buried next to him in St. Mark’s St. Mark’s Anglican Cemetery, Bareneed:

In memory / of / Selina Jane / Beloved / wife of / Richd. NEWELL / Died July 6th / 1906 / Aged 72 y’s / Nearer the bound / of life, / where all lay / burdens down / nearer leaving / the cross / nearer gaining / the crown.

I could not find any reference to the birth of any children that Richard fathered by either wife.

The thirteenth annual report of the Newfoundland Church Society for 1854 lists two Richard Newells in Bareneed:

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=aeu.ark:/13960/t8mc9qs6p;view=1up;seq=8

These were Richard son of James (see earlier discussion) and Richard son of John; however, McAlpine’s 1894-97 Directory for Bareneed only list Richard son of John since Richard son of James died in 1893.  Unfortunately, Lovell’s  Newfoundland Directory for 1871 missed ‘The Dock’.   In 1884, 82 Bareneed men went to Labrador and a new Church of England school was built.  Richard Hennebury and Richard Newell, two planters, and Samuel Moore, a merchant, all lived in Bareneed and owned schooners (source Decks Awash).  I am assuming that this schooner owner was Richard son of John. The Newfoundland almanac, for 1887 lists Richard Newell as a Road Commissioner for Bareneed. Richard Newell of Bareneed registered a 1 acre grant of crown land in 1866 and a second 1 acre grant in 1867.  I am guessing that this might be land to the west of the original Newell grant since this is where Richard son of John inherited land in 1855. The land I identified as Richards in my 1971 paper (see map below) might include this new land which was in an area identified as belonging to Samuel Dawe in Philip’s original Grant (bounded SW by Samuel Dawe).  

Location of Richard’s Land c 1890s in relation to original grant (modified from my original 1971 sketch map).

There is an Isaac Daw listed next to Philip in the 1817 census who might be a son of this Samuel:

This Isaac is listed as Distressed versus Philip who was listed as Well Off.  It is possible that Philip acquired some or all of the Daw(e) land after 1817 and incorporated it into his grant and this was land Richard acquired.

In a working copy of my 1971 tree I had a note that Richard’s land went to Nathan (I assume the son of Nathaniel & Virtue) after his death. The following extracts from Richards Will of 1908 shows that his his nephew Nathan lived with him for the last 9 years of his life:

This is the last will and Testament of me Richard Newell (of sound mind) of the Dock, Bareneed, Conception Bay, Newfoundland    I hereby give devise and bequeath, to Nathan Newell my nephew, who has lived with me upwards of 9 years, his heirs executors & administrators for his, and their own use and benefit, absolutely and for ever all my estate, and effects (except a deposit in my name at the Branch of the Government Saving’s Bank Harbour Grace): both real and personal, whatever and wheresoever, and of what nature and quality soever. Should I die in the year 1908 A.D. each of my brothers Nathaniel and Philip now living at the Dock is to get $50.00 of the aforesaid Deposit, at the Government Savings Bank Harbour Grace…

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Wills/newell-richard-8-492.shtml

Generation 3. John’s daughter Mary Ann (1826-)

John and Patience had a 2nd daughter, Mary Ann, baptized at Harbour Grace in 1827:

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Vstats/pre-1891-hr-grace-ce-bap-1825-1830-p-80-105-hg.shtml

In 1849 Mary Ann married Caleb Butler at Clarkes Beach Methodist church:

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Vstats/pre-1891-clarkes-beach-meth-mar-1837-1890-pdg.shtml

Generation 3. John’s son John, my great grandfather (1828-1908)

John’s grave stone in St. Mark’s Anglican Cemetery, Bareneed gives his DOB: In memory / of / John NEWELL / Born / Jany. 5th, 1828 / Died / Jan. 16th, 1908 / Aged / 80 years.

This John was my great-grandfather, he married  Caroline Wells (1836-1920) of Salmon Cove

We know from Caroline’s death certificate that her father was Henry Wells (see: Caroline Newell wife John Death 1920 Mass ).  Caroline was buried in Salem, MA where she was living with her daughter after John’s death. Based on an Ancestry tree for Henry  it is possible that she was the sister of Richard’s first wife Mary Jane; however, this tree lists Henry’s wife as Mary Ann House but Caroline’s death certificate list her mother’s maiden name as Bushey (could possibly be Bussey, a name found in Salom Cove and sometimes confused with Bushey, see Family Names of Nfld.).

John and Caroline had seven children: Patience b. 1861; Henry Walter b. 1865 (drowned 1892);  Albert b. 1868 (my grandfather); Mary Ann b.1872; Elizabeth b. 1874; Edith b. 1876  and Eliza b. 1880.  More details on this family are provided in the section of this Web Site on “My Immediate Family’.

We have a photo of John and Caroline taken c. 1900.

In his fathers will of 1855, John (listed after Richard) inherited the middle part of the land his father John inherited from Philip (2^nd I give unto my son John Newell, the middle part of the room).  We know the location of this section of land since it was passed down from John to his son Albert then to my father and then to me. My 1971 sketch map (below) shows the location:

My 1971 Sketch Map showing land ownership c 1860 (colored text added).  Note:  The trail along the front of the land originally connected to the trail through Richards land but this section has disappeared due to erosion of the cliffs.

Generation 3. John’s son Nathaniel (c. 1831-1912)

We know Nathanel’s date of death and estimated DOB from his grave stone in St. Mark’s St. Mark’s Anglican Cemetery, Bareneed: In / memory / of / Nathaniel / NEWELL / Died / Aug. 30, 1912 / Aged / 81 years / Thy will be done.

The same stone gives us the details for his two wives, Virtue and Margaret Jane:

In / memory / of / Virtue / First wife of / Nathaniel / NEWELL / Died / Sept. 5, 1879 / Aged / 49years / To die is gain

In / memory / of / Margaret / Jane / Second wife of / Nathaniel / NEWELL / Died / Nov. 11, 1929 / Aged / 80 years / I heard the voice / of Jesus say / come unto me and rest / lay down thou weary / one lay down / thy head upon my / breast

In John Newell’s Will of 1855 Nathaniel received the  next part [of land]to the east of John (see earlier Map).

In my 1971 research I identified the following children for Nathaniel and his wives:

The following fills in some detail on this and fills some gaps.

Birth of Children:

John NEWELL, beloved husband of Susannah Newell , killed at Smokey, Labrador, July 1, 1925, aged 63 years and Susannah Newell, wife of John Newell died Sept. 14, 1935, aged 69 years (Gravestone Bareneed).  John married Susannah Serrick at Cupids on May 1890.

There is a write up on  Pte. Richard Lewis Newell (actually Louis Frederick Newell) a son of this John in my WWI section  (see 1921 census below):

Ruth married Robert James Wells at Bareneed in 1890 and later lived in Bay Roberts where her husband was a member of the Constabulary. There was a notice of her wedding in the Harbor Grace Standard that lists her father as Richard but this is likely a mistake based on Richard being a witness at the wedding.

Above died 1867 .

Nathaniel Jr (Nathan) married Priscilla (Lilly) Serrick in May 1894; Priscilla’s sister Susannah was married to Nathan’s brother John.  A son of Nathaniel Jr. and Priscilla, Private Victor Perrin Newell,  died on 17 Jul 1917 and is buried in Ayr Cemetery, Ayrshire, Scotland:  The son of Nathan Newell, carpenter, and Priscilla Newell – to whom he had allotted a daily sixty cents from his pay – of the Dock, Bareneed, Conception Bay, he was older brother to both T.-Roy and to Mollie  (see my section on WWI) .

There is a old horse drawn hearse preserved in St. Mark’s Church, Bareneed (last used when I was a small boy) that was built by Nathan.

.

Nathan also served on the Board of Education for Bareneed — Nathan Newell, Chairman, Source: Year Book and Almanac of Newfoundland.  Nathan is buried at St. Mark’s Anglican Cemetery Bareneed  (see http://ngb.chebucto.org/Cemetery/lily-roy-nathan-newell.shtml  for a photo of Nathan’s grave stone). 

Details on two other children can be found in the 1911 census of Bareneed:

Children

For the death of Clement above see my WWI section for Cpl. Clement Leslie Newell  who died in 1818 and for more information on Harold see my section on Harold Newell.

Generation 3. John’s son Philip (c. 1844-1925

In 1872 Philip and Emma had a daughter Mary Bartlett Newell and two years later a son John Batten Newell, both born in ‘The Dock’.

In 1876  Philip and Emma Newell had a daughter Florence Emma born in Seldom Come By, Fogo Island; followed by the birth of two other daughters in Seldom.

Generation 3. John’s son William Henry (c. 1839-1890)

William Henry was the last son referenced in his fathers 1855 Will :  Philip and William Henry to have the house and westermost part jointly and in case of either death the youngest to take charge.

In 1971 I had no other information on William Henry and much of what I now know came from recent research conducted by Kate Newell  with some help from me.

William Henry married Susanna Richards at the Clarke’s Beach Methodist church in 1864:

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Vstats/pre-1891-bareneed-ce-mar-1860-1891-pdg.shtml

Their children were:

• Aubrey b. 1865 (married Grace)
• Emily b. 1866 (married Charles Parsons)
• Bertha b. 1868 (c.1910 she married Rev.  Abner Morrill Osgood 1851-1927 in MA, as his 2nd wife)
• Albert b. 1870  (married Elizabeth Fillier)

William Henry died in May 1890 at Clarke’s Beach:

This section is currently under construction