The Family History
of
Herb and Ethel Ellis
Bruce Whiffen
ã May, 1999
Introduction
This is an outline of the ancestries of Herb Ellis and Ethel Tuck, both of Caplin Cove, near Hant’s Harbour, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, who were married December 15, 1920. They were my mother’s parents.
The early Ellis and Adey families (Herb’s family tree) are discussed in the first two chapters of this story. The reader is introduced to Ethel in the next two chapters, which cover the surnames Tuck and Short. The last chapter focuses on Herb and Ethel themselves, and their children.
Perhaps a few points should be highlighted. First of all, there are times when the list of children of someone’s brother, and the children of someone else’s sister, their dates of birth, and their wives and their children, etc. etc. may appear somewhat tedious. The inclusion of families in close association with, but not a direct part of , the ancestry of Herb and Ethel Ellis has been attempted not only for completeness, but also for the benefit of those who may have a genuine interest in a family history which only touches on the focus of this work.
In addition, the reader will recognize that discussion of a family tree is somewhat more difficult than a typical story. Unlike the latter, in which events and characters are usually introduced in a structured, chronological order, a family history must be told in steps - with branches and flashbacks. Hopefully, the separation of this family history into chapters which separately discuss the surnames Ellis, Tuck, Adey and Short will help to clarify the story.
Research in some cases has been limited to the information available in the Newfoundland Archives located at the Colonial Building in St. John’s. Since the records at this source normally terminate in the 1890’s, there is potential for some omissions. For example, the list of children for a couple married a few years prior to 1890 would likely be incomplete if other sources of information were unavailable.
On many occasions, the reader will notice a person’s name, followed by a year, in brackets - for example: Herb Elllis (1883). Unless otherwise specified, this refers to the year of birth.
Acknowledgments
The generous support of the following persons is gratefully acknowledged.
Ralph Evans wrote many letters to me concerning Hant’s Harbour and willingly passed on any information he had collected. Harold Adey and York Ellis also spent patience hours with me. Jean Balsom, (Aunt) Millie Mitchell, (Aunt) Audrey Janes and (Uncle) Harold Ellis were also of assistance.
A special thank you is reserved for my mother, Abbie Whiffen, whose interest, efforts and support made this project possible.
Ellis
Around the year 1820, two teenagers, perhaps from a small community in southern England, set foot on Newfoundland soil. They were John and Thomas Ellis, respectively born in 1802 and 1804. Whether, they had intended or not, they would never again see their parents, their remaining brothers or sisters, or any of their relatives and friends. Home would now be called Newfoundland. The community in which they settled was called Scilly Cove (since renamed Winterton), in Trinity Bay.
Scilly Cove was named after the Scilly Isles, off the coast of England. It is difficult to know when this community was first inhabited. The earliest record of residents is a census taken in 1677, and gives the following information:
| housekeepers | wives | sons | daughters | servants | |||||
| Old Perlican | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 167 | ||||
| Scilly Cove | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 33 | ||||
| New Perlican | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 11 |
Another census, taken a few years later in 1697, records the following:
| men | fishing establishments | boats | |||||
| Old Perlican | 130 | 19 | 27 | ||||
| Bay de Verde | 85 | 14 | 16 | ||||
| Hant's Harbour | 30 | 4 | 5 | ||||
| Scilly Cove | 40 | 4 | 7 | ||||
| New Perlican | 60 | 9 | 11 | ||||
| Heart's Ease | 12 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Heart's Content | 20 | 4 | 4 |
These accounts are the first early references to these communities. Since the first settlement in Newfoundland began at Cupids in the 1600’s, it is evident that these outports, by historical standards, were still very much in their infancy.
We are fortunate to have on record an early description of life at that time. Rev. James Balfour, an Anglican minister posted in Trinity in the 1700’s, made several trips to nearby settlements to perform baptisms, marriages and burials. His comments on the community of Scilly Cove, written in 1772 are worth quoting verbatim.
"Scilly Cove is 12 leagues southwest from Trinity. It is a most barbarous lawless place. Here it is their usual custom to divert themselves during Sundays with the music of a piper carried in parade through the place. All my attempts could not bring them together for public worship. It would make any well-disposed person shiver to hear their horrid conversation of profane cursing and swearing. Here are sixteen wretched families".
Rev. Balfour was perhaps unnecessarily harsh in his assessment of a community in its infancy. Rev. Clinch, Balfour’s replacement, noted that a "neat small church was built in Scilly cove in 1793". A Methodist church soon followed. Rev. N. A. Coster, a Church of England minister, wrote that "At Scilly Cove, a regular day school has been taught since 1777 by John Thomas. But is aging and in need of repair." Presumably, Coster was referring to the school and not the teacher!
Around 1780, Charles and Hester Andrews were married at Scilly Cove. A few years later, Hester gave birth to their first child, Hannah, thus beginning, by Balfour’s standards, the 17th wretched family. The baptism records at Trinity include entries for the following children of Charles and Hester: Hannah (1783), Hester (1788), Aaron (1794), James (1802) and Charlotte (1805). Charles is also noted in the Census for Trinity Bay taken in the early 1800’s. At that time, he was listed as "owning and occupying" one home and one fishing room and living with his wife, two sons and three daughters.
When the Ellis brothers arrived, they were, of course, eager to begin a new life and a new home in this strange land. Intentions quickly focused on the local ladies and Charlotte Andrews, a year younger than Thomas, would prove to be a perfect candidate for marriage.
Religion in the early 1800’s in the outports of Newfoundland was in a state of flux. While the Church of England retained a foothold in Trinity, and through periodic visits, maintained contact with the surrounding communities, the Methodist preachers were beginning to develop a significant following. Although many families remained loyal to the church of their birth, others joined the Methodists. Settlers became Methodist not only through religious conversion, but also through marriage, or even for the simple reason that the Methodist church may have been the only one in the community.
Thomas and Charlotte were married around 1823, either by the Methodist preacher in Scilly Cove or by the Anglican minister in Trinity. The Scilly Cove Methodist records list Charlotte and Thomas Ellis as members of the local church in 1824. Other members at that time included Hester, Aaron and Amy Andrews. Perhaps Amy was Aaron’s wife.
An entry in the baptism records of the Anglican church in Trinity indicates that Charlotte and Thomas still retained Anglican ties even after joining the Scilly Cove Methodists. John Ellis, son of Thomas and Charlotte Ellis, was baptized by the Anglican priest on August 28, 1825. John’s birthday was August 1st.
Thomas and Charlotte remained at Scilly Cove for only a few years after their marriage. In 1826, Thomas and John sailed along the coast in search of a new home. They briefly considered settling in New Perlican, but finally decided on a tiny inlet, called Caplin Cove, near Hant’s Harbour. While Hant’s Harbour boasted a population of 200, only a few families lived at Caplin Cove. John and Thomas chose to build their homes close to each other, and near the sea.
John Ellis’ wife’s first name was Mary. The marriage record has not survived the years and Mary’s maiden name is unknown. Also, it is unclear if they met in Scilly Cove, Caplin Cove, or Hant’s Harbour.
John and Mary had seven children. James was born in 1827 and married Dorcas Gooby in 1850. Martha, born 1829, never married and died in 1895. Jacob (1833) married Emma Gooby. John and Mary’s fourth child, Mary was born in 1836. No further information is available about her. John, born 1839, died as a bachelor in 1890. Dorcas, born 1844, died at age 13. John and Mary’s last child, Caroline, was born in 1851.
The children of Thomas and Charlotte Ellis are as follows:
John and Hester died as infants. No information was uncovered on William, Edmund or Maria. It is likely that the two boys died at any early age. The same is true for Maria, though it is also possible that no record was kept of her marriage. This would not have been unusual during this time in Newfoundland history since church records, especially those for an early Methodist church, were sometimes incomplete. Thomas and Charlotte’s last child, Elizabeth died on Nov. 20, 1855, age 19 months.
York Ellis, one of Thomas and Charlotte’s many great-grandchildren, lived in Caplin Cove and Hant’s Harbour for most of his life. During one of my visits to the area, he took me to an area a few hundred feet from the site of Thomas’ house where one of Thomas and Charlotte’s children was buried. There was no cemetery, and the marker had not survived the years.
This story in concerned with the youngest son, Samuel. But first, let’s take a closer look at his brothers and sisters.
Thomas Ellis, Jr. married Ellen Cashman in 1858 at Hant’s Harbour. Their youngest child, George, and third child, Alfred, each died at 18 years. Their second John, married Elizabeth Ann Tuck on Nov. 8, 1891. Phoebe, the fourth child and first daughter, was born on Christmas Day in 1867 but died eight days later. A fourth son, Ezekiah, was born two years later.
Hezekiah married Rebecca Gulliford in Hant’s Harbour on Nov. 22, 1851. They had no children.
Charles married Caroline Short on Oct. 30, 1857. Their children, and dates of birth, were William James (Oct. 18, 1860), Susannah (Dec. 7, 1861), Samuel (Mar. 19, 1865), Hester (Oct. 1868), Elam (Apr. 1873), Elizabeth Jane (Mar. 26, 1875), Hannah (Apr. 16, 1877), John James (Aug. 29, 1878), Charlotte (May 18, 1879) and George (Aug. 6, 1882). Susannah died in April, 1864. In later years, Charles, Caroline and family moved to George’s Brook, Trinity Bay.
Aaron married Bridget Soper on May 8, 1861. Their children were Edmund (Mar., 1863), Thomas (Feb. 15, 1865), Arthur (Nov., 1870), Letitia (Jul., 1873), Rebecca Jane (Dec. 6, 1875), Bertha (May 16, 1878) and Alfred (Oct. 18, 1884). Edmund and Arthur died at the respective ages of 23 and 18 years. Bertha died at 11 months. Aaron, Bridget and family eventually moved to the United States.
Esther Ellis married Joseph Adey on April 27, 1861.
Hannah Jane married Moses Tuck on Jan. 1, 1870. Hannah Jane gave birth to eight children: Bertha Jane (Oct., 1870), George (Jun., 1873), Archibald (Mar. 3, 1875, died in 1882), Jane Ann (Apr. 27, 1879), Gertrude (Jan. 28, 1883, died in 1886), Ernest (1884), Thomas Ellis (1887) and Dora (1889).
According to relatives, Samuel Ellis was a quiet, unassuming man. Always gentle and reserved, he never lost his temper with his children or, for that matter, raised his voice to any person.
While Samuel was beginning a fisherman’s life in Caplin Cove, a young woman a few miles away in Hant’s Harbour was living with friends. Her father had died when she was fourteen and since her mother could not raise seven children on her own, several family friends agreed to raise the children themselves.
Rachel Adey was, in some ways, in strong contrast to Samuel Ellis. She was strong-willed and determined and never too shy to speak her mind. Her strength of character was relied upon not only within her own family, but extended to her community as well. As midwife, she was responsible for bringing into the world most of the new members of the Hant’s Harbour and Caplin Cove communities.
Rachel and Samuel were married on Nov. 4, 1871, at Hant’s Harbour by Rev. Charles Comben. Samuel was 27 years old, Rachel 19. The service was conducted at the home of Richard and Mary Ann Pelley. Richard and Mary served as witnesses to the marriage ceremony, as did Rachel’s mother, Amelia.
At that time, Samuel was living with his mother in the house that his father, Thomas, had first built when he and his brother had decided to settle in Caplin Cove. Samuel’s brothers and sisters had already married and started their own homes. Samuel’s father, Thomas, had died a few years earlier. After the marriage ceremony, Samuel’s mother faced the prospect of living alone in the house that had, at one time, sheltered a large and busy family.
Samuel, then, brought his new bride back to the house that would now be shared between Samuel, Rachel and Samuel’s mother, who, according to York Ellis, was a "good old soul who smoked a clay pipe". Samuel and Rachel did not build their own home until after Samuel’s mother died.
Also according to York, when Samuel and Rachel were married "poor old grandfather (Samuel) had 50 cents and poor old grandmother had a little brown hen. They were married Friday night. Saturday morning she had to get up and take her ax and go up over the hill to cut enough wood for Sunday".
Samuel and Rachel’s first child was born less than ten months later. Simeon Dunn Ellis, named after the minister of the day, came into the world on August 16, 1872. He married Mary Louise Mercer of Bay Roberts and moved to St. John’s. After his wife’s untimely death, Simeon returned home and asked his parents to raise his children. Elsie, Jessie and York Ellis were left at Caplin Cove with Samuel and Rachel. Simeon joined thousands of others on the other side of the continent in search of gold. While he was away, Elsie, at age 13, died of tuberculosis. A brave and intelligent child, she, aware of her circumstance, chose the hymns and readings for her final service.
Simeon spent the next twenty years participating in the Klondike gold rush. When he returned home, he was crippled with arthritis, and eventually was confined to bed.
One person who helped to take care of Simeon in his later days was his younger brother, Herb. While bedridden, Simeon would spend hours talking to Herb about his days at the Klondike. Some of these stories must have been very interesting. Simeon died on May 24, 1937.
Hezekiah Ellis, Samuel and Rachel’s second child, was born on Jan. 4, 1875 and was named after one of Samuel’s older brothers. Hezekiah’s first wife was Abbie Hopkins. They lived in Lynn, Massachusetts where Hezekiah was involved in the construction business. Their two children were Gordon and Harold. After Hezekiah’s wife died, in 1908 at age 29, he brought Gordon and Harold back to Caplin Cove to be raised by Samuel and Rachel. Harold died shortly after his return to Newfoundland. Gordon remained at Caplin Cove until his grandmother, Rachel, died many years later, after which he returned to Massachusetts. Hezekiah returned to Lynn shortly after having brought his children to Caplin Cove. His second wife was Annie Howell.
Samuel and Rachel’s third child was born Aug. 6, 1877 and was named Martin Adey, after Rachel’s father. Martin married Jessie Pinsent and also moved to Lynn, where, like his brother Hezekiah, he was a building contractor. Martin and Jessie’s children were May, Irene, Ann, Samuel and Dorothy.
Rachel’s first daughter was born Feb. 2, 1880 and was called Amelia Charlotte after her two grandmothers. She died eight months later, on Oct. 21.
Herbert George Ellis was born April 18, 1883.
Ethel Jane was born Dec. 12, 1886. She married Samuel Harold Duncan Pittman on her birthday, in 1911. They lived in Lynn as well.
Richard Dashwood Ellis was born Aug. 30, 1892. He married Winnie Green, a native of Hant’s Harbour, in Massachusetts. They had two children, Richard and Barbara. Both Richard, Sr. and Richard, Jr. were involved in the construction business. According to Richard, Jr., the name Richard Dashwood was the name of a prominent member of the British Navy or Army.
Samuel Ellis died on Feb. 28, 1918. Rachel died thirteen years later, on Mar. 10, 1931.
Adey
Since the surname Adey was prominent in Hant’s Harbour before the Methodist Church became established and began to keep records of important family events, it is difficult to determine the first settlers of that community. However, given the bits and pieces of information available prior to the advent of more reliable records, we can piece together a plausible series of events.
The earliest reference of the name Adey can be found in "William Warn’s" business ledger for 1755-1765. This booklet, archived at the Colonial Building in St. John’s, contains a record of accounts for a company based in Old Perlican. In it are listed the names of Martin and Bridget Adey, presumably of that community.
The Church of England records at Trinity contain the baptism of Martin, son of Martin Adey, in 1757. The baptism would have been recorded at Trinity because the only minister present in those days was Rev. Balfour, who was stationed at Trinity. Periodically, he visited the surrounding communities and performed baptisms, marriages and burials as required. Other children of Martin and Bridget were Stephen, Isaac, James, John and Joseph.
The Maritime History Group in St. John’s contains a record of the baptism of Martin, son of Isaac Adey, on Feb. 2, 1711 at Ringwood in southern England.
Stephen left his parents and home in Old Perlican around 1780. He and his wife Sarah settled at Bay de Verde and raised four children: Mary (1791), William (1794), Susannah (1797) and Thomas (1799).
Sometime in the late 1700’s, at least one, and perhaps several of Martin and Bridget’s remaining sons moved to Hant’s Harbour. From a census of Trinity Bay completed around 1800, it is known that Thomas Street was paying 25 pounds per year to Isaac Adey as rent for a house and fishing room in Old Perlican. James Reed was renting similar quarters from Martin Adey in Hant’s Harbour.
When the Adey’s moved to Hant’s Harbour in the late 1700’s, this outport had already been existence for over one hundred years. Although it does not appear in the first census taken of communities in Newfoundland in 1677, it is listed in 1697 as well as in later population counts in the early 1700’s. We’ve already referred to the 1677 and 1697 counts.
In 1708, Hant’s Harbour boasted a population of three boatkeepers, two wives and seventeen servants. The boatkeepers were George Christopher, Robert Carloy and Philip Brooks. There were no children. Since these surnames are not present today in Hant’s Harbour, nor were they evident in the early church records, it is likely that these people did not remain permanent settlers of this community.
During this time in the history of Newfoundland, early settlers of outport communities frequently returned to England in the fall and came back to Newfoundland after the winter season. Although some nearby communities were, by virtue of their larger population, becoming more established, and hence more conducive to family life, Hant’s Harbour was being used primarily as a fishing post. When Rev. Balfour of Trinity visited surrounding communities in the mid 1700’s, the number of families in each of the communities of Scilly Cove, Old Perlican, New Perlican and Heart’s Content were carefully noted in his records. Hant’s Harbour is not mentioned. It was not until the late 1700’s, when fishermen began to settle permanently at Hant’s Harbour, that family life became an inherent part of this community.
We can learn nothing more about the Adey’s until church records began in the 1820’s. There were four Adey families in Hant’s Harbour at that time and they were all members of the church. They were James & Jane, William & Mary, Isaac & Elizabeth and Martin & Catherine.
James and Jane had five children: James, Jr., Mary Ann, Carolina, Reuben and Elizabeth, all born between 1822 and 1832.
Church records include the baptisms of two children of William and Mary Adey: Samuel (1827) and Rachel (1830). Samuel married Mary Janes in 1857. Mary Adey died in 1869 at age 72. William died five years later, at age 82.
We previously mentioned John Adey, one of the sons of Martin and Bridget of Old Perlican. One of John and wife Martha’s sons was Isaac. Isaac was born in the early 1790’s and was named after one of John’s brothers (perhaps that same Isaac who is mentioned above as having rented living quarters). Isaac and Elizabeth had one daughter and seven sons. Born between 1818 and 1838, they were Mary, William, Henry, Martin, Jacob, Benjamin, Isaac, Jr., and Joseph.
The fourth family was Martin and Catherine Adey. Although Martin likely made his living as a fisherman, he was also the constable in Hant’s Harbour. His name appears on a few occasions in letters written by him to the Magistrate’s Court in Harbour Grace and Trinity. When his wife died on July 1, 1844, at age 49, Martin purchased a beautiful headstone to her memory. This headstone, though someone faded, remains as one of the few markers in the old cemetery in Hant’s Harbour.
An article written by Edgar C. Janes, entitled "Hant’s Harbour - An Historical Outline", refers to this headstone. Mr. Janes visited this cemetery and noticed the headstone lying on the ground. Although the printing had faded considerably over the years, he tried his best to discern the letters, but incorrectly concluded that the headstone said that Catherine died on July 1, 1811 at age 19. A little battery acid and some assistance from my cousin, Blair Janes, convinced me that the 1’s were in fact 4’s.
Church records include the burial of Catherine Adey, wife of Martin, Sr." on July 3, 1844 and gives her age as 49.
Martin and Catherine had only one child, Martin, Jr. He was born in 1819 and first married Mary Trimm from Seal Cove (now New Chelsea) in 1844, when she was 19 years old. In the next five years, she gave birth to three girls: Mary Elizabeth (1845), Anna (1847) and Catherine (1849). On May 13, 1850, Mary Adey died at age 26. She was buried at Seal Cove.
About a year and half later, on October 25, 1851, Martin married for a second time. His new wife was Amelia Bright of Victoria Village - a small community in Conception Bay. Very little is known about Amelia’s family. There is some indication that her father’s name was Edward.
Martin and Amelia’s first child was named Rachel, perhaps after one of William and Mary’s children. She was born August 10, 1852. Her younger brothers and sisters were Caroline (1854), Jane (1855), William Edward (1860), Samuel (1862), Ann (1864) and Reuben (1867). Jane was later called Chrissy.
Martin died in April, 1867 at age 48, just a few months before Reuben’s birth. Harold Adey, one of Martin’s grandsons, heard that Martin died on the Labrador coast and was put in a casket with salt and brought home for burial. Harold also said that his brother Leonard had heard that Martin had died in Hant’s Harbour of mastoiditis. In any event, Martin’s death resulted in the breakup of the rest of the family since his widow was unable to support seven children on her own. Rachel, who at this time was 14 years old, was brought up by Richard and Amelia Pelley. Richard was a fisherman while Amelia was the town midwife - a responsibility which Rachel quickly learned and eventually inherited. Rachel reputedly never lost a child or mother during childbirth.
In the 1860’s, Heart’s Content was in the process of becoming the western terminus of the trans-atlantic cable. After her husband’s death, Amelia took Caroline and Chrissy with her to this community, where she found work at the mess houses and dormitories built for the workers. Caroline and Chrissy respectively married Albert and John Howell, two brothers from New Perlican. Amelia spent her final years back in Hant’s Harbour.
William Adey was raised in Seal Cove (New Chelsea), near Hant’s Harbour. He eventually married Sarah Trimm of that community - a young girl who was a relative of Martin Adey’s first wife. William and family later moved to Moncton, New Brunswick.
Samuel was raised by Charles Green of Hant’s Harbour and married Fanny Louisa King. Their children were Eugene Robert (1891, died of diphtheria as a baby), Charles Ashton (1893, married Effie Lake of Fortune, became a Methodist minister and died in Ontario), Ann Maude (married Pierce Adey of Random Island and lived in Salem, New Hampshire), Leonard Harris (1900, married Gertrude King in Hant’s Harbour and moved to Montreal in 1947) and Harold (1903, married Anastasia Butler of Port Rexton and lived in Medford, Massachusetts).
Ann married Thomas Hynes of Port Rexton. They lived in St. John’s and had one son and three daughters.
Reuben was raised by the Sheen family - the only Catholic family in Hant’s Harbour at that time. Reuben married Rose Reid of Spaniard’s Bay. They also moved to St. John’s.
Tuck
It is impossible to establish the beginning of the Tuck surname in the Trinity Bay area of Newfoundland. The first reference to the name occurs in the same source as the Adey surname - William Warn’s ledger for Old Perlican. Among the list of names are those of Farwill Tuck (also spelt Took) and Benjamin Tulk. Farwell Tuck’s name is among those listed in the 1800 census list for Trinity Bay. He is listed as "an occupier and proprietor of a fishing room at Old Perlican". He was single, Protestant, and had no children. He would almost certainly be a relative of, or perhaps even the same person listed in the William Warn ledger.
Other early occurrences of the Tuck surname are:
According to York Ellis, the first Tuck in the Hant’s Harbour area came from England. Two brothers arrived in Newfoundland in the early 1800’s. William settled in Old Perlican, then a community of about five hundred. Within a few years he had married. According to York, his brother, George, settled in Bonavista Bay.
There is no direct evidence of George Tuck in the early church records. However, on June 9, 1830, Rev. N. A. Coster, upon visiting Pinchard’s Island in Bonavista Bay, came upon a family - the majority of whom had not been baptized. Perhaps Coster erred in spelling the surname of this family. The following Tulk’s were baptized: Mary (age 38), Benjamin (3), John (13), William (18), James (20), Ann (3) and Thomas (16). Presumably, Mary was the mother. Why wasn’t the father among those baptisms? Perhaps, if the father was George Tuck, he would have been baptized in England.
William and Ann Tuck’s first son was born in 1816 and was named Peter. Their second son, George, was born in 1821, followed a year later by a daughter, Ann, who died a few days after her birth. A fourth child, Mary was born in 1823 but her mother died in childbirth.
At this time, the Methodist church in Old Perlican boasted a membership of 113 - making it the largest congregation in the area. Other membership numbers were Island Cove (presumably Lower Island Cove) with 75, Hant’s Harbour - 97, Scilly Cove - 35, Seal Cove - 12 and Grates Cove, with a membership of 42.
Prior to 1823, William and Ann had been listed in the Methodist records for Old Perlican as members of the church. In 1823, William was listed as a member - Ann is noted as having died in the past year. At no time after 1823 was William’s name found in the Old Perlican church records. Nor can his name be found in the church lists of the surrounding communities. Perhaps the loss of his wife eventually destroyed his faith.
William and his children remained in Old Perlican for thirteen years after his wife’s death. In 1836, William and his oldest son Peter, now a man of 20, packed their belongings and, with younger children George and Mary, sailed southward along the coast to Caplin Cove. At that time, the only inhabitants were the families of John Blake, James Batrick, John Elliott, John Ellis and Thomas Ellis.
Peter married Mary Pelley of Hant’s Harbour in 1838. There was much tragedy in their marriage. Their first son, William, died shortly after birth. Their second son, whom they also called William (a common custom at that time) died at the age of six months. Their third son, George, died at age 13, and their fourth son, again called William, died at 30, a few years after having married. They had one daughter, Ann, who was born Mar. 31, 1843. She married William Cashman, also of Caplin Cove, in 1864. Peter died on January 21, 1853, at age 37.
Peter’s sister Mary, married James Cashman of Caplin Cove in 1853.
George, married Harriett Pelley, on Nov. 24, 1841. He was 20 years old - she was 16. The marriage ceremony was presided over by John Tilley, J.P.
We talked earlier about Edgar C. Janes’ article "Hant’s Harbour - An Historical Outline". Mr. Janes donates a few paragraphs to John Tilley, a Hant’s Harbour native, which are quoted below.
"Probably one of the early Justices of the Peace licensed to perform marriages in Newfoundland was John Tilley, J.P. … He signed himself as "Licensed to celebrate marriages". His name appears several times in the church record in the late 1830’s and early 1840’s when apparently, there was no minister or missionary available. … John Tilley was a somewhat remarkable man. At the age of 26, in the intervals of work as a fisherman, he taught himself to read and write, and then included in his list of reading biography, history, poetry and theology, attaining also a proficiency in the sciences, and at the age of fifty he had accumulated a large and well-selected library."
George and Harriett Tuck had eleven children, seven boys and four girls. Only their first child, Ann, died at an early age - in 1844 at the age of 2 years. The children were:
Moses and Hannah Jane Ellis were married on Jan. 1, 1870 and made their home in Caplin Cove. Their children were Bertha Jane (Oct., 1870), George (Jun., 1873), Archibald (Mar. 3, 1875, died in 1882), Jane Ann (Apr. 27, 1879), Gertrude (Jan. 28, 1883, died in 1886), Ernest (1884), Thomas Ellis (1887) and Dora (1889).
Joshua married Susanna Pelley on Jan. 25, 1871 and also remained in Caplin Cove. Their children were: William (1873-1878), Martha Tilley (1875), Agnes Jane (1878), Jason (1880), Myra (1882), Miriam Maud (1884) and Myra (1891). A headstone in the Hant’s Harbour cemetery marks the burial site of "grandfather" Joshua (1845-1933) and "parents" Jason (1880-1950) and Melina (1893-1967).
Samuel Ellis was one of the witnesses to Joshua and Susanna’s marriage. He was only a year older than Joshua and may have been a close friend.
The marriage record of Charles and wife Mary Ann was not found. Their children were Elizabeth Ann (1875) and Caleb (1883). They remained in Caplin Cove.
Caleb Tuck moved to Shoal Harbour. He married three times and reputedly fathered 26 children.
James married Sarah Green on Nov. 30, 1875 at Hant’s Harbour. Their children were Aubrey Franklin (1876), Edwin (1878, died at 4 months), Edith Beatrice (1882, married Barzellai Pelley), Effie Gladys (1886, married Pleaman Janes) and Alan (married Edna Maidment). They lived in Hant’s Harbour.
Amelia Tuck married John Pelley on Oct. 3, 1873.
Stephen Tuck married Rosanna Warren on Dec. 17, 1882. The marriage record states that she was from Brandy Harbour, Labrador. York Ellis knew nothing of her other than that she was an "English woman." Their children were Edwin George (1883), Archibald (1884), Harriett (1889) and Bertha Lizzie (1891). Later in life, Stephen moved his family to Moncton, New Brunswick where he started a trucking business. He maintained close contact through periodic visits to his home.
Sarah Tuck married Arch Targett on Apr. 16, 1887, who would later become a member of the Newfoundland government.
Catherine Tuck married John Husson on Nov. 17, 1886. They moved to the United States.
The youngest son, Peter, married Ada Short on Jan. 27, 1882. On the marriage certificate, Peter was listed as a "shareman", although in later years he also served as a constable. Being a shareman meant that Peter worked on one of the fishing boats with other men but was not an owner, or even part-owner of the vessel. At the time of marriage, Peter had just turned 21. Ada was 23.
According to Edgar Jane’s article, which was referenced earlier, "The old Methodist church was usually packed for the Sunday services, notwithstanding some of the services were conducted by laymen in the absence of the Minister … men like Peter Tuck, devout souls, who gave their best." Peter also had a good singing voice and often sang solos. He also served as superintendent at Sunday School.
Peter and Ada had ten children: Edgar, Alice, Amelia, Jane, Arthur, Daniel, Gertrude, Ethel, Nina Anne, Catherine Kendall and Chesley Gordon. Ethel married Herb Ellis.
Edgar had no children, either from his first wife, Miriam Critch of Hant’s Harbour, or his second wife, Letitia (Tilley) Small of Clarenville. He worked for the General Electric Company in the United States.
Alice married George Thomas of Bonne Esperance, a cape on the eastern extreme of the Quebec north shore. George was a lighthouse keeper. Their children were Albert William, Edward Albert, Chesley Gordon, Edith May, Cecil Seymore, Irene Margaret, Pauline Myrtle, Andrew Hamilton, Florrie Lucille, Marjorie Olive and Hazel Maude.
Jean Balsom wrote the following about Alice:
"Aunt Alice went away when she was young and they knew little or nothing of her for most of their lives. In March of 1956, Marjorie brought Aunt Alice here (Clarenville) for a visit. She wanted more than anything to visit all of her relatives. It was winter and she was unable to go to Hant’s Harbour. The strange thing was that we noticed that she died in June a few months later, but we were more than happy to have met the one aunt that we had never seen and knew so little about."
Amelia Jane married Ambrose Pelley of Hant’s Harbour. They moved to Bishop’s Falls and raised twelve children.
Daniel and Arthur were identical twin brothers and were each married twice. Daniel married Hazel Pelley and later, Bessie Tuck, both of Hant’s Harbour. Arthur married Blanche Janes of Hant’s Harbour, followed by Evelyn Kearley of Herringneck.
Gertrude, at age five, was given to a couple mentioned earlier - Arch Targett and wife Sarah, who previous to that time had no children of their own. Sarah was one of Peter Tuck’s sisters. Gertrude married Alex Mitchell of Heart’s Content.
Nina Anne married Archibald Pearce of Clarenville and had two children, Jean (who married a Balsom) and Hector. Catherine Kendall married Ronald Tilly of Newman’s Cove and raised three sons and one daughter. Chesley Gordon married Harriett Gulliford of Hant’s Harbour. They had no children.
Short
Since, in the early 1820’s, the surname Short was one of the more common names in Hant’s Harbour, it is impossible from church records to know the original settlers of that name. One of the first may have been Samuel Short, who died in 1853 at age 93. Perhaps one of his descendants was William Short, who, with wife Margaret, raised four children: Mary Ann (1827), Rachel (1830, Samuel (Jan. 11, 1833) and Eliza (1838). Samuel married Johanna Gulliford on Nov. 19, 1849.
Johanna was one of seven children. Her parents, William Gulliford and Elizabeth Short were married in 1821. Their children were William (1822), Joseph (1824), James (1826), Johanna (born in 1828 and baptized on Christmas Day), Samuel (1831), Rebecca (1834) and George (1844). On George’s baptism certificate, his father’s occupation is listed as "mason". Rebecca, married Hezekiah Ellis (see chapter on Ellis). James Gulliford’s headstone can be found in the Hant’s Harbour cemetery. He died on July 14, 1922 at age 96.
According to Ralph Evans’ brother Arthur, "The first Gulliford came from Bath, England as a young man. He was a great singer - and sang in the Bath Cathedral. Later he married a Miss Cashman - her relatives came from Ireland."
Samuel and Johanna Short had seven children: James (1850), George (1853), Frederick (1856), Ada (Sept. 10, 1858), Mary (1861), Elizabeth Jane (1863) and Amelia Ann (1867). Ada married Peter Tuck.
According to Mrs. Maude Pearce, a daughter of James Short, her father and an older brother drowned at sea. The men of Hant’s Harbour could not find the bodies on the first day and on the second day, a Dan Loder was buried. Since many people wished to pay their respects, the search was delayed. Neither body was ever recovered.
Elizabeth Jane Short was known as Jennie. She married a Palmer from Trinity Bay.
Herb and Ethel (Tuck) Ellis
In the early 1900’s, Herb Ellis lived with his parents in Caplin Cove while earning a living as a fisherman. He spent a brief period of time in Massachusetts working with his brothers in the construction business, but missed outport life too much to be able to stay.
On Dec. 15, 1920, he married Ethel Tuck. At that time, Ethel had been teaching school, but would now have to leave her job. The wedding ceremony was performed in the home of Samuel and Fanny Adey in Hant’s Harbour. Samuel was a brother of Herb’s mother, Rachel. After the service, supper was served by the Ladies Aid at the Methodist school.
Herb and Ethel’s new home was a stone’s throw from the house in which Herb had grown up, and which was now occupied by Herb’s mother, as well as his Uncle Simeon, Gordon, York and Jessie.
Herb and Ethel’s seven children were:
Both Dorothy and Marina died at eleven years of age. Dorothy died of scarlet fever; Marina of a cerebral hemorrhage. Barbara died at fourteen months.
Amelia, or Millie, and her husband, Edgar Mitchell live in Hant’s Harbour. They have one daughter, Carolyn Marina, and two sons, Herbert Glenn and Guy Stephen.
Audrey married Edwin Janes of Hant’s Harbour. They have one son, Blair.
Abigail, or Abbie, married Wilson Whiffen of Bonavista, where they live. They have one daughter, Jean Elizabeth and two sons, David Harold and Bruce Lloyd.
Harold married Shirley Pelley of Hant’s Harbour. They have two daughters, Suzanne and Nancy, and one son, Gregory.