Morry Papers

People often refer to the "Morry Papers" as if they were a single comprehensive collection of historical documents. In fact there are several. The collection most often referred to as the "Morry Papers" is that which has resided at the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador in the Colonial Building in St. John's since donated by Dad Morry before his death. There are also less comprehensive collections at the A. C. Hunter Library Newfoundland Collection at the Arts and Culture Centre, at the Newfoundland Museum, at the Memorial Library Newfoundland Collection and at the Maritime History Archive (also on the Memorial Campus). There may also be some "Morry Papers" at the Ferryland Museum, though that has as yet to be confirmed.

Only the documents at the Provincial Archives are the original papers (at least in part). The rest are photocopies, and much of this material is duplicated from collection to collection. I have personally seen most of this material and have obtained copies of the most important items that are amenable to being photocopied, but several of the documents at the Provincial Archives are too old and frail or too large and cumbersome to be photocopied and will eventually have to be transcribed manually.

Eventually it is hoped that the entire collection will reside in one location in the new Provincial Archives in "The Rooms" now under construction (January 2004). It is also hoped that those family members holding original materials of historical importance will eventually donate them to this new central collection for the benefit of their protection and their use by other researchers. In the meantime, as I obtain copies and transcribe them, digitise them or photograph them as appropriate, they will all be recorded here for easier access by more people. For now, many articles are simply listed until time permits to transcribe or digitise them.

Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador -- Morry Papers (PANL MG 237 -- Matthew Morry)

Box 1

File 1:  Receipt of Probate Papers in the estate of Matthew Morry 31 May 1862

File 2: Probate of the Will of Matthew Morry of Caplin Bay Nfld. 12 July 1860

File 3: Copy of Last Will and Testament of Matthew Morry (Planter) of
Caplin Bay 25 April 1856 with attached affidavit by Thomas Morry 29 May 1862 .

File 4: Bill of sale of Thomson’s Fishing Room ( Cape Broyle ) & Plantation by Charles Hutchings ( Dartmouth ) to Wm. Pendergast ( Cape Broyle ) 9 Nov. 1831

File 5: Power of Attorney given by Matthew Morry (Dartmouth) to his son Matthew Morry (Capelin Bay) Re: his estate and interests in Nfld. 6 Nov., 1813

File 6: Letter to Mr. Peter Le Messurier St. John’s from N. P. [sic] Morry ( Caplin Bay ) Sept. 28, 1856 [Editor's Note:  N.P. Morry should be Robert Morry; the title of the article at PANL contains an error]

File 7: Bill of Sale of Nash’s Plantation by Arthur W. O. Holdsworth (Dartmouth) to Matthew Morry (Caplin Bay) 14 Dec. 1855. Transcript.

File 8: Petition for & Grant of land to Matthew Morry (Caplin Bay) for use in the fishery, 8 Sept. 1784 by Gov. John Campbell.  Digital imageTranscript.

 

Box 2

File 9: Grant of Land to Matthew Morry of land for the fishery in Caplin Bay by J. A. Waller ?? (H. M. ROSE) 13 Sept. 1790

File 10: Two receipts for purchase of consolidated £3 Percent Annuities 24 Mar 1807 and 8 Jan 1805

File 11: Precise description of property boundaries of Matthew Morry’s land at Timber Cove ?? Description of buildings thereon undated unsigned

File 12: Last Will & Testament Rose Steer?? (Dartmouth, Caplin Bay) 20 June 1825

File 13: Deed of Loan to Matthew Morry & Co. (Dartmouth/Caplin bay) by John Morry (Dartmouth) 20 Aug 1816

File 14: Bill of sale of property in Caplin Bay?? By Patrick Clancy to Wm. Sweetland 27 Nov 1817 .

 

A. C. Hunter Newfoundland Collection

There are only three documents in this collection.

The first was donated by Dad Morry (date?) but is actually a transcript of a report on early history of Newfoundland by an unidentified Miss Morry. This could be a number of the maiden ladies in the family whom Dad Morry consulted for family history and the general history of the area. My suspicion is that it was his Great Aunt Florence but I have no way of proving this except that I know she was the source of much of Dad Morry's information (and misinformation) on the family history. Her account of the early events of note in Ferryland was passed down by word of mouth and some of it, though essentially factual, has been embellished or confused over the years.

The other two documents were also donated by Dad Morry in 1963 and 1965 respectively. The are his recollection of the words of two songs which he indicates were popular before the turn of the twentieth century. The second one, The Flying Cloud, is most interesting, both because it retells the story of a couple of individuals from Ferryland, but also because it describes in some graphic detail the despicable practice of slaving as it was still being carried out in presumably the early to mid-1800s

  1. 971.8 M83 -- Morry, Miss and Howard Morry, Ferryland History

  2. 782.43 L88 4 cop. -- Morry, Howard, Lord Bateman

  3. 782.43 F67 4 cop. -- Morry, Howard, The Flying Cloud 

 

Freddie Caines Collection 2003

During the course of my search for old documents pertaining to the Morrys, cousin Fredris Mercer Caines came upon a remarkable discovery. Before her death in 1995, her mother, Auny Phyl, had put away a suitcase full of old papers. Freccie found these and we spent some time going through the collection in the summer of 2003 and sorting them into sub-sets that were merely of sentimental interest, documents belonging to other living members of the family and those that could legitimately be described as being of archival value. I photocopied all of the latter and will in due course either digitise them or transcribe them and make them available here. I beleive it is Freddie's intention to donate these to the Provincial Archives when they are properly set up to deal with them. Word document listing.

Large Format documents (Originals and/or Certified Copies):

  1. Grant to James W. McCullock, Landed situate between Caplin Bay & Ferryland, Registered Vol. 65A, Folio 26, 3 January 1906 . Legible and scanable.

  2. Grant to Thomas G. Morry, land at Morris Marsh Road, Ferryland, Registered Vol. 41, Folio 55, 29 August 1890 . Legible.

  3. Assignment in Trust (Indenture), Thomas G. Morry to Alexr J. W. McNeily, lands and premises situate at Ferryland , Newfoundland , May 1, 1892 . Legible.

  4. Indenture (Unsigned; draft of above?), Thomas G. Morry to Isaac R. McNeily, lands and premises situate at Ferryland, Newfoundland, Undated 1891. Half Legible.

  5. Bargain and Sale of Certain Messuages, Lands and Premises situate at Ferryland from John Morry and Peter Paint LeMessurier to Ann Winsor, Consideration £400 Currency. May 16, 1853 . Legible.

Legal or Letter size documents (Some Originals but mostly Photocopies):

 

  1. Last Will and Testament (Photocopy) without subsequent Codicil, Thomas Graham Morry, June 13, 1930 . Poor quality photocopy – Text legible but marginal notes not.

  2. Petition for & Grant of land to Matthew Morry ( Caplin Bay ) for use in the fishery 8 Sept. 1784 by Gov. John Campbell. Includes letter of support from Robert Carter. (Same as PANL MG237 Box 1 File 8). Poor quality photocopy.

  3. Precise description of property boundaries of Matthew Morry’s land at Timber Cove ?? Description of buildings thereon unsigned.   Sept. 23, 1800 (Same as PANL MG237 Box 1 File 11). Poor quality photocopy.

  4. Receipt for Sale of Land in Ferryland by Howard L. Morry to Minister of Agriculture and Mines for Trepassey Branch Railway, June 1919. Includes plan. Original. Legible and scanable.

  5. Last Will and Testament (Photocopy of Signed Original), Howard Leopold Morry, Dec. 19, 1963. Poor quality photocopy – text legible.

  6. Record of Receipt for Pay for Pvt. Howard Leopold Morry, August 17, 1915 Oct. 1, 1916 . Original. Legible.

  7. Cablegram from Fredris Minty Morry to Howard Leopold Morry, Sept. 1915. Original. Torn and deteriorating condition.

  8. Letter from Howard Leopold Morry to father, Thomas Graham Morry, June 22, 1915 . Original. Legible.

  9. A Plan of Property of Mrs. Holdsworth at Ferryland late in the Possession of Mr. Ewen Stable but now…Taken by John Preston, Surveyor, April 1830. Copied By FrederickR. Page, Land Surveyor, February 1859. 2 Badly photocopied pages. Barely legible.

  10. Last Will and Testament of John Morry of Ferryland, August 24, 1897 . Photocopy of Certified Correct Copy. Mainly Legible.

  11. Map or Plan of “Lower Grove Calvert”, January 28, 1851 . Shows same piece of land that adjoins Land grant mentioned in 1 above. Fairly Legible

  12. Letter to Matthew Morry in Harbour Grace from his mother in St. John’s , Nov. 20, 1841 . Original. Legible.

  13. Indenture and extension of lease for fishing room and premises to William Devereaux from Florence Morry and Emily Francis Victoria Morry of Ferryland, January 1, 1937. Original. Legible.

  14. Bill of Sale for Land on road from Caplin Bay to Ferryland from Elizabeth Morry and Henry Morry to James Walker McCullock, March, 1900. Original, Legible. (This would appear to be the land adjacent to that acquired in 1906 by grant to Dr. McCullock in 1 above.)

  15. Agreement between Diocesan Synod of Nfld. and Howard Morry, conveying right to use land formerly occupied by Anglican Church in Ferryland, May 1, 1948 . Original. Legible.

  16. Trust Deed, Anne Morey Winsor To Thomas G. Morry, for the “Holdsworth lands”, Dec. 15, 1851 . Original. Fragile and taped together but relatively legible.

  17. Deed of Conveyance, John White to Catherine White and Richard H. White, Property at Ferryland. Dec. 14, 1883 . Very poor quality photocopy almost illegible.

  18. Legal Survey of 3 Parcels of land Ferryland North Side, in the name of William Morry , Dec. 7, 1987 . Evidently made in preparation for sale of Morry fish business. Original. Legible and scanable.

  19. Indenture, House and Lands in Ferryland, including survey,Between William Morry and Mary Morry, No day or month 1996, Certified Legal Copy. Legible and scanable.

  20. Last Will and Testament (Photocopy of Unsigned Copy), Howard Leopold Morry, Dec. 19, 1963. Photocopy. Legible.

  21. Memories by Howard L. Morry, July 12, 1957 . I Page Photocopy. Legible

  22. The Great War: A Southern Shore, Soldier’s Tale, by Bob Ryan, July 22, 1994 . 15 pp plus 1 page Introduction and 1 page Bibliography. Quotes extensively from “My service in the World War 1914-1917 by H. L. Morry, August 1957 (no copy included). Photocopied. Legible and scanable.

  23. Memories of Howard Morry Feb. 18, 1965 . Transcript for his diaries up to that year. The person doing the transcription is not identified, nor is the date on which it was transcribed. 22 Page Photocopy. Legible but not scanable.

  24. Diary Beginning July 14, 1957 by Mr. Howard L. Morry, Ferryland. The person doing the transcription is not identified, nor is the date on which it was transcribed. 16 Page Photocopy, however page 3 appears to be missing. Relatively legible copy.

  25. My Service in the World War 1914-1917, by Howard L. Morry.  Transcript of Diary commencing August 3, 1957 . The person doing the transcription is not identified, nor is the date on which it was transcribed. 22 Page Photocopy. Very poor copy, almost illegible in places. This is the same diary transcribed and annotated by Glen and Chris Morry in 2003.

 

Up Books Census Indentures House of Assembly Letters Memoirs Morry Papers Newspapers Wills
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