Broad Cove, Newfoundland Colony One Place Study

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Broad Cove, Newfoundland Colony
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Canada Newfoundland_Colony

Back to One Place Studies Project

North Shore Conception Bay Adam's Cove | Blackhead | Bradley's Cove | Broad Cove
Mulley's Cove | Ochre Pit Cove | Small Point | Western Bay

Contents 1 Broad Cove, Newfoundland Colony One Place Study 1.1 Name 1.2 Geography 1.3 Founding Families 1.4 Population 2 Sources

Broad Cove, Newfoundland Colony One Place Study

• WikiTree Profiles that link here

Name

The name Broad Cove came into common use by the second half of the 18th century. Before that time it was generally included under Blackhead. Blackhead began as a geographic navigational reference long before it became an outport community. In the 1708 fishing census, Thomas Moores, Richard Dean and Joseph Parsons were at "Blackhead." However only Thomas Moores was fishing at the location which later became the name of that community. Both Richard Dean and Joseph Parsons were most likely had fishing stations in what would later be the community of Broad Cove.

Geography

Continent: North America

Country: Canada

Province: Newfoundland Colony

District: Bay de Verde

GPS Coordinates: 47.840148377639274, -53.09754462329481

Elevation: 5.0 m or 16.4 feet

Founding Families

With its wide cove and sandy beach, Broad Cove provided a good location for fishing which attracted the settlement of a large number of families as well as seasonal fishing.

1700-1750

• Baker & Mulcahy: An unknown possibly Thomas Baker was in Broad Cove before 1750. He was married to Tabitha. He left her his property in Broad Cove for her lifetime and then it was to go to Baker's children. Tabitha remarried a Mulcahy. While no Bakers were living in Broad Cove by 1805. One of the children may have been Thomas Baker who testified in Oct 1788 that he was acquainted with Broad Cove for 20 years (1768) (mannioncollection.ca) Thomas married Frances Shepherd the daughter of Martin Shepherd of Carbonier on Oct 15, 1776 in the Anglican Church of Harbour Grace. Another child may have been Eleanor who married Henry Janes and had a son Thomas Baker baptised in 1811. As late as 1805 when Tabitha recorded the property she lived on, her plantation continued to be called the Baker property. (Plantation Book) The Baker & Mulcahy family begins with Tabitha: https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Unknown-639297&errcode=new_profile

• Janes (Jeans, Johns): Edward Janes arrived in Broad Cove before 1765 but the exact date is not known. From his headstone his name was originally Jeans but the name was anglized to Janes some time in the late 1700s His family start here with Edward: Edward:https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Janes-1964&errcode=new_profile
• King: John and Sarah were in Broad Cove before 1750 when the community was known generally as Blackhead. There is some circumstantial evidence that the Kings of Carbonear may have been using the beach as a summer fishing stations before John settled permanently in Broad Cove. The evidence is from an agreement for a farm, Bothenwood in Dorset, that a John King leased with Thomas Moores and Richard Dean of Carbonear who were both fishing in Blackhead according to the fishing census of 1708. However this link need more evidence. Therefore the King family starts with John and Sarah King. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/King-57690
• Le Gros (Le Grow, Grow) Brothers, Jean (John) and Simeon (Simon) were in Broad Cove before 1756. We know this because Simon had property there before he died in 1756. It is possible their father, Jean Sr., had been in Broad Cove before the two brothers. A number of Le Gros of Jersey were involved in seafaring and at least one, Elias, was trading in Newfoundland in the first part of the 18th century (See Keith Matthews Name Files) A search of Jerripedia for parents who had both a Jean and a Simon found only one - Jean and Denize (Pallot) Le Grow of St. Mary Parish. The Le Gros family starts with them: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/LeGros-332
• Mairs: In 1766 James Mairs (Mayers, Mahers) sold property in Broad Cove to Morgan Hinchey. Not much is known about him.
• Pike: Various Pikes have been recorded in the Broad Cove area but it is not certain if they actually lived there, held a fishing station or were land speculators. William Pike was a witness to the Will of John Hudson of Adam's Cove in 1748 (Canterbury court wills and probate). John Pike of Broad Cove is mentioned in court documents in 1749 (Colonial Office Secretary Letters). John Pike may be the same Pike who purchased property from Michael Mulley Sr and then sold it to a Mr Thistle and Mr Juer. Michael Mulley Jr. was able to buy it back in 1765 (Colonial Office Secretary Letters for 1765). Finally in 1788 the four King brothers purchase a large plantation from Edward Pike, known as Pikes Room (Plantation Book)
• Romerill/Rumsey: Francois Romerill arrived from Jersey sometime around 1750 and married a Thistle daughter, Catherine. Later the name was changed to Rumsey. HIs only son, Charles, took over his plantation after the death of his father in 1806. See https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Romerill-2

1750 - 1800

• Butt: William Butt may arrived at Broad Cove about 1750 at age 23 when he cleared land there. It is very likely he was from Crockers Cove / Carbonear where the Butt family had held property since before the 1675 the Census. His family starts at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Butt-456
• Corbitt (Corbett) in 1776 Edward Corbitt cut property out of the woods. By 1805 the property was described as 57 yds. from S. to N. 65 yds. from E. to W. 2 Houses 1 Garden (Plantation Book) Not much information is known about him.
• Dalton: Mary Dalton was the daughter of John Thistle. She married Matthew Dalton of Western Bay, When her father died in 1777 she and her sons inherited a small garden 43 yds. from S. to N. 32 yds. from E. to W. that they rented to Morgan Hinchey. (See Janes)
• Dunn: Dennis Dunn purchased a land from Patrick Daley in 1795 3 plots 138 yards from S. to N. 63 yards from E. to West 3 Gardens and another from from John Gosse, Carbonear merchant, in 1800 204 yds. from E. to W. bounded on the E. by the Commons on the W. by the Kings and a rock marked F.G.C. 177 yds. from H.W.M. to the S.W. bounded on the S.W. by Wm. Thistle 1 S. 2 F. 3 H. 4 G. 1 Meadow. By 1805 he was also renting a third property from William Butt (Plantation Book)
• Hinchey (Hingay Henchey): Morgan Hinchey was the first of that name to arrive in Broad Cove about 1760. Morgan may have remained in Broad Cove but members of the family moved to Northern Bay. https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Hinchey-197&errcode=saved
• Noftle (Noftall, Noftel, Nofty): Peter Noftle may be the same Peter Noftle whos was born in Guernsey in 1746. He was in Broad Cove by 1783 when he cleared land out of the woods there. https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Noftle-41&errcode=saved
• Power: Thomas Power was in Broad Cove by 1790 clearing land for a garden. He bought a plantation next to the property of David Whelan in 1796 and they built a stage together. Like David Whelan, Thomas Power does not appear in the early BMB records of the Blackhead Church or the Harbour Grace Anglican Church. It is possible he was Catholic. Perhaps he was at Broad Cove to fish but went back to his home port to baptize his children. Thomas Power's profile is at inhttps://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Power-5687
• Whelan/Whealon: David Whelan was at Broad Cove by 1788 when he bought a meadow there. By the 1790s he built and shared a stage with Thomas Power of Broad Cove suggesting kin ties. He also purchased a meadow in small Point in 1804. In 1805 neither property had a house on it. His son James took over the land when he died. Whelans of Broad Cove do not appear in the early BMB records of the Blackhead Church or the Harbour Grace Anglican Church. It is possible he was Catholic. Or he was at Broad Cove to fish but lived in another outport for example there was a David Whealon at Brigus at this time. David Whelans profile is at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Whelan-1887

• After 1800 Squires: This family lived at the Beach on Bell Island in the late 1700s. John, William and Catherine Squires moved to Broad Cove several years after the death of their father, John Squires who drowned in 1799 in Conception Bay. They were joined by their step-father, Sylvester Tapp who died in Broad Cove in Jan of 1836. In 1807 Sylvester had married the widow Catherine Squires the mother of John, William and Catherine. No record has been found in the Blackhead Church records for Catherine's burial suggesting she may have died before the family moved to Broad Cove. From a shared YDNA match (See FTDNA Squires Surname Project) it has been documented that John Squires was the son of James Pitts of Belle Island. This is why the Squires family starts with James Pitts. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pitts-6184

Population

Sources