Mulley's Cove One Place Study

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Mulley's Cove, Newfoundland
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Canada Newfoundland_Colony

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Contents 1 Mulley's Cove, Newfoundland Colony One Place Study 1.1 Name 1.2 Geography 1.3 History 1.4 Population 2 Sources

Mulley's Cove, Newfoundland Colony One Place Study

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Name

The name Mulley's Cove comes from the family who first settled there after 1715: Mollet. The name was anglicized to Mulley over time. The name Mulley's Cove did not come into common use until the late 1700s. Before that time it was known as "Little Blackhead." One of the first to settle in Mulley's Cove, Michel Mollet (Mulley) referred to Little BlackHead in his will of 1741.^[1] In a court case in 1762, August Rossignol gave testimony in a property case brought to the court by Michael Mulley Jr. in which Rossignol refers to the the location of the property as Little Blackhead. ^[2]

Geography

Continent: North America

Country: Canada

Province: Newfoundland Colony

District: Bay de Verde

GPS Coordinates: 47.834396, -53.092105

Elevation: 4.0 m or 13.1 feet

History

Founding Families to 1750

• Mollet/Mulley: Michel Mollet (Mulley) and wife, Susanne Giffard, were both from Jersey, Channel Islands. They were in Newfoundland before 1715 when their son, Michel, was born. Mollet/Mulley Family profiles can be found at this link https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mollet-344

• Thistle: John Thistle and wife Mary (Mollet) were in Mulley's Cove before 1741 when Mary's father, Michel Mollet, left her husband, John, a plantation in Little Blackhead now Mulley's Cove. The family profiles can be found using this link: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Thistle-370

1750 to 1800

• King: James and Edward King were brothers who inherited a garden in Mulley's Cove from their father in 1784 (Plantation Book pg 40 entry 253) ^[3] Their fathers was likely John King of Blackhead/Broad Cove. They did not live in Mulley's Cove in the 18th century. The earliest known Kings in the area were John and Sarah King of Blackhead/Broad Cove who were there by 1750. They are mentioned in a 1769 land transaction in which their son, WIlliam, purchased property in Broad Cove. From several documents we know that John and Sarah also had sons, James, Edward and Thomas. See Broad Cove One Place Study for the King family profile. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/King-57690

• Lacey: From the Blackhead Church records we know that the Laceys were shoemakers/ Bootmakers. Perhaps they made boots similar to those worn by the fishermen of the West Country, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. John Lacey may have been the first of that name to settle in Mulley's Cove. The Lacey family profiles can be found here. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lacey-1812

• Moores: Richard Moores became the partner of James Reynolds. He and James Reynolds bought a plantation from John Thistle Sr. in 1783. Moores Reynolds purchase: (Plantation Book pg 40 entry 252.)^[3] by the time of the plantation book records, the property included 2 houses. The link the Moores Family of Mulley's Cove starts here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Moores-972

• Peach: About 1800 Thomas Peach settled in Mulley's Cove where he died in 1827 at age 52 (Blackhead Church burial records entry 104, Newfoundland Archives, The Rooms.)

• Reynolds (Rennells, Rennolls): Reynolds is Rennells in the early church records. James Reynolds was from Rockheare, Devon where his family had held property since the late 1600s when his great grandfather, Nicholas Reynolds of Pinhoe, left it to his grandfather, James. Based on family stories, the late Cecil Reynolds wrote that James became a bootmaker apprentice to the Lacey’s of Mulley’s Cove in 1769.^[4] Typical of apprenticeship agreements it would have been for seven years and included an agreement not to marry during the seven years of the apprenticeship. Apprentices would have live with the family who apprenced them. In return for his "free" labor, the master would teach him a trade and provide for all their needs: food clothes etc. He and Richard Moores became partners and purchased land from John Thistle Sr. in 1783 "inside Michael Thistles fence" (Plantation Book pg 40 entry 252). But he owned property in Broad Cove as well that he gave to his grandson James Squires in his will. The Reynolds family profile starts with this link https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Reynolds-10412

The families living in Mulley's Cove remained stable up to the time the Colonial Office Plantation Book was recording land ownership circa 1805.

Population

For most of the 18th century the population of Mulley's Cove was small consisting of two related families of Mulleys and Thistles.

Sources

1. ↑ Will of Michel Mollet, 21/Aug/1741, Probate: 26/Dec/1741 An image of the will can be found online at the Jersey Heritage Archive Index of Wills: D/Y/A/7/50 Accessed Feb 24, 2024
2. ↑ August Rossignol testified, 6 Nov 1762, John’s Court Colonial Secretary's Letterbook Nov 1762 pg 162-163. An abstract of the Court Case is online at the Memorial University of Newfoundland website, http://www2.swgc.mun.ca/nfld_history/letterbook/ St. John’s Court 6 Nov 1762 pg 162-163.Accessed Feb 24, 2024
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Colonial Office, Return of Possession held in Conception Bay 1805 Vol 13. A transcription of the Plantation Book is on the Newfoundland WebGen at https://nlgenweb.dreamhosters.com/cbnorth_nor22_42_05.htm Accessed Oct 22, 2024
4. ↑ Recollections from Cecil Reynolds. a summary of recollections is at http://thepyeplate.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-reynolds-connection.html Accessed Feb 24, 2024