by Calvin Evans
No. 812: Elizabeth Pippy, Musketta, North Side. Elizabeth Pippy of St. John’s owned this property and it was being occupied by P. Carew of Musketta in 1796. It was being leased for several years at the rate of 1 pound 10 shillings per annum.
No. 814: Patience Pynn, Musketta, North Side. Patience Pynn of St. John’s obtained this plantation in 1765, part of it “by deed of gift from Wm. Pynn” and part purchased from Jno. Butt for 15 pounds.
No. 819: Ann Wells or G. & S. Kemp & Co., Carbonear, South Side. This must have been a joint ownership although “or” is used, not “and.” It had been “cut and cleared” and was being occupied by Ann in 1786.
No. 820: Mary Buckingham, Carbonear, South Side. Mary had received this plantation “by her former husband’s jointure.” “Jointure” is a term used in law and refers to an estate settled before marriage. Was this similar to the secular marriage contract in Quebec that was additional to religious marriage and separated the wife’s assets from those of her husband? The plantation was being occupied by Jno. Buckingham in 1775.
No. 822: Elizabeth Pike, Carbonear, South Side. Elizabeth was renting this property to Jos. Crimp in 1799 for 8 pounds per annum. See also Nos. 856, 862, and 904.
No. 826: Mary Keefe, Carbonear, South Side. This property had been “cut out of the woods” and was being occupied by Mary in 1765.
No. 830: Frances Thistle, Carbonear. Frances had inherited this property “by her husband deceased.” She was occupying it in 1772.
No. 849: Susannah Enger, Carbonear. Susannah’s surname is indistinct in the record. She had sold this property to Thomas Reynolds for 5 pounds. Date is not given.
No. 856: Elizabeth Pike, Carbonear. This property was purchased by Elizabeth from Richard Diffix for 120 pounds, and she was occupying it in 1715. This must have been another Elizabeth Pike. Note the difference in dates from No. 822. See also Nos. 862 and 904.
No. 862: Elizabeth Pike, Carbonear. This property was purchased by Elizabeth from Edward Sweetland for 9 pounds. Date is not given. See also Nos. 822, 856 and 904.
No. 873: Mary Williams, Carbonear. Michael Walsh purchased this from Mary Williams for 10 pounds. Date is not given.
No. 882: Mary Ferrers, Carbonear. Mary was leasing this property from William Parsons for 2 pounds per annum. See Nos. 885 and 886. Date is not given.
No. 885: Frances Tucker, Carbonear. Frances had two plots. One she was leasing to Chs. McCarthy for 8 pounds per annum; the other she was leasing to Mary Ferrers for 5 pounds per annum. See Nos. 882 and 886. Date is not given.
No. 886: Mary Ferrers, Carbonear. This plot was “cut out of the woods” and Mary was occupying it in 1785. See Nos. 882 and 885. Mary owned one property and was leasing two others. She was a busy woman.
No. 887: Mother of Wm. Howell, Carbonear. This property came to William Howell as a “gift from his mother.” Date is not given.
No. 888: Grandmother of Jno. Robt. & Wm. Howell, Carbonear. This property, which both brothers were occupying in 1800, had been “a gift from Grandmother.”
No. 889: Mother of Jas. Howell, Carbonear. This property, which was being occupied by James Howell in 1775, was a “gift from his mother.”
No. 892: Catherine Gosse, Carbonear. “The redoubtable Catherine” of Bread and Cheese Cove purchased this plantation from Thomas Mann for 30 pounds and was leasing it to Gosse & Chancey for 31 years at 5 pounds per annum. See the special entry after No. 734 for Catherine Gosse.
No. 893: Ann Toque, Carbonear. This property was “bequeathed by their father’s will” from the late Robert Howell to his four children, William, Jno. and Peter Howell and Ann Toque. It was owned by all four of them in 1800. In 1831 and 1835, as the widow of Philip Toque, Ann was a partner with Simon Levi in the two ships Alpha and Elizabeth. See her in Chapter 3 of this study.
No. 904: Elizabeth Pike, Carbonear. This is the fourth piece of property registered under the name of Elizabeth Pike. This one had been purchased from Samuel Pike and in 1780 was occupied by Charlotte Pike and Samuel Lilly. See Nos. 822, 856 and 862.
No. 905: Elizabeth Hayward, Carbonear. This property had been “cut out of the woods” and was occupied by Elizabeth in 1769.
No. 906: Mother of Henry Knight, Carbonear. This property came to Henry Knight as a “gift from his mother.” He was occupying it in 1786.
No. 907: Mary Evory, Carbonear. Mary purchased this property from William Penny for one whipsaw worth 45 shillings. An astute deal! She was occupying the property in 1787.
No. 914: Elizabeth Knight, Carbonear. This property came to Elizabeth by “deed of gift from her father.” Jno. Warn and B. Linthorne were occupying it in 1755, so apparently she was leasing it.
No. 917: Elizabeth Knight, Carbonear. Elizabeth had owned this property, but by 1797 Callaghan McCarthy had purchased it from her for 8 pounds.
No. 919: Mother of Robert Penny, Carbonear. This property came to Robert as a “gift from his mother.” Date is not given.
No. 938: Sarah Squires, Freshwater. Sarah had purchased this property from Richard Dolby and Jno. Sweet for 55 pounds, and was leasing it to Ed. Cahill for 11 years for 2 pounds 15 shillings (per annum?). Date is not given.
No. 962: Frances Marshall, Harbour Grace, North Side. Jonathan Parsons purchased this property from Frances Marshall for 10 pounds in 1770. See also No. 974.
No. 963: Patience Parsons, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property had “descended to her late husband by his father” and was owned by Patience in 1765. See also No. 682 for her property in Bay Roberts.
No. 964: Mary & Wm. Balding, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property had been “cut out of the woods” and was occupied by Mary and William in 1765.
No. 974: Frances Marshall, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property was a “gift from her father” and Frances was occupying it in 1775. See also No. 962.
No. 977: Widow Kennedy, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property was a “gift from her father” and the widow was occupying it in 1770.
No. 978: Ann Stretch, Harbour Grace, North Side. Abraham Parsons had purchased this property from Ann Stretch for 10 pounds. Date is not given. See Nos. 504 and 1036. Ann had also owned property in Port de Grave.
No. 982: Grandmother of Hy. Pynn, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property had been left to Henry Pynn of England “by his grandmother’s will.” It was being leased, so it is not certain whether Henry ever occupied the property. Date is not given.
No. 987: Jane Cooke, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property had come to James Cowan “by Jane Cooke’s will.” This is very probably the same “Jane Cook” to whom Sean Cadigan refers in his thesis: “Jane Cook, who acted for (Ann) Protch in the matter (of leasing properties) also handled their account with merchant James MacBraire and rented other property at Harbour Grace to John Clements.” Jane Cooke was typical of the kind of women who, as Cadigan asserts, “managed property and accounts left to them by their husbands.” Date for No. 987 is not given.
No. 988: Amy Thistle, Harbour Grace, North Side. Amy inherited this property “by her Father-in-Law’s will.” She was leasing it to four tenants for an undisclosed number of pounds per annum. Date is not given. See also Nos. 994, 1037 and 1047. Amy was the owner of four properties.
No. 989: Mary & Ann Moore, Harbour Grace, North Side. Mary and Ann had inherited this property as a “deed of gift from their grandfather.” It was being leased to Dr. John Sterling. Date is not given.
No. 991: Mother of James Sheppard, Harbour Grace, North Side. Curiously, the only note in this entry is “deed of gift from her mother” which means that the property came to James through his wife, or this is an error. No date or other information is given.
No. 994: Amy Thistle, Harbour Grace, North Side. Amy received this property “By permission from Governor Byron.” Date is not given. See also Nos. 988, 1037 and 1047.
No. 995: Elizabeth Webber, Harbour Grace, North Side. The only note in this entry says “buildings burnt last year,” i.e., 1804 (?). This undoubtedly was th
e same Elizabeth Webber referred to in Sean Cadigan’s thesis: “…Mrs. Thomas Thirts of Harbour Grace tried to protect her claim to a fishing room from the intrusion of a neighbouring planter family: Elizabeth Webber & Sons. The court allowed Webber – a widow left with eight children to care for – to build her stage on the property. She had to contend with her eldest son Charles trying to mortgage their property to a merchant Thomas Lewis to pay his own debts, but the court allowed Charles only an eighth part of the total property, and gave Mrs. Webber one third of her late husband’s land as her sole property.” Life was hard. Date for No. 995 is not given. See also No. 1007 for another property which Elizabeth Webber had sold.
No. 1000: Mary Martin, Harbour Grace, North Side. The only note in this entry says: “Descendants of Joseph Martin, Widow Mary Martin, by her father-in-law’s will.” It may be assumed that Mary Martin was occupying the property with her children. Date is not given.
No. 1001: Mary Andrews, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property came to Mary “by her uncle’s will.” It had been in possession of the family for 91 years, i.e., since 1714. In 1780 it was being rented to Robert Holden.
No. 1003: Charlotte Pike, Harbour Grace, North Side. Charlotte had purchased this property in 1760 from Thos. Terry & Capt. Messervey for 90 pounds. It was being leased to Wm. J. & Matt. Stevenson of Harbour Grace for fifteen years at the rate of 15 pounds per annum. See also Nos. 904 and 1043.
No. 1007: Elizabeth Webber, Harbour Grace, North Side. Elizabeth sold this property to Henry Thomas and he was occupying it in 1765. See also No. 995.
No. 1008: Grandmother of John French, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property came to John by “gift from his grandmother,” and he was occupying it in 1775. See No. 1020.
No. 1011: Mother of George Andrews, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property had been in possession of the Andrews family for 30 years and came to George as a “gift from his mother.” Date is 1802.
No. 1020: Widow French, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property was termed “French’s Plantation.” It came to Widow French “in consequence of lying void.” She was occupying the property, but a date is not given. See No. 1008.
No. 1036: Ann Stretch, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property had come to Jas. Cowan “by Ann Stretch’s will.” See also Nos. 504 and 978.
No. 1037: Amy Thistle, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property was “cut out of the woods” and Amy was occupying it in 1785. See also Nos. 988, 994 and 1047 for Amy’s other properties. She had achieved the distinction of owning four properties, at least two of which were being leased to tenants.
No. 1040: Honor Lynch, Harbour Grace, North Side. This property was “cut out of the woods” and Honor was occupying it in 1795.
No. 1043: Charlotte Pike, Harbour Grace, North Side. There is no other information on this property. See also Nos. 904 and 1003.
No. 1047: Amy Thistle, Harbour Grace, North Side. Amy received this property “bequeathed by her father-in-law’s will.” In 1750 she was renting it to “sundry persons,” in total eight tenants.
No. 1050: Jane Singeon, Harbour Grace, North Side. Jane received this property “by her mother’s will.” Jane was occupying it in 1783.
There were other women owners of plantations whose names do not appear in the Plantation Book. One of these was Catherine Thistle who is mentioned in Chapter 3 in the section on “The Eighteenth Century.” From court records it is noted that in 1757 Catherine went to court and received legal action against Jersey men who were encroaching on her plantation at Harbour Grace. In the same year, Mary Dinn of Musketta sent a petition to the governor of the day stating that her family had an established right dating back more than 50 years to harvest grass on Carbonear Island for her animals. The commander of the fort at the island had refused Mary permission, but the governor overruled the commander, and Mary was allowed to continue the practice. No doubt there were many others.
There are 1,062 entries in the Plantation Book. A total of 147 women are mentioned in connection with 156 of these plantations. In addition to the entries listed previously, there were several plantations that were left to men through their father-in-law’s will, uncle’s will, and so forth.
Thus a total of 163 women (and possibly 172 properties) may be involved, if all these wives were still living. The prevailing dominance of the patriarchal line would account for inheritance through the wife’s husband. In fact, it seems surprising that there were not more of these in the records. There are a total of 16:
No. 16: Bay de Verds. Daniel McCarthy, Thos. Lynch and Jas. Blunden inherited this property “By deed of gift from their wives’ uncles.” Date is not given.
No. 147: Oaker Pits Cove. Richard Halfyard received a plantation with one stage, two flakes and four houses in 1761 “By deed of gift from his father-in-law.”
No. 555: Brigus. This plantation came to John Morgan, “bequeathed by his father-in-law’s will” in 1805.
No. 556: Brigus. John Sparks received a plantation with one stage, four flakes, one wharf, and four houses in 1785, “bequeathed to him by his father-in-law’s will.” It had belonged to the family for 60 years.
No. 567: Brigus. Wm. Antle, Sr., had a plantation “bequeathed to him by his father-in-law’s will.” Date is not given, though from No. 574 we may deduce that it was about the 1780s.
No. 588: Brigus. John Plowman received this plantation as a “deed of gift from his father-in-law.” Date is not given.
No. 604: Cupids. Joseph Anthony inherited this plantation “by deed of gift from his father-in-law.” Date is not given. See No. 600 for a possible connection to Mary Anthony, in which case it would be about 1770.
No. 659: Bay Roberts. Daniel Norman received this plantation as a “Gift from his father-in-law.” He was occupying it in 1802.
No. 756: Island Cove. Thos. Merser received this plantation as a “Gift from his father-in-law.” Date is not given.
No. 896: Carbonear. Hugh Penny, Jr., received this plantation by “his father-in-law’s will” in 1790.
No. 925: Crocker’s Cove. Martin George received this plantation as a “gift from his father-in-law” in 1785. He was leasing it.
No. 930: Crocker’s Cove. Daniel Canlan received this plantation as a “Gift from his father-in-law.” Daniel was occupying it in 1785.
No. 966: Harbour Grace, North Side. Garland Bradbury received this plantation as a “Gift from his father-in-law” in 1805.
No. 972: Harbour Grace, North Side. Jas. Cawley received this plantation from “his father-in-law’s will,” and James was occupying it in 1715.
No. 992: Harbour Grace, North Side. Wm. Parsons received this plantation from “his father-in-law’s will.” Date is not given.
No. 993: Harbour Grace, North Side. Wm. Lilly, Esq., received this plantation by his “father-in-law’s will.” Date is not given.
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