ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

                I would like to express my sincere thanks to the following groups of people for their assistance and generous scope in helping me to accomplish this goal.

Mr. and Mrs. William Woodford .... Harbour Main

Mrs. Michael Murphy ..................... St. John’s

Mr. Patrick Strapp .......................... Harbour Main

Mr. John Costigan .......................... Harbour Main

Mr. C. F. Furey ............................... Harbour Main

Mrs. Bobbie Robertson .................... Colonial Building St. John’s

Memorial University

Staff of Gosling Memorial Libraries

Confederation Building

Mr. George Kennedy (for typing it)

Newfoundland Archives

PREFACE

                In my attempt to write the “History of Harbour Main,” I have tried with utmost possibility to construct the political, religious, social, educational, and the economic aspects up until the early 1950's.  Although I have failed to touch on a great number of factors and events, I hope with all assurance, that you will gain various insights and information on the history of this settlement.

                I can only say that during my research I have found the work most rewarding and I hope it will prove to be of some value.

Political History

                Harbour Main is an old settlement (dating from 1696) with memories of the French and a few people with French names.  It became the capital of the district because of its seniority; it was here that nomination of Candidates for election to the House of Assembly took place.  People came from every settlement on nomination day in two vast processions of horses and carriages and the side which made the best showing was the likely winner.  Speeches were made by the candidates from the narrow windows of the Court House to crowds sitting or standing on the green below.  Every man nailed his colours to the mast and took his stand with the other supporters to cheer his members.  When the cheering was artificially stimulated, arguments would arise and tempers grew short and there would be unlimited possibilities of a riot.  Good humour always prevailed over the passions of the moment and the rival pilgrims travelled back home with news of sure victory for their respective members.

                The election of 1861 is a memorable one among many of the older inhabitants of the community – an election that involved rioting, looting and the death of one man.  This riot had such far reaching political significance that it was the cause of having a member ejected from the House of Assembly.

                The communities involved were: Salmon Cove, Cat’s cove (Conception Harbour) and Harbour Main.  However, Salmon Cove voters were not allowed to poll their votes at the polling station in Harbour Main, but had to travel to Cat’s Cove.  On the day of election, the Harbour Main voters numbering from 200-250 fearing that the Salmon Cove voters might be approached, escorted them to the polling station.  While rounding the Toat they were confronted by a barricade of sticks that were thrown across the road manned by Cat’s Cove men - some with guns.

                Father Kyran Walsh, parish priest of Harbour Main during that time, was the leader of the Harbour Main faction.  Seeing the crowd of determined men, he approached the barricade and changed a few words with the ring-leaders of the Cat’s Cove group.  After returning to his group, his followers moved toward the armed men, with this they levelled their guns and fired, killing one man and wounding several others.  Realizing that the Cat’s Cove men meant business, the Harbour Main contingent picked up their dead and returned home.

                After a protracted contest before the election committee Nowlan and Byrne were subsequently declared duly elected.  On the 13 of May, 1861 the Governor opened the new House of Assembly; His Excellency was hooted and a violent mob surrounded the House of Assembly and attempted to break through the doors.  Messrs Hogsett and Furey who claimed to be elected for Harbour Main on a certificate from the returning officer[1] which it was afterwards stated was obtained by intimidation, took their seats in the House.  They were ordered to withdraw from the Assembly; they refused.  Mr. Hogsett was then removed by police and Furey followed.

                Patrick Strapp, great grandson of the Returning Officer, stressed the fact that it was the instigations of Father Walsh which prompted the riot after he returned from speaking to the Cat’s Cove leaders.  However, he also stated that when the men did fire, they did so with the intention of “shooting and missing.”  As it happened it was Mr. Furey, a relative of the candidate, who fell in range of the shot and was killed.  Unfortunately, this is a matter which must undergo more serious and intensive investigation.  When I asked him of his feelings on the issue involving the certificate of return he gave the following brief response: “the Returning Officer was a fair and just man and he was only doing his duty.”

                Mr. Charlie Furey, a 95 year old resident of the community and son of the candidate Furey was hesitant on the topic.  However, I did manage to obtain from him the fact that the real causes of the riot were never revealed.

                While becoming involved in this election riot, I must not fail to mention that a few days after the riot, May 18, 1861, a mob attacked the home of the Returning Officer, Patrick Strapp, demolishing a large number of his buildings.[2]

                Emphasis must also be placed on other elections in the history of the community.  In 1855, Hogshed, an English lawyer, and Furey ran, with Hogshed winning.  In 1859 they swept the district.  In 1921, Furey and Hawco, Liberals, and Cashin and Crosby, Tories, fought the election.  Cashin and Crosby won the two seats, whereas Furey lost by 7 votes.  This was the hardest fought election in the History of Harbour Main with the exception of 1861.

                As we have seen the political history of Harbour Main has been a stormy one indeed.  In looking back upon it, one notices the explosive situations which existed there during the election campaigns.

EARLY SETTLERS

                Harbour Main, a small community about 35 miles from St. John’s possesses a colourful and interesting history.  Although many of the early settlers have left behind very few records, most of its history has been sought from documents, census returns, and other primary sources available at the various Newfoundland libraries.

                Up until 1610 there had been no real attempt made upon colonization of various settlements in Newfoundland, since the Government of England persisted against such an embarkment.  For a number of years there existed a continuous disagreement between the merchants and the Government on the issue of colonization: the merchants wanted colonization without government, while the Government wanted government without colonization.  It was not 1675 that the first reference was made to the inhabitants of Harbour Main.  This was contained in Captain John Perry’s report which is as follows:

Harbour Main is the very oldest at the head of the bay and there is no residents whatever at Portugal Cove or Topsail.  There is only one person, Jeremy Fortune, of Harbour Main, who appears to be an old bachelor as there was no wife or children present.  He has no stage.  Almost every place has its stage, but there is some special local reason why there is no stage erected here.[3]

                In his “History of Newfoundland” Judge Pratt[4] includes an excerpt from the Boudain Diary which reads in part:

“On the 14^th of January 1697 we started for Portugal Cove and arrived there on the 19^th.  Thence we travelled along the shore of Conception Bay to the bottom where we found some men sawing wood, who had come from Carbonnaire (spelled this way in this typed document).  On the 20^th we took Harbour Main where there was one house.  On the 23^rd we left in 3 boats for Carbonnaire.”

                From speaking with a few residents, I was told that this house was owned by a Moore’s man, who at the time was blamed for killing an Indian Chief and then marrying his squaw.  How much validity holds true in this story has to be considered.

                In an 1805[5] survey taken by Governor Sir Erasmus Gower, we get a full account of the town with its coast boundaries, who claimed it, the people occupying it at the time etc.  A close study of the names has aided us in discovering that the majority of inhabitants of Harbour Main are English or Irish descendants, but there are a few exceptions.  The LaCours and Fureys are French.  They, at one time, were referred to as the “Joisey Birds.”  Ezekiel is also a prominent name in the community.  However, the first Ezekiel has been claimed as being an Arab.  The first Woodford is said to have come to Harbour Main when a servant by that name was left the entire possessions of a Frenchman named Leroche who had no children.

                Other English names in Harbour Main at this time were: Walls, Hicks, Barrett, English, Baker and Mason.  Irish names were Terry, Gorman, Joy, Sullivan, Mullowney and Kennedy.  Today the majority of these names still exist.  In the appendix I have included a list of settlers by surname, for the 1755 compiled by Burnetts Correspondence; 1779 compiled from Governor Edward’s Correspondence; 1804-5 compiled from 1805 Survey; 1864-5 taken from Hutchinson’s Nfld. Directory; 1877 taken from Nfld. Directory and 1969-70 of those people living there today.

                The first census* that could be obtained was that of 1836 in which Harbour Main had a population of 550 people living in 81 dwellings.  At one time the dwelling houses were quite large since they were used for servants engaged in fishing.  When the fishing declined, people found such structures impractical.

                The 1857 census shows us that 52 people living in Harbour Main during that time were born in Ireland; 2 in the British Colonies and 7 in England.  As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, a number of Irish immigrants came out to Newfoundland.  Between 1836-57, the population increased by 300.  However, between 1857 and 1874 there was a decrease of 100 people and between 1874 and 1876 an increase of 100 was apparent.

                After 1891 each census shows a substantial decrease, except around 1911-1921 which illustrates a slight increase which can be attributed to the beginning of World War I.  During such a period very few people emigrated.

                The majority of people who lived in Harbour Main at one time emigrated to various sections of North America where some lived permanently while others went to earn a few hundred dollars and return home to establish a business.

                In this section of the paper, I hope I have given you enough references and information into the inhabitants of the community in the early years of its settlement, and have guaranteed enough knowledge regarding certain land grants of the people.

*Refer to Appendix 8 for accounts on the settlers and to Appendix 6 for census returns.

ECONOMIC HISTORY

                Today, Harbour Main is not the bustling community it was in the early years.  Like a majority of settlements of that time, fishing was the main industry and when that was prosperous prospects were good, but the slightest decline in the fishery caused excessive poverty and unhappiness.

                Except for a few business people, many of the young people find it necessary to leave the community to seek work in another part of the island.  Of course, most of them, like a goodly number of Newfoundlanders, have emigrated to Toronto where they have established themselves permanently.

                As early at 1675 a man named Fortune had set up a fishing station, while in 1755 when the Surrogate sailed into the harbour they discovered that Keating had also established fishing facilities and had a number of servants under his authority.  In 1779 and possibly before that at least two well-known firms, Messrs Pike and Green and Messrs Newman and Boone had agents in Harbour Main.  The agents are believed to have been Messrs Linthorne and Lewis.[6]

                The following is a report given to me by John Costigan on the economic and social conditions that existed in the community over 100 years ago:

                                “Harbour Main was started as a fishing village by the English and Irish immigrants.  They fished summer months, built their boats, cut logs for houses and cut and hauled their fire wood in winter.  They also built and owned their own homes; later they did a little farming, or rather gardening, as suitable farmland was not too plentiful.  But most of them supplied themselves with plenty of meat and vegetables.  Their income from cod fishing in the summer and sealing in the spring could give them a good living considering they owned their own homes.  Then in the late eighteen hundreds and the early nineteen hundreds, the settlers began to emigrate to the States and Canada.  A great deal of people went to work at Bell Island, Buchans, Pepperell and Argentia, and so Harbour Main never had as much as a fish plant left.”

                The merchants were engaged in Labrador, Shore and dark fishery.[7]  The vessels engaged in the Labrador fishery first proceeded to Trepassey and St. Mary’s area early in the spring, spent a while fishing there and returned to Harbour Main to unload their catch which had been salted during the trip.  They then proceeded to the Labrador to finish off the season.  If a schooner or vessel were fishing on the Labrador the captain would take along, in addition to his crew, three or four other crews who would pay their passage down and once there would fish from the shore.

                The census[8] of 1857 shows the following statistical information on the seal fishery:

                                                Vessels engaged ................................   7

                                                Men engaged ....................................277

                                                Tonnage .......................................….947

                                                Large boats ...................................…109

                                                Nets and Seines ............................... 129

                                                Qtls. of Salmon caught ............... 13,073

                                                Qtls. of Herring caught .................... 470

                                                Seals ............................................ 3, 790

                The seal fishery was carried on by a number of schooners from Harbour Main.  A newspaper clipping reported an attempt at mutiny aboard a sealing ship, The Rainbow, skippered by Capt. William Woodford of Harbour Main.  Soon after this no more vessels from Harbour Main took part in the hunt, although Harbour Main men continued to man the sealing vessels that sailed from Brigus and St. John’s.

                Mr. Costigan gave me an account of the Labrador fishery.  Mr. Costigan, his father and two uncles worked on the Labrador for a number of years:

Even though two or three fishermen did have their own vessels in Harbour Main at the time they hired one from St. John’s, for which they paid $6 per ton.

Before the season had started, they would go to St. John’s to obtain their vessel, outfit her with supplies needed and then return to Harbour Main.  They would then pick up several crews and take them to the Labrador.  All the crews except the vessels own crew were dropped off while the vessel’s crew remained on board to do their fishing.

                Although the days of the Banks fishery have passed as far as Harbour Main is concerned, they are still remembered as a source of obtaining a livelihood by the older residents.  It was the arrival of the “Banksers” that attributed so much fun and gaiety to the young ladies of the village.  The so called “Banksers - Dances” were held in a fish warehouse where they continued until daybreak, when the dancers had to retire as a result of sheer exhaustion.

                The Banks ships usually gathered in the harbour looking for bait before proceeding to the Grand Bankss.  It was the Banks fishery that was the most important source of income during the summer months.

                Today, the only type of fishing done in Harbour Main is Squid fishing - operated not only by jiggers but also by a well known device known as the “Japanese Rig.”  This type of fishing is usually carried on by the younger men, who sell their catch to Mr. Kennedy, who, in turn transports the squid by truck to the bait depots in Harbour Grace.

                Although fishing was the chief industry of the time and the source of livelihood, a little farming was also carried on.[9]  The 1805 survey showed that almost every plot of land had a meadow or garden.  The census returns show that it operated on a rather small scale, with families growing vegetables and keeping a few cows and hens.

                In the House of Assembly Journal of 1914 the following report of the Harbour Main Agricultural Society Exhibition was given:

About twenty three years ago an Agricultural Exhibition was held at Harbour Main under the management of the Harbour Main Agricultural Society, which had been formed two years previously.  Although confined to three or four settlements the number of exhibitors and exhibits figured largely.  It remained to the present year for a general Exhibition to take place, which included the whole District from Horse Cove to Turks Gut.  This general Exhibition was advertised for the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th October, but was postponed until the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th of November, the elections taking place in the meantime.

His Excellency the governor, accompanied by Mrs. Davidson, and Captain Beech, Aide-de-Camp, opened the Exhibition, whilst in attendance were Sir E. P. Morris, Minister of Public Works and Mrs. Woodford, George Kennedy, newly elected member for the District, and the Revs. Mgr. Veitch and Fathers Finn and Nagle.

Several fine arches were erected at different points along the Harbour Street, and over them were displayed the mottos of “Welcome to our Governor,” “Vivat Rex” and “Cead Mille Falte.”

A large gathering of people from every section of the District assembled to witness the opening of this Exhibition.  After being declared open by His Excellency the Governor, the general public was admitted to the Exhibition Rooms.

The Exhibition Building on the outside was gaily bedecked with bunting and banners, whilst inside adorned with garlands, rosettes and Chinese lanterns, presented a real fairyland.

The quantity and quality of exhibits displayed exceeded the anticipation of all visitors, as well as the Committee in charge, and during the few days there was a continual rush of enthusiastic spectators from all parts of the District.

The years following the depression was a big blow to the fishing and farming of the people of Harbour Main.  Since very little fishing and farming is now being carried on, people have accepted jobs in industries as the main source of income.

                A report[10] received in 1915 concerning the previous years Agricultural season showed the following information:

Potatoes: Almost in every instance has the seed been kept from year to year.  This year disease has attacked potatoes in a few sections, but not to a very great extent.

Cattle: Horned cattle have increased about 20%.

Sheep: Sheep have increased 50% and there is plenty of pasture for much larger number of sheep.

Crops: Yield of crops has increased on an average of 20%.  Our society having no new seeds imported this year; our members speak highly of the production of the seeds of the previous 3 years distributed by the Agricultural Board.

EDUCATION

                Education was not always a public concern in Harbour Main.  Those children who did attend regularly were interested in book learning, but the majority remained home to work with their parents, either fishing or farming.

                In the inquiry held into the election riot of 1861, Jeremiah Kennedy in giving his occupation claimed that he had been a teacher for 44 years.  This, or course, would mean that Harbour Main had a teacher since 1817.

                On March 19^th, 1841, the newly formed Board of Education of Conception Bay ordered a survey be taken and issued to James T. Pendergast the following instructions: “Proceed to the several settlements in the District and request the inhabitants to place at the disposal of the Board of Education, ground for the purpose of building school houses and draw up a Memorandum of a conveyance from the proprietor of the ground and also to ascertain how many will contribute towards support of School Masters.”

                Following Pendergast’s visit to Harbour Main he submitted the following report:[11]

“The spot of land which I selected at Harbour Main for the erection of the school house on is claimed by a person who is at the ice - Bill Moore’s Hill.  Selected Admirals Beach opposite Catholic Chapel bound on West by Pat Strapp’s flake, on South-west by road, on North-east by the sea and on the South by Walter Power’s dwelling house.  Prior to my leaving the inhabitants assured me that the spot of land which I first desired would be obtained by them and placed at the disposal of the Board.  There are now two schools open in Harbour Main by Jeremiah Kennedy and Vincent Costigan (Cat’s Cove).  There are in the above places 172 children from 4-12 years - 40 of whom may be relied on to be paid for.”

                For a number of years in the settlement there existed two schools - a Convent school which began in 1853[12].  Both schools always operated side by side.  The boys would attend the convent school for the early years of their education, then they would graduate to the Master’s School.  This system was continued until 1943 when the Boys’ School closed down.  Commercial classes were discontinued in the 1950's but the Sisters still teach music up until the present day.

                The following is a report[13] from one inspector who visited the Commercial school in Harbour Main in 1860:

“This school has been altered from a Board School to a Commercial one, but the alteration is only in name, and the same leader is retained and at the same salary he formerly received.  There were about 10 pupils present on the day I visited the School, three of whom were reading; they were slated to belong to the 2^nd class and read tolerably well, but the spelling was very bad.  The writing was fair, but the majority were only beginning.  A very comfortable dwelling house for the teacher has been added to the School House, since my former visit.  It is two stores high and about 36 feet by 18 feet.  The cost of erecting it, the Chairman, Rev. Kyran Walsh states to be £50.”

CHURCH AND CONVENT

                The fine church in Harbour Main was built by Mr. LaCour, a French Huguenot who had constructed several handsome churches in different parts of the country and the holy altars he has made with his own hands are truly beautiful.  Well over a hundred years ago, a church, school and hall were built, also a convent school operated by the Presentation Sisters.  The first old hall was taken down and replaced about 15 years ago and the old church was replaced in 1916, fifty four years ago.

                The early history of the church in Harbour Main was an interesting one.  In 1755 a priest in the community was known to have offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the mass in the fishing room of a man named Keating (Katen).  The judge heard of it and Keating was condemned to pay a fine of £50.  But even this enormous penalty was not enough to satisfy the bigotry of the colonial authorities.  A ship of war lay in Holyrood.  She was round to Harbour Main and on her arrival there set Keating’s fishing stage on fire.

                Keating and several other Catholics present for the Mass were ordered to leave the country.  We find subsequently that a number of Catholics were fined to make compensation to Keating for the burning of the stage, by which it would appear either that Keating became reconciled to the Government or local authorities saw that the Turkish system of arson fell on the Catholics who were obliged to suffer the most grievous insult and persecution and fixed to make compensation for the villainy of their persecutors.  The Harbour Main Catholics had not as yet expiated their offences; all the Catholic servants in the harbour were fined and the amount of £100 levied on them.

                Another registry about the same date informs us that one Kennedy and his wife, having confessed that they were married by a priest, a penalty of £10 was imposed on the husband; his house was burned and he, himself, ordered to quit the country.

                Another incident included the following story...when the warship sailed into the harbour, it was spied and the priest escaped to the hill which was grown over by large trees.  Thinking that he was still there, the officers burned the hill to the ground – thus known today as the Burnt Hill.

                There was never any church around the Harbour Main District and mass was always celebrated in a fishing room up until 1810.  However, by this time people were becoming dissatisfied and they petitioned for a church to be built in Harbour Main.* The following letter appeared in the 1811 Colonial Records[14](* REFER TO PHOTO) dealing with the petition:

Antelope

9^th August, 1811

Sir,

                Enclosed I transmit to you the copy of a memorial from the Roman Catholics of Holyrood, Bacon Cove and Harbour Main with which memorial I have thought to comply and have accordingly granted them leave to erect their chapel in Harbour Main.

                It is therefore my direction that you take to your assistance the Deputy Sheriff and as seen as may be report to me whether if any spot of ground is especially preferred by them it may without injury to the public or to the interests of individuals be set apart for their use describing to me the extent and boundaries of the spot, that it may be made over to them in the way of a grant.  But if no particular spot has been yet their contemplation I desire that you will cause notice to be given to them forthwith in order that they may with your convenience and that of the Deputy Sheriff make their election.

I am

Signed: T. J. Duckworth

Revd. L. A. Anspach

Surrogate, Conception Bay

                The year 1853 is a very special one in the history of Harbour Main for it was on July 9^th of that year that the settlement received a convent and three Sisters of the Presentation order.  The following is a list of the earlier sisters in Harbour Main and when they died:

                                                                                                                Died

                                Sister Aloysius                                     1890

                                Sister Magdalen                                   1891

                                Sister Agnes Hoskins                                         1892       

                                Sister Mary Joseph Maher                 1904

                                Sister Teresa Murphy                                         1904

                                Sister Francis Mullally                        1908

                                Sister Dechantel Liddy                        1923

                                Sister Gonzaga Murphy                      1930

                                Sister Margaret                                     1956

                On July 12, 1853 Bishop Mullock commemorated the occasion[15]:

On the 9^th of July in the year of Our Lord, 1853 Sister Mary Xavier Maloney, Sister Mary Francis Mullally and Sister Mary Joseph Maher, Religious of the Presentation Order, came from their convent at St. John’s to establish another of their order in this town under the authority of the Right Rev. Dr. Mullock, Bishop of Newfoundland.  This day the 12^th day of July the first Mall (the word used but I assume they meant Mass) has been said in the Chapel and the Blessed Sacrament deposited therein by the said Bishop, and Sister Xavier Moleny has been confirmed by him in her office of Superioress.

                S/            John Thomas Mullock

                                Bishop of Newfoundland

                A description of that historic day and events to follow is best given by an unknown nun writing in 1875, but who, it seems was one of the original three[16].

In the year of Our Lord 1853, Mother Xavier Moleny, Sister Mary Francis Mullally, Sister Mary Joseph Maher, a novice, arrived on the 9^th of July, to found a Presentation convent in Hr. Main.  They were accompanied by Most Rev. Dr. Mullock, Lord Bishop of Nfld., Mother Magdalen O’Shangnessy, Superioress of the Presentation convent, St. John’s, and his Lordship’s Father, who was an old gentleman.  The steamer took us from St. John’s, the first ever seen in Hr. Main, which then was a great curiosity.  From early morning men and women were on every hill and rock looking out.  When the steamer came in sight, which contained the nuns, such firing of guns for eight miles along the coast that the hills and woods re-echoed with their sounds.  When the steamer arrived in the Harbour a boat was prepared and manned by the Reverend Edward O’Keefe, Catholic Curate of Harbour Main; and our Superior; to board the steamer and take the nuns on shore.  When the boat got to the shore which contained the nuns, the Bishop and his father, the men took it on their shoulders out of the water, and brought it to the Convent door, amidst the firing of guns, cheers and colours of all nations.  Women came from miles with babies in their arms to see the Nuns.  A few days after school was opened the number of children was 180 and not one could read, so we had to commence with the alphabet, without tables, but we contrived to make a few by cutting out the letters from the advertisements and hand bills and forming them into words and syllables.  The number of adults at instruction on Sundays was 200.  Many of the children who attended the school came the distance of 5 and 8 miles and continued it for many years.  Our school was too small for the number of children so we were obliged to teach classes in yard.  Up to the present time, 1876, we have sent out 6 teachers to the different schools in the parish.

The first sister professed here in the Parish Church.  People came from all quarters to witness it.  There were 200 school children dressed in white and when the Sister prostrated they began to cry out “The nun is dead.”

                From 1811 to 1857 Harbour Main did not have a priest.  It was not until Father Kyran Walsh in 1857 was appointed Parish Priest.  He was stationed from 1857-1868.  Other priests were:

                To the public the parish priest was at all times considered to be the centre of authority.  His judgement concerning all things, especially politics, education and religion was strictly adhered to.  This position of authority enabled him to receive a high degree of respect and obedience from the people.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY SOURCES

I.                     Newspapers:

(i)                   The Newfoundlander                          1861

(ii)                 The Daily News                    1861

(iii)                The Public Ledger                                1861

(iv)               The Courier                                           1861

I.                     House of Assembly Journals from 1836-1885

I.                     Census Returns: 1836, 1857, 1869, 1874, 1884, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1935, 1945

I.                     Colonial Records of 1811

I.                     Annals of the Presentation Order Convent of Harbour Main

I.                     C. O. 194 Series, Microfilm.  Newfoundland Archives

SECONDARY SOURCES

(a)                 Books:

(1)                 Bankss, Sir Joseph, Journal of a Voyage to Newfoundland and Labrador 1776.

(2)                 Howley, M. F. Ecclesiastical History of Newfoundland Boston; Doyle and Whittle Co. 1888

(3)                 Jukes, Joseph.  Excursions in and about Newfoundland during 1939-40; London: J. Murray and Co. 1842.

(4)                 Prowse, Daniel A History of Newfoundland 1834-1914 London; Eyrie and Spottiswoodels 1896

(5)                 Shortis, H. F. Pioneers of Conception Bay 1910

(a)                 Periodical

                “The Old District of Harbour Main” by W. J. Browne.

                Newfoundland Quarterly (April 1939) Vol. XXXIV.  No. 4.  Pages 10-14

APPENDIX #1

PETITION OF PATRICK STRAPP, RETURNING OFFICER FOR HARBOUR MAIN DISTRICT, ON THE SUBJECT OF COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF PROPERTY.[17]

To the Honourable the House of Assembly of Newfoundland, in Legislative Session convened:

                The Petition of Patrick Strapp, Planter, of Harbour Main, in the Island of Newfoundland, humbly showeth, –

                That on the 18^th day of May last, Anno Domino, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-one, Petitioner’s Premises in Harbour Main, numbering seven erections, were attacked by a mob of about two hundred and fifty persons; himself and his family were obliged to fly for the safety of their lives, his goods, some were stolen, others were destroyed, and all the erections, consisting of dwelling-house, stores, out-offices, etc. razed to the ground.

                That your Petitioner was Returning Officer for the District of Harbour Main, during the late election, and in that capacity endeavoured to discharge his duty fearlessly and faithfully, but that through threats and acts of violence towards himself and his family, he was compelled to deviate from such course through want of any protection; and that when such protection was afforded him, he discharged such duty in a manner which he deemed to be just and proper.

                That your Petitioner believes the mob to have been excited against him, by parties who were displeased at the decision he had justly, and as in conscience bound to, come to as said Returning Officer for the said Electoral District, with regard to the said Election as aforesaid, and that he knows of no other cause having been given to the said parties, as he has lived peaceably and inoffensively amongst the people of the said District for the last five and forty years.

                Therefore your Petitioner humbly prays your Honourable House to take the premises into your favourable consideration, and to reward him such compensation for damages actual and consequential, as in your wisdom and judgement you may deem meet.

                                And, as in duty bound, your Petitioner will ever pray.

PATRICK STRAPP, Sr.

Saint John’s, Newfoundland,

This Twenty-first Day of June, A. D., 1861

APPENDIX #1

                I, Patrick Strapp, Returning Officer for the Southern division of Conception Bay, do hereby declare that Charles Fury and George Hagsett have been duly returned members of the House of Assembly for the said Southern Division and I have publicly declared them returned accordingly.

Harbour Main                                                                                       Patrick Strapp

May 4, 1861                                                                                           Returning Officer

APPENDIX # 2

AGRICULTURE

                                                                Produce of Land                                                                                                                   Livestock

APPENDIX #3

SHORE FISHERY

LABRADOR FISHERY

APPENDIX #4

RETURN OF THE CONVENT SCHOOLS

for the years 1860-1874 (inclusive)

LOCALITY: Harbour Main

APPENDIX #4

RETURN OF THE COMMERCIAL SCHOOL

for the years 1836-1876 (inclusive)

LOCALITY: Harbour Main

APPENDIX # 5

By Richard Edwards Esq. Governor

and Commander in Chief in

the island of Nfld.

Whereas Wm. Hearney and four others who served James Wall at Hr. Main during the summer having petitioned me, setting forth that Mr. Benjamin Linthorne, has taken all the fish and oil the produce of their voyage and that the sale Wall has not any remaining to pay them the balance of their voyages.

                You are hereby required and directed cause the said Linthorne to pay the balance of the said men’s wages or seize so much of his efforts as well pay the same, or direct him to appear before me at St. John’s and cause for his refusal.

Given under my hand on board his

Majesty’s ship Portland at St. John’s

Oct. 21, 1779

To. Charles Garland, Esq.

J. P. at Hr. Grace

By Commission of His Excellency

                                A. J.

APPENDIX # 6

CENSUS