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Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia
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Author:  kathie [ Sun Jun 06, 2010 8:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

My great grandparents, Patrick Dunphy and Katherine Foran moved in 1901 from Newfoundland to Rossland, British Columbia with several children including my grandmother who was less than a year old. This has really peaked my curiousity as to why they would move/travel such a long way especially in the winter months. It must have been a very long grueling trip over rough terrain. Does anyone have any insight as to what on earth would make a family relocate so far, and what their trip may have been like back in 1901? Very curious what life was like back then in Canada especially Newfoundland. (Just saw the movie Shipping News... :) )

Author:  kathie [ Sat Sep 18, 2010 12:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

I'm a little surprised that no one has bothered to respond. We all have much in common having relatives from Newfoundland, I would think people would be conversing a little more. Oh well.... It would have been really interesting to find out about Newfoundland and Canada long ago, even 50 years ago or so.

Author:  JRLander [ Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Kathie,

Sorry to have offended you. Us Newfoundlanders are rather courteous and friendly. Perhaps most felt they were not familiar enough with the situation to comment on it. Personally I don't know if I've ever heard of a family from Newfoundland moving all the way to BC in the early 1900's. It would be interesting to know where on the island your ancestors were from. Most of my ancestors that moved away from home during that time period moved to the north eastern United States.
I do not claim to be an expert in Newfoundland history, but there could have been a number of factors that may have contributed to their move across the Canada. Employment would have been a big factor. Life was tough in Nefoundland during that period and most employment relied, directly or indirectly, upon the fishery. A bad fishing year usually resulted in a bad winter. The fish merchants ran the show, and they made a fortune off the backs of the struggling fishermen.
Another factor could have been family. If there were other family members who lived in BC, they could have followed them. Or, I've also heard of splits in families that have caused people to move far away. In my wife's family, for instance, there is a story of a man who married a Catholic girl, however his protestant Anglican family did not approve and he moved with his wife to the other side of the island of Newfoundland.
Another possibility, which I hesitate to mention, but has been know to be a reason for moving is the law. Often if someone was in trouble with the law, they would run as far as possible. Not saying this is the case here, but such stories are not rare.
I hope this helps. If you'd really like to get an idea of early life in Newfoundland, there are a few books out there which could help you understand. Ebay would be a great place to look. Maybe someone else on this forum would have some suggestions.

Author:  kathie [ Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Thanks so much for replying. My post was not supposed to sound like I was mad, (even though it did...lol ) and I wasn't offended by no replies (maybe discouraged) but I had just looked at post after post of people asking questions with no answers. I think it would be great if we all shared more general info.
See, your info is what I was wondering about. Was it common for folks to up and move like that? Since writing that I have found my g grandfather and family in Halifax Nova Scotia, and seems he lived in B.C. before that, ended up in Burke Idaho. I believe he was a miner, blacksmith and several other things. I guess he just was going where the work was like you said. I imagine life to have been hard in Newf. back then. My g grandfather was born in Holyrood, but there are so many others with the name Patrick Dunphy I can't really tell where else he lived...I would really love to visit and check out all the little towns I read about.
Thanks for the rec about finding some books on e-bay. Do you or anyone else know of any good ones?

Author:  Babs [ Wed Nov 03, 2010 3:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Kathie, just read your post. And I enjoyed the reply regarding Nfld. My family left 1887 to Montreal, then the sons left to British Columbia. My gr gr grandfather was a fisherman turned carpenter. I can only assume it was about employment [My gr grandfather had to leave the family @ 15 yrs old, "too many mouths to feed" = 7 children living, 3 had died.
The good news; just last week connected w/cousin from BC of 2 of the grgrgrandfather's sons. [ I could not find much info about them in BC], right here on this message board !! Years I was looking!!
Do post as much information that's possible. And ebay has many postcards from nfld, informative to look at. Good Luck

Author:  kathie [ Sat Nov 06, 2010 3:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

That's good to hear, Babs! Yes, I think my ancestors had left Newfoundland for work also, as other family members did the same I found out.

Author:  Raelene Earle [ Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Hi Kathy,
My husbands family had several members move to Vancouver from St John's at the turn of the last century as well. One great aunt, Emma Bowden QUICK m Wm Geo HUDSON, moved around 1909 to Vancouver. William followed his two brothers, Alex and John HUDSON. They may have worked on the railway as many of the post cards I've seen from that time are of the railway and station.

Another great uncle was a member of the Ironmakers Union there, again matching with working on the railway.

Author:  SeekerofAncestors [ Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Hello Kathie :)

Brand new to the forum, so that's why I'm only responding now.
(LOL, and giving the moderator some work to do, because s/he must review & approve my first post before allowing it - after that I can post away - BUT I've been doing a bit of responding anyway, so guess they will all have to be checked. ;) I'll make yours the last until I'm 'cleared'!)

You wondered why your ancestors would move across country - and that it might have been a gruelling trek.

Most of us have watched too much American TV about their old west. In actual fact the majority of western Canada didn't really open up until the railway was built (completed by 1871 - at least that's when BC joined Canada and railway was a condition of them joining). The majority of our ancestors went west not in covered wagons but by rail - including a rail link up to Rossland! Just goes to show that Canadians know how to do it with style, LOL.

As to why they went: good possibility it was because of the Le Roi gold mine. I'm a curious (nosy?) sort, so went looking ... and found this web site: www. rosslandmuseum. ca -- didn't write it as a proper URL because it went "wonky" in preview. Anyway ... when you get to the site, there is a link on the left side to Le Roi Mine tour, and "life of a hard rock gold miner as it was at the turn of the century."

Cheers
J

Author:  SeekerofAncestors [ Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Everyone's posts, including my own, pretty much say the same thing ... probably left Newfoundland to find work.

Observation: Unfortunately, that fact hasn't changed, has it? :( The large Newfoundland population in Fort McMurray is simply the current, most prominent example.

My Great Grandfather (McCarthy) & family and my Grandfather (Emberly) left approx. the same time as Kathie's ancestor, but at least didn't go too far. Cape Breton - to the Sydney coal mine, and I don't think it gets much dirtier (or unhealthy!) than that!

Cheers
J

Author:  kathie [ Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Thanks for your replies, it's fascinating to try to figure out what made families do certain things. It was definitely the mining that made them move, and thanks for the info on the mines I will check it out. Not sure which mines they were working in but can find out I think... :)

Author:  Denny [ Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Hi, my grandfather left Newfoundland to find work in Ontario and it seems that quite a few of his Churchill relatives moved there too. These Churchills were originally from Portugal Cove. Next he went to Winnipeg, then to Los Angeles, and eventually ended up in Vancouver/Burrard sometime before the 1901 census. He made a good living there, being a builder, and then a store owner.. :

Author:  DJC56 [ Wed Sep 07, 2011 10:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Hi, My father and 2 of his brothers left Newfoundland as a teenager in the 1920s. He was #8 of 9 children. They went from paper mill to paper mill until he was halfway across Canada. One of his brothers made all the way to BC, too. I know that they all work on the TransCanada Highway along the way.

Author:  newfiekelly [ Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

....apparently, there was a gold rush...

Author:  kathie [ Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

My ancestors ended up working in silver mines in Idaho, think the ones in BC were too.

Author:  Carolyn [ Sun Oct 09, 2011 2:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
My grandfather came from St John's to Vernon BC in 1908. He followed his brother Charlie who had come to BC in the 1880s. His sister had come to BC around 1902 and lived for a time in the Rossland area. I suspect that there were a great many reasons to come across the country too. Work is one, following family members is another. It might be the adventure and the possibility of a new life in a new province. A chance to change their fortunes. My grandfather's family was well off financially but his father had died when he was only 2 years old, he was the youngest of 16 children and it may have been that his domineering mother wanted him to "go to the church". I am guessing that he was not interested in becoming a Reverend and pursued other options. Uncle Charlie was probably looking for adventure and Aunt Flo married another Newfoundlander who traveled to BC as well.

I also have family members that left Newfoundland for the Boston area.

Carolyn

Author:  Lindamc [ Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Hi Kathie,

I am fairly new to the ancestor tracing game. I do have a collection of photos that I discovered after my mom passed away. Among them are some photos from BC. I know this because of the stamp on the back is Vancouver Drug Co. I think the pictures may be around 1920's/30's. I suspect people went to BC form my one of my ancestor regions of Notre Dame Bay to work in the forestry industry. I am having a hard time determining who the people in the photos are ..may be Lacey's and/or Lilly's from Exploits.. not sure.

Reading news from The Twillingate Sun occasionally I would come across statements like ..so and so was visiting form British Columbia...or so and so left to go to British Columbia. It seems that the Newfoundland migration to BC from Notre Dame Bay was pretty well established from late 1800's onward.

Linda

Author:  khansen555 [ Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

My family (Thompson/Snow) came from The Ponds, Bareneed, Newfoundland to Vancouver, BC. My 2x great-grandfather Robert William Thompson came in 1896 to work on the CPR in northern BC. By 1898, he called for his fiancé Catherine 'Kate' Snow and they were married in 1899 in Vancouver. From what I hear, life on the fishing boats was extremely hard. Robert planned on giving up fishing, but after a few short years, he eventually took to the waters again and became a deep-sea halibut fisherman until 1940. During WWI he rigged sailing vessels in a North Vancouver shipping yard. During WWII he was the rigging foreman at Burrard Shipyards. After the war, he began gillnetting in his own boat, but quit in 1951 because of ill health. I'd love to hear from anyone who knows more about these families!

Karen

Author:  pmdriscoll [ Thu Oct 31, 2013 12:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

I did not read all the answers you received and I know it's been awhile since you originally posted. My Great Grandfather also traveled to Rossland from Newfoundland and it was specifically to work in the mines. Hard rock mining was, and maybe still is, a big deal in Rossland and my relatives at least worked the mines in upper Newfoundland. Little Bay area to be precise.

Author:  karendavis65 [ Thu Oct 31, 2013 12:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Kathie,
HI am not sure if this is your ancestor or not but thought I would put it here for you to see...as you say there are many, many Dunphy's, especially Patrick's....is it possible that
Katherine was spelled with a C or that they misspelled it ?

PARISH RECORDS*
Register of Baptisms / (Original Parish Register) /District of Placentia and St. Mary's
Argentia - Holy Rosary
Roman Catholic/ 1835 – 1837/ Source: LDS Reel 2169241

DUNPHY, John parents: Patrick DUNPHY Catherine ??AMP?? 6 August 1837
Witnesses: Pat Phoran Catherine Mcgrath / M. Nowlan

*During its many years of storage in cold damp conditions in the church- the register in which these entries were made received significant water damage at the end area of many pages - with the result that the last two or three entries on many of these pages are seriously compromised and difficult or impossible to decipher - Transcriber

Could K/Catherine's maiden name have been spelled Phoran instead of Foran or maybe misspelled also?? this is the only Catherine Phoran I found so far connected with Patrick Dunphy.
Hope this can help....I understand your wanting to know why they moved too...as my Grandparents also moved in 1909 to Revere, Mass and Everett, Mass. As I was told, one of the reasons was definitely work related and Boston, Mass area being a fishing port then, was an encouragement to move that way. Hope you find some more answers. happy searching!

Author:  kathie [ Sat Nov 02, 2013 12:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Thanks for looking that up. This was long before Patrick and Katherine (yes i've seen it as Catherine too) were born but could well be a relative, I'll have to look into it.

Mining is definitely the reason for their migration, they eventually ended up in Burke Idaho where some other relatives had ventured before them... so very interesting...

Author:  pmdriscoll [ Sat Nov 02, 2013 3:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

They were on the exact same trajectory as my relatives Patrick and Catherine Kelly Driscoll. They also moved from Rossland to Burke. I think about 1917. Guess that's where the work was. ;)

Author:  kathie [ Sat Nov 02, 2013 12:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Our ancestors probably knew each other. My great great aunt (I think) ran a hotel there. Have you seen the documentary about Burke called "Burke-The Story of a Frontier Mining Town"? It was made by a distant cousin of mine, my relatives are all over it... Awesome pictures and great stories, perhaps even pics of your relatives too. I ordered it from KSPS tv station in Spokane.

My ancestors ended up living in Wallace Idaho and still have cousins of my mom's there. I'm going to visit next year and visit the cemetary there...

Author:  karendavis65 [ Sat Nov 02, 2013 3:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Kathie,
Could this have been your Patrick? This would have made him around 35 when he moved to
BC?? Or is this still not the correct time period? Are the parents names familiar as your ancestors??

DUNPHY , Patrick B./Bap. 1866 14? December Parents: William DUNPHY/ Anne SMITH Witnesses: Martin Dunphy Ann Lynch R.D.

Author:  kathie [ Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

No, my Patrick was born March 1865, his parents were Thomas Dunphy and Anne Morrissey.... lots of Patrick Dunphys around... lol

Author:  karendavis65 [ Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Kathie,
Apparently Patrick had a brother also....see below. Perhaps you already have this info?
Still looking for more on Patrick!

Born: 1867 34 Michael Dunphy / Parents: Thomas Dunphy Anne Morrissey
Holyrood /Bap. 22 Apr Patrick O'Donnell / Witnesses: Patrick Corbett , Sarah Moore

Author:  kathie [ Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Yes, thanks I've already found out as much as I could about him from this site, I'm sure there is more out there somewhere though... I appreciate you're trying to help!

Author:  pmdriscoll [ Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Katie, thanks for the info on the Burke documentary. I have not seen it but will look into getting it. I'll see if my dad has any memory of your relatives. He spent a lot of time in Burke in the 30's with his grandparents. Maybe he knows something.

Author:  kathie [ Tue Nov 05, 2013 11:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Thanks pmdriscoll!

Author:  pmdriscoll [ Wed Nov 06, 2013 2:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

His exact words were: "I think I do remember hearing of (or seeing ) the Dunphy name in the context of family and Burke but it could be wishful thinking." He does think someone else we are related to may possibly have some information. If it turns out, I'll post here.

Author:  greg [ Wed Nov 20, 2013 4:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Move from Newfoundland to British Columbia

Hi Kathie,

Yes, along with too many Patrick's there are too many Dunphy's named Thomas, John and Michael.

I just posted some Dunphy information under "Surnames" under the subject "Dunphy Families Avalon Peninsula". You may be interested as it involves your family.

Greg

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