NL GenWebBurin Roman Catholic Parish RegisterBaptisms (Partial-Selected) (1836-1859) The following is a list of Newfoundland Mi'kmaw baptismal entries extracted from the Burin RC parish records. It is not clear from the records whether the Mi'kmaw extended kin groups travelled from Fortune-Hermitage Bays to Burin to engage the services of a parish priest, or whether a parish priest from the Burin district travelled to the Fortune-Hermitage area to deliver essential church services to the local group from there. In all probability it is almost certain that the extended NL Mi'kmaw groups availed of both scenarios whenever a parish priest could be procured. Note that after 1859 there are no more Mi'kmaw entries listed in the Burin RC records as a priest was stationed in the Fortune Bay district, thus not necessitating travel of these families to the Burin peninsula for these essential church services. Note that whenever the orthographic transcription is in question, or the handwriting of the parish priest who transcribed the records is illegible, an approximate spelling is given in square brackets after each given or family name. This retranscription attempts to capture the form that is commonly and currently accepted among living descendants or related kin-groups, as the standardized norm. Source: Burin Roman Catholic Baptisms Box 1 PANL-The Rooms Corp. Transcribed & contributed by Dwayne Pike.
1836 1846
Transcriber Notes: 1 The variant orthographic form Beasil presented here for the common Nl Mi'kmaw surname Brazil (sic.) may reflect a spelling more consistent with Mi'kmaw pronunciation; cf. Mc Pa'silek "Brazill Lake (Hermitage)" (Hewson 1978:6). Note also the loss of r in the initial consonant cluster pr-, where one would expect pr- and not attested p-. Hewson, John. 1978. Micmac Place Names in Newfoundland. Regional Language Studies No. 15, pp. 1-20. 2 This Silvester (sic.) patriline may be related to the Sylvester (sic.) patriline of the Joseph (later Joe) extended NL Mi'kmaq group. According to some scholars in the field the NL Joseph line presumably derives from a Joseph Sylvester, noted NL MI'kmaw guide, who accompanied W. E. Cormack on his trans-island trek (1822), whereafter the name and surname were transposed giving Sylvester Joseph. However, the presence of the Joseph family in the Baie Despoir region ca. 1790-1791, according to the Newman Little Bay Ledgers, and the Silvester one in the Burin RC records suggests that both lines may be distinct. To date, it is not known how and if both patrilines are related. Further research is required. Note also the presence of the Silvester (sic.) family in the Tilting RC records; cf. Charlotte Silvester as a sponsor, along with Peter Joe, to Susan Joe, child of Abraham Joe and Ellen Clarke, both of Hall's Bay [Tilting RC 1862]. 3 It is not known if Keefe here is a Mc family name, although in all probability an Irish family; however, note the presence of Mi'kmaw name Caif (sic.) as listed in the St. Bernard, Neguac RC parish registers (Leavitt 1998:47), which appears to be a corruption of the ancient hereditary name Cope. Source: Leavitt, Robert M. 1998. Maliseet & Micmac Vital Statistics from New Brunswick Church Records. Micmac-Maliseet Institute. University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B..[ISBN: 1-55131-007-4] Also online at the Memorial University Digital Archives Initiative: http://collections.mun.ca. 4 The Christopher line mentioned here may be related to the one listed in the Newman Little Bay Ledgers. Note also the presence of a John Christopher at Halls Bay in the Tilting Harbour RC records married to a Mary Stevens [Tilting Harbour RC 1878, PANL]. 5 It is not known if the father listed here is a Michael Michael, or a Michael with given name not given. Another possibility is that this is John Michael listed elsewhere in the Burin RC records. 6 This may be an attempted transcription of a French or a NL Mi'kmaw family name; cf. the Malouin or Breton family name Belorm(e), for which the place name Belloram is named. Note that Captain William Taverner on his coastal survey reported discovering at Bandalore (sic.) [Bande de L'Arier], Bay de Noor [now Bay de Nord], Fortune Bay, "several houses wch (sic.) belonged to Monsr. Belorm, a Malouin Gentleman, who hath winterd (sic.), in that place 20 Years,…" (Taverner 1718:232) Wix (1835:76) gives Belorin (sic.) rather than expected Belloram. Source: Captain Taverner, 1718. A Copy of Captain Taverner's Second Report Relating to Newfoundland [The National Archives (PRO) CO 194/6: 226-24/v: Reference: NAC MG 11, Microfilm copy, Reel B-208]. Coincidentally, in the 1921 NL census Peter John, of Glenwood, son of Peter John and Mary Brazil, gave his place of birth as Belloram, FB. 7 Brunaul (sic.) here may be the given name of Bernard John also listed elsewhere in the Burin RC church records. Compare the form Brunaul (sic.) here with the family name Brunal [Bernard, from earlier Pekitualuet] listed in the 1790-1791 Newman Little Bay Ledgers. 8 This may be the same James John, listed as a Mountaineer Indian from Labrador, mentioned in Cormack (1928:150). Note the marriage of a John John to Flora Francis at Norris Point on Oct. 5, 1906, in the Whitbourne RC (Gambo District) parish registers (Whitbourne RC Marriages Box 1, PANL). An alternative explanation here is that the James John listed here in the Burin RC records is a brother or paternal uncle of Lewis and Peter John as named in the register. This may be the same James John as noted in historical records as hired by the Beothuk Institute in search of possible survivors of that group. Following the formation of the Beothuk Institute W. E. Cormack sought the guiding services of James John, noted Mountaineer Indian, and Morriss Lewis [or Maurice Louis], both then residing at Gander Bay, along with John Lewis in pursuit of Beothuk survivors [Marshall 195]. Source: Marshall, Ingeborg. 1996. A History and Ethnography of the Beothuk. Montreal: McGill University Press. An excerpt from Wix (1836) gives Maurice Lewis and Jean Baptiste as Cormack's two principal guides hired by the Beothuk Institute: "For this purpose I hired, on the Bay Despair, Maurice Louis, a Micmac Indian, one of Mr. Cormack's suite, while he had been similarly engaged; Jean Bapitiste (sic.) [Baptiste], Mr. Cormack's principal guide was at that time, at the back of the land, as they term that part of the island which is about river Exploits in the north. The Indians also call the river Exploits the Spread [Mc Sple'tk] for the size of the stream. He returned in a few days, having been confined a week in the county from snow blindness" (Wix 1835:84). Source: Wix, Edward. 1836. Six Months of a Missionary's Journal. Smith, Elder & Co., London. If this is the same Jean Baptiste (Sekaquet) listed in the Saint Pierre Miquelon parish registers up until 1795, and the one listed in the Pictou 1801 census, then a name change from Baptiste to John would have occurred sometime during this time period, say ca. 1795-1800. We do know that John Baptiste was listed in the Newman Little Bay Ledgers for 1790-1791 as one of the Indian hunters (whether Mi'kmaq or Mountaineer) having an account with an outstanding balance. It is not known if the James John listed here is one and the same as the Little Jim John [James John Junior] listed in Speck (1922:132) as the name of a NL Mi'kmaw propietor having a traditional family hunting territory at "Grandy's Brook and King George IV Lake to high barrens near coast". Source: Table Micmac-Montagnais Families and their Hunting Territories in Newfoundland in Speck, Frank G. 1922. Beothuk and Micmac. New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. It is not known if this Little Jim John is the son of James John Senior, as mentioned in Cormack (1822), or the son of Peter John and Mary Brazil. If the latter hypothesis is correct, it would make him the brother of Lewis John (b. ca. 1825-6), and Peter John (b. ca. 1846), he would have been born ca. 1820-1830 (or later). This would rule him out as a possible candidate for the James John listed here. Note also a John F. (or P.) John listed a licensed guide for Flat Bay in the 1911 Directory of Newfoundland Licensed Guides. It is also doubtful that the Jean Baptiste listed in the Sandy Point-Immaculate Conception RC Death Register, who was buried at on Apr. 14 F, 1851 at the age of 50 years, having died 18 years earlier [ca. 1833-1834], is one and the same as James John listed in various historical sources and parish registers. Evidence for this derives from the fact that James John [or John James] was still alive in 1839, as attested by his presence as a sponsor to the child of John & Jane Michael [Mitchell/Michel]. Powell (personal communication 2006) noted the presence of a Thomas Agathe (or Michel/Mitchell) at the wake of said Jean Baptiste above, implying a connection or a relationship based either on kinship or friendship, or both for the Baptiste and Mitchell families. One can see this connection in the historical records between the Michel/Mitchell and Baptiste lines when we cite Cartwright's reference to meeting both families hunting together as a group at Quirpont Harbour, northern peninsula, on July 31, 1785: "two families of Mountaineer Indians (old Captian Jock and John Babtista[sic.] [Baptiste/Battiste]) came in here from westward in two French bateaux, intending to go to the island of Bell [sic.] Isle a deer-hunting, there being great numbers on it (Cartwight 1792 (3): 63). Source: Journal of Transactions and Events during a Residence of nearly Sixteen Years on the coast of Labrador….(3 Vol.), Allan & Ridge, Newark, England (also referenced on Mattie Mitchell Webpage: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~fgp/captj.htm). Millais (1907:222) gives Mickey John and Peter John as proprietors of a family hunting territory at St. John's Pond. This is assumed to be the same John Pond, presumably named after the family of same name, mentioned in the 1863 McKay Northern Mail Route Survey, after reaching the Terra Nova River, which flows into Lake St. John [John Pond]. On the 15 th it cleared up, and we received a visit from Mickey John and a little boy of nine -his nephew, named Steve John, who were on their way to Sambatesta [sic.] (St. John's Lake), where they meant to spend the fall trapping "wood cats (martens)" (Millais 1907: 280). Millais, J. G. 1907. Newfoundland and its Untrodden Ways. Longmans, Green and Co. London. Note also the presence of the NL Mi'kmaw place name or toponym Sa'n'patistek "Brunette Island, Fortune Bay" (lit. at Jean-Baptiste) (Hewson 1978:18). This place name in all likelihood may refer to an area seasonally exploited by a Mi'kmaw hunter by name of Jean Baptiste. P. Jeddore to Stoker interview (unpublished, no date) gives the following information on the place of origin of the John family "the Johns came from near Terra Nova River" (Philip Jeddore, personal communication, 2006). There is also a Peter John Sr. son of Patist [Baptiste] listed in a 1801 Census for Pictou County (Philip Jeddore, personal communication, 2006). Philip Jeddore is of the opinion based on his family history research for this family that Peter John is the founder of the NL John family line and not James John (Philip Jeddore, personal communication, 2006). He also cites information elicited from a Peter Algonquin (or Algonkin) [probably from Grandy's Brook area] who was of the opinion that James John may not have had children and may have returned to Labrador, where he may have died (Philip Jeddore, personal communication, 2006). Michael Wetzell, an established and renown Newfoundland First Nations lawyer, of Shawnee Indian descent, with a private legal firm, gave the following information on the John family. The information was compiled from years of conducting fieldwork interviews with Conne River and Newfoundland Mi'kmaw elders, the partial results of which have been incorporated in his Master of Laws thesis from Dalhousie University, titled Decolonizing Ktaqmkuk History (1996). Wetzell is married to a John descendant believed to be the great-great-granddaughter of James John. He gives the following information as an alternative hypothesis on the ethnic origin and place of origin for the John families of Newfoundland. The John families are associated with Placentia Bay. We believe the John family came from near Swift Current-a place called Piper's Hole (Wetzel 2000:54). My research suggests that James John was probably a Beothuck who married into a Mi'kmaq family (Wetzel 2000:58). The Johns had a Red Indian connection to the Placentia Bay area. Mi'kmaq names that came from Piper's Hole are John [Baptiste], Barrington and Bernard [Pekitualuet] (Wetzel 2000:62). There are Barringtons in Badger who came originally from Piper's Hole. My wife's being a family tree. The Johns and Bernards intermarried some time ago, before they moved to Conne River (Wetzel 2000:65) Source: Stories of the Mi'kmaq. 2000. Calvin Coish (ed.). College of the North Atlantic. Grand Falls, NL. Note also the presence of Baptiste (also Battiste) familes listed in the Channel Anglican church records (PANL Reel 51), as well as John Battas [Battiste] listed in the 1870-1 Macapline Business Directory. In all probability this Baptiste [Battiste] line is distinct from the NL Mi'kmaw one. Further research is required to disambiguate this apparent coincidence. 9 This may be Newell Christopher listed in entry no. 7 above for Aug. 1837. If so, the baptism of 2 Newell Christopher children seems questionable, although not impossible. It was not uncommon to rename a child after a previously deceased child. The absence of first or given names in this entry makes a definitive assignment somewhat problematic. It is also possible that there were two related people by name of Newell Christopher during the same time period. 10 This may be the same Daniel Bumbo [Benoit / Benwa] & Susan Bumbo [nee John]. The surname Bumbo (sic.) appears to be a corruption of the French-Mi'kmaw family name Benoit(e) (also Benwa) (Melvin Jeddore, personal communication, 1999). As the labialized segment -nw-, does not exist in the Mi'kmaw language, as prohibited by phonotactic restrictions, the complex segment may be approximated or assimilated as -mw-, and then mb. Hence, a name like Benoit would be pronounced phonetically by a fluent Mi'kmaw speaker as [b?mbwa] ~ [b?mbo], as if reflecting orthographic 11 It is not known whether George Michel (Micthell) is a relative of the Michel (Agathe) or Mitcell line as listed here. Correspondence with a private researcher and genealogist specializing in the NL Michel Mi'kmaw patrline failed to connect a George Michel to this extended NL Mi'kmaw group (Fred Powell, personal communication, 2006). Further research on this Geoge Michel is required to determine whether a relationship can be ascertained. The name itself suggests some connection with the Michel or Mitchell line of Mi'kmaq-Montagnais origin, but caution should be exercised until further evidence emerges to prove otherwise. 12 This is cross-referenced with no. 18 above on July 1839 for David and Susan above. 13 Information on the origin of this name is lacking. There may be a connection with the Lewis line, which according to Nl Mi'kmaw family historian and genealogist Philip Jeddore, derives from Labrador. Note that Maurice Lewis, son of John Lewis and Jane Bask, is listed as Lewis Morris in one historical reference. 14 The presence of a John Michael Sr. implies that there was a John Michael Jr. in contrast to distinguish both. It is difficult to distinguish both from the records at hand as detailed information and consistency seems to be lacking. 15 Healy (sic.) seems to be another variant of the NL Mi'kmaw family name Heri or Huri as listed in the Saint Pierre et Miquelon parish registers (1764-1848). 16 Gisbourne (1851) in his diary narrating the exploratory survey of southern Newfoundland briefly mentions a Mi'kmaq by last name of Antoine. The place name Attuenek (Hermitage) may be derived from this family name. Toney appears to be a truncation or shortening of the French-Mi'kmaw family name Antoine. 17 It is not known if Aquila Francis listed here is of NL Mi'kmaw descent. The surname Francis suggests this connection. In addition, the date of the baptism corresponds with that of the other register entry for George Hoskins and Mary Macdonald, with sponsors David Morris and Mary Bobbett. These family names as well as the sponsors are all strongly associated with the Conne River and St. Alban's (formerly Ship Cove [Mc Sipko'p]) areas. 18 The family name Bobbett is assumed to non-Mi'kmaq, deriving from the neighboring Milltown area. 19 Mary Warren here may be a relative of the Egbert Warren listed as one of the guides, along with John Barrington and Edward Poulet, employed by the Reid Company in the 1875 survey of the Black River-Piper's Hole watershed area. Note also the presence of a Mary Warren baptized on June 9th 1872 in the Harbour Grace Parish, listed as an Adult Indian, of John Warren & Mary Walsh, with sponsors Wm Dunn & Ellen Callahan, baptized by F. D. Falconis (HGRC Baptisms PANL). 20 Jedore (sic.) as listed here is an obvious orthographic variant or phonetic approximation of the ancient hereditary NL Mi'kmaw family name Jeddore [from Mc we'jitu(r/l) 'It find it', or kejitu(r/l) ~ ke'itu(r/l) 'I know it'] should be distinguished from a similar spelt surname Ledore found in the PANL Civil registration Vital Statistics Return of Deaths (1890-1892) for St. Barbe-Northen Penisnula, originating from France. 21 It is not known if this is Lewis John who married Esther Poulet(te) as listed in the Fortune RC parish registers, or the same Lewis John as married to Catherine Mansfield (or Banfield) of Southern Harbour. If this is not the same Lewis (or Louis) John then it may be a paternal uncle or cousin. In all probability this Lewis John may be the same as hired to carry the mail during winter service from Brigus to Sound Island-Piper's Hole and then to Greenspond (JHA 1864). Postcript: Any omissions or errors are the result of the researcher and transcriber alone. Any feedback or input so as to open an academic dialogue on the subject matter is warmly welcomed. Hopefully, research in this area of NL Mi'kmaq family history of unpublished parish registers will stimulate further academic research and altruistic sharing of information and knowledge in this little known area of study, and as such encourage future researchers to undertake interest in this. For further exposition or information on these or other related NL MI'kmaq family names or patrilines and their respective family histories the reader is politely asked to consult the preeminent experts in the field, notably Philip Jeddore of Miawpukek (Conne River), Hermitage, renown genealogist, and private researcher of NL-Conne River Mi'kmaw genealogy and family-community history (contact: phil.jeddore@gmail.com), as well as Fred Powell's personal webpage on the Mitchell family. |
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