NAME OF PERSON	RESIDENCE	ANNUAL SUM
John Power (Indian boy)	Carbonear	Cy - £ 6 0 0
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Harbour Grace, April 30th 1850		Thomas Deason, S.P. R. J. Pinsent, S.P.

Source: PANL Journal of the House of Assembly J 123 K3 3rd Session of the 4th G.A. Transcriber Notes: 1 It is not known if the "Indian boy" as listed here in the Poor Returns child is of Newfoundland Mi'kmaq or Labrador Montganis-Naskapi (Innu). Other JHA Poor Returns give Pourr (sic.), as if reflecting orthographic , as an alternative form of Power. While it is possible that Power (or Pourr) is a variant of the common Newfoundland-Nova Scotia Family Name, in all probability both are distinct. While such cases of documented adoption are not unknown they are relatively rare in Newfoundland. Such archival evidence could conceivably assist any possible descendants of this said individual in retracing their ancestry and finding more particulars on their cultural heritage and ethnic background. There are at least two other recorded instances of Indian children or adults being adopted into Anglo-Irish families, as recorded in public access parish registers or vital statistics records. The first relates to the adoption of a child by name of Mary Lynch raised by an Indian woman from Quripon (no name given), and presumably adopted by the Lynch family of Tickle Harbour in 1858. This said Indian woman noted above may be one of the two Indian women listed in the 1857 NL census for Cape Norman, with a lone Indian male also listed as resident in the neighbouring community of Quirpon. A possible reason for such an adoption may have been the death of this unknown woman, who appears to have been a primary sponsor, guardian, and caregiver of this child. From the evidence it appears that the Lynch family of Tickle Harbour may have been either close friends, or perhaps relatives of this Indian woman, as they were entrusted with the child's upbringing. If neither, it suggests at least that the Lynch family were in the area of Cape Norman at this period of time, and were somehow associated, whether directly or indirectly, with this Indian family. The exact circumstances under which this child was adopted, and from which family she was raised, are not known at this date. Further research is required, although in all probability it may be impossible to retrace with accuracy the true origins of this particular adoptive child. The details of the baptism are as follows: 1858 Aug 28th Mary Lynch Bapt. Mary of John Lynch & Elizabeth Dwyer Sponsors: Rev. J. Brown & Honora Connolly Tickle Harbour (reased [sic.]) by an Indian woman at Cape Norman up to the age of eight years Note that there are two different versions of the same baptismal entry, the first without reased, and the second, which appears to be a copy of the first, with the word reased (sic.) included. For this reason, I have chosen to enclose it in brackets so as to indicate that it may be a secondary feature added by the transcriber to the original parish transcript, perhaps forgotten or deleted in the original and later added after remembering the forgotten word. The circumstances surrounding the upbringing of this child, whether Native or non-Native, in a presumed Newfoundland Mi'kmaw family, and then adoption into an Irish settler family may somehow be linked to the baptism of an Adult Indian (sic.) by name of Margaret Warren, the details of which are listed in the following HGRC (Harbour Grace Roman Catholic) Vital Statistics (bound volume) baptismal entry: Date: June 1872 Date of Birth: Uncertain Place of Birth: Parish of Harbour Grace Names of Parents: Warren, John & Mary Name of Child: Margaret (Adult Indian) Registering Officer: F. D. Falconis Date of Baptism: June 8th Remarks: 9-baptized when adult [HGRC Vital Stats Vol. 42, PANL] In contrast to the above Vital Stats entry, the following HGRC parish register entry gives more detailed information on particulars such as date of baptism, surname of mother, and names of sponsors: Date: June 9th 1872 Name of Child: Margaret (Adult Indian) Names of Parents: John Warren & Mary Walsh Sponsors: Wm Dunn & Ellen Callahan Registering Priest: F.D. Falconis, O.S.F. [HGRC Baptisms PANL Box 2] It is known that the Lynch and Warren families of Trinity-Tickle Harbour, Trinity Bay are related through kinship ties. In all probability the Warren family listed here in the HGRC records are somehow, at least distantly, related to the Warren family of Tickle Harbour which appears to have deep connections to the Black River, Placentia Bay area, and the Cook Harbour-Quirpon-Cape Norman area of the St. Barbe (Northern Penisnula) district. The exact details of how these families are related through kinship and/or intermarriage have not been confirmed to dated, thus requiring further research. A connection with the Egbert Warren listed as a guide along with John Barrington and Edward Poulite [Poulet] in the 1875 Reid Newfoundland Company railroad survey of the Piper's Hole-Black River watershed areas may be possible. A similar scenario of a Mi'kmaq child [born ca. 1843-4] being adopted into a non-Mi'kmaw community has been recorded in the Nova Scotia Commissioner of Indian Affairs fond or collection document, dated 1850, the details of which follow: Title: Petition of Josiah Doane for assistance in keeping and orphaned Mi'kmaq boy at Barrington. "During the winter of 1851 and Indian Boy of Seven or Eight years of Age, came to the Residence of Your Petitioner…" "Your Petitioner has heard that his parents are dead, and it is unlikely anyone will appear to claim the lad…" Source: Nova Scotia Archive & Records Management Mi'kmaq Holdings Resource Guide Commissioner of Indian Affairs Retrieval or Accession no.: MG 15 vol. 5 no. 23 This case of adoption brings to mind the classic case of the adoption of the famous Newfoundland Mi'kmaw guide John Barrington, the details of which have been discussed previous and published on-line. It also highlights the complex interactions between Newfoundland settlers and local Native groups, suggesting that the boundaries of contact were mysteriously fluid and blurred.