John Lewis, Wesleyan Missionary ~ 1814-1817

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Conception Bay North Region

Historical Records

John Lewis, Wesleyan Missionary ~ 1814-1817

The records were transcribed by FRED SWED JR. and posted to the Internet in February 2001. While we have endeavored to be as correct as humanly possible, there may be typographical errors.

Persons referenced in the journals of John Lewis

Wesleyan Missionary to Conception Bay, 1814 - 1817

John Lewis was a Wesleyan missionary from England, serving the settlements of Conception Bay from approximately 1814 to 1817. He later moved to the Burin Peninsula. While on Conception Bay he lived alternately in Adams Cove and Port de Grave, traveling extensively along the coast to serve the pastoral needs of various classes and congregations that were developing. While doing so, he kept a series of journals that documented his daily work. A typewritten transcript of these journals is available at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, MUN, St. Johns.

The information contained below has been extracted from the first 4 journals, which cover the period when Mr. Lewis was serving Conception Bay. With a few exceptions, I have noted only those persons who are clearly identified by a first and last name, and a place of residence. In many cases, the journals refer to persons only by their surnames and may not identify a residence or other information by which they can be further identified. When the same person is referred to on multiple dates, I have usually included only the first or most noteworthy contact. I have tried to retain the original spelling of surnames, even where it is likely to vary from what we would accept as a more common or contemporary spelling. Occasionally I included an interpretation in parentheses, based on my knowledge of families otherwise known to be living in the specific communities.

For each person, I have summarized the corresponding event that Mr. Lewis logged in his journal. Occasionally this was a baptism or funeral, but many times just a visitation by Mr. Lewis or other daily contact. It is hoped that in combination with other data, family historians can use this information to piece together some of the routine events in the lives of their ancestors from this time period.

Last Name	First Name	Location	Date	Event
Adams	James	Adams Cove	1/8/1816	Sent by Mr. Lewis to deliver medicine to Rev. Ellis in Job Cove.
Andrews	Wm.	Ship Cove	3/5/1817	On this date, Mr. Andrews was accidentally shot in the eye while sealing.
Ash	F.	Carbonear	11/26/1814	A Saturday. One of the group of people on the boat when Adam Mulley drowned during his rescue of Rev. Ellis. Mr. Ash also died.
Baggs	Sarah	Adams Cove (?)	10/26/1814	Married to Larrence Morresy.
Barret	James	Perlican	3/11/1815	103 years of age when visited by Mr. Lewis.
Barret	James	Perlican	8/10/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
Buckler	John	Northern Bay	8/26/1815	Mr. Buckler was drowned after falling asleep at the helm between Western Bay and Bradley's Cove. He was accompanied by two sons, the elder being 15, who survived. He left a wife and a total of 8 or 9 small children. Also killed in the accident were "an English Man who fished" and "Mr. Jones, Mr. Goss's storekeeper a young man from Exetor." Mr. Buckler's body was later recovered and buried by Mr. Lewis on Sunday, September 3.
Bursey	Joseph	Job Cove	9/16/1815	Came to Mr. Androson (Anderson ?) of Adams Cove to obtain medicine.
Bursey	Richard	Perlican	8/14/1815	One of the local subscribers for the construction of a new church.
Bursey	Robert	Job Cove	8/20/1815	Mr. Lewis baptized Robert's son on this date, naming him after the father.
Bursey	Wm	Job Cove	9/23/1815	Died on this date while walking from this house to the skiff that was taking he and his wife to St. John's. He was buried on September 26 by Mr. Lewis.
Butler	James	Port de Grave	10/22/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis on this date and others.
Butler	John	Port de Grave	11/6/1815	Attended class with Mr. Lewis on this date. There is a later reference to a daughter, "Julian." There also appear to be multiple "John Butlers" in the vicinity, at least one of which was referred to on occasion as "John Butler Senior."
Butler	Mrs. Ann	Port de Grave	10/21/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis while she was ill.
Butler	Mrs. Diana	Port de Grave	10/21/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis while she was ill.
Butler	Wm. & Jane	Ship Cove	10/6/1816	Two of their children, Grace (the older) and Jane (the younger) were baptized on this date.
Butt	George		9/29/1816	Married in Blackhead to Mary Martin on this date.
Butt	Henry	Blackhead	1/28/1817	Mr. Lewis preached at Mr. Butt's home.
Butt	Wm.	Blackhead	10/2/1815	Traveled with Mr. Lewis to St. John's on this date.
Campbell	Hugh	Ship Cove	3/1/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis on this date.
Collreaby	John	Perry Cove	2/28/1815	Native of Torquay Devon. Close to death when visited by Mr. Lewis.
Cransen	Wm.	Perlican	8/14/1815	Assigned by Mr. Lewis to the building committee for a new church.
Crowly	Olive	Western Bay	1/29/1815	Married to Joseph Dalton.
Dalton	Joseph	Western Bay	1/29/1815	Married to Olive Crowly.
Dalton	Thomas	Western Bay	7/30/1815	Mr. Dalton angered Mr. Lewis when his crew worked "smoking fish" on Sunday.
Dawes	John	Sandy Cove	10/7/1816	Drowned on this date. Aged 23. Son of Nicholas Dawes.
Dawes	Samuel	Sandy Cove	10/7/1816	Drowned on this date. Aged 25. Son of Nicholas Dawes. Was engaged to be married to Ann Taylor, daughter of Jacob Taylor, of Sandy Cove.
Dimond (Diamond)	John	Adams Cove	7/19/1815	Came ashore suffering violent pain in his shoulders, "the first fit of sickness that ever he had."
Dimont (Diamond)	John	Adams Cove	1/6/1816	Traveled to Job Cove, with others, to see Rev. Ellis who was ill.
Dimont (Diamond)	Mrs. Wm.	Adams Cove	5/23/1815	Died on this date, after taking ill on May 15 at Mr. Evans' funeral.
Dimont (Diamond)	Robt	Adams Cove	7/16/1815	Husband of Jane Evans, whose child was very sick.
Dimont (Diamond)	Robt.	Adams Cove	8/31/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
Efford	Elizabeth	Port de Grave	5/5/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis on this and other occasions. He appeared to have a romantic interest, that does not appear to have been mutual.
Efford	John	Port de Grave	5/5/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis. He may have been the father of "Elizabeth", for whom Mr. Lewis had an apparent romantic interest.
English	James	Port de Grave	5/13/1816	Mr. Lewis baptized James' son, James, on this date.
Evans	Elizabeth	Adams Cove	8/2/1815	Taken ill and visited by Mr. Lewis.
Evans	Jane	Adams Cove	7/16/1815	Wife of Robt Dimont (Diamond), whose child was very sick.
Evans	John	Adams Cove	1/10/1816	Part of a large group of people who traveled to Job Cove to visit Rev. Ellis, who was quite ill at the time.
Evans	Robert	Adams Cove	5/15/1815	Approximate date of death, as reported to Mr. Lewis.
Felliour	Ann	Port de Grave	11/11/1815	Married to Wm. Mugford of Port de Grave on this date.
Garland	Wm.	Adams Cove	8/31/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
Goobey	J.	Perlican	8/14/1815	Assigned by Mr. Lewis to the building committee for a new church.
Green	Jn., Sr.	Perlican	8/14/1815	Assigned by Mr. Lewis to the building committee for a new church.
Griffith	Thomas	Blackhead	8/3/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis during an illness.
Halfyard	Stephen	Ocre Pits	8/7/1815	Son of "Mrs. Halfyard", who perhaps was the wife of the man who died earlier.
Halfyard	Tamsen (?)	Ocre Pits	7/16/1815	Her father, referred to only as Mr. Halfyard, was buried on this date.
Harris	Christopher	Ocre Pits	1/4/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
Hitchcombe	Jonathen	Ocre Pits	8/31/1815	Stood as a witness on this date at the baptism of Jonathan Parson's child (also named Jonathan.)
Holmes	J	Adams Cove	9/1/1814	Stageowner.
Holmes	J	Adams Cove	9/28/1815	Mr. Lewis held at prayer meeting at Mr. Holmes on this date. Mr. Holmes was celebrating his 44th birthday, that would put his birth in 1771.
Holmes	John	Adams Cove	9/12/1815	Left on this day to take his fish to St. John's.
Holmes	Phil	Adams Cove	1/6/1816	Traveled to Job Cove, with others, to see Rev. Ellis who was ill.
Hudson	Clem	Adams Cove	9/11/1815	Traveled with Mr. Lewis to Carbonear
Hudson	George & Catherine	Adams Cove	8/1/1815	Visited with Mr. Lewis on this date.
Hudson	George Jr.	(?)	11/26/1814	A Saturday. One of the group on the boat when Adam Mulley drowned while rescuing Rev. Ellis.
Hudson	George, Sr.	Adams Cove	1/4/1816	Traveled with Mr. Lewis to Lower Job Cove.
Hudson	Hugh	Adams Cove	9/22/1815	Returned to Adams Cove from St. John's with mail for Mr. Lewis.
Hudson	John	Adams Cove	10/8/1815	Sailed from St. John's back to Adams Cove with Mr. Lewis on this date.
Hudson	John & Hugh	Adams Cove	1/10/1816	Part of a large group of people who traveled to Job Cove to visit Rev. Ellis, who was quite ill at the time.
Hudson	John Sr.	(?)	11/26/1814	A Saturday. One of the group on the boat when Adam Mulley drowned while rescuing Rev. Ellis.
Hussey	George	Bay Roberts or Port de Grave	1/18/1816	Mr. Hussey died on this date at the age of 32. He was buried on 1/20/1816. He left a wife, 4 children and a father and mother.
Hussey	Grace	Port de Grave	2/11/1816	Ms. Hussey, along with at least one child, attended a prayer meeting on this date.
Hussey	John	Port de Grave	3/30/1817	Mr. Lewis held a prayer meeting at Mr. Hussey's home on this date.
Hussey	Thomas	Ship Cove	3/10/1817	Baptized on this date, son of Thomas Hussey.
Hussey	William	(possibly) Port de Grave	12/5/1816	Was married to Patience Tucker on this date.
James	Edward	Broad Cove	7/6/1815	Taken with the same illness sweeping through the area.
Janes	E.	Broad Cove	8/31/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
King	Wm.	Bradley's Cove	6/25/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis on this date.
LeDrove	Isaac	Cubits	3/16/1816	Mr. LeDrove was buried on this date.
Luther	Stephen	Adams Cove	9/12/1815	Traveled by boat from Carbonear back to Adams Cove with Mr. Lewis. During the trip, he was "drunk as he could hardly be."
Mailly (Milley)	Ed	Western Bay	7/3/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
Martin	Mary		9/29/1816	Married in Blackhead to George Butt on this date.
Moore	James	Adams Cove	7/3/1815	Visited this day by Mr. Lewis after having taken ill the night before. Remained ill through July 20, when he was finally able to go fishing again.
Moors	George	Northern Bay	9/21/1815	Mr. Lewis preached at Mr. Moors' home on this date.
Moors	Henry	Blackhead	8/3/1815	Apparently part of a crew of workers who were outfitting the church with new seats at this time.
Moors	Jonathan	Blackhead	1/3/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
Moors	Thomas	Blackhead	7/16/1815	Held a Wesleyan class meeting for Mr. Lewis on this date.
Moors	Thomas	Blackhead	8/6/1815	Dined with Mr. Lewis on this Sunday.
Moors (Moores)	Mrs. John	Blackhead	7/4/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis. Apparently ill from grief over "the loss of her brothers, especially Joseph."
Morresy	Larrence	Adams Cove (?)	10/26/1814	Married to Sarah Baggs.
Morrisey	Thomas	Island Cove	1/11/1815	A child of Mr. Morrisey was buried on this date. The child was burned when left unattended by the fire.
Mugford	Anthony	Port de Grave	11/24/1815	His daughter, Mary, was buried on this date.
Mugford	Mary	Port de Grave	11/24/1815	Buried on this date by Mr. Lewis. 15 years and 1 month of age. Daughter of Anthony Mugford.
Mugford	Wm.	Port de Grave	11/11/1815	Married to Ann Felliour of Port de Grave on this date.
Norman	Oliver	Adams Cove	1/6/1816	Traveled to Job Cove, with others, to see Rev. Ellis who was ill.
Norris	John	Perlican	3/11/1815	Attended services and visited with Mr. Lewis.
Norris	Richard	Perlican	8/14/1815	One of the local subscribers for the construction of a new church.
Parson	Jonathan	Ocre Pits	8/31/1815	His son, Jonathan, was baptized on this date. He offered 10 shillings for the service, but Mr. Lewis declined.
Parsons	Jonathan	Bear Cove	11/7/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis on this date.
Parsons	Miss Mary	Port de Grave (probably)	2/16/1817	Mr. Lewis preached at her home on this date.
Pippy	Peter	Blackhead	8/28/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis while ill.
Pudester	Jane	Northern Bay	8/22/1815	Daughter of John Pudester, baptized on this date.
Pudester	John	Northern Bay	8/22/1815	His daughter, Jane, was baptized on this date.
Ralph	John	(possibly) Port de Grave	11/25/1816	Was married to Rachel Tucker on this date.
Reans	Isreal	Adams Cove	1/10/1816	Part of a large group of people who traveled to Job Cove to visit Rev. Ellis, who was quite ill at the time.
Reeves	John	Adams Cove	1/8/1816	Sent by Mr. Lewis to deliver medicine to Rev. Ellis in Job Cove.
Reynolds	James	Adams Cove	9/1/1814	Owner of a boat that was used by John Lewis in an attempted trip to Port de Grave.
Richards	Isaac	Bareneed	2/1/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis on this date.
Simons	James	Job Cove	8/8/1815	This young man is described by Mr. Lewis as being insane, and was "shut up in an out house under Mr. Garland's flake, where he was cruelly teased by the local children. He is accused of destroying and sinking Mr. Garland's skiff, that later floats to the surface.
Strong	Thomas, Sr.	Perlican	8/14/1815	Assigned by Mr. Lewis to the building committee for a new church.
Taylor	Mrs. Wm.	Port de Grave	12/8/1816	Mr. Lewis took a collection for the widow, Mrs. Taylor, and her "3 small daughters."
Taylor	Wm.	Port de Grave	5/24/1816	Was drowned on 5/18/1816 and buried on this date by Mr. Lewis.
Thissel (Thistle)	John	Mulley's Cove	4/3/1816	Buried on this date by Rev. Ellis.
Tilly	J. Jr.	Perlican	8/14/1815	Assigned by Mr. Lewis to the building committee for a new church.
Tilly	Joseph, Sr.	Perlican	8/14/1815	Assigned by Mr. Lewis to the building committee for a new church.
Tucker	Charles	Ship Cove	4/25/1816	Visited by Mr. Lewis on this date.
Tucker	Patience	(possibly) Port de Grave	12/5/1816	Was married to William Hussey on this date.
Tucker	Rachel	(possibly) Port de Grave	11/25/1816	Was married to John Ralph on this date.
Tuff	James	Western Bay	7/1/1815	Died on or about this date, at 18 years of age. He had become ill at the time of his brother Joseph's funeral. Buried by Mr. Vanenhoff on July 2.
Tuff	Joseph	Western Bay	6/22/1815	Died on this date, 22 years of age, after taking ill on June 12. Buried by Mr. Lewis on June 25. Described as "one of the nicest, the friendliest, the handsomest and one of the best beloved young men in Conception Bay."
Vandanoff	G	Western Bay	4/30/1815	Accompanied Mr. Lewis during trip to Adams Cove.
Whelan	Alexander Shinclo (?)	Western Bay (?)	7/9/815	Son of Mr. Wm. Whelan, perhaps of Bradley's Cove (?). Baptized on this date.
Whelan	Jacob	Bradley's Cove (Western Bay ?)	7/30/1815	Mr. Whelan angered Mr. Lewis for having his crew working on Sunday.
Whelan	Wm.	Bradley's Cove	7/3/1815	Visited by Mr. Lewis.
Wills	N.	Perlican	8/14/1815	Assigned by Mr. Lewis to the building committee for a new church.
Young	George	Dorsetshier	12/15/1814	At "Divel" Cove. Married to Cathrine Goobey of Burnt Point.