Remember those who DIED IN SERVICE

Died In Service

The Memorial Plaque (Death Penney) was issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all Newfoundlanders and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war.

The Memorial Plaque (Death Penney) was issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all Newfoundlanders and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war.

The Rooms Provincial Archives is home to the database DIED IN SERVICE. 

Consisting of over 1,300 illustrated biographies of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who died in the First World War, information in the database was researched and compiled by researcher Alistair Rice who generously donated the database to The Rooms for public use via the Archives Division. Work to format the data and make it available online was completed by Rooms staff during the summer and fall of 2016.

To discover the stories of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, visit this link : https://www.therooms.ca/died-in-service-database

On November 11 – Remember those who DIED IN SERVICE

On Saturday, 11 November 2016 at 10:55 a.m., Their Honours  (Honourable Frank F. Fagan and Her Honour Patricia Fagan) will attend the Remembrance Day War Memorial Service at the National War Memorial, St. John’s  where His Honour will lay the first wreath. Her Honour will lay a wreath on behalf of the Women’s Patriotic Association. Following the Service, His Honour will take the Salute in front of the Court House on Water Street. At the conclusion of the parade, Their Honours will host a Reception at Government House for invited guests.

Recommended Exhibit: The First World War had a profound impact on Newfoundland and Labrador. It involved thousands of our people in world-changing events overseas and dramatically altered life at home. Our “Great War” happened in the trenches and on the ocean, in the legislature and in the shops, by firesides and bedsides. This exhibition at The Rooms  shares the thoughts, hopes, fears, and sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who experienced those tumultuous years – through their treasured mementoes, their writings and their memories.

I will sing you home: Youtube video:  ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JeuCgA0rFIAn initiative of The Rooms in partnership with The Ennis Sisters, Shallaway Youth Choir and CBC.

The Rooms Will Be Closed On Saturday November 11 In Observance Of Remembrance Day.

The turnip or pumpkin, Halloween tradition.

Archival Moment

October 28, 2017

Why a Jack O’Lantern?

Halloween TurnipIn Newfoundland and Labrador the humble turnip that was long associated with Halloween has been replaced by the pumpkin.

Today, folklorist and historians would argue that our Irish and Scottish ancestors carrying the traditions that they grew up with would have carried those same traditions to the new world. One such tradition would have been to carve a turnip during Halloween in keeping with the story of ‘Jack of the Lantern.’

As the Irish tale goes, a man called Stingy Jack, a lazy and shrewd blacksmith, invited the devil for a drink and a little gambling.

During the evening Jack convinced the devil to change his form into a coin to pay his debts, if he should lose. The devil who off course never lost was quick to agree to change form. When the devil agreed, Stingy Jack decided he wanted the coin for other purposes, and kept the coin in his pocket beside a small, silver cross to prevent the devil from turning back into his old self.

When Jack died, God was not amused that Jack was playing with the temptations of the devil and refused to allow him into heaven. The devil, still furious with Jack wouldn’t allow him into hell. Jack was dispatched and was instead sent into the eternal night, with a burning coal inside a carved-out turnip to light his way. Poor Jack as a result has been roaming the earth ever since. In the Irish tradition this poor wandering soul is known as “Jack of the Lantern,” it has since become “Jack O’Lantern.”

With Jack of the Lantern wandering about our ancestors in in Ireland and Scotland began to make their own versions of Jack’s lantern by carving scary faces into turnips, placing them by their homes to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits and travelers.

When the Irish and Scots immigrated to North America, it was only natural that they should bring along the tradition of turnip carving during the Halloween season. In Newfoundland turnips were readily available and the turnip carving tradition continued for hundreds of years.

In the United States pumpkins were native and could be carved with much greater ease. The lowly turnip,Jack-o-Lanterns have been gradually displaced with the pumpkin Jack-o-Lanterns which have become an integral part of Halloween festivities ever since.

In some counties in Ireland there has been a movement to bring the lowly turnip back an uphill battle to displace the American pumpkin.

In Newfoundland the pumpkin is a relatively new addition, it was the glorious turnip that shone in the window of homes even into the 1970’s. The tradition of carving the pumpkin was likely originally introduced by American soldiers living on bases throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Recommended Reading: The Dublin Penny Journal, July 1835. Page 229 – 231. ‘The Tradition of the Jack O’Lantern.’ Read More: https://books.google.ca/books?id=9gLSAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA230&dq=history+of+jack+o+lanterns&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qFtSVLSrIYflsATa2IHABw#v=onepage&q&f=false

A fisherman for a lifetime, he has left this harbour

Clem Dohey

1927-2017

My father, a fisherman for a lifetime has left this harbor. Clem and Larry Dohey off Cape St, Mary’s.

Clem Dohey, age 89, of St. Bride’s, Placentia Bay, a fisherman for a lifetime, left this harbour on October 18, 2017, in the presence of his loving family.

He was predeceased by his wife, Loretta, son Billy, his parents William & Bridget Dohey, his sister Lettie Murphy and her spouse, Lar, and by his brothers John, Frank, and Jim and his spouse, Rose.

Always a high liner to his family, he leaves to mourn in sadness, his children: Eta (Anthony Nash), George (Patricia Walsh), Eric, Frances (Fred Mills), Pat (Pauline Broderick), Larry (Ian Martin), Doreen (Dominic Traverse), Father Wayne, Jean, Sandra (Fabian Manning), Orinda (Jerry Careen), Marie (Lloyd MacKenzie) and his brother, Charlie of St. Bride’s.

His great love and joy were his 23 grandchildren: Janice, Ian, Kim, Tracey, Elizabeth, Freddie, Sandra, Carrie, Justin, Pat Jr., Ashley, Peter, Christopher, Jordan, Fabian Jr., Mark, Heather, Amy, Marcus, Kindra, Evhan, Joshua and Grayson and his 10 great-grandchildren: Logan, Lavina, Emma, Kate, Addyson, Chase, Maxim, Nash, Fabian Jr. and Leah.

Clem also leaves behind a large circle of other relatives and friends, especially the residents of Beachside Manor and the Lions Manor Nursing Home in Placentia where he resided at the time of his passing.

 Mass of Christian Burial took place on Tuesday, October 24 at 2:00 pm.

“Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4

 

The first Thanksgiving service was in Newfoundland?

happy_thanksgiving_turkeyThe first Thanksgiving service known to be held by Europeans in North America occurred on May 27, 1578 in Newfoundland and Labrador,  the English explorer Martin Frobisher landed here in 1578 in his quest for the Northwest Passage. The Thanksgiving service was held to give thanks for his safe arrival in the New World.

Thanksgiving day was not declared a national holiday in Canada until 1879.

From 1921 to 1931, Armistice Day (later renamed Remembrance Day) and Thanksgiving were marked on November 11.

In 1957, the second Monday of October was set as the consistent date for Thanksgiving Day in Canada.

What about the Turkey “Wishbone”?

The ancient Romans used to pull apart chicken bones hoping for good fortune. The English picked it up in the 16th century, where it was referred to as “merrythought.” In the New World, Pilgrims played tug-of-war with the bones of wild turkeys. The term “wishbone” didn’t emerge until the 1800′s. Each person grabs an end and pulls it apart. It is believed that if you get the bigger piece, your wish will be granted.

Talking Turkey

The term ‘cold turkey’ is now predominantly used as the name of the drug withdrawal process. It is also used to refer to any abrupt termination of something we are accustomed to.

The turkey looms large in North American culture and is the centrepiece of the annual Thanksgiving meal. In the USA, ‘plain speaking/getting down to business’ is called ‘talking cold turkey’, which has been shortened in present day speech to just ‘talking turkey’.

Eating turkey and feeling sleepy

Contrary to popular belief, eating turkey isn’t the main reason you feel sleepy after a Thanksgiving feast.

The oft-repeated turkey myth stems from the fact that turkey contains the amino acid tryptophan, which forms the basis of brain chemicals that make people tired. But turkey isn’t any more sleep-inducing than other foods. In fact, consuming large amounts of carbohydrates and alcohol may be the real cause of a post-Thanksgiving-meal snooze.

Happy Thanksgiving

“Women and children first”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

September 27, 1854

 “THIS SMALL CITY (ST. JOHN’S) IS FULL OF WRECKED CREWS AND PASSENGERS.”

Photo Credit: “Wreck of the U.S.M. Steam Ship ‘Arctic’  Cape Race, Newfoundland.  September 27th 1854.  (Source:  N. Currier lithograph.

On (September 27, 1854) two ships collided of Cape Race, Newfoundland because of a heavy fog, killing approximately 350. For the next several weeks the eyes of the world were fixed on Newfoundland as news reporters were scrambling to find any shred of news about the passengers and crews. Lifeboats with the few survivors began to arrive in towns along the Southern Shore the following day.

The Arctic, a four year old luxury ship, piloted by Captain James Luce sailing out of Liverpool, England slammed into the steamer Vesta, an iron-hulled ship piloted by Captain Alphonse Puchesne, transporting French fishermen from St. Peter’s (now St. Pierre)  to France at the end of the summer’s fishing season.

Immediately upon impact, the Arctic released lifeboats, but many capsized in the choppy waters. Lurid tales of panic aboard the sinking ship were widely publicized in newspapers. Members of the crew had seized the lifeboats and saved themselves, leaving helpless passengers, including 80 women and children, to perish in the icy North Atlantic. It is believed 24 male passengers and about 60 crew members survived.

The captain of the Arctic, James Luce, heroically tried to save the ship and get the panicking and rebellious crew under control. Upon his return to the United States he was treated as a hero, however, other crew members of the Arctic were disgraced, and some never returned to the United States.

“WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST”

The first of the survivors made their way to Broad Cove, near Cape Race from there they proceeded to Renews where they began to mount a search for the wreck of the their ship. The search was headed by the local merchant Mr. Alan Goodridge of Renews.  No sign was found. Some survivors and the crew of the Vesta limped into St. John’s.  The newspapers of the day were reporting that “this small city (St. John’s) is full of wrecked crews and passengers.”  

The New York Times reported:

 “many small vessels which were immediately undertaken in search of the steamer or of any of her boats, had returned from unsuccessful cruises, and that very little hope is entertained for the safety of any…”

The public outrage over the treatment of the women and children aboard the ship resonated for decades, and led to the familiar tradition of saving “women and children first” being enforced in other maritime disasters.

Recommended Archival Collection:  Explore the online  collection  held at The Rooms. Search the Archives from the comforts of your home:: https://www.therooms.ca/collections-research/our-collections

Recommended Archival Collection:   The Maritime History Archives, (MHA) Memorial University of Newfoundland holds a beautiful hand colored lithograph of the Arctic.  It shows the ship broke up on the rocks with passengers and crew struggling in the cold Atlantic.

Recommended Publication:  Baehre, Rainer K. (ed.) (1999) Outrageous Seas: Shipwreck and Survival in the Waters Off Newfoundland, 1583-1893. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1999, ISBN:0886293588

Nuns at home in a tavern

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

September 21, 1833

Presentation School, Patrick Street, St. John’s, NL date unknown

On September 20, 1883 there was much excitement in St. John’s with religious and civic officials gathering to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the arrival of the Presentation Sisters to the colony of Newfoundland

The Irish nuns (Sister’s Bernard Kirwin, Magdalen O’Shaughnessy, Xavier Maloney and Xaverius Lynch) reached St John’s harbour on 21 September 1833 –  the first nuns to serve in Newfoundland. With no account of their arrival being received in Galway, Ireland,  until four months later,  they were given up for dead  at home  and as was the custom in the convent, a Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated for them, and copies of their vows were burned. They were presumed dead.

The four Galway women came to Newfoundland at the invitation of the Catholic Bishop, Michael Fleming to establish a school that would offer improved educational opportunity for girls and young women in St. John’s.

Upon arrival in St. John’s the nuns were agreeably surprised by the appearance of Newfoundland.

“This country,” Sister Mary Bernard  Kirwin wrote in her first letter home, “is by no means as dreary as we heard. The bay is beautiful and so is the country as far as we can see.”

Within a few weeks of their arrival in St. John’s the sisters had gathered  approximately 450 studenets that they divided into classes. They began teaching in a room at the rear of an old tavern, the “Rising Sun” that also served as their home. The curriculum included grammar, literature, arithmetic, French, music, needle work, and Christian doctrine.

 “SKINNED ALIVE THE MASS OF SAINT CECELIA”

One of the observers of the 50th Anniversary celebrations in 1883 was Henri de la Chaume , attaché to the French Consul in St. John’s . On his return to France, he published a book about his experiences in the colony. 

The French attaché admired the good works of the Irish born nuns but he was not very kind about their musical ability, he wrote:

 “During this, (the 50th Anniversary Pontifical Mass) they (the nuns) most disgracefully skinned alive the Mass of Saint Cecelia and, not content with this first crime, they went on to profane the “Inflammatus” of the “Stabat Mater.”   (Latin hymn “the Mother was standing.”

He was, however, happy to report that:

 “The ceremony finished with a hymn where at last they did us the grace to give us an “0 Salutaris” by Miss (Clara) Fisher composed by Cherubini.”

One of the women kneeling in the chapel for the 50th Anniversary mass was

 “The Superior of the Convent, (90 year old, Sister Mary Magdalen O’Shaughnessy (1793-1888), one of the four sisters who came here fifty years ago, (she) was there bent over a prie-Dieu.”

Sister O’Shaughnessy  was never to return her beloved Ireland- in her first letter home in 1833 –  she wrote that she was struck by the evident prosperity of St John’s, Newfoundlandand the fondness of the children in the school for “dress-wear, necklaces, ear-rings, rings etc.”

From their appearance,  she wrote,

 “you would scarcely think you are teaching in a poor school. No such thing as a barefoot child to be seen here, how great the contrast between them and the poor Irish!”

Recommended Publication: Hammered by the Waves: A Young Frenchman’s Sojourn in Newfoundland in 1882-83:  Henri De La Chaume (Author), Robin McGrath (Editor), James M. F. McGrath (Translator) Creative Book Publishers, St. John’s, 2006.

Recommended Archival Collection: The Archives of the Presentation Congregation, St. John’s has a wonderful collection of archival documents relating to the lives of the women of the Presentation Congregations and their work in education in Newfoundland.

Recommended Activity: Visit the Presentation Convent at Cathedral Square, St. John’s home of the exquisite statue – The Veiled Virgin by Giovanni Strazza. Also home of an altar designed of pure marble, with carved motif’s documenting the first 50 years of the sisters work in Newfoundland.  (By appointment only)

A ‘Smoking Concert’ at Quidi Vidi Lake

Archival Moment

September 14, 1914

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: A 58-52; N.F.L.D. 1st Regiment Camp [Pleasantville], St. John’s, NL. In September 1914 Pleasantville was the site of a number of ‘Smoking Concerts’.

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: A 58-52; N.F.L.D. 1st Regiment Camp [Pleasantville], St. John’s, NL. In September 1914 Pleasantville was the site of a number of ‘Smoking Concerts’.

One of the entertainments that was held for the young men in the camps at Pleasantville, near Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John’s in September 1914 were the ‘Smoking Concerts’. The young men in the camps at Pleasantville were the first recruits for the Newfoundland Regiment. They were training to prepare to fight for ‘King and Country’.

Originally the term ‘Smoking Concert’   referred to live performances, usually of music, before an audience of men only; popular during the Victorian period. At these functions men would smoke and speak of politics while listening to live music.

In Newfoundland and other places by 1914 the smoking concerts were much less formal; they were not so much about discussions about politics but evenings of song and recitations.

In St. John’s, one of the locations for the ‘Smoking Concerts’ was at the ‘mess tent’ on the Pleasantville grounds. There are reports that as many as 400 men would gather under the tent for the entertainment.

One of the local celebrities that could be found, on a very regular basis at the camp, playing the piano for the ‘Smoking Concerts’ was Charles Hutton. Hutton was a leading figure in Newfoundland musical activities, he was the owner of Hutton’ Music Store (that was later taken over by his sons) and his wife was a celebrated classically trained singer.

Hutton would play for many of the men who would come forward to sing their ‘party pieces’. The evening would include solos, storytelling, musical recitations, and instrumental numbers. The evening would always close with the singing of the National Anthem by the entire gathering.

Typically alcohol was involved. ‘Smoking Concerts’ were referred to by some by the much more indelicate term, ‘Piss Ups.”

Imagine, going down to Quidi Vidi for a ‘Piss up’, I mean “Smoking Concert.”

Iceberg Alley Performance Tent

Imagine, 103  years later the Iceberg Alley Performance Tent,  has replaced the  performance tent of the Newfoundland Regiment.  At Quidi Vidi Lake and the party continues!

History repeating itself!!

Recommended Archival Collection: Great War service records of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment are available on line, those not on line are available at the The Rooms Provincial Archives on microfilm.  Search the Archives: https://www.therooms.ca/collections-research/our-collections

Recommended Exhibit: The First World War had a profound impact on Newfoundland and Labrador. It involved thousands of our people in world-changing events overseas and dramatically altered life at home. Our “Great War” happened in the trenches and on the ocean, in the legislature and in the shops, by firesides and bedsides. This exhibition shares the thoughts, hopes, fears, and sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who experienced those tumultuous years – through their treasured mementoes, their writings and their memories. – See more at: https://www.therooms.ca/exhibits/always/beaumont-hamel-and-the-trail-of-the-caribou#sthash.lv9JmCbn.dpuf

 

 

.

 

“City of Funerals”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

September 15, 1924

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: VA 157-110; Gerald J. Whitty and William King’s funeral procession, Water Street, St. John’s

The death of six men in the City of St. John’s on (September 15, 1924) cast a gloom over the city. The local newspapers described St. John’s as a “city of funerals.”  The citizens of St. John’s and the province were mourning the loss of  Gerald J. Whitty and fellow veterans who were struck and killed by a speeding car at Donovans  (on the outskirts of the City).

Gerald  J. Whitty as secretary-treasurer  of the  Great War Veterans Association (GWVA)  of Newfoundland  was  known throughout the province for his advocacy work  for the veterans returning to Newfoundland following the Great War.  He helped run the poppy campaign, begun in 1921, and edited the Veteran Magazine. In 1923 he represented the GWVA in London at the first biennial conference of the British Empire Service League.

He was instrumental in improving pensions and the project of a national memorial to honour Newfoundland’s war dead.

On the evening of 15 September, Whitty and 13 companions met in a restaurant at Donovans to bid farewell to a friend who was leaving for England.  At 11:00 p.m., he, William King, another prominent Newfoundland veteran, and Chief Petty Officer Robert Lovett of HMS Constance were standing by the bus that was to take the party back to St John’s. Suddenly, a speeding car appeared and struck the three men. Whitty and William King were killed instantly, as were four occupants of the car.

On 18 September, St John’s became a “city of funerals.” In the afternoon, following the burial of William King in the General Protestant Cemetery, the funeral procession continued to Whitty’s residence.

At the War Memorial  on Water Street that he was instrumental in having established , a short halt was made and wreaths placed. Whitty was buried in Belvedere Cemetery.

At the graveside, Father Thomas Nangle observed that veterans had lost “their best friend and advocate.”

Recommended Archival Collection:  At the Rooms Provincial Archives Division explore VA 157 an album of photographs relating to the experience of Gerald J. Whitty.

Recommended Reading:  William Whitty, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Melvin Baker and Peter Neary.

Censored letters and loyalty

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

September 6,  1941

Let’s Censor our conversation About the War.

Seventy eight (78) years ago this week the Second World War broke out. An Act for the Defence of Newfoundland came into effect giving the Governor in Commission sweeping powers to regulate social and economic life and to appropriate whatever was needed to defend the country. They also issued the Newfoundland Defence Regulations the same day

On September 3, 1939, Great Britain declared war on Germany. With this declaration, Newfoundland was also at war.

During WWII all correspondence leaving Newfoundlandand Labrador was intercepted by an official censor from the Office of the Commissioner for Justice and Defence that was under the direction of L.E.  Emerson of the Newfoundland Department of Defence.

Most governments of the day, throughout the world, argued that censorship was necessary to prevent valuable information getting into enemy hands and to maintain high morale on the home front.

In order to meet these goals every letter leaving the province was read to insure that individuals were not wittingly or unwittingly giving information to the enemy.

On September 20, 1941 Commissioner Emerson was particularly  disturbed by the contents of a letter that the censor board had intercepted that was written by a young Irish born teacher  (Brother)  E.P. O’Farrell on staff at St. Patrick’s Hall School, St. John’s.  Emerson found the letter to be very suspect.  He described the views held by the young teacher,  O’Farrell,  to be “positively dangerous.”

The letter dated September 6, 1941 written by Brother O’Farrell to his parents in County Kerry, Ireland was considered dangerous on a number of grounds.

Brother O’Farrell in his letter applauded the fact that Ireland had declared itself neutral during the war.  Neutrality was overwhelmingly supported by the population of Ireland; a minority of Irish Republicans sided with Germany, believing that a German victory might bring about a United Ireland.

Moreover, in a war in which the United Kingdom was involved, neutrality was perceived as the clearest expression of Irish sovereignty, something the Irish Prime Minister Éamon de Valera fervently sought.

In his letter, the young teacher O’Farrell speculated that:

 “I don’t think (President) Roosevelt will succeed in getting the States to fight and that all Catholics and all the Bishops are determined to stay out of the war.”

The ‘neutral’ position taken by the Irish during the war, lead many to be suspicious of the Irish and their intentions.  Given that O’Farrell was Irish born and a teacher Emerson insisted his letter did “raise considerable alarm”.  He felt strongly also that:

 “teachers needed to maintain an atmosphere of loyalty and optimism in the schools.”

The letter never reached O’Farrell’s parents.

Recommended Archival Collection:  At the Provincial Archives Division at The Rooms see GN 38.3 ; Home Affairs and Education. This file consists of memorandum relating to the appointments to the censorship staff, modifications to the censorship process, Appointment of Chief Censor

Recommended Publication:  High, Steven. Occupied St. John’s: a Social History of a City at War 1939-1945. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010.   336 pages, illustrated.

“The vendors of St. Mary’s Bay rum, should be placed in the dock”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT
August 22, 1884

St. Mary’s rum is of so deleterious a character that not my unfortunate clients, but the vendors of such poison, should be placed in the dock.”

On August 22,1884 an outrage against the Catholic population in St. Mary’s, St.  Mary’s Bay, Newfoundland  was resolved by the courts.  The outrage was considered so offensive that it made newspaper headlines internationally. The North Otago Times, in New Zealand  account of the event in St. Mary’s, St. Mary’s Bay reads:

Lawlessness In Newfoundland
“An outrage was perpetrated on Saturday, June 27, 1884 by the crew of the barque Lady Elibank. The crew broke into the Catholic church of St. Mary’s in St. Mary’s Bay, and demolished the furniture and appointments of the sanctuary, destroyed the tabernacle, abstracted the chalice, and other sacred vessels, smashed the candelabra, and strewed the debris about the streets, and in various ways desecrated the church. Five men were arrested. As soon as the knowledge of this desecration of the church spread amongst the Catholic population, not less than 500 boats were manned for the purpose of firing and scuttling the vessel ; but the influence of the parish priest  and the supplying merchants prevented revenge.”

—North Otago Times, in New Zealand

In Newfoundland, the local newspapers the Newfoundlander and Evening Telegram carried every detail of the story:

Newfoundlander, July 1st, 1884:

An act of monstrous desecration and sacrilege
“An act of monstrous desecration and sacrilege was committed at St. Mary’s on Saturday night last. The barquentine LADY ELIBANK arrived there a short time ago was discharging a cargo of salt. Five of the sailors – four of whom are Germans and one a Negro – broke into the Roman Catholic Chapel at a late hour of the night, knocked down the altar furniture, tore up one or more vestments, and even made away with the chalice. The perpetrators of the shocking outrage have all been arrested, and the Sacred Vessel, which had been desecrated has been restored to the Church. As far as we can remember, this is the first act of scoundrelism of the kind that has taken place in this country. As yet, there are no further particulars than those given above, and it is assumed that drink has been the prime mover. But, whatever the cause, we do trust that the miscreants may receive the exemplary punishment that the law can give them.”

The Evening Telegram, July 7th, 1884:

Latest from St. Mary’s
“Intelligence from St. Mary’s states that the magisterial investigation into the conduct of the five men, charged with breaking into the Roman Catholic Chapel there, was concluded last Thursday and resulted in the discharge of the Negro and the committal of the four Norwegian sailors to be tried at Placentia before the Supreme Court on Circuit there next month. The examination disclosed that the parties broke into the church through the window, wrenched off the altar rail, and with it forced open the Tabernacle, where they took away the ciborium and the chalice. They tore down the altar decorations, vases and candlesticks, etc, and flung them about. They even entered the vestry and from it took four suits of vestments, the censer and the monstrance. All these articles, they brought aboard the ship, were subsequently discovered, hidden away in various parts of the hold and amongst the bedding in the forecastle. The captains and officers of the Lady Elibank did all in their power to assist the officers of justice, and it was owing to the personal influence and popularity of Captain Lee that the people were restrained from laying violent hands on the authors of this piece of criminality, the worst of the sort ever known there.”

Newfoundlander, August 22, 1884 :

“St. Mary’s rum is of so deleterious a character”
It was shown that the conclusiveness of the evidence, as well as the confession of one of the accused, left little doubt of their criminality. The Grand Jury retired after two hours absence, returned a true bill against Gustafsen and Kenner who were remanded for trial. Mr. Emmerson being assigned for the defense. When the court sat on Friday, it was found that Kenner, who had from the first declared himself innocent, had confessed his guilt, and Mr. Emmerson, in reply to the question why sentence should not be passed, made a very forcible address. He spoke of them as coming from a barbarous land, of being ignorant waifs, uncivilized and uninstructed, but his strongest point being the sweeping charge made against the liquor sellers of St. Mary’s. Said the learned gentlemen:

“St. Mary’s rum is of so deleterious a character that not my unfortunate clients, but the vendors of such poison, should be placed in the dock.”

His Lordship, Judge Little, correcting the learned council, showed that the accused came from a civilized and Christian land, that they were not ignorant, as both could read and write well, and that they were not drunk.

Kenner was sentenced to two years, Gustafsen to one year and ten months, both with hard labour in the Penitentiary; the imprisonment to be counted from committal in July – forfeiting, in addition, the money due them by their late Captain.

Recommended Archival Collection:  At the Rooms Provincial Archives Division:    Read the many great stories that is our history in The Evening Telegram: [1879-1886]-1978 Microfilm and in the Newfoundlander  [1827-1835], 1837-[1846-1849, [1851]-[1855-1856]-[1858]-[1860]-[1863]-[1865]-[1868]-[1873]-[1877]-1884 microfilm