|
Over the years, for various reasons, such as carelessness, fire, or other mishaps, early Newfoundland records have gone missing. However, in some cases, records have survived but are stored outside of their expected area of jurisdiction. Although Supreme Court records for Ferryland, referred to as part of the Southern District, were kept there over the years, in some cases, petitions, letters of administration, etc., for that jurisdiction were heard and recorded at St. John's, referred to as the Central District.
One group of records held by the St. John's Supreme Court are known as Estate Files. These files contain information about people who died intestate, i.e. without a will or for those who made a will but failed to name an executor or executrix. In many intestate situations, the surviving family mutually agrees on the distribution of the deceased's property. However, in disputed cases, petitions may be submitted to the Supreme Court requesting them to rule on who has the right to claim and distribute the deceased's property, goods, and money. Also, even without disputes, if a surviving relative felt that they needed a legal document to uphold their claim to the deceased's property, they petitioned the Supreme Court of Newfoundland for administrative rights. The Supreme Court investigated and evaluated petitions to determine if any other individuals had legitimate claims or liens on the same property, goods, or money and ruled accordingly. In the event of multiple opposing claimants, the Supreme Court may rule that unresolved claims required civil court actions.
The transcriptions below are from documents found in the St. John's Supreme Court records that pertain to residents of Caplin Bay. It makes sense that some of these proceedings should occur at St. John's since it was designated as a centralized location to evaluate such hearings. That was especially true of hearings that may have required the presence of attorneys /solicitors etc., or certain civil officials, most of whom were only available at St. John's.
Supreme Court Files.
- Supreme Court of Newfoundland - 1831, The Estate of John Evoy of Caplin Bay (Courtesy of Newfoundland's Grand Banks Site).
On September 3, 1831, Patrick Evoy petitioned the Supreme Court to grant him Letters of Administration to the estate of his deceased brother and fishing partner, John Evoy, of Caplin Bay. Patrick testified that his brother, John, had died in June 1825, unmarried, and without a will. Witnesses to Patrick's petition were John Rossiter and Patrick Congdon [sic], identified as fishermen of Caplin Bay.
- Supreme Court of Newfoundland - 1858, The Estate of William Barry of Caplin Bay
On June 2, 1858, Michael Barry petitioned the Supreme Court to grant him Letters of Administration to the estate of his deceased uncle, William Barry, of Caplin Bay. Michael testified that his uncle William had died on May 24, 1858, unmarried, and without a will. Witnesses to Patrick's petition were John Swain, fisherman of Caplin Bay and John White, a planter of Ferryland.
- Supreme Court of Newfoundland - 1879, Ann Hart vs. Robert Bolan [sic] and James Power of Caplin Bay (Transcribed from microfilm copies of GN170, Reel 118, frames 1013-1014, The Rooms Archives). Judgement, by default, awarding possession of a property at Caplin Bay to Ann Hart.
This property was part of the fishery grant given to Francis Tree Sr. in 1773. It was passed on down to his son, Philip Tree. The plaintiff, Ann Hart, inherited the property from her great-uncle, Philip Tree. He died at St. John's in 1849 but his will was not probated until 1858. It appears that this particular piece of land was leased to the Hearne family for almost a century. Michael Hearne died between 1871 and 1879, but his daughters who were married to Robert Boland and James Power continued using the property. It is not clear if the leasing arrangement had lapsed after Michael Hearne died, but Ann Hart's petition went uncontested and, by default, she was deemed to be the rightful owner of the property. There are no stated measurements or acreage size, but the described boundaries enclosed an area from the shoreline of Caplin Bay to an area near the Old Woman's Pond, then ran north along the western boundary, before turning south to the Caplin Bay shoreline. No other documents have been found to indicate what happened in the succeeding years after the 1879 court decision but it appears that the land in question stayed as part of the Boland neighbourhood known locally as The Cross.
- Supreme Court of Newfoundland - 1883, The Estate of Kyran Condon of St. John's
Petition of Ellen Condon, wife of Kyran Condon, formerly of Caplin Bay. She was requesting that the Supreme Court grant her Letters of Administration to the estate of her late husband, who was lost at sea on January 6, 1881. Kyran had died without leaving a will.
|
