Patrick Condon

Abt 1793 - 1840  (~ 47 years)

• Name	Patrick Condon
  Born	Abt 1793	Co. Kilkenny, Ireland   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Research Overview	Caplin Bay, Newfoundland   [2]
  We know from surviving records that Patrick and Catherine Condon of Co. Kilkenny, Ireland were the ancestors of the Condons of Calvert (Caplin Bay), Newfoundland, however most of the details about Patrick's origin, occupation, and his life at Caplin Bay have been lost forever in the mists of time. In the 1983 book "Calling all Condons", the late Ray Condon stated that "Family tradition leads us to believe that our progenitor was a school master who came to teach in Calvert (then called Caplin Bay) from either Carbonear or Harbour Grace, Newfoundland". However, Ray cautioned that "we will never be able to verify that belief". After extensive research in various documents, I have reached conclusions contrary to what Ray presented in that book. I found there was indeed a Patrick Condon who settled in the Harbour Grace area in the early 1800, however he married in 1814 and appears to have lived out the rest of his life there. I also feel that Ray's speculation that Patrick may have been a schoolmaster was rooted in the fact that Patrick's eldest son, Thomas, was known to be educated well beyond the level of his fellow fisherman of Caplin Bay. While I found mention of Patrick's occupation as a fisherman in 1831 and as a road contractor in 1837/1838, I did not find any documented evidence that Patrick Condon was ever a schoolmaster. From what I can determine the first Board of Education for Ferryland District (Non-Denominational) was formed in May 1836 and the first teachers appointed at Caplin Bay under that Board were Elizabeth Coleman, Caplin Bay (i.e. south side) and Jane Cashin, Athlone (i.e. north side). Although Irish born, Patrick's Newfoundland origin may lie closer to his eventual home. There is some recorded evidence which suggests that there may have been a Condon family living at Ferryland early in the nineteenth century. A Mary Condon married Michael Kearney of Ferryland in the first decade of the 1800s. One of their sons, Michael Kearney Jr. (1811-1889), became a well-known master shipbuilder. The St. John's marriage records also show that in November 1814, a Bridget Condon of Ferryland married Richard Lacy of Waterford, Ireland. To add to the confusion, there was also an English family named Congdon living in the Ferryland area during the same era. Thomas Congdon, a native of St. Mary's Church, Devon, England operated a business in Clear's Cove, Fermeuse in the early 1800s. According to his headstone in Ferryland Anglican Cemetery, Thomas died at Ferryland, 4 April 1839, aged 51 years. He had been a well-known merchant at Ferryland and Fermeuse since the second decade of the 1800s. In the 1820s, the court records show that he was partnered with John Preston under the company name of Preston and Congdon. It is unlikely that there was any kinship between the English Congdons and Irish Condons, however, the clerks of the court frequently confused the spelling of the surnames in various official court documents. There are a number of records from the 1820s onward pertaining to the Condons of Aquaforte and to the Condons of Caplin Bay. Neither of these families appear to be related to each other, nor is any kinship readily apparent to the possible third Condon family at Ferryland. Edward Condon, who settled at Aquaforte, according to the newspaper obituary, died February 11, 1871 and was a native of Waterford, Ireland. In the 1860s, the Aquaforte Condons, through marriage, became related to the descendants of Mary Condon Kearney. Edward Condon's son, Daniel Condon, a well known shipwright who worked for Michael Kearney, married Mary's grand-daughter, Margaret Kearney, and raised a family at St. John's. Regardless of his origin, and taking the Condon oral history at face value, it appears factual that Patrick had settled at Caplin Bay by 1825. In that year, Thomas, his eldest son, was born. Tom Condon, again according to family lore, was the first male child born in the area known as the North Side. The presence of Patrick Condon at Caplin Bay in 1825 is verified by a petition filed in the Supreme Court on August 12, 1831. The petition was filed by Patrick Evoy of Caplin Bay requesting administration of the estate of his late brother, John Evoy. John Evoy of Caplin Bay died (without a will) in June 1825. Patrick "Congdon" - fisherman - is shown as a witness in this petition, so it is obvious that Patrick could testify to the circumstances of the Evoys partnership in a plantation at Caplin Bay in 1825. Patrick's surname in the petition (transcribed copy, at least) is spelled both as Condon and Congdon.
  Died	Mar 1840	Caplin Bay, Newfoundland   [3]
  Research suggests that Patrick may have actually died in March 1840, not March 1848. That deduction is based on the fact that his name never appeared in the surviving Voter's Lists (1840-1859) for Ferryland District. A brief mention of his name in the Newfoundlander, a St. John's newspaper, verifies that he was still alive in 1838. The Journal of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland for 1838 also show that Patrick Congdon (sic) was involved in road construction in Ferryland District. It reported that, on Nov. 13, 1837, Benjamin Sweetland Morry had surveyed and measured one mile of road for Patrick 'Congdon' at a cost of 15 shillings. Later, the same Journal indicates that on 6 Dec. 1837, P. Condon was paid £19 7 0 cash on his contract. After these references, the Condon name is not found again in the district until the 1852 listing of Thomas Condon in the Caplin Bay Voter's List.
  Buried	Abt Mar 1840	Non-denominational Cemetery, Ferryland, Ferryland District, Newfoundland, Canada   [2]
  During early settlement years, all burials for Ferryland, and for some surrounding communities, were in a common cemetery there. This old "burying ground" overlooks the area known as The Pool and the Colony of Avalon archeological site, on the peninsula leading to Ferryland Head. The surviving headstones are very old, many have fallen over and are sunken in the ground. One surviving headstone is inscribed as follows: "CONDON - Sacred to the memory of Patrick Condon who departed this life March [1840] aged 47 yrs. also Catherine his wife departed this life July 6th 1847 aged 44 yrs. Both natives of the County Kilkenny, Ireland." Over the years, the inscription on this faded and damaged old headstone has been transcribed with several variations. Within the past two decades, members of the Condon family have repaired this headstone and highlighted the surviving inscription with black paint. It was initially believed that one crumbled area, inscribed with the year of Patrick's death, might have read 1848, however that observation is questionable.
  	Patrick Condon Catherine (Walsh?) Condon
  Person ID	I161	Families of Calvert (Caplin Bay), Newfoundland
  Last Modified	30 Jul 2015

  
  

  Family	Catherine Walsh,   b. Abt 1803, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland ,   d. 6 Jul 1847  (Age ~ 44 years)
  Married	6 Oct 1822	St. John's, Newfoundland   [4]
  In October 1822, the St. John's RC Parish marriages recorded an entry that has been interpreted by some researchers as that of Patrick Condon and Catherine Walsh. Parts of the entry are hard to decipher (Fr. Whitty's penmanship wasn't great and his spellings questionable at times), but it appears to read as follows: Oct 6, 1822 - married Patrick Con(ston?) of Mo[o]ncoin, Co. Kilkenny & Catherine Walsh, St. Mary's, Ross, Co. Wexford - Present: Francis Delaney, Mary Rice. Although I have some reservations as to the interpretation of this record, the groom's name may indeed read Condon. Unfortunately the record gives no indication as to where this couple had settled in Newfoundland, so eventually placing them at Caplin Bay is speculative, but it is entirely possible.
  Children	1. Thomas "Tom" Condon,   b. Abt 1825, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland ,   d. 18 Apr 1911, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 86 years)   2. Kyran Condon,   b. Abt 1831, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland ,   d. 6 Jan 1881, North Atlantic Ocean  (Age ~ 50 years)   3. Patrick Condon,   b. Abt 1834, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland ,   d. Mar 1868, North Head, St. John's Narrows  (Age ~ 34 years)
  Last Modified	13 May 2015
  Family ID	F29	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - Abt 1793 - Co. Kilkenny, Ireland Research Overview - - Caplin Bay, Newfoundland Married - 6 Oct 1822 - St. John's, Newfoundland Died - Mar 1840 - Caplin Bay, Newfoundland Buried - Abt Mar 1840 - Non-denominational Cemetery, Ferryland, Ferryland District, Newfoundland, Canada  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S90] Approximate date based on another recorded event, Reddigan, Kevin, (A date calculated by using a recorded date and a person's age, or by estimating the most likely date, based on other recorded life events). [S35] Headstones - Ferryland Non-Denominational Cemetery, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, (Online database: http://ngb.chebucto.org/Cemetery/cem-ferryland-old-non-fer.shtml ). [S66] Individual Sources Notes., Reddigan, Kevin, (Information from various notes, comments, and observations recorded during research or provided in e-mails from other researchers). [S29] FamilySearch™ - LDS, ([online database] copyright (c) 2008, Intellectual Reserve, Inc.), "Newfoundland, Church Records, 1793-1945," images, FamilySearch: accessed 10 May 2015), St. John's > Catholic Basilica of St. John the Baptist > Marriages with index 1821-1885 > image 19 of 307; Newfoundland. (Reliability: 3).