Richard Grant

Abt 1760 - Aft 1815  (~ 56 years)

• Name	Richard Grant
  Born	Abt 1760	Co. Tipperary, Ireland   [1]
  It appears from the writings of Jim Joe O'Brien that Co. Tipperary was the county of origin of the Grant family of Cape Broyle.
  Gender	Male
  Research Overview	1780	Cape Broyle, Newfoundland   [2]
  Most of the family lore relating to the Grant family of Cape Broyle and immediate area is attributed to late James Joseph (Jim Joe) O'Brien (1888 - 1985). In the early 1970s, he took it upon himself to try to record his understanding of the structure of the early families who had settled there. Given that he had no access to past records, his efforts for the most part were very informative and fairly accurate, although sometimes several generations with multiple usage of the same forename made it difficult for him to keep individuals in the correct chronological sequence. At the time of his writings, the Grant family name was long gone from Cape Broyle and descendants with a knowledge of their Grant ancestors were few and far between. Without a way to verify the family history, it is obvious he had difficulty in recording an accurate "snapshot" of the early Grant generations. In his opening notes Mr.O'Brien stated that the Grant family arrived in Cape Broyle in the 1780s. He went on to say that "Grant may be an English surname, but the first Mrs. Grant, who came to Cape Broyle, was a native of Co. Tipperary". The abrupt change to "Mrs." Grant leads me to believe he actually meant to write "Mr." Grant. In my opinion, his opening paragraph relates to the origin of the Grant surname. His wife's surname being unknown, the reference to Mrs Grant appears to me to be out of context. In naming the immigrant Grant ancestors, Mr.O'Brien stated they were John and Mary Grant, however an 1800 Ferryland District census identifies them as Richard and Margaret Grant. We don't know when and where Richard and Margaret were married, but from some later Ferryland Court records we learn that they were definitely settled at Cape Broyle by 1790. The Co. Tipperary is not verifiable, but given that Co.Tipperary was the fourth largest contributor of Irish migrants to Newfoundland,this origin is credible. The verification of their names in the 1800 "census" brings into question another version of family lore which says the founding ancestor was named George Grant, an English soldier who married the daughter of an Irish schoolteacher. While there is other family folklore suggesting that the first Cape Broyle Grant was one of three brothers who fought in the American War of Independence, again no evidence was located to substantiate this folklore. Mr.O'Brien wrote that "John and Mary" (sic) had three sons (George, Thomas, and Richard) and three daughters (Catherine, Margaret and Mary). The 1800 Ferryland District census identifies Richard and Margaret's children as daughters Catherine - 11, Mary - 5, and sons John - 13, Richard - 11, James - 8 and William - 6. Later records suggest that this couple also had two more sons, George and Thomas. He said that Catherine married Michael Walsh and Mary married John Dalton both of Cape Broyle. This information appears to be factual, however it appears that Margaret was not the daughter of Richard and Margaret's but actually their granddaughter, through their son John. John married a woman named Mary [unknown] and appears to have lived at Brigus South. Contrary to Mr. O'Brien's writings, it was this Margaret who married John [not Michael] Greene of Brigus South. It appears that John and Mary had at least two daughters and possibly a son. However, after 1847 no more Grants are mentioned in records for Brigus South until two generations later. Ferryland Court records for 1815 show that the Grants of Cape Broyle (Richard Sr., Richard Jr., John, William, and George) collectively owed money to Matthew Morry, a Devonshire merchant headquartered at Caplin Bay. After that there are very few mentions of the Grant surname in the records until 1840. In the surviving Voter's List for Ferryland District, a John Grant is shown as the head of a household at Brigus South from 1840 - 1847,and George as the head of a household at Cape Broyle from 1840 - 1859. These two individuals appear to be the sons of Richard and Margaret. From 1849 - 1859, a Richard Grant is also recorded at Cape Broyle in the Voter's Lists. It is my opinion that he was a grandson of Richard and Margaret, through their son Richard, Jr. This grandson, Richard, married Lucy Cashin of Cape Broyle in 1860 and raised a large family there. When he died in 1894, Richard was noted as being the master of a boat belonging to the Cashins. His brother, Thomas, married Mary J. Cashin, also of Cape Broyle. However, they moved to St. John's where Thomas was a shoemaker on the west end of Water Street. Thomas and Mary had a large family.Their youngest child, Belle, lived to be 100 yrs. old. William, a brother of Richard and Thomas, started a family at Cape Broyle in 1871 but US Censuses records indicate that he immigrated to the United States in 1887, eventually settling in Chicago,IL. Margaret, a sister of these three brothers never married and was living with her brother, Thomas, at St. John's when she died in 1907. By the 1930s, the Grant surname had all but disappeared from the Cape Broyle area so little of their family history has survived in that area.
  Court Action	20 Sep 1790	Ferryland, Newfoundland   [3]
  Richard Grant, master, accused of mistreating his servant, John Grysnes.
  Court Action	10 Dec 1807	Ferryland, Newfoundland   [3]
  Richard Grant owed money to George and Thomas Kough, Merchants of Ross, Ireland. The Koughs had a fishing business which was headquartered at Cape Broyle.
  Court Action	13 Dec 1813	Ferryland, Newfoundland   [2]
  Cape Broyle residents Richard Grant Sr., Richard Grant Jr., John Grant, and William Grant owed money to Matthew Morry. Witnesses: William Sweetland and Richard Dunning.
  Court Action	14 Nov 1815	Ferryland, Newfoundland   [3]
  Cape Broyle residents Richard Grant Sr., Richard Grant Jr., John Grant, William Grant, and George Grant owed money to Matthew Morry.
  Died	Aft 1815	Cape Broyle, Newfoundland   [1]
  Person ID	I2802	Families of Calvert (Caplin Bay), Newfoundland
  Last Modified	18 Sep 2016

  
  

  Family	Margaret [Grant],   b. Abt 1760, Ireland? ,   d. Aft 1800, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 41 years)
  Census	1800	Cape Broyle, Newfoundland   [4]
  In the 1799/1800 List of Inhabitants (aka The Ferryland Census), Richard and Margaret Grant had six children, Catherine - 15, John - 13, Richard - 11, James - 8, William - 6, and Mary - 5. Based on later references, it appears that two other sons, George and Thomas, were been born after 1800.
  Children	1. Catherine Grant,   b. Abt 1785, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Yes, date unknown, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland + 2. John Grant,   b. Abt 1787, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Abt 1849, Brigus South, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 62 years) + 3. Richard Grant,   b. Abt 1789, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Aft 1844, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 56 years)   4. James Grant,   b. Abt 1792, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Aft 1800, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 9 years)   5. William Grant,   b. Abt 1794, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Aft 1871, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 78 years)   6. Mary Grant,   b. Abt 1795, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Yes, date unknown, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland + 7. George Grant,   b. Aft 1800, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Between 1871 and 1887, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 70 years)   8. Thomas Grant,   b. Aft 1800, Cape Broyle, Newfoundland ,   d. Aft 1836  (Age ~ 36 years)
  Last Modified	17 Sep 2016
  Family ID	F861	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - Abt 1760 - Co. Tipperary, Ireland Research Overview - 1780 - Cape Broyle, Newfoundland Court Action - 20 Sep 1790 - Ferryland, Newfoundland Census - 1800 - Cape Broyle, Newfoundland Court Action - 10 Dec 1807 - Ferryland, Newfoundland Court Action - 13 Dec 1813 - Ferryland, Newfoundland Court Action - 14 Nov 1815 - Ferryland, Newfoundland Died - Aft 1815 - Cape Broyle, Newfoundland  = 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). [S59] Ferryland Court Records - 18th, 19th & 20th Century, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, ( http://ngb.chebucto.org/Legal-Documents/1fer-court-idx.shtml Online: Alphabetical index of court cases that were heard under various court jurisdictions at Ferryland), Ferryland District Surrogate Court Records (ca 1800 - 1820's) Part-3. [S59] Ferryland Court Records - 18th, 19th & 20th Century, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, ( http://ngb.chebucto.org/Legal-Documents/1fer-court-idx.shtml Online: Alphabetical index of court cases that were heard under various court jurisdictions at Ferryland), Ferryland District Surrogate Court Records (ca 1800 - 1820's) Part-2. [S18] Ferryland Census of 1800, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, ( http://ngb.chebucto.org/C1800/polepapers-1800-fer.shtml ) (Compiled at Ferryland under the supervision of Robert Carter - J.P., Presented to Governor Charles Morice Pole in August 1800).