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Family Names of Calvert (Caplin Bay), Newfoundland
- Family Tree Database -
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 1865 - 1923 (~ 57 years)
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| Name |
Alfred Canning |
| Nickname |
Alf |
 Research Overview |
1865 |
Caplin Bay, Newfoundland  |
- Alfred was the ancestor of the Canning family of Calvert (Caplin Bay), but he was actually born at Ferryland about December 1865. Indications are, that at an early age, Alfred was taken in and raised by Mrs Eliza Morry, widow of Matthew Morry (III) who lived on the north side of Caplin Bay. All of the Morrys at that time were still Anglican, owners of a number of properties and operators of several businesses in Ferryland District. Alfred's family was Roman Catholic and quite possibly worked as servants/labourers of the Morrys at Ferryland.
The exact relationship between the Morrys and the Cannings is very obscure. Amongst some old surviving documents there are some rather curious references that may explain the Morry/Canning relationship. In one archived collection, The Carter Papers, housed at The Rooms in St. John's, there is a song called the Motley Maggot Gang, which is obviously a rather scathing attack on the character of the Morry family. This insulting poem/song is believed to have been written by Anne Carter Tessier in the 1840s, but the reasons for its contemptuous nature is unknown. One verse of interest reads:
"Poor orphan cannons they took in,
Oh what a cruel crying sin,
The cozening robers [sic] ought to hang,
The tyrant motley maggot gang"
The first line appears to refer to the Cannon (later known as the Canning) family of Ferryland and seems to indicate that a relationship involving the Morrys and the Cannings had begun at least one generation before Alfred was born. While the event mentioned, from all appearances, seems to have been a good and honourable deed, the second and third lines, for reasons unknown, decries it as being anything but, and gives the impression that the Morrys had an ulterior motive for taking in the "orphan cannons". Maybe the author felt that the Morry's had found a way of getting free labour i.e. the Canning orphans became their servants.
A generation later, Alfred Canning, parents unknown, became a member of the Morry household at Caplin Bay. He was raised there along with the adult children of Matthew Morry (III) and Elizabeth Coleman. When he was about 27, he married Mary Swain, granddaughter of Robert Swain of Stone Island. After his marriage, Alfred and his family continued to live with Miss Elizabeth (Lizzie) Morry (spinster daughter of Matthew and Eliza) in the old Morry house. This house, called Athlone Cottage, was located on the north side of Caplin Bay. The Canning family looked after Miss Morry until she died in 1930. It appears that Miss Morry left a will but after her death, there was a disagreement between Alfred's descendants and Miss Morry's relatives over who had the rightful entitlement to the old Morry property. While Alfred Canning regarded himself as an adopted son, the contrary view was held within the Morry clan. This view is expressed in one letter that was written by a niece of Mrs Eliza Morry which read: "Aunt Eliza was a foolish woman. When she took Alf Canning she did not adopt him or give him her name. He was left without a mother and none of the neighbours wanted him".
This last sentence may be subtle evidence which supports my speculation that Alfred's family were servants of the Morrys, hence the people of Ferryland would probably have felt that it was the Morry family, who had the obligation, and financial means, to provide for their servant's orphaned child.
There is no clear indication which Canning family in Ferryland Alfred was descended from. In McAlpine's 1894-1897 Directory, there is also a William Canning listed at Caplin Bay, but we don't know if, or how, he was related to Alf. In the 1921 Newfoundland Census, there was a William Canning listed at Aquaforte who was born at Ferryland in 1853. This may or may not be the same individual mentioned earlier at Caplin Bay.
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| Born |
Dec 1865 |
Ferryland, Newfoundland [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
19 Nov 1923 |
Calvert, Newfoundland [2] |
| Buried |
Abt 21 Nov 1923 |
Holy Trinity RC Cemetery, Ferryland, Ferryland District, Newfoundland, Canada [3] |
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Alfred Canning
Mary (Swain) Canning
Pte. Charles Canning
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| Person ID |
I37 |
Families of Calvert (Caplin Bay), Newfoundland |
| Last Modified |
3 Jun 2018 |
| Family |
Mary "Molly" Swain, b. Jun 1864, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland , d. 23 Jan 1929, Calvert, Newfoundland (Age ~ 64 years) |
| Married |
26 Nov 1892 |
Holy Trinity RC Parish, Ferryland, Newfoundland [4] |
| Children |
| | 1. Charles Augustus "Charlie" Canning, b. 18 Oct 1893, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland , d. 13 Apr 1918, France (Age 24 years) |
| | 2. Mary Valetta Canning, b. 14 Feb 1896, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland , d. 13 Sep 1896, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland (Age 0 years) |
| | 3. Leonard Joseph "Len" Canning, b. 16 Sep 1897, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland , d. 12 Sep 1984, Calvert, Newfoundland (Age 86 years) |
| | 4. Mary Evelyn "Evelyn" Canning, b. 22 Apr 1899, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland , d. 29 Apr 1952, Calvert, Newfoundland (Age 53 years) |
| | 5. John J. Canning, b. 24 Jun 1901, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland , d. 11 Jun 1943, Bristol, Hartford, Connecticut, United States (Age 41 years) |
| | 6. Mary Canning, b. 27 Sep 1904, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland , d. 5 Jan 1909, Caplin Bay, Newfoundland (Age 4 years) |
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| Last Modified |
9 Jun 2015 |
| Family ID |
F21 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Sources |
- [S30] 1921 Newfoundland Census, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, (Online: Transcribed entries of nominal 1921 Newfoundland Census posted under "Census, Fishing Rooms and Planter Listings).
- [S7] Headstones - Ferryland RC Cemetery, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, (Online database: http://ngb.chebucto.org/Cemetery/cem-ferryland-rc-fer.shtml).
- [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).
- [S8] Holy Trinity RC Parish (Ferryland) Marriages 1870 - 1910, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, (Online: Transcribed records of photocopied parish records held at The Rooms Archives for Brigus South to Aquaforte, Ferryland District).
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