Cleary - Finding Newfoundland Roots
Over the years I asked my Mom if she ever had a desire to go back to Newfoundland and make contact with her distant relatives. I think she did but Dad was not enthusiastic and was reluctant to fly. They once drove up to the tip of Cape Breton Island but talked themselves out of taking the long, overnight ferry to Newfoundland. My mother passed away in April 2000 and to celebrate her memory my sister, Ann, and I decided in July 2000 to pursue our roots.
Ann, my wife Pat and I flew to St. Johns and arrived after dark and on a very foggy night; the driving was treacherous. We had booked a reservation at a B&B in Harbour Grace and the next morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day. So we decided to take a ride and do some exploring. As we drove along the coastline we were blown away by the high cliffs and the magnificent beauty. As we went around each curve in the road, the beauty just seemed to get better and better.
Driving into the small town of Harbour Grace we were greeted my a billboard declaring, Welcome to the Home of Danny Cleary. Of course Cleary was our grandmother's family name. Danny Cleary was a hockey player and a local hero and in Canada devotion to hockey is almost religious. This was particularly significant in Newfoundland because very few natives had ever played in the National Hockey League. Danny Cleary had not only made it to the big leagues but he was the number one draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1997. Danny, as a member of the Detroit Red Wings 2008 Stanley Cup Championship team and had the honor bringing the cup to Newfoundland, becoming the first Newfoundlander to do so.
Our first stop in our exploration was the local catholic church, which was a magnificent stone cathedral that was in disrepair or under repair; I am not sure which? In any case the size of church didn't match the size of the town. Later we found that Harbour Grace was once the second largest town in Newfoundland but fires had wiped whole sections of the town. Fishing was the main industry but as it died, the population moved away. At the church we talked to clerk and we told her about our family search and of course she wanted to know if we were related to Danny Cleary. She pointed us to a family that lived on the harbor and arranged for us to visit. The visit was pleasant but the couple were skeptical that we were related. She called Phyllis Cleary Reynolds and we were then invited to their home.
Phyllis called her sister, Patsy, who drove over from St Johns. Patsy was the keeper of the family genealogy and she brought along a large sheet of paper that contained the Cleary family tree. As we talked and we tried to determine if we were related, the Cleary family members seemed to be filled with doubt. At one point they tried to make an association because of my first name, Bernard, which was a very common name in the Cleary clan. Of course they were barking down the wrong tree (pun intended). Finally Patsy unveiled the family tree document, which stated that their grandfather had two sisters, Agnes and Margaret, but no one seemed to know what became of them. Consequently there were two terminated legs on the tree. I then replied that I could tell them what happened to two sisters. Agnes went to Boston and was my grandmother, and Margaret went to Montreal and became Margaret Martin.
I could also remember as a young child my grandmother's brother, Uncle Bern, who would travel to Boston States to fish and to visit his sister. Uncle Bern use to sing a ditty that stuck with me called, "There are Lots of Fish in Bonavist' Harbour"...Listen and Lyrics.
In Newfoundland they commonly refer to Boston as Boston States. Back when immigrants were coming by ship from Ireland, the first port of call after many grueling weeks at sea was St Johns, Newfoundland. Many chose to get off the ship and stay in Newfoundland, rather than continue the voyage on to Boston. The immigrants who decide to sail on to Boston States were referred to as "two-boaters."
There was one additional thing that convinced everyone that we were related; it was the striking resemblance between my sister, Ann, and Phyllis Cleary Reynolds. After this initial visit Ann developed a love of Newfoundland and she chose to celebrate her 60th birthday with her entire family in Harbour Grace. And over time we have become more educated about the early life of your grandparents and how every summer entire families would board a steam ship (SS Kyle) to travel to Labrador to fish for and salt cod. Today the boat lays aground in Harbour Grace; a remembrance of a gone-by era.
Ann, my wife Pat and I flew to St. Johns and arrived after dark and on a very foggy night; the driving was treacherous. We had booked a reservation at a B&B in Harbour Grace and the next morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day. So we decided to take a ride and do some exploring. As we drove along the coastline we were blown away by the high cliffs and the magnificent beauty. As we went around each curve in the road, the beauty just seemed to get better and better.
Driving into the small town of Harbour Grace we were greeted my a billboard declaring, Welcome to the Home of Danny Cleary. Of course Cleary was our grandmother's family name. Danny Cleary was a hockey player and a local hero and in Canada devotion to hockey is almost religious. This was particularly significant in Newfoundland because very few natives had ever played in the National Hockey League. Danny Cleary had not only made it to the big leagues but he was the number one draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1997. Danny, as a member of the Detroit Red Wings 2008 Stanley Cup Championship team and had the honor bringing the cup to Newfoundland, becoming the first Newfoundlander to do so.
Our first stop in our exploration was the local catholic church, which was a magnificent stone cathedral that was in disrepair or under repair; I am not sure which? In any case the size of church didn't match the size of the town. Later we found that Harbour Grace was once the second largest town in Newfoundland but fires had wiped whole sections of the town. Fishing was the main industry but as it died, the population moved away. At the church we talked to clerk and we told her about our family search and of course she wanted to know if we were related to Danny Cleary. She pointed us to a family that lived on the harbor and arranged for us to visit. The visit was pleasant but the couple were skeptical that we were related. She called Phyllis Cleary Reynolds and we were then invited to their home.
Phyllis called her sister, Patsy, who drove over from St Johns. Patsy was the keeper of the family genealogy and she brought along a large sheet of paper that contained the Cleary family tree. As we talked and we tried to determine if we were related, the Cleary family members seemed to be filled with doubt. At one point they tried to make an association because of my first name, Bernard, which was a very common name in the Cleary clan. Of course they were barking down the wrong tree (pun intended). Finally Patsy unveiled the family tree document, which stated that their grandfather had two sisters, Agnes and Margaret, but no one seemed to know what became of them. Consequently there were two terminated legs on the tree. I then replied that I could tell them what happened to two sisters. Agnes went to Boston and was my grandmother, and Margaret went to Montreal and became Margaret Martin.
I could also remember as a young child my grandmother's brother, Uncle Bern, who would travel to Boston States to fish and to visit his sister. Uncle Bern use to sing a ditty that stuck with me called, "There are Lots of Fish in Bonavist' Harbour"...Listen and Lyrics.
In Newfoundland they commonly refer to Boston as Boston States. Back when immigrants were coming by ship from Ireland, the first port of call after many grueling weeks at sea was St Johns, Newfoundland. Many chose to get off the ship and stay in Newfoundland, rather than continue the voyage on to Boston. The immigrants who decide to sail on to Boston States were referred to as "two-boaters."
There was one additional thing that convinced everyone that we were related; it was the striking resemblance between my sister, Ann, and Phyllis Cleary Reynolds. After this initial visit Ann developed a love of Newfoundland and she chose to celebrate her 60th birthday with her entire family in Harbour Grace. And over time we have become more educated about the early life of your grandparents and how every summer entire families would board a steam ship (SS Kyle) to travel to Labrador to fish for and salt cod. Today the boat lays aground in Harbour Grace; a remembrance of a gone-by era.