Codroy Valley
Codroy Valley can boast of having the earliest recorded evidence of settlement on the West Coast. In 1822, when W.E. Cormack crossed the island he commented on the number of settlers in the Valley.
"......W.E. Cormack, who travelled about the island in 1822, and who indicated that there were five families living at Codroy, five families (28 persons) at what is now Searston, ten indian families along the Great Codroy River, and two families (17 persons) along the Little Codroy River."
It is thought that the earliest white settlers in the Valley were the Gale brothers from West England. Four brothers came from England and settled in what was later known as Grand River Gut. As this area was exposed to winter storms, the brothers moved to what is now presently Millville in an area close to the river or the sea, which were to a great extent, the source of their livelyhood. In a sheltered area the brothers cleared the land and built a new home. The land they cleared is still occupied by their decendents of the fourth and fifth generations. The period from 1825-1845 saw a great influx of settlers from Cape Breton Island who were largely Acadians, Scots, Irish Catholics, and English Protestants. Most of the early protestants had been converted to the catholic faith by the turn of the century - excepting only the protestant fishing village of Codroy. This was largely due to the stationing of a resident priest, Father Alexis Belanger, some 55 miles away at Sandy Point. Some of the early settlers were; the Bruces who came to Nfld via St. Pierre, from St. Malo in Brittany, the McLeans from Mabou, Cape Breton, the McIsaacs from Inverness county in Cape Breton, the Aucoins or O'Quinns also from Cape Breton, the Ryans from Margaree, Cape Breton, the Halls from Lunenburg, Novia Scotia, and the McDougalls, whose origins are uncertain
"....the lure was the stories that traveled to Nova Scotia of the wonderful fertility of the soil in many parts of the West Coast of Nfld. It was also well known that it was easy to get a block of land which was gratis if one could hold it. Taxes were almost unknown. These facts, coupled with the then scarcity of land in Cape Breton, resulted in the emigration of many families from that locality and their taking up residence in Newfoundland.
Although some French, Gaelic and MicMac were spoken, the area was predominantly English. Gaelic was also common, however, and Father Belanger, who was a french speaking priest, encountered a great deal of trouble with the language barrier. In fact in 1865, a petition was drawn up by Father Belanger and his Gaelic speaking parishioners and it was forwarded to Bishop McKinnon. It asked the Bishop to send to the area every now and again a priest who would be able to hear confessions and instruct in Gaelic.
This was answered by the coming of Father Shaw in 1866 and 1867, and then by the coming of Father Chisolm and Father Fraser in 1868. They would stay for periods of several weeks before returning to their home parishes. When Father Belanger died on September 7, 1868 ( exactly 18 years after he arrived in the diocese) he was replaced by Father Thomas Sears. Father Sears arrived in Sandy Point on December 14, 1868.
In 1872 there still was no government representatives, no civil law, no roads, carriages or wheeled vehicles and no mail service. The Valley was isolated from the rest of the world except for travel by sea. Monsignor Sears began pressing for mail service in 1869 and in 1872 some mail was provided to the coast. The telegraph was extended to the west in 1878, the same time that the court house was set up in St. George's. In 1881, Sir Frederick Carther, announced that the Newfoundland government was now authorized to make land grants on the French Shore, thus officially opening up settlement. He also ordered that the residents of the West Coast elect 2 representatives to the House of Assembly.
Around 1905 the paper mill opened in Grand Falls and the iron ore mines re-opened in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Then people began moving out rather than into the Valley. Monsignor Sears died in 1885. Although various priests spent varying periods of time in the Valley, a cousin, Monsignor Andrew Sears was the next priest to spend a long period of time in the Valley-from the first decade of the 1900's to his death in 1944. Monsignor was especially noted for the great deal of construction which occurred during his residence in the area.
O'REGANS
O'Regans was named after Father Camelius O'Regan, who drowned between Port aux Basques and Rose Blanche on October 25, 1901 A informant moved to O'Regans in 1905 at the age of 9. There were families living in the area then, although it is uncertain how long they had been there. The original families in the area were; Pat Ryan, Tom Ryan, Will Ryan, Ed Ryan, Mike Farrell, a McInness family, and three Smith brothers, Bill, George and Jim (who are the sons of John Smith) The first stores were located in Searston were Knights had a store before 1900. William McLean had a store in Searston directly afterwards, this home still stands today, to the right of the dirt road on the way to the beach. The McLean's left or died about 30 years ago, and are remembered as being quite old by residents of the area who were quite young at the time. All stores carried a living-line of goods -only the necessities. While the main industry was farming, some logging was done. While some was done for Port aux Basques, the majority of the logging was done for Bowaters. The contract to Bowaters included the wording "100,000, more or less". Families in the area usually kept cattle - as many as 20 heads or more. There would be 2 or 3 young cattle to sell each fall and $100.00 would be a very good price for a fair sized calf. There were fox farms kept in the area, on a small scale. The largest in O'Regans, kept by Mr. John Ryan, had 6 or 7 pair of foxes. Most had only one pair. The fox would be caught in the spring and killed early in the New Year. Each year Mr. Ryan would travel to the United States, usually New York, with the fur, by boat and by train. Fox farms died out in the area about 55 years ago, and they started several years after the turn of the century. Mail was brought in by steamers to Port aux Basques and taken by train to Doyles. Mail carriers with a horse and carriage would bring it the rest of the way. The first school in O'Regans was built by Monsignor Andrew Sears. However, it was converted into a garage and still stands today. Mr. and Mrs. Sandy Ryan ran a rather large tourist industry. They kept as many as 30 tourists at a time. The business began 51 years ago and Mr. and Mrs. Ryan controlled it until 11 years ago when they passed it on to their son. Mr. Ryan has been a self-taught guide since he was 16 years old._ At that time tourists needed licenses for game but residents did not. The Ryan's had a four bedroom cabin with a cook-house outside and they attracted tourists from as far away as Florida, to hunt game and fish. Our informants stated that Indian Hill was referred to as such because two families of Indians lived there. Sonny Peters and Tommy Benoit, who are now all dead, once lived below the hill. These Indians were from Christmas Island, Cape Breton. Indian Hill can still be seen today, if you pass by Gillis' Cabins, you can see 3 houses on the right hand side of the road. Just past the last of these (Wilfred Downey's) is Indian Hill with a cemetery at the bottom or the side of the hill.
http://www.nfcap.nf.ca/west/CodroyValley/
Source:
Page contributed by: Brenda Janes, Codroy, NF, Canada
Page revised: August 2002 (Terry Piercey)
Roman Catholic Religion
Codroy Roman Catholic records start, circa 1863. See Codroy in the Parish Records Finding Aid.
Earlier records were the responsibility of the St. George's Parish starting in 1850. See St. George's in the Parish Records Finding Aid.
Rev. Alexis Bélanger, the first resident priest appointed to the West Coast of Newfoundland, arrived in Sandy Point, Bay St. George in September 1850. The records of the St. George's Parish start at that time. See St. George's in the Parish Records Finding Aid.
For the earliest settlers of the Roman Catholic faith on the West Coast, there was a total absence of organized religion. To practice their faith and to receive the sacraments, some travelled great distances to places in Quebec and Nova Scotia. As well, Canadian priests often availed themselves of the semiannual trips of the supply steamers servicing the lighthouses and signal stations on the coasts. These priests, with the approval of the Vicar-Apostolic of Newfoundland, administered the sacraments of baptism and matrimony.
Circa 1820, Rev. William Hearne paid a visit to the Western Shore of Newfoundland. He travelled by foot across country with the aid of a native guide. He visited Sandy Point and Robinson's Head. For records, circa 1820, see Parish of St. John the Baptist (Basilica), St. John's in the Parish Records Finding Aid.
In the year 1848, the Right Rev. Bishop Mullock of St. John's, accompanied by Rev. Richard Condon, Parish Priest of Placentia, made a visitation of the West Coast as far north as Ferrole on the Northern Peninsula. For records, circa 1848, see Parish of St. John the Baptist (Basilica), St. John's in the Parish Records Finding Aid.