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Authority record
Knight, William
Family · 1722-1843

William Knight (1722-1799) and his son Benjamin Knight (1767-1843) were shoremen from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who were involved in the deep sea cod fishery. In addition to owning several schooners, the family outfitted voyages from their waterfront chandlery, retailed provisions and dry goods to fishing families, and kept a flakeyard in Marblehead where they employed retired mariners to dry the cod from their vessels. William conducted the business until his death in 1799, when it passed to his son Benjamin, who operated it through to 1833.

Johnson (family)
Family · 1853-1973

The Johnson family was a prominent Newfoundland professional and polictical family. Members of the family represented in the fonds include George Macness Johnson (1853-1935), and daughters Sybil Johnson Dunfield (1887-1973), Estelle (Jill) Johnson Toplis, and Dorothy Johnson.

George Macness Johnson (1853-1935), lawyer, politician, judge, was born in St. John's, Newfoundland on 11 August 1853, son of the Rev. George M. Johnson (1824-1905) and Frances (Carrington) Johnson. He married Anne Elizabeth Bown of Sydney, Nova Scotia. They had three daughters, Sybil, Estelle, and Dorothy, and one son, Macness. Johnson died in St. John's on 17 December 1935.

Johnson was educated at the Church of England Academy, St. John's and at St. John's College, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England. After completing his education, he returned to Newfoundland in August 1870, and joined the law firm of William Whiteway. In 1878, Johnson and Whiteway established the partnership of Whiteway & Johnson. For nearly two decades, Johnson carried on the law practice while Whiteway pursued his political career.

Johnson entered politics in a 1894 by-election, running as a Liberal in the three-member district of Trinity. Along with two other Whiteway supporters, he won his seat by a narrow margin. In the October 1897 general election, Johnson and his Liberal colleagues lost to three Conservative candidates. Johnson again contested the Trinity district in the November 1900 general election, securing victory.

In 1902 Johnson was named an Associate Judge of the Newfoundland Supreme Court. He remained on the bench until 1926 when he retired to England. He returned to Newfoundland in 1935 shortly before his death.

Johnson organized a branch of the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA) in St. John's, based on the English organization. From 1875 he was a member of the Masonic Order. He was also a keen sportsman and instituted the Johnson Shield Sports which organized games among boys under twelve years of age who attended the St. John's school colleges.

Sybil Johnson Dunfield (1887-1973), was born 19 November 1887, the eldest daughter of George and Elizabeth Johnson. On 8 August 1918, she married Brian Dunfield (1888-1968), a St. John's lawyer who received a knighthood in 1949. They had one daughter, Dorothy Helen, and two sons, John Brian Macness and Anthony Henry. Sybil, Lady Dunfield, died in St. John's 14 December 1973 at the age of 86 years.

Sybil Johnson attended Bishop Spencer School and Spencer Lodge in St. John's before going to Europe to finish her education (1902). She attended Cheltenham Girls School, England (1902-4) and later studied music, violin and voice in Leipzig, Germany. She remained in Leipzig until September 1909 when she returned to Newfoundland.

Little is known of Sybil Johnson's life after her return to St. John's. Two years after the outbreak of World War I, she joined the war effort, and, in 1916, enrolled in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). She left St. John's in December 1916 and journeyed to New York and then to England via the USMS St. Louis. She trained as a VAD at Queen Mary's Hostel for Nurses, London, before being assigned to the 1st Western General Military Hospital, Fozakerley, near Liverpool, in January 1917. She remained there until July 1918 when she returned to Newfoundland via New York.

Following her marriage, Sybil Johnson resided at "Arcady" located at 173 Waterford Bridge Road, St. John's. She was involved in various social activities, often providing violin music at charitable events.

Estelle (Jill) Johnson Toplis and Dorothy Johnson were Sybil's younger sisters but little information is available on them. Like Sybil, they received formal education in Europe; during 1908-9 school year, all three sisters were at school at Leipzig. Estelle (Jill) eventually married a Mr. Toplis; Dorothy did not marry. Both women were still alive when Sybil died in 1973.

Family · 1879-1954

George Chesley Harris (1879-1954), businessman, politician, was born in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, on 14 July 1879, the eldest son of Mary (Forsey) and Samuel Harris, a Grand Bank vessel owner, captain and merchant. On 11 June 1904, Harris married Charlotte (Lottie) Pitts Pratt (1884-1954), an artist and music instructor. Lottie and George had one child who died shortly after birth. They were, however, very close to the children of George's sister, Eleanor (Harris) Carr. George C. Harris died on 28 Jan. 1954. Wife Lottie died in the same year, on 8 Sept. 1954.

Harris was educated at the Methodist Academy, Grand Bank. Following graduation, he attended Mount Allison Academy and Commercial College in Sackville, New Brunswick, where he completed commercial courses. After his return to Newfoundland, he joined his father's mercantile firm, Samuel Harris Ltd., and managed a branch of the business in Marystown. An interesting aside: In 1881, George's father, Samuel Harris, had taken his 70-ton schooner, named George C. Harris in honour of his son, to the Grand Banks fishery, a venture which led eventually to the establishment of the successful fishing enterprise.

In 1914, George became the managing director of Samuel Harris Export Company. The Harris family was the most active of the Grand Banks merchants investing in the construction of fishing schooners. Between 1910 and 1920 the following schooners, commonly called the fleet of the "Generals" were built for the Harris' enterprises: Dorothy Louise (Allendale, N.S., 1910), General Maude (Shelburne, N.S., 1917), Roberta Ray (Grand Bank, 1917), Carl Tibbo (Grand Bank, 1918), General Byng (Marystown, 1918), General Currie (Grand Bank, 1918), General Smuts (Shelburne 1918), General Allenby (Grand Bank, 1918), General Horne (Shelburne, 1919), General Jacobs (Shelburne, 1919), General Knox (Marystown, 1919), General Plummer (Allendale, 1919), General Ironsides (Grand Bank, 1920), General Trenchard (Allendale, 1920), General Rawlinson (Marystown, 1920).

Under the direction of George Harris, the company quickly expanded to other communities on the Burin Peninsula, Hermitage (South Coast) and Change Islands (Notre Dame Bay). While initially this expansion was a successful move for the company, poor market conditions and new fishing regulations by the government soon proved that the rapid expansion had been unwise. In 1923, the firm declared bankruptcy, then considered the largest bankruptcy in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The firm was taken over by a consortium of creditors, including the Bank of Nova Scotia, who renamed it the Samuel Harris Export Company and appointed George Harris' brother-in-law and former bank manager, Percival Carr, as its managing director. In the 1930s, it was restructured as the Grand Bank Fisheries.

With the help of his brother-in law, Percy Carr, George did not lose the Harris home. He worked in another company created by his father, Western Marine Insurance Company, and, in time, became its president. George attributed the loss of the family export company to the fishing regulations introduced by the Squires-Coaker coalition government, rather than to international economic conditions. As a result, he entered politics and was elected to the House of Assembly in 1923 as a supporter of John R. Bennett's opposition Liberal-Labour-Progressive party, which - despite its name - represented a coalition of conservative and dissident interests. The following year, Albert E. Hickman, George's cousin, became prime minister of Newfoundland and George switched parties in order to support Hickman. Following political defeat in the 1924 election, Harris became a strong supporter of Confederation and acted as the chief returning officer (1949, 1953) for the federal riding of Burin-Burgeo. He also served on the boards of the local Methodist church and the Grand Bank hospital.

Wife Charlotte (Lottie) Pitts Pratt (1884-1954), an artist and music instructor, was the daughter of a Methodist minister, the Rev. John Pratt. Her brother, Edwin J. Pratt (1882-1964) became a renowned Canadian poet, professor and critic. Nephew, John Christopher Pratt (1935- ) is a painter and printmaker with an international reputation.

Lottie's family moved to various communities in Newfoundland due to her father's career in the ministry. She received her early education at St. John's (where she had musical training), Fortune and Bay Roberts. After Lottie married George, she taught piano and voice lessons in Grand Bank and sang in the Methodist choir and community concerts. Aside from music, Lottie was also an accomplished artist and gave many of her watercolour paintings to friends. Throughout her married life Lottie was involved with her church and charitable organizations. She hosted card games and tea parties to raise money for such organizations as the Frazer Guild and the Woman's Patriotic Association.

In 1908, four years following their marriage, Samuel Harris built a house for the couple as a wedding gift. A three-storeyed Queen Anne style dwelling, the Harris House became a Registered Heritage Structure in May 1993 and received a Sothcott Award for restoration in 1996.

Gosling family
Family · 1863-

William Gilbert Gosling (1863-1939), businessman, politician, historian, and social activist, was born at Bermuda 8 September 1983, son of Elizabeth (Gilbert) and Charles Gosling. In 1888, he married Armine Nutting, headmistress of the Bishop Spencer College; the Goslings had four children; Ambrose (b. 25 Nov., 1888), Armine, Frances and Arthur. Gosling died in Bermuda on 5 November 1930.

Gosling was educated at Bermuda University. In 1881, he moved to St. John's to work at Harvey & Company. Gosling earned several promotions, and became a director in 1913.

In addition to his duties at Harvey & Company, Gosling was active in the Newfoundland Historical Society and wrote several Newfoundland histories (History of Labrador, 1907; The Life of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 1909), [founded and served as president of the Newfoundland Board of Trade (1913)], was appointed municipal councilor (1914) and elected mayor (1916-1921). Gosling also enjoyed painting. Gosling was active in the Child Welfare Association (founded 1921). In 1928, Gosling retired to Bermuda.

Armine Nutting Gosling (1862-1942) teacher, suffragette, author and community activist, was born in Waterloo, Quebec, in 1862, daughter of J. Nutting. In 1888, she married William Gilbert Gosling. The Goslings had four children; Ambrose (b. 25 Nov., 1888), Armine, Frances and Arthur. Gosling died in Bermuda on 15 December 1942.

Gosling arrived in St. John's in 1882 to assume the duties of headmistress of the Church of England School (later Bishop Spencer College). During her residency in Newfoundland, Gosling was involved in a number of community organizations. She was a founding member of the Society for the Protection of Animals, the Child Welfare Association, Woman's Suffrage League, and the Ladies' Reading Room. Gosling was the first woman to serve on the Council of Higher Education, and was an active suffragette in the local women's movement.

In 1928, William and Armine Nutting relocated to Bermuda. Following the death of her husband, Gosling donated his book collection to the citizens of St. John's (the Gosling Memorial Library opened in 1936) and also wrote "Labrador and North Newfoundland, an Outline History of the Work of the International Grenfell Association," and published "William Gilbert Gosling: A Tribute."

Forward (family)
Family · 1786-

The Forward family includes the descendants of George and Susanna Forward. George Forward (1786-1857), clerk, merchant, shipowner, was the son of Susannah (Hassell) and Ambrose Forward, a well-to-do cloth merchant of Sturminster Newton, Dorset. Forward married Susanna Taylor of Harbour Grace in 1815. He died in 1879.

Forward immigrated to Newfoundland with his brother Charles (b. 1783) in the early 1800s to work for one of the Poole mercantile firms in Carbonear. By the 1820s, the brothers had struck out on their own as planters. In 1825, he was part-owner, with his brother Charles, in a schooner. Charles does not appear to have had much part of the Forward business beyond the 1820s. George, however, accumulated considerable wealth and property, and was very active in public life.

In the 1830s, Forward formed a partnership with William Willis Bemister of Carbonear. They purchased the mercantile premises in Carbonear of Slade, Biddle & Company, a Poole firm that became insolvent. Forward's company became one of the principal mercantile firms in Conception Bay, engaging in the import-export trade, supplying and operating vessels in the cod and seal fisheries, purchasing fish, seal skins and other commodities, and dealing with fishing families as the truck (or credit) system. Forward also was deeply involved in the Labrador cod fishery. Between 1825 and 1857, his name was associated with the ownership of 16 vessels. In 1839, he supplied five vessels for the seal hunt, four of which he owned. In 1842, he purchased shares in the Newfoundland Steam Navigation Company. He also had interests in the Mutual Insurance Company of Conception Bay and was a Justice of the Peace for Carbonear district (from 1849 onwards).

Sons Henry and Mark Foward became master-mariners for other firms. Henry later become lighthouse keeper on Carbonear Island. The family home, referred to as "The Mansion," later devolved to his son Mark.

Family · 1923-1984

Bruce Stacey was born in the Goulds in 1923. He spent a large part of his career as a Marine Aids Technician with the Canadian Coast and for many years carried out maintenance on their Lighthouses. In the mid 1980s Stacey was instrumental in starting a museum at the Coast Guard facilities on the South Side, St. John's in which he displayed the many artifacts he had collected while working there.

Stacey began his 57 year tenure with the scouting movement when he began as a Cub with the 6th St. John's Troop in the 1940s. As a scouter and member of the Provincial council he became involved in camps, training sessions, cuborees, jamborees etc. Bruce Stacey died in 1994.

Aileen (Mickey) Stacey was born in New York. Like her husband Bruce she was devoted to the scouting movement in Newfoundland. In 1972 she was appointed Assistant Provincial Commissioner for Beavers and was instrumental in the organization of the program in the province. She participated in many other scouting events and was involved in many jamborees both Provincially, Nationally and also attended a World jamboree in 1984. Mickey Stacey died in 1984.