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John Bemister (1815-1892), politician, was born in Carbonear, Newfoundland in 1815. He died at Harbour Grace on 23 December 1892.

Bemister entered politics in 1855 as a Conservative supporter of Sir Hugh Hoyles and represented the district of Bay de Verde in the first House of Assembly after the granting of Responsible Government. Bemister continued to represent this district up to 1870 when he retired from politics.

In 1861 he was appointed to the cabinet as Receiver General, the major financial portfolio. In 1865, he was appointed by the Prime Minister Frederick Carter to the position of Colonial Secretary. Confederation was a key election issue in 1869, and Bemister, who supported union with Canada, maintained the support of his district despite the controversial nature of the election. Religious tensions flared as the Catholic Church advised its faithful to vote against the issue, while the Protestant Churches took the opposite stand. In the end, the anti-Confederates were successful and Confederation became a dead issue.

Upon his retirement from politics in 1870, Bemister was appointed a sheriff of the Northern District, where he held the position until 1892.

Alexis Bélanger (1808-1868), Catholic priest, was born at Saint Roch des Aulnaies, Québec, on 18 January 1808, the son of Marie Talbot and Pierre Bélanger. He was educated at the College de Sainte Anne de la Pocatierre and the Grande Seminaire de Québec. Bélanger was ordained a priest in 1835 by Joseph Signay, Bishop of Québec.

From 1835 to 1839, Rev. Bélanger served as an assistant priest in the parish of Sainte-Marie de Beauce, Québec. In that year, he was sent by his bishop as a missionary to the Roman Catholic population on the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Gulf of St. Lawrence. During the 1840s, he traveled throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence region, spending winters at Rustico, Prince Edward Island, Caraquet, New Brunswick, and as far north as Blanc Sablon on the Labrador Coast.

In 1850, Rev. Bélanger was sent by the Bishop of Québec to minister to the French population along the west coast of Newfoundland. Most likely, this appointment was requested by John Thomas Mullock, Bishop of St. John's, who had been endeavoring for a number of years to have a Francophone priest minister to the inhabitants of that region of Newfoundland. Bishop Mullock appointed Rev. Bélanger as his vicar general for the district, with his residence at Sandy Point, St. George's Bay.

In the community, Rev. Bélanger also acted as a doctor, dentist, carpenter, teacher, farmer, and logger. During his residency in St. George's Bay, he helped build the first church at Sandy Point, under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, on a site staked out by Bishop Mullock during his visit to the area in 1848. The wooden church, measuring 13.7 m by 6.7 m (45 ft. by 22 ft.) was replaced by a much larger one in the 1870s. In 1904, it became the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, headquarters of the newly created Diocese of St. George's.

In addition to Sandy Point and the surrounding area, Rev. Bélanger's parish included the coastline of western Newfoundland and the Bay of Islands area. After 1854, he also began regular visits to the Codroy Valley area to minister to the Roman Catholic population there. Rev. Bélanger died at Sandy Point on 7 September 1868. In accordance with his wishes, his remains were embalmed and returned to his home town and were buried under the parish church at Saint Roch des Aulnaies on 29 September 1868.

Bay St. George Parish
General/Correspondence/Property and Plans.
St. George's, St. Mary the Virgin
Jeffrey's, St. Mary Magdalene (1986-1988)
Robinsons, St. George (1963-1989)
St. David's, St. Michael and All Angels (1979-1989)
Sandy Point [Heritage Village] (1966-1977)

The Bay St. George Parish is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in the Diocese of Western Newfoundland.
Churches include:
St. Mary Magdalene (Jeffrey's)
St. George (Robinson's)
St. Michael and All Angels (St. David's)
St. Mary the Virgin (St. George's)
Holy Trinity (Barachois Brook) (? - 1976)
Stephenville (1964 - 197?)
Stephenvile Crossing (1964 - 199?)

George W. Battock (1892-1984), Catholic priest, was born at Brigus South, District of Ferryland, Newfoundland, on 22 April 1892, the son of Ellen (Gregory) and John Battcock. He died at St. Patrick's Mercy Home, St. John's in 1984. He is buried at Belvedere Cemetery, St. John's.

Battock received his elementary education at the parish school at Ferryland. In 1910-11 he worked with the Reid Newfoundland Railway Company and subsequently enrolled at St. Bonaventure's College, St. John's, where he completed his high school education (1911-14). Battock attended Holy Heart Seminary, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was ordained a priest on 21 December 1918 in the chapel of Presentation Convent, Cathedral Square, St. John's, by Edward Patrick Roche, Archbishop of St. John's.

Almost immediately following his ordination, Rev. Battock was given a temporary appointment as the administrator of St. Michael's Parish, Bell Island. In June of 1919 he was appointed as the parish priest of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, St. Lawrence. He was subsequently granted a leave of absence for health reasons. When he resumed his priestly pastoral ministry in 1923 he was selected as parish priest of the newly established Sacred Heart Parish, St. Vincent's, Saint Mary's Bay, where he served for almost 48 years.

Rev. Battock retired from active parish duties on 31 August 1970 and moved to the Cathedral Basilica Parish Residence, St. John's. As his health deteriorated, he was transferred to St. Patrick's Mercy Home where he resided at the time of his death.

Battle Harbour, formerly a permanent settlement, is a summer fishing settlement on the coast of southeastern Labrador. According to legend the Montagnais aided by the French fought their last battle here against the Inuit, circa 1960. It is not known when Battle Harbour was first established as a European settlement but by 1785 a sealing station operated there and the community grew with emphasis on the seal and cod fishery. In 1850, Labrador mission headquarters was set up in Battle Harbour and a school constructed shortly after. In 1857, the church, St. James, was built and in 1893 a hospital, one of the first in Labrador, was built there. In 1918, the first co-operative, established by Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, challenged the merchants' previous monopoly and aided the settlement's heavily indebted fishermen. In the fall of 1930, Battle Harbour was destroyed by fire and a new school, hospital and outbuildings were rebuilt at Mary's Harbour, 11km away from Battle Harbour, on the mainland. The relocation of these services as well as the decline in salmon and cod fisheries led to the resettlement of Battle Harbour in other areas under the Fisheries Household Resettlement Program, circa 1966. In 1980 Battle Harbour was the site of a year round government weather station. In the 1990's Battle Harbour was declared an historic site and underwent a restoration program to preserve the history of the area.

Battle Harbour, formerly a permanent settlement, is a summer fishing settlement on the coast of southeastern Labrador. According to legend the Montagnais aided by the French fought their last battle here against the Inuit, circa 1960. It is not known when Battle Harbour was first established as a European settlement but by 1785 a sealing station operated there and the community grew with emphasis on the seal and cod fishery. In 1850, Labrador mission headquarters was set up in Battle Harbour and a school constructed shortly after. In 1857, the church, St. James, was built and in 1893 a hospital, one of the first in Labrador, was built there. In 1918, the first co-operative, established by Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, challenged the merchants' previous monopoly and aided the settlement's heavily indebted fishermen. In the fall of 1930, Battle Harbour was destroyed by fire and a new school, hospital and outbuildings were rebuilt at Mary's Harbour, 11km away from Battle Harbour, on the mainland. The relocation of these services as well as the decline in salmon and cod fisheries led to the resettlement of Battle Harbour in other areas under the Fisheries Household Resettlement Program, circa 1966. In 1980 Battle Harbour was the site of a year round government weather station. In the 1990's Battle Harbour was declared an historic site and underwent a restoration program to preserve the history of the area.

Elijah Batson owned and operated a general store at Trinity, Newfoundland, from 1934 to 1961. Before 1934, he was a clerk or junior bookkeeper at Ryan Brothers Ltd., Trinity. Initially, his business was located at the old Lockyer premises near the Green Forge, but he had relocated to the Commercial Stores property opposite the Royal Bank by 1938. By 1956, Batson had again moved the operation to the Erickson premises.

E. Batson sold groceries, hardware, and dry goods, which was typical of general stores in that era. The firm was atypical because it did not deal in codfish, only accepting cash or credit as a medium of exchange. In the twentieth century, many smaller outport firms like E. Batson began relying on the increasing pool of potential customers who carried cash and were not bound by credit and debt to the large fish merchants such as Ryan Brothers, Limited. The business closed when Elijah Batson died in 1961.

On 5 June 1784, Newfoundland was made an independent ecclesiastical territory/mission with its establishment as a Prefecture Apostolic. The arrival of Rev. James Louis O'Donel, the newly appointed prefect of Newfoundland, in St. John's in that same year is generally recognized as the date of the founding of the parish currently known as Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. However, the name of this original St. John's-based parish is uncertain. Records comprising the fonds only make reference to the "Old Chapel" (on Henry Street) that acted as the first parish church and later cathedral when the Diocese of Newfoundland was erected on 4 June 1847. It also is unclear whether this original entity actually was established as an official parish in 1784 or as some other less formal unit (references exist to the District of St. John's). Certainly, by 1847, with the erection of Newfoundland as a Diocese, a formal parish existed in St. John's.

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, constructed between 1841 and 1855 (consecrated on 9 September 1855), replaced the "Old Chapel," and in 1955 was raised to the rank of Minor Basilica, giving rise to the parish's current name, Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Parish (more popularly known as the Cathedral Parish and, later, the Basilica Parish).

The original parish boundaries stretched from La Manche to Holyrood and over time have undergone several changes. The most recent occurred in 1998 when St. Joseph's, located in the East End of St. John's, was suppressed and its congregation absorbed by the Basilica Parish. Currently, the parish boundaries include Pleasantville, Quidi Vidi, and the downtown core.

The Basilica Parish was active in the establishment and administration of schools within its boundaries, including Our Lady of Mercy, Presentation, St. Patrick's Hall, St. Bonaventure's, Holy Heart of Mary, and Brother Rice schools. The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Congregation (the Presentation Sisters), the Sisters of Mercy, and the Irish Christian Brothers also were closely affiliated with parish and educational affairs, supervising many of these parochial schools and participating in the general operations of the parish.

The Basilica Parish has also maintained close relations with numerous societies and organizations active within its geographical boundaries. Such past and present bodies include the Purgatorial Society, the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, the Catholic Cadet Corps (CCC), the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Third Order of St. Francis, the Total Abstinence and Benefit Society, the Propagation of the Faith Society, the Blessed Virgin Mary Society, the Legion of Mary, the Catholic Women's League (CWL), and the Knights of Columbus (KOC). Thus, the operations of the parish are intimately intertwined with several allied lay societies and organizations (the above enumeration is not exhaustive).

Structurally, the parish is currently organized along lines similar to most Roman Catholic parishes, including a Parish Pastoral Council, a Finance Committee, and a Liturgy Committee. These bodies are comprised of clergy and members of the laity, established to administer pastoral concerns and affairs. Other bodies found in the parish include the Service Committee, the Restoration Committee, the Family Care Centre and the Hospitality Committee.

The oldest parish in Newfoundland, the Basilica Parish forms part of the Archdiocese of St. John's and is the seat of the Archbishop. Thus, the parish is somewhat unique in that parish and archdiocesan affairs often converge. While the Basilica Parish is administered by an appointed priest entrusted with the pastoral care of the community, the Archbishop, officially, is the chief pastor with his cathedra (or throne) located in the Basilica-Cathedral.

The following is a list of the prelates who have presided over the Basilica Parish: James L. O'Donel, prefect and later vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland (1784-1807); Patrick Lambert, vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland (1807-1816); Thomas Scallan, vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland (1816-1830); Michael A. Fleming, vicar Apostolic and later Bishop of Newfoundland (1830-1850); John T. Mullock, Bishop of Newfoundland and later St. John's (1850-1869); Thomas J. Power, Bishop of St. John's (1870-1893); Michael F. Howley, Bishop and later Archbishop of St. John's (1895-1914); Edward P. Roche, Archbishop of St. John's (1915-1950); Patrick J. Skinner, Archbishop of St. John's (1951-1979); Alphonsus L. Penney, Archbishop of St. John's (1979-1991); James H. MacDonald, Archbishop of St. John's (1991-2000); and Brendan O'Brien, Archbishop of St. John's (2000- ).