THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR – GRADES 9 TO 12 canadiangeographic.ca/atlas Case Study 2: The Veys The Veys of Trinity Bay were a family from New Ross, Ireland, which left that country under unusual circumstances. In New Ross, the family surname was Rice. Michael Rice and his wife, Sarah, had several children and times were very hard. Sarah had just given birth to Catherine, with the assistance of a mid-wife, Mary Browne. Mary and Michael Browne were friends of Sarah and Mick. During an early summer’s evening in 1836, the family received a loud knock upon the door. A gang of men demanded to see Michael Browne. Because the gang members were bearing arms, Mick quickly grabbed a weapon and, along with Michael, confronted the local men. Both Michael and Mick were forced down the road and into the river. Here they both were killed. Fearing for their lives the women quickly gathered underneath the house and developed a plan to escape their husbands’ killers. Sarah Rice, sons James, John and youngest daughter, Catherine, and their friend Mary Browne fled to England. Once in England they arranged passage on a ship traveling to Newfoundland. Before crossing the Atlantic, all of them reached a decision to change their names. It was agreed that the surname would become Vye and that their religion should be changed to Protestant. Mary would also become known as Granny Elizabeth. With their new identities in place it was vowed that no one would reveal the family secret. Sarah would locate her two oldest daughters who were living at Grates Cove upon their arrival in Newfoundland. However, while crossing the Atlantic, Sarah passed away and her infant, Catherine, died before reaching Newfoundland. Upon their arrival in Newfoundland, the remaining three slowly made their way up the Conception Bay shoreline until they reached Grates Cove. Here James and John established themselves in the fishing industry and married local women from Grates Cove. James married Lavina Stoyles, while John married Margaret Benson. James, along with his two older sons, started to cross Trinity Bay and established a sawmill at Long Beach to supply materials to Grates Cove and Trinity. During this time period, Grates Cove population continued to grow and land for houses, stages, wharves and fishing were become more difficult to obtain. Families had already started to move to the Southwest Arm area. In the summer of 1865, James and Lavinia moved their family, along with Granny Elizabeth, to Long Beach. Here James felt his family had everything - an abundance of land, forest, fertile soil, and rich fishing grounds. In 1868, John, who had remained in Grates Cove, drowned at sea hunting seals. His death was about one year after his brother James. Granny Elizabeth had outlived her four Rice allies who had left Ireland with her. On October 22, 1874, Granny Elizabeth passed away at the age of one hundred and two years. Her only request before her death was that she be buried at Grates Cove. Her body had to be “salted-in” until fair weather would allow its removal to Grates Cove for burial. The fear of reprisal did not end with their deaths, however. The family secret had been so well kept that it lasted another four generations before it was finally divulged.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 14:08:10 +0000
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