The following Boatkeepers in St. John's, Newfoundland 1678: Tho Cutterford from Plymo. Elias Andrews from Stokeintiny. Geo Bale from Dartmo. Richard Sellman from Stokeintiny. Lawrence (H?)aven from Dartmo. Robt Denels from Stokeintiny. Rich Cose from St Mary Church. xpher Toplings from Stokeintiny. Jno Tapper from Stokeintiny. These were fishermen who preferred to reside in Devon rather than take up residence in Newfoundland. A class of men who were too independent or too darn cranky to work with others. In the wintertime prearrangments were made with a fishing master for transportation from Devon to Newfoundland, their small boats being transported with them. Our archival documents also refer to them as "interlopers". Departing Devon on March 1st and depending on the weather they would arrive in Newfoundland by April, set up their operations independently, spend all summer fishing alone off the Newfoundland shores and curing their salt cod. In the Fall, as prearranged with the fishing master, they loaded their produce and their small boats unto the master's ship and went to market in Portugal, Spain or Italy - wherever they could get the best price. There, they also made purchases of fruits, wines, olive oils, etc to replenish the family larder in Devon. By December they would have been back home with their families in Devon, with only about two months in which to recaulk their boats, perform the minor repairs and prepare for the next season. If the north Atlantic crossing wasn't dangerous enough, after arriving in Newfoundland, they were ever vigilant for Britain's traditional enemies - at different eras being Portugese, Spaniard, Dutch or French, ever watchful for pirates in a time when they could have been captured and sold as slaves in North Africa, depending on where they were, ever subject to attack by the Newfoundland natives and having their equipment stolen by them, and always on the alert for Newfoundland fog and storms. To my fellow Devon listers: If you discover a fisherman in your ancestry, do not assume that he had fished in some idyllic creek or stream in Devon - he may have been a Newfoundland interloper!