Hi List I have the two volumes that Debbie says are to be re-released ( "The Story of St.John's, Newfoundland", consisting of vol 1: "The Oldest City"; and vol 2: "A Seaport Legacy"). I heartily agree that they are worth purchasing!! The text is quite detailed and in-depth regarding the town's history, especially the people and the businesses that existed on any given street in different time periods; also, there are many drawings of the street layouts with buildings & premises labelled, along with dozens of photos & illustrations. An amazing amount of work went into these books, and I am very grateful to Mr. O'Neill for them! The following is one example of the depth of information in these books that stands out in my mind. It is in regards to the Great Fire of 1892, that I'd never known before. (My great grandparents were married in St. John's about a week before this fire; I've often wondered where they were at the time and how it affected them). It's generally known that the fire was started by the pipe ashes of a hired hand in a livery stable. Some may know that the man responsible was fired from his job. But I bet not many are aware that the disgruntled employee was later arrested, accused of cutting the horses' tongues out, by way of revenge on his old employer! These books have been invaluable to me in my attempt to research some of the St John's people like Edwin DUDER, Laurence O'BRIEN, P.W. CARTER, etc., who owned ships built by my New Perlican TB ancestors. In addition, it helped me to learn more about the employer of my 3rd GGF. This employer was John WOODS who besides dealing in lumber & coal, had a shipbuilding & repair business in what is now Hoylestown in St John's. I could find almost nothing about him online, or in the many books I've purchased, except for this set. John WOODS, "Gentleman Jim", operated the first commercial drydock in St John's; it was in operation for more than 50 years (the latter half of the 1800s). Obviously, he was well-known in his time-- but not much has been written about him, and I couldn't find anything on him --other than some directory listings on the NGB site-- until I bought these 2 volumes. An added bonus, there is also an old photo in one of the books of Hoylestown, or "Maggoty Cove", as it used to be called! It also told me what existed at the "WOODS' DOCK" location, both before, and after. I am glad to hear that these books will be published again and thus available to more researchers. I recommend them highly!! Michele PITTMAN-Wingerter Michigan win1@usol.com Researching PITTMAN, MERCHANT, DEAN, KELLAND, KIRBY, BOONE, and more.... of Trinity, New Perlican, Winterton, St. John's & Pouch Cove ----- Original Message ----- From: "Deborah L Jeans" <dljeans.winscot@nf.sympatico.ca> To: <NFLD-LAB-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 6:51 PM Subject: [NFLD-LAB] O'Neill's book > Sent this awhile ago and since it has not shown up I thought I would re-post. > > I attended the Wessex Society meeting recently and was talking to Paul > O'NEILL after the lecture. He told me that his books "The Story of > St.John's, Newfoundland" Vol 1 (The Oldest City) & Vol 2 (A Seaport Legacy) > which have been out of print for years is being re-released again at the > end of the month. It will not be updated and will appear as one volume. It > is a wonderful addition to any personal library. > > > > Debbie Jeans, CG(C) > Certified Genealogist (Canada) > St.John's, Newfoundland > > > ==== NFLD-LAB Mailing List ==== > Co-List Admins of Nfld-Lab mail list: > Vera Short : short9647@rogers.com > Glynn Hewlett: glynn.hewlett@sympatico.ca >

I have a further comment about Mr. O'Neill - I have another of his books about Bay Bulls, also filled with detail. I had written a letter to the present owner of a house in St. John's that had belonged to a Spanish family, named Delgardo, who had possibly employed my grandmother - my mother was named after the Delgardo's daughter. The owner had forwarded my letter to Mr. O'Neill, who wrote me a long letter detailing the Delgardos and their house. He is a wonderful man in my opinion - I believe he is still alive. Claire Nault