1792...August 10, 1792...CANADA--"Paper money along the lines of that released by the US has begun circulation here. But while the Canada Banking Company has issued notes, it's an event that hasn't raised much interest, since the money is considered about as valuable as US continental dollars --that is, virtually worthless. Hard coin is still the only currency with real value." 1798...October 30, 1798..NL.."Gov. William Waldegrave reports that the pop. of NL-closing in on the 20,000 mark --is near starvation. The problem stems from the closure of the Spanish saltfish markets because of war. Portugal cannot absorb Spain's share, and the market is swamped with fish selling at a loss. Meanwhile, the war has caused food prices in NL to rise considerably. To add to the problem there has been a partial potato failure. To reduce prices, Waldegrave has ordered copper coins from Britain." 1799... February 2, 1799..PEI "St. John's Island received permission to change its name today. Its new appellation, Prince Edward Island, honors Edward, Duke of Kent, who has recently shown interest in the colony's affairs. The new name, some argue, is long overdue. As early as the 1780's, officials said that St. John's Island is too easily confused with other "St. John's" in the region. In 1780, Gov. Walter Patterson suggested "New Ireland" as an alternate name, but authorities in London refused this, and instead suggested "New Guernesy" or "New Angelsey". Finally, a compromise was reached in Prince Edward Island" 1802...NL.."The last penguin rookery in North America at Funk Island has been destroyed by humans. Jacques Cartier first killed great auks, or North American penguins, in 1534. From the 1700's on, English fishermen have slaughtered them for food and bait, and boiled them to make oil. Recently, Americans have killed thousands of penguins for their feathers, despite a 1794 colonial office ban against this practice. People also eat penguin eggs. Unfortunately for the friendly, 30-inch high bird, it is flightless and easy to kill." 1805....NL .."Much of the island has been inoculated against smallpox since Dr. John Clinch administered one of the first vaccinations in North America at Trinity Bay in 1798. Four years later, Clinch wrote: "I began by inoculating my own children and went on with this salutary work till I had inoculated 700 persons. Newfoundlanders can thank an old school buddy of Clinch's, Dr. Edward Jenner, who invented the vaccination in London. Jenner found that fluid from cows infected with cowpox prevented smallpox with injected in himans. He told Clinch about his findings, and sent him threads of vaccine." 1813...November..NL..."Merchants involved in the saltfish trade recently petitioned the British government to refuse the French and the Americans permission to fish on Newfoundland's coast. Since 1713, the French have been free to fish and dry their catch on part of the island's coast --the French shore. And until last year the Americans had an extensive fishery on the Labrador coast and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But though Britain is at war with France and the US, many fear she will not cut these fishing rights." 1817....November 21, 1817...St. John's, NL " A combination of famine, frost and fire seems determined to destroy St. John's. The present depression began with the end of the last war and continued throughout 1816, when St. John's and the outports were in a state of starvation. This autumn the situation got worse, with gangs of unemployed, hungry men raming the streets, breaking into storehouses and threatening the lives and property of those better off. Now, a major fire has destroyed about 300 homes, rendering 2,000 people homeless." 1819....NL. "Harp seals would probably sound a collective whimper if they realized hunters in the Atlantic Ocean recently found their main whelping patch just 160 kilometers off Newfoundland's coast. Uncommonly open ice and huge ice-strengthened boats carrying up to 60 men helped make the discovery. The boats brought home almost 150,000 whitecoats, and the total year's harvest is 280,000 harp seals. Sealers have looked for this whelping patch since the 1770's. They knew only that the seals whelped on the ice north of Newfoundland." 1830...July 28, 1830..HEBRON, Labrador..."The Moravian church is increasing its services to the Inuit people of Labrador and has just opened its fourth mission in this small community on the coast. Jens Haven opened the first Moravian missionary post in 1771 at Nain, 190 kilometres to the south. Over the next 13 years, Haven established other posts on the coast. At these missions, dedicated to bringing the name of Jesus to the Inuit, the Moravians have built - or plan to build - churches, schools, hospitals, workshops and stores. The Inuit of Labrador are proud, independent people who live by hunting whales and other large sea mammals, and by fishing. Their reliance on their own devices appeals to the adherents of a religion like that ot the Moravian church. Moravians, who came from central Europe, maintain that theirs is the original Protestant church, in existance before Luther challenged the Catholic church. They believe in service and the need to spread the gospel of Jesus, and have opened branches of the church in Europe and mission posts abroad. The money for the opening of the mission in Labrador came from British branches of the church as part of their avowed support for the foreign mission program." 1832...August 22, 1832. St. John's NL..."After a campaign involving local merchants, aspiring St. John's politicans and Roman Catholics, Newfoundland has been granted representative government by Britain. While merchants look forward to dominating the new government, Roman Catholics hope to acquire their share of offices and positions under the new Catholic Emancipation Act. Representative government was opposed by the Governor, officials in the Newfoundland colonial service and British merchants. They all argued that, because of the lack of an educated middle class, Newfoundland was not ready for government by election". 1834...October 25, 1834, Cape Spear, NL. "This site, the most easterly point in NL and just a few kilometers from St. John's, has been chosen for the new lighthouse. Up until now, the only lighthouse marking the entrance to St. John's Harbour has been the one at Fort Amherst built in 1810. The Cape Spear light, which will burn whale or seal oil, will be about 60 metres above sea level and visible for a much greater distance." ===== Researching Surnames (and variations) /ancestors, in BNA before 1835.....*Batten *Beauchamp, *Beecham, *Bishop, Buchanan, Butler, Churchill, *Dawe, Fitzpatrick, *French, *Lamb, Morgan, *Russell, *Roswell, Rowell, *Rousell, Snow, *Sparks, Tucker . In-law names of interest include Earle, Babcock, etc. (*Timeline Documents on file for these surnames and the towns of Bay Roberts and St. Mary's. All subject related family history comments, contributions and questions are welcome) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com