ARCHIVES and SPECIAL COLLECTIONS QUEEN ELIZABETH II LIBRARY MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY, ST
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ARCHIVES and SPECIAL COLLECTIONS QUEEN ELIZABETH II LIBRARY MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY, ST. JOHN'S, NL Peyton Family Fonds Author: Linda White Date: 2002 Scope and Content: The Peyton Family Collection consists of a variety of records deposited in the Archives and Manuscripts by Ernest Peyton of Gander, Newfoundland, as well as material concerning the Peyton family which was transferred from other collections in the Archives. Ernest Peyton is a direct descendant of John Peyton, Senior, the progenitor of a family which has played a prominent role in Newfoundland history: John Peyton, Senior (1747-1827), his son, John Peyton, Junior (1793-1879), and his son, Thomas Peyton, residents of Exploits Island and Twillingate The material in this collection ranges from 1806 to 1908 and was mainly written by the Peytons mentioned above. There are a number of legal journals stemming from the position of John Junior, and Thomas as magistrates. These include wills, notary work for shipping wrecks, and writs issued for the Supreme Court. There are two voters lists for Twillingate district (1882 and 1889) which may be the only ones extant from before 1900. A valuable item is the 1836 nominal census for Twillingate and Fogo area which is probably the only one of its kind to have survived from before 1900. The register of fishing rooms (1806-1828) is a rare treasure which should be of interest to historians, demographers, geographers, and genealogists. Other material includes memorials of indentures generated through the Deputy Surveyor's Office, Twillingate, from 1851 to 1908; and, navigational aids for sailing from Newfoundland to a variety of places in Spain, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America, and the West Indies. In 2001, on the death of Ernest Peyton another collection of Peyton Family papers were deposited in the Archives and Manuscripts. This collection consists of several hundred original, hand-drawn, surveys of land in the Twillingate area. In addition there are a large number of government forms. The two manuscript files (formerly MF-194 and MF-118) were added to this collection as they pertain directly to the Peyton Family. The former contains excerpts from Thomas Peyton's diary which is scheduled for deposit by Ernest Peyton at a later date; the latter contains photographs of a letter to John Peyton from William Epps Cormack concerning Shawnadithit, together with a typewritten transcript. These are unique historical documents concerning the history of Newfoundland, the Peyton family, and the early settlement of Notre Dame Bay during the 19th Century. Custodial History: The records of the Peyton family were deposited in the Archives and Manuscripts in four stages. File number 5.01, which contains excerpts from Thomas Peyton's diary and a surveyor's report on mining at Hall's Bay, was transferred from MF-194. It had been part of the Joseph R. Smallwood Collection (COLL-075) but were accessioned separately in 1984. File number 5.03, contains photographic reproductions of a letter to John Peyton from William Epps Cormack, was transferred from MF-118 and a holograph letter to Mr. Peyton from Cormack dated September 29, 1827 which was transferred from the Joseph R. Smallwood bequest in June 1995 (95-075). Its source is unknown. The remainder of the collection (20 volumes) was deposited on September 10, 1990 by Ernest Peyton of Gander, Newfoundland. These records have been in the possession of Ernest Peyton for many years having survived being moved to various family locations. Items in file number 5.04 were a gift from Ingeborg Marshall on August 4, 1992, accession number 92-077. In 2001 after the death of Ernest Peyton, the Peyton family deposited several hundred land surveys and petitions. Restrictions: There are no restrictions on access to the material in the collection but users should be aware that copyright regulations may apply to some parts of the collection and should act accordingly. Biography or History: John Peyton (1) was born in England in 1747 at Wimborne, Christchurch, Hampshire. In 1788 he married Ann Galton and they had two children, a daughter and a son. Peyton maintained his family in Dorset while he went to Newfoundland to carry on his business as furrier and fisherman. During the year 1812 both his wife and daughter died and Peyton subsequently brought his 19 year-old son, John, to Newfoundland and took him into partnership. When John Peyton, Senior, first came to Newfoundland he resided for a while in Fogo and traveled on the coast of Labrador. By 1781 he was residing, at least for the winter months, at Lower Sandy Point, in the Bay of Exploits, where he was engaged in the fur trade and the salmon fishery. During the summer he probably resided at Exploits, on the more northerly of the two Exploits Islands. He owned his own schooner and succeeded in becoming an independent and prosperous trader. Peyton was one of many fishermen and furriers who came in contact with the Beothuks. Allegations and circumstantial evidence in a number of different sources suggest Peyton made several excursions into Beothuk territory with the intention of reprisals upon the Beothuks for theft of goods. John Peyton, Junior, was born in Wimborne in 1793 and educated at Wimborne Minster Boys School. He spent three years as a junior clerk at Somerset House in London before moving to Newfoundland where, in 1818, he was appointed Justice of the Peace for northern Newfoundland by Governor Sir Charles Hamilton. Young Peyton came into contact with the Beothuks as well. The last expedition into Beothuk territory by the Peytons took place in 1819. The previous year John Peyton, Junior, had complained to the Governor that there had been extensive damage to his fishing establishments by the Beothuks over the past four years. Governor Hamilton gave permission for Peyton to search for his stolen property and Hamilton suggested he capture one of the Indians who, he hoped, would later serve as an envoy to the Beothuks in order to establish friendly relations. Subsequently, in March 1819, John Peyton, Junior, and his father, accompanied by a small group of men, set off inland. They encountered a group of Beothuks and during a scuffle an Indian man was shot. A woman, Demasduwit [Mary March], was captured and brought back. According to historian Dr. Gordon Handcock, William Cull, a servant of John Peyton, Senior, captured the last known Beothuk, Shawnadithit, in 1823. She was given into the care of John Junior and became a servant in the Peyton household at Exploits for five years. Another source states that by this time the tribe had dwindled to about 20 sick and hungry survivors, and Shawnadithit, her mother and sister gave themselves up to the white settlers. Soon after Shawnadithit's mother and sister died, probably of tuberculosis. In 1823, John Peyton, Junior, married Eleanor Mahaney who was formerly from Carbonear. They had six children: Ann (2) (who married Dr. William Stirling of Twillingate and was the mother of Georgina Stirling, the opera singer) , John Henry, Thomas, Elias, James, and a child who died in infancy. During the next five years Shawnadithit lived with the Peytons. In 1828, she was sent to St. John's at the request of the Governor to live with William Epps Cormack. She died in 1829, probably of tuberculosis. John Peyton, Senior, had died in 1827 at the age of 80 years. In 1836, Peyton was appointed Stipendiary Magistrate for the district of Twillingate and Fogo by Governor Thomas Cochrane. In 1841 he received a land grant in Back Harbour on Twillingate North Island where he built a large two-storey family home. In 1837, at the age of 13 years, John Henry, Peyton's youngest son was sent to England to be educated at Christchurch School as his father had. In 1840 on a return voyage from England for the summer holidays the ship was lost and John Henry was assumed drowned. John Peyton, Junior, died July 25, 1879, after serving for 64 years both the British and Newfoundland governments. He was buried on Exploits Burnt Island in the Bay of Exploits where his father had also been interred. Thomas Peyton, who had married Ann Pearce of Twillingate, carried on the family tradition of fishing and working on the Exploits River. He later became a fishery warden on the rivers of Notre Dame Bay. From 1889 to 1893, he was a member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly for the district of Twillingate. Peyton also served as a Justice of the Peace and for a short time he was Magistrate at Pilley's Island. Peyton's other duties included deputy land surveyor and as such he often worked with such prominent geologists as Alexander Murray and James P. Howley. _________________________ (1) A great deal of controversy surrounds the history of the relationship between the Peytons and the Beothuks, indeed between any of the white settlers who came into contact with the Beothuks. This "Historical Background" is based on the Peyton article written for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography by Dr. Gordon Handcock. Much of the biographical information has been taken from River Lords: Father and Son by Amy Louise Peyton.) (2) Ann married Dr. William Stirling of Twillingate and was the mother of Georgina Stirling, the opera singer. Arrangement: The Peyton Family records and documents arrived at the Archives and Manuscripts in large cardboard boxes. There was no apparent order or filing system. Therefore, an artificial order based upon study of the material was imposed upon them. Two manuscript files (MF-194 and MF-118) were incorporated into this collection. 1.0 Personal and Family Papers, 1801-1979 1.01 Peyton Family Papers and Correspondence, 1801-1979 1.01.001 "Baptisms and Burials": photocopy of two pages, 1801 1.01.002 Correspondence to John Peyton from his mother, Ann Peyton, Wimborne, Dorset, 1840 1.01.003 Letter from John Peyton, Wimborne, Dorset, to his parents, April 22, 1840 1.01.004 Will of Mrs.