Family Notes

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Some cautionary tales and false leads

When researching Faulkner in Bonavista, look for Fogner, Faughner and even Joyner, Joynet.

I have an email from someone looking for Mary Bundle in the Bonavista register.

You have to read this register properly! Durdle looks exactly like Bundle, which is probably where this fictitious name comes from.

Even the layreader there, Thomas Gaylor makes his name look like Taylor.

A few years ago I corresponded with researchers in Newfoundland (still have their emails) regarding the Street name. They were certain that their ancestor was married to Mary Street, daughter of Capt. Thomas Street of Trinity and lived out her life in Newfoundland. Fact is: Thomas Street's daughter, Mary Street, married into the Bird family, merchants of Poole and Sturminster Newton in Dorset and was nobody's Newfoundland ancestor.

After being pointed to MUN Folklore and the existence of another Mary (Ann) Street of about the right age in Ochre Pit Cove, the response I got was "I expect the MUN folklore is wrong on Mary Anne".

Now (2002) I notice that this Mary Ann Street is "adopted" as the right ancestor and the authority given: "It has always been believed in the family that Mary Anne Street was from Ochre Pit Cove". Obviously, this is a modern day fabrication of an "oral family tradition", made to give credence to this "adoption".

By making such statements we lose credibility and do a grave injustice to future researchers. The Lord knows that, in Newfoundland, we have enough real oral traditions to contend with!

It wouldn't surprise me to find their ancestor's name is Mary Sweet, but that's my guess!