Reflection – Given at the Old Pioneer Cemetery
Lance Cove, Bell Island, Nfld
July 27, 2005

Presented by Eleanor L. (Hiscock) Muise

A Rededication Service of a Replica Grave Stone commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the death of Mr. James Pitts, first permanent settler of Lance Cove, and dedicated to him and those of his fellow pioneers, known and unknown, who are laid to rest in this cemetery.


Good afternoon!  May I say, it’s good to be here, to be among people, some of whom I know well, others slightly, and some with whom I have not yet become acquainted – all gathered together and bound by the common strands of ancestry that bring us to this place. May I also say that it is not without a measure of trepidation that I stand before you,  for I realize that there are individuals seated before me who know both their ancestry and the history of Lance Cove far better than I. I humbly ask your forgiveness for any errors I might make, or significant individuals or events I might inadvertently omit. I want to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Lloyd Rees in particular for his tremendous research and writings on the early settlement of Lance Cove, and for his endless support and interest in my compiling this reflection. He has dedicated some thirty-five years of his life to pursuing and preserving our history and without his work I could not have compiled this presentation. I am grateful also for the writings of Mr. Addison Bown and the Rev. John Hammond, both of whom have written on the early settlement of Bell Island, which included portions relating to Lance Cove.

Over the past few weeks I have come to this quiet and beautiful little cemetery, just to sit and reflect upon what life must have been like for those laying here, identified as the early pioneers of some 200 years ago. I could not help but sense that passage in Scripture where Moses is leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. God assures Moses, as it were, in these words: “The Lord your God will bring you into a good land…”, I am certain that this land of Bell Island and this pleasant little cove of Lance Cove lay before the early pioneers in much the same way as the Promised Land lay before the Israelites – a land of promise where there could be plenty. Yet how much this land of Lance Cove would yield would depend upon the creative nature of those choosing to inhabit it, their vision of what could be, their willingness to give of themselves, and the sheer determination, courage and industry each was willing to contribute in the process. Before them lay a land with thick forest, a land whose soil was rich for cultivation and beside its shores, an ocean that offered abundance of fish and a passageway to nearby and distant markets.  Settlement, however, not unlike the Israelites, would not be easy.

Early settlement in Lance Cove is not well recorded. Only a few official records are available, generally in the form of church records and government documents, together with newspaper clippings, and such things as personal letters and wills saved over the years. Consequently, the recording of tradition has had to rely upon those whose memories have been keen and sharp over the decades. This source has provided much seemingly reliable information, however.

The first person associated with Lance Cove is a man named English who settled here about 1750 and remained until 1762. This was the time of the French Invasion – the capture of St. John’s and invasion of Bell Island. Since Roman Catholics only were permitted to remain in St. John’s, Protestants were banished. Mr. English fled by boat to Bay de Verde and remained there. Nothing has been recorded of his time here but we do know that years later a descendant of his, Mr. Arthur English, became the well known curator of the St. John’s Museum.

In more settled times a Mr. Greely of Portugal Cove arrived in Lance Cove – staking out a claim of one square mile, just about the full extend of the Cove area. There are few details of him but he left behind the legacy of establishing an extensive fruit farm – those kinds of fruit trees we’re all familiar with from the kitchen gardens of our childhood – apple trees, cherry trees, gooseberry and currant bushes, strawberry vines and raspberry canes. One can imagine the tremendous vision and industry this took. It is believed that Mr. Greely returned to Portugal Cove – a name that exists there today.

It is at this point in history that the one whose headstone we are rededicating today enters the history of Lance Cove, Mr. James Pitts.  His headstone tells us that he was born in Kenford, Devonshire and died at the age of 70 in 1805. A simple calculation tells us he was born in 1735, and a further statistic – the census of 1794-95 tells us he had been at that time in this country, ie. Nfld, for 43 years. Was he in Lance Cove all of these years? No likely, but we do know that by 1794 he was established here as a “planter” or farmer, with 4 children (3 boys, 1 girl) so the census shows, though he speaks in the epitaph on his headstone of his “children three” – a point of clarification I will return to later. We know that in 1780 he married Ann Peyton Hiscock of Portugal Cove, the daughter of a British Naval Officer and a widow with 7 children. Upon coming to Lance Cove Mr. Pitts purchased the entire estate of Mr. Greely, hence a sizable portion of Lance Cove as we know it today. He and Ann had three sons in this marriage, John, James, and William Pitts.

Mr. James Pitts may well have been an officer in the Royal Navy – his considerable interest in,  and knowledge of ships and navigation have led some to suggest this. When he arrived in Lance Cove it was with his own ship, containing a load of lumber from British America to build a house.  From the pictures you see on display, it was a large, beautiful house – one that would have been necessary to house such a large family. It was not dismantled until 1944, more than a century and a half after it was established. Those of us here today who remember this house recall it as a house extra ordinarily well built for that period in history.  Later when established in Lance Cove, Mr. Pitts is noted to have lavishly entertained officers from the British men-of-war patrolling Conception Bay – a tradition his sons followed.

Far be it from me to present this family solely as people of means and rank, however, Mr. Pitts was a man of vision, industry, and determination - one who used the resources around him both for his own family and those of the neighborhood. In addition to his engagement in cultivating the land and his engagement in the fishery, he used his skill of building and knowledge of ships which he taught his sons, to establish a shipyard. These first permanent settlers became shipbuilders - ships from this shipyard became known elsewhere. It was a shipyard that employed other members of the community - the Kents, Kennedys, and Reeses being involved in this industry. Returns for 1804 from the Governor of the British Colonial Office list two vessels built by the Pitts brothers: ''The Brothers - 40 ton" and ''The Betsy - 58 ton''. Also statistics for that year show the Kent brothers, James and William, having built "6 square riggers'' used in the foreign trade - using such familiar names to us today as: 'The Naomi, the Maggie, the Wm. Donnelly
and the Belinda''.

After James Pitts senior's death in 1805 the three Pitts brothers carried on the work begun by their father. The 1814 statistics show they continued in the fishery and engaged in extensive cultivation of the land, and one assumes, shipbuilding. Tragedy struck this family, however, in 1825 when John, his youngest daughter and his wife died. The cause of death is unknown, though one might speculate smallpox or some such disease. John and his wife left 5 children behind. His brother James, saddened by these deaths, took his family and John's children and moved to St. John's, now a family of 13 children. There, James (Jr.) together with his own son, William, founded a very successful business known as J & W Pitts. His contribution to the province was recognized in recent years in the naming of Pitts' Memorial Drive in St. John's.

William Pitts Sr. remained on Bell Island where he was known as Capt. Pitts. He carried on his father's plantation and built several vessels.  In 1847 he began a brickyard acquiring some of the clay from Bell Island and bringing most from Trinity Bay. An interesting advertisement appeared in the Royal Gazette, 1848: ''Offering for sale 7000 bricks, made on Bell Island, Capt. Pitts". Later the brickyard and the shipyard were abandoned.

William Pitts raised three children. One of these is Frances, fondly known as Fanny Pitts, and seen in the pictures on display holding her bible. She was known as a kind ''religious lady", who never married, and was the last to be buried in this cemetery in 1913. Her grave is unmarked, but likely she rests near her grandfather, James Pitts senior.  This was a remarkable family who in many ways were role models of industry and vision for Lance Cove.

In speaking of the Pitts family I have also introduced the Hiscock lineage of which I am a member. They too were early pioneers of Lance Cove. You will recall that James Pitts married a widow, Ann Peyton Hiscock. She, in her first marriage, had been married to James Hiscock of Portugal Cove. The Hiscocks, whose name was spelled several ways, a characteristic not uncommon for that era, varied from Estock to Eastcock to Hiscock, came originally from England about 1760, and settled in Portugal Cove. James Hiscock, however, was born in Newfoundland. He and Ann established a prosperous farming and fishing business in Portugal Cove. Tragedy struck this family, too, when James fell through a fish stage, pierced his eardrum and died. Ann was left with seven children, two boys and five girls. These Hiscocks were in fact my great, great grandparents. One can only assume that when Ann remarried she brought her entire family of children into the Pitts household.  Thinking back to James Pitts’ death in 1805 and his epitaph of remembering his “children three”, and the 1794-95 census indicating three boys and one girl within that household, I have no clear explanation for the discrepancy, only to speculate that six of Ann’s seven children may have been out of the household by that date, some possibly married.

Ann’s son, George Hiscock, married a Mary Clarke from Carbonear in 1804, and it is through this lineage that my ancestry continues. They settled in Lance Cove and had ten children, two sons and eight daughters. Sadly tragedy struck this family, too, as it had in the previous generation.  Likely, struck by illness, Mary died at the age of 40. She is the Mary Hiscock who rests in this cemetery and whose headstone you see behind me. George, her husband remarried in time, a Sarah Clark of Crocker’s Cove, and fathered an additional two daughters in this marriage, giving a household of ten girls and two boys. Can you imagine such a household! Many young men of the community later found wives amongst these young women. Two married into the Rees lineage – Jane Sophia, one of these, married William Rees, the great grandfather of Lloyd Rees sitting in our midst, who I acknowledged earlier for his tremendous work in researching and preserving the ancestry of Lance Cove. Another of these daughters married into the Kennedy family. An interesting detail in this regard speaks of the generous nature of my great, great grandfather, George Hiscock, who at the time of his daughter’s marriage to William Kennedy, gave this son-in-law half of his property and a portion of his fishing room.

In following my line of ancestry it was often a challenge to keep each generation clearly identified. Like so many of you, names tend to be carried from one generation to another, and so in the Hiscock lineage the names George and James have been carried through five generations. My grandfather was James Hiscock, born in 1870 who was known as the “School Master” for several decades prior to 1912 when he died, and my father was George Hiscock, a dear man whom we loved. 

Tragedy appears to have marred the lives of so many of the early pioneers of Lance Cove. And so it was for both the Cooper and the Kent families. Through the headstone of Edward Cooper records merely his name and date of death at age 64, we do know that he arrived in Lance Cove shortly after James Pitts. He married into the Hammond family of Portugal Cove and had a family of two sons and two daughters. One of these sons, Edward, died quite young of an undisclosed cause. When the remaining son, James, died in 1882, the Cooper name ceased in Lance Cove. Edward and his son were both farmers. His two daughters married into the Bickford and Bennett families – descendants of these families remain with us today.

The Kents, William and James, though born in Newfoundland, were of Irish ancestry and had settled in Lance Cove by the time of the 1794-95 census. They were engaged in fishing and later described as great farmers who cleared much land. As mentioned earlier, they were also engaged in boat building. One of these brothers, William, married one of the Hiscock girls, Jane, a sister of George, and built his house near the shipyard. A large headstone stands before us that tells of the grief of this family in the death of their two young sons, one age seventeen, the other age twenty-two. One had died of drowning. William and his wife Jane are both most certainly resting in our midst, though like many others buried here, their graves are unmarked.

The early Rees pioneers brought a Welsh touch but arrived from Bristol, England. George Rees – believed to have been a shipwright, and known to be skilled in that craft, arrived in Lance Cove in 1797 on one of Pitts’ brigs, specifically to work in the shipyard. Like others before him, he staked out a land claim. Since waterfront property was unavailable, he ventured inland, to the north portion of Lance Cove. There he built his first house. Later he was able to acquire the Coopers’ waterfront property and there he built his second house. This one you see in the photo on display, taken about 1900, quite a substantial house indeed. A decade after his arrival in Lance Cove he married an Irish bride, Mary Neary. Until recently all the Reeses of Newfoundland were descendants of this family, many sons of whom over the generations inherited the artisan talents of this early pioneer. Though burial records of George Rees were likely destroyed in a fire of church property, it is believed both he and his wife Mary rest in this cemetery.

The story of our next pioneers brought a smile to my lips as it speaks volumes for what the spirit of adventure can do. This story relates to the early Stoyles family who settled here. William Stoyles is described as the “run a-way doctor-to-be”, an Englishman and son of a well to do Devonshire yeoman. He had been studying medicine when gripped by the spirit of adventure and books in tow he boarded one of Captain Pitts' brigs and headed across the Atlantic. One does not know of any misgivings this young man may have encountered upon his arrival, but we do know Captain Pitts gave him a parcel of land where he and his Irish wife settled, raising their family and following the religious faith of his wife. Though his pursuit of medicine came to an end, he engaged himself in farming and cattle and sheep raising, living to be an elderly man who died at the age of eighty-two. He is buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery that was later begun, though his wife rests here, we are told, in an unmarked grave. It is from this lineage that the present day Stoyles families descend, and I want to give recognition to one of them here with us today who shares something of that spirit of adventure as his ancestor. I am speaking of Tom Stoyles who so gallantly, and at some risk to himself, retrieved from over the cliff side those broken fragments of James Pitts’ headstone that allowed the replica of that stone to be made. Thank you Tom indeed – one can assume you were gripped by that same sense of challenge that lay before your forefather, William.

The remaining pioneer families, the Hammonds, Bickfords, Clements, and Sparkes were all well respected settlers – obtaining information on them has been more difficult, however, The Hammonds, originally from England, who settled in Portugal Cove, intermarried with the Kents.  They too, obtained land from the Pittses, where they built their homes in a kind of little community “up over the hill”. They, too, farmed land, raising sheep and cattle, and always had fresh milk and butter available. They were especially known for their kindness and friendliness. Aunt Kate Hammond of a later generation became the village midwife and according to Lloyd Rees “birthed a generation of Lance Covers” of whom he is one.

The Bickfords and Clements appear to have arrived in Lance Cove within the years 1825-1827. As mentioned earlier one of Edward Cooper’s daughters married into the Bickford family. Amy Cooper married a Henry Bickford, believed to have been of Welsh origin. Henry and his descendants occupied that part of Lance Cove now known as Bickfordville – the North West portion of Lance Cove. Though little is known of Henry, it is known that his son, Edward, became a school teacher and taught school in Lance Cove from 1857 to 1870. He then moved to New
Perlican where he died.

William Clements is a name difficult to follow in the Clements lineage for there were three generations of them, each likely known as “Uncle Billy”. The original William arrived from Cornwall, England. His son and grandson of the same name were well known for the mail and passenger ferry service they operated on the Bell Island – Portugal Cove tickle.  They didn’t clear much land or farm on a large scale, it seems, but they were known for keeping sheep and cows. Uncle Billy “the third” is remembered as a great fiddler who enjoyed welcoming friends to his house and particularly playing a jig at Christmastime when mummers or janneys visited.

The tale of the Sparkes family is a sad one and best told by Lloyd Rees in his documentation “An Outport Revisited”. When Ambrose Sparkes arrived in Lance Cove he was given a parcel of land by George Hiscock.  It appears they had a son William, who also married, and I quote from Lloyd Rees’ writings:

“William was a member of the Church of England, but like the Stoyles and Hammond, the love of an Irish lass led him into the Roman Catholic fold.  This happy couple must have had great joy in their five young sons and one daughter, Suze Ann, and one can only imagine the grief they endured when the dreaded disease, diphtheria, struck their home. In a matter of a few short days, four of their five sons were dead. One survived, only to follow his brothers when he was a young man. Mercifully, Suze Ann was spared to comfort her father in his latter days. William Sparkes carried his grief on the inside, and for many years manned his punt, ‘cross-handed’ on his fishing grounds off Lance Cove. He is remembered as a tough old man with a strong voice, a hearty laugh, and a great love for little children. After his wife Margaret died, he went to live out the remainder of his days with his ‘Suze Ann’ who married William Kent and was living at the Mines.”

There remains one headstone before us that I have not mentioned yet – that of Robert Casely, who died in 1822 at age 46. Nothing seems to be known of this man though one can speculate as some have that he was an employee of the Pittses. Whatever his story might be, we remember him today among Lance Cove’s early pioneers.

And so it was from these early ancestors that the village of Lance Cove sprung – a seemingly thriving and prosperous little community not common for many other outports of its day. One may well ask, “Why was this so?” One can speculate on several aspects that could have contributed to this economic prosperity, but a significant factor it seems lies in the fact that there was a cash economy in Lance Cove which was never affected by the control and barter system of the fishing merchants that so adversely affected other Newfoundland outports. Some have attempted to associate James Pitts with some British aristocracy, though support for this view has not been substantiated. However, I am certain having his own vessels and building a shipyard from which other vessels emerged, gave a freedom and access to markets for the sale of produce that others could not enjoy – St. John’s, Harbour Grace, and Carbonear, were well established ports at that time. Then, too, there was access to markets across the Atlantic. I am sure it was a number of such factors.

Personally, I like to think of the defiant perseverance of these men and women – for we must indeed include the many women who silently toiled within these families, whose stories to a large degree have not been told – each toiling side by side to establish the best community possible. A people of two religious faiths, Church of England and Roman Catholic living together in apparent harmony, intermarrying, and in death sharing a common burial ground – a people who together lived through tragedy, and difficult times and prosperity, who for the first sixty years of settlement had no established church or resident clergy present. For these ancestors, however, there was a sacredness of birth, marriage and death. They maintained a simple faith, seeking baptism for infants and the marriage of adults in established churches in Portugal Cove and St. John’s. Certain of their headstones bear witness to this faith. I am particularly touched by the verse on Elizabeth Pitts’ headstone. The second verse in particular I like to think of as a prayer of blessing that has come down through the many generations and continues for each of us today. It is with this that I would like to close.

And may the Grace of Christ our Saviour
And the Father’s boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit’s favour
Rest upon you from above.

Indeed, we have an ancestry of which we are proud.

Thank you for your kind attention.