I have 27 individuals with the surname Joy in my Newfoundland Families database. According to Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Joy is a surname of England and Ireland, it is from the common noun joy, or from the male and female baptismal names of Joie and Joia, or also in Ireland as a variant of Joyce. It is traced to Essex and Devon and found in Counties Kerry and Waterford. It is found in the 1750s in St. Johns, and in various regions of Newfoundland from then on. [Seary, E. R., et al. 1998. Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland. St. John's, Nfld: J.R. Smallwood Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland.] My particular interest is in those found in Bonavista, King's Cove, and Open Hole (now Open Hall). If you have Joys in your family history do check out pages 278-279 of Family Names for early occurrences - are any of these individuals yours?
Our Joy connection comes from Thomas Joy married to Diana Keough. They had three children, Patrick, Mary, and Catherine. Do you have more information on this family or know who Thomas' parents are? Are there any Joys in your Newfoundland Family tree?
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| The Joys in my Newfoundland Families' database [click to enlarge any images] |
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| Patrick Keough - Susanna Ryan Family Diana Keough |
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| Thomas Joy - Diana Keough Family |
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| Patrick Joy Birth and Baptism |
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| Information comes from Birth & Baptism Registers, located at PANL |
Come back tomorrow, when we focus on the Keoughs of Plate Cove!
