J is for Joy

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?

The Joys in my Newfoundland Families' database
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Patrick Keough - Susanna Ryan Family
Diana Keough

Thomas Joy - Diana Keough Family

Patrick Joy Birth and Baptism

Information comes from Birth & Baptism Registers, located at PANL

Come back tomorrow, when we focus on the Keoughs of Plate Cove!

B is for Barker

Samuel Barker - Catherine Keough Family
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Andrew and Catherine's eldest daughter (also a Catherine) was baptized on 2 Aug 1814 at St. John's Roman Catholic church. On 5 May 1846 Catherine Keough married Samuel Barker in Keels, their witnesses were Patrick Keough and Mary Keough (her brother and sister). The marriage was recorded in the King's Cove Roman Catholic church register. Samuel and Catherine had eight children, 4 daughters and 4 sons. (And yes I did notice that the marriage register follows after 3 of their children arrive.) 

As you can see my Barker family needs some attention. Does anyone know who Samuel Barker's parents or siblings were. Does anyone recognize these Barker children and can you help fill in the blanks on this family.

Seary's Surnames of Newfoundland references Barker as follows: Samuel, of Open Hole (now Open Hall), 1829 (Nfld Archives KCRC); Samuel, of Plate Cove (Bonavista B.), 1859 (Nfld. Archives KCRC).  Modern status: especially at Open Hall. 

The following is the baptism information from The King's Cove Catholic church registers found at The Rooms in St. John's. I spent a few weeks transcribing and/or photographing various records at a number of research facilities. From these baptism entries, note the sponsors (godparents) for these children - Aylward, Barker, Keough & Murphy surnames. Also note the spelling variants for Keough (Kehoe, Keogh). A reminder that spelling was not a concern, spelling often depended on whomever filled out the register (clerks and priests), and family members rarely saw the registers.

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I have several more Barker entries in my Excel workbooks for baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials - information transcribed while researching in Newfoundland. So calling all Barkers, especially those originally from Open Hall - let's find our connections. Thanks.

See you back here tomorrow for the letter C!