Cupids Cove Chatter

First English Child Born in Canada – A Plaque

Originally uploaded by John Guy2010
Her Honour Jane Furneaux Crosbie, wife of the Honourable John Crosbie, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Linda Kane, Curator, Cupids Museum unveil a plaque to the first English Child born in Canada on March 27th, 2010. The plaque was unveiled during a baby shower for Baby Guy who was born to Nicholas Guy and his wife on March 27th, 1612. The Nicholas Guy family later became the founders of the town of Carbonear.

Outside there was a late Sheila’s Brush (a winter storm that occurs in March around St. Patrick’s Day.) In spite of the weather, the event was very well attended, and everyone agreed that it should be an annual event.

Baby Guy with his family

For more photos from the evening, see John Guy’s Flickr > >

Beothuk in Trinity Bay. Illustration for Baccalieu: Crossroads for Cultures by Pamela Williams

John Guy and Henry Crout observed Dildo Island when they travelled to Trinity Bay to meet and trade with the Beothuk people.   On July 2, 1613, Henry Crout said that they sailed into Dildo Arm just as the sun was rising.  As they sailed past one of the islands, they saw a Beothuk canoe and a Beothuk house. They went ashore to examine the house, a wigwam covered in hides. Inside they discovered a bed made by laying down ‘long green grass’ and covering it with furs.    There was a fireplace with sticks for roasting meat. They left presents at the house for the Beothuk.

Drawing of a Beothuk canoe by John Guy.

The next morning, they found that the Beothuk had gone from the island but had left behind “spits of their roast meat”. This Crout took to be a gift left in exchange for the presents he had placed there the previous day. See the transcript of a letter by Henry Crout to Sir Percival Willoughby in the summer 1613,  from Baccalieu: Crossroads for Cultures > >

The Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation decided to conduct excavations on Dildo Island to search for evidence of Beothuk habitation.  As of yet, they have not found significant Beothuk artifacts, but they have found that the island had a history of human settlement of more than 2500 years.

Dildo Island – “A Place of Provincial Significance”

Dildo Island, Place of Provincial Significance - Award Presented

On March 3, 2010 the government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced the province’s first ever historic commemorations designations. Under the Historic Commemorations Program, Dildo Island was commemorated as a place of provincial significance because of its 2,500 years of occupation by various cultures.

Photo at left: Françoise Enguehard, Chair of the Historic Commemorations Board and The Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development present award for Dildo Island as a “Place of Provincial Significance” to Gerald Smith, representing the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation, accompanied by Calvin Peach – MHA for District of Bellevue

2500 Years of Human Settlement – Different Cultures

Purple Rhyolite - Recent Indians Used to Make Tools.

Archaeologists working on the island have found evidence of different cultures which had lived there over a very long time period. One camp that they found on the island was used by Native American people who may be the ancestors of the Beothuk.  They are known as Recent Indians.  Carbon dating of pieces from a fireplace found at this camp, revealed they inhabited the camp about 1200 years ago. See description of these finding by William Gilbert, chief archaeologist with the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corportation in Baccalieu Digs.

They found the remains of two houses that were built by Dorset Eskimo. Carbon samples found in these houses were analyzed. This carbon dating revealed that the Dorset people lived on Dildo Island for about 600 years and that they first arrived on the island over 1900 years ago. In addition, there is older Groswater Eskimo material on the Island that could be as old as 800BC.  See description of these findings by William Gilbert.

For more photos see Dildo Island a Place of Provincial Significance on Flickr > >

Cupids 400

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Celebrations over the year 2010, marking the 400 Anniversary of the first English Settlement in Canada, have made their mark on the history and culture of the region.  Everyone who attended an event has gained a memory for a lifetime.

In August 1610, John Guy and a group of 39 English settlers started the first official English colony in what is today the country of Canada and one of the first European settlements in North America.  Although the 21st century is far removed from the 17th century in time, there are similarities between our world and the world of John Guy’s colonists.

Colonists Kept Journals, Wrote Letters and Books – We Text, Tweet and Blog

The 17th century colonists kept journals and wrote letters and books.  Today, the mass media is becoming less important and communication has been returned to the individual, who texts. blogs, tweets, comments,  produces Facebook entries, and YouTubes.

As governor, John Guy kept a journal, and  Henry Crout kept what he called “A Weather Journal” which recorded day to day events.  Cupids Cove Chatter, in a similar way, provides description and commentary on events in the town of Cupids and throughout the Northern Avalon – St. John’s Region during 2010.  Please examine the blog for a record of all events.

Also, examine John Guy’s Flickr for photos of all events as they occurred.  It is an amazing record of over 3300 photos taken during 2010.

John Guy’s Photostream on Flickr > >

Will Our Records Last?

The colonists’  journals, letters, documents, and books, which have been preserved mainly by the  University of Nottingham and Lambeth Palace Library, assisted William Gilbert and his archaeological team to pinpoint the exact location of John Guy’s colony. The year 2010 in Cupids has been well recorded with YouTube Videos, Television productions, photographs, blogs, ipod apps, emails, Flickr, and other modern technology.  Will someone be able to see and hear our records in 2410 as we can read the journals and other documents from 1610?

Recorded for 2110 Quincentennial…