Letter from Henry Holdsworth to Matthew Morry, Feb. 4, 1838

Henry Holdsworth and Matthew Morry Jr. were both friends and business associates, as this letter dated February 4, 1838 reveals.

Letter from William Morry to his Brother Matt Morry in Grady Harbor, Labrador, July 13, 1841

This makes interesting reading because it mentions most of the brothers who were the grandsons of Matthew Morry the immigrant and what they were up to at that time. Interestingly, Matt seemed to be the one with wanderlust, as this letter finds him in Grady Harbor, Labrador and another written to him by William, his brother (see below) later that same year found him in Harbor Grace. There is some controversy over who the "Bill" is who is mentioned as being in Boston en route to New Orleans. Most likely it is their uncle William but another theory has it that it is William Warner LeMessurier, one of three LeMessuriers who married into this family.

Letter from William Morry to his Brother Matthew III, Nov. 20 1841

In this brief letter some tantalising details are left unexplained. Why was Matthew in Harbour Grace? Why was his brother writing from St. John's and not Caplin Bay? What was the cause of Matthew's falling out with his men (crew)? Was Matthew really a bit too fond of the bottle? Read on!

Letter from Robert Morry to Peter Paint LeMessurier, Sept. 28, 1856

This is a transcript of a letter found in the Morry Papers in The Rooms (MG 237, Box 1, File 6). In the index to the Morry Papers it is misidentified as being from N. P. Morry. No such person existed and it seems clear from the signature that the author of the letter was in fact Robert Morry (signed as R. Morry), who was indeed resident in Caplin Bay at this time. The land transaction that is being discussed is not entirely clear. It appears to be the sale of some land in Brigus (Brigus South, a part of Cape Broyle) to a William Badcock. But it is not clear who exactly owned the land that was being sold, Thomas Graham Morry II or Peter Paint LeMessurier, both of  whom are mentioned as being empowered to receive the money and offer a Bill of Sale, or possibly Matthew Morry II, Robert and Thomas's father and the father-in-law of Peter Paint LeMessurier. It seems most likely to be the latter as Peter and Thomas were appointed as the executors of the estate of Matthew Morry II in his will and he had in fact died earlier that year.

William Warner LeMessurier to Eliza Coulman Morry, Nov. 6, 1860

This is a transcript of a letter believed to be from William Warner LeMessurier To His Sister-in-Law Eliza Coulman Morry, Widow of Matthew Morry III of Caplin Bay, dated November 6th, 1860. Like a number of the other letters shown here, this was found in a collection of letters given to my father by Dad Morry before his death. Most of those letters are believed to have been found in "Athlone", the last Morry home in Calvert (formerly Caplin Bay), after the death of the last Morry resident in that village, Lizzie Morry, in 1930. The letters were written to Lizzie or to her parents. While they are of no real historical value, that are a fascinating glimpse into the life of the business class in Newfoundland at the time.

Letter from Henry Corbin LeMessurier to Lizzie Morry, ca. Easter, 1876

This is a letter believed to be from Henry Corbin Le Messurier in St. John's to Elizabeth Ann Morry . It is  undated but certain clues indicate it was written shortly before Easter 1876.

Letter from William Sweetland Morry to his mother from France, August 24, 1916

William Sweetland Morry served in WWI as a Sapper In the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force (Formerly the 50Th Gordon's) with regimental number #103241. His letter home to his mother makes light of the situation he and the Canadian Forces found themselves in, no doubt in an attempt to save his mother much worry. The terrible reality of trench warfare in France in WWI was far from how he described it. But then the censors would not have allowed a more graphic description to leave France.

Letter from Josephine Morry Gray to Howard Leopold Morry, 1933

This letter pertains to the settlement of the estate of Elizabeth Ann Morry, the last of the Morry’s to live at the old Morry homestead known as “Athlone” on the north side of Caplin Bay, now Calvert. Elizabeth, also known as Lizzie, was the first cousin, once removed, of Howard and the first cousin of his aunt, Jane Josephine, who wrote this letter.

Letter from Howard Morry to William Sweetland (Bill) Morry in BC, 1938

Many Newfoundland Morrys emigrated to British Columbia over the generations. The first went out in the mid 1800s but the trend continued through every subsequent generation to this day. Dad Morry (Howard Leopold Morry) went to BC with his brothers Bert (Albert Graham Morry) and Graham (Thomas Graham Morry) when they were young men and they had many adventures together in the lumber camps, fish plants and the rough and tumble coastal communities. Dad Morry has recorded some of the details of their adventures in his memoirs.

After returning from the War, Dad Morry would have liked to return to BC but he had a young family and his father asked him to stay and run the fish business. This letter is written to one of his second cousins in BC, whom he knew from his earlier visit, William Sweetland Morry. The text was transcribed from the original by Bridget Davies Smith, Bill's Grand niece, in 2003. By coincidence, a transcript of the same letter, only with an additional paragraph at the end, was provided to me five years later by Bridget's cousin, Donna [Morry] Baspaly.

Letter from Howard Morry to Lulu White, 1946

The Whites were one of the merchant class families in Ferryland for generations as were the Morrys. So it was perhaps inevitable that sooner or later a marriage would take place to join the fortunes of the two families. Class structure in Newfoundland was as strong as it was anywhere in those days and marriage "beneath one's station" was frowned upon. Thus on June 1, 1880, Catherine Frances White married Thomas Graham Morry III. Catherine, my G. Grandmother, was the daughter of an English merchant, John William White, who was born in Dodbrooke, Kingsbridge, Devon. Though born in England, he emigrated to Newfoundland and settled in Ferryland where, among other things, he was the owner of the general store and a Justice of the Peace.

But times were tough for merchants in those days, as they were for everyone else. The Black Monday bank crash on December 10, 1894 wiped out the fortunes of many of the wealthier families in Newfoundland and many of them never really recovered. The Morrys and the Whites were not immune and Thomas Morry lost his fortune and spent the rest of his life attempting to pay back his debtors. The Whites were in a similar predicament and by the second generation after John William White, they were still struggling to make ends meet.

John's son Alfred inherited his father's house (see Will), lands  and business interests, but also his debts. His children left one by one to try and make their fortunes in the more promising economic conditions available in the US. After his death in 1920, only his wife Frances and two sons, Gordon and William, were still trying to hang on in Ferryland. John Stanislaus was the first to move to the US, followed by Lulu (Louisa). By 1922, only Gordon remained and then he too left. The legend has it that he left with food still on the table and the door left open as if he intended to return but never did.

This letter from Dad Morry was written to Lulu White in 1944 urging her to take legal action to claim the lands belonging to her family that were by that time being occupied by others in the village. With the passage of over two decades since the lands and, more importantly the water side premises, had been occupied and made use of by the rightful owners, as one might imagine others began to use these valuable assets. In the case of the person mentioned, Paddy Ryan, he had in some ways more right to do so than others in the village. His grandfather, William Ryan, had rented some of the White property, a house and garden near the Pool, for 20 years from John William in 1892. More than likely this arrangement had been renewed over the years. Nevertheless, evidently title to the land was never conveyed and it changed hands by no more formal process than "squatters rights", as was often the case in those days. Thus the Whites lost their claim to land in Newfoundland, though indeed none of them or their descendants ever returned to their former home.  

Letters from Father to Son

Here are three letters written by Dad Morry to my father and mother over the years. The third, written in 1971, may well have been the last letter Dad Morry wrote in his lifetime.

Letter from Howard Morry to son Tom Morry, 1959 - A

Letter from Howard Morry to son Tom Morry, 1959 - B

Letter from Howard Morry to son Tom Morry, 1971

Letter from Nimshi Crewe to Howard Morry, 1965

This letter briefly notifies Dad Morry of a discovery made by this well known Newfoundland archivist concerning a lawsuit taken out against Morry and Prideaux in England in 1819.