This is a forum for you to discover your roots! If you are the family historian or genealogist, I hope you will find something of interest in these pages and consider adding your genealogy files, photos and history.
NFLD Pony - Photo taken at Gallows Cove, Torbay
If you would care for music, wait until the page fully loads before pushing the "Run" button.
Torbay is located ten kilometers, about seven miles, north of the city of St. John's, along the north eastern portion of the Avalon Peninsula, looking out over the Atlantic. Coming into this enchanting town one feels immediately welcomed. Cresting the hill by Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Torbay stretches wide before you. It has always given me the warm feeling of a mother welcoming home her children. Newfoundlanders are known the world over as friendly and hospitable people and the folks of Torbay do justice to this. Whether your ancestor's surnames were Ryan, Fitzpatrick, Finn, Reddy, Bradbury, Manning, McGrath, Molloy, Goss, Gosse, Thorne, Roache, Cullen, Coady, Quigley, Tapper, Dunphy, Morey, Eutace, Whitty, Cole, Codner, Liddy, Brown, White, Waterman, Murphy or another of the many old names from this area, you will probably find a relative still living here.
The old saying goes, "you can never go home". I didn't find this was true when I returned in 1998 after too many years of being absent. It was like I had never left, and picked up with childhood friends and relatives with the greatest of ease. The kitchen parties are still going strong and the old stories are still being told by the elders. My hope is that these stories are being documented by at least some of the listeners because in these stories is our heritage. People asked me if I saw a big change and I have not. It would be difficult to change the lay of this land, the Atlantic and the people of Torbay. Some new houses have popped up but most of the old homes are still standing. A new RC Church has been built but it's just behind where the old one had been and the front stone wall hasn't yet crumbled.
One day, my sister & I meet with our childhood friends and we trucked through the woods, which had grown extremely thick. We were determined to have our jelly sandwiches and freshee in mayonnaise jars, (the snack of our childhood), in beside our old swimming spot at Gallows Cove Pond. Much of the land around this pond had once belonged to the Finn family and I've been told that prior to the Finn's, the land was owned and occupied by the family of Mrs. Helen Gosse Parsons. These days a very nice nursery occupies this land and beautiful plants are grown here but the woods have gone back to the way I imagine they were in the very early days. After much to-do and one of our friends getting caught in some stinger nettles, we arrived. We sat on a fallen limb and reminisced about the fun we used to have there. The place was beautiful but the mosquitos were too thick for us to eat our lunch. So we trucked back out and made our way to our friends brother's meadow, where we sat on the grass and enjoyed our lunch.
I tell this story to let you know you won't find big city entertainment in Torbay. You will find lots of singing and music that not many big cities have ever heard, along with the most enjoyable company and the most wholesome of pastimes, which will give you memories for a lifetime.
Send me the names of ancestors you are researching and I will list the information here.
Pat Jenkins - Ryan File The descendants of Kyran Ryan.
Pat Jenkins - Posted 10/22/00 The descendants of John Ryan & Ellen Grace.
Pat Jenkins - Headstone Markers Partial listing of Headstone Markers from the Old Cemetery - Holy Trinity.
Carl Galeana - Bradbury File The descendants of Jonathon Bradbury.
Carl Galeana - Hickey File The descendants of David and Catherine Power Hickey
Carl Galeana - Eustace File The descendants of James (Skipper Jim) Eustace.
The Descendants of George Tapper and Elizabeth Bradbury Pat Jenkins, with much help, posted The Tapper File on Jan 7, 2001
Ed Goss & Tom Gosse - Posted 10/22/00 The descendants of Sameul Goss & Elizabeth Martin - with Introductory page.
If you are interested in any of the names found in the databases below, please contact the person who owns these pages. I have linked to them. I do not have this information.
Jim Roache's Site Your in luck if you are researching Roache or Cullen.
Ken Schneider's Site Researching Cole, Brown, Baldwin in and around Torbay
Pat Evans' Site Researching Coady, Druken, Whitty.
Coady & Whitty Pat Evans has photos of headstones from the "Old Cemetery" - Holy Trinity, across from the church.
Charlene Doyle Researching Doyle, Oliver, Reddy, O'Brien, & Donavan.
The descendants of Thomas Hickey Among this data you will find Thomas Hickey and his wife, Mary Anne McGee and their descendants. Tom was the son of Patrick Hickey and Alice Kearney
The descendants of John Squires This type of tree is a little difficult to use. I find using the slide bar works best.
Do You Know...This is an area for questions and hopefully answers.
Leaves of Torbay Trees I've compiled a listing of the people who are researching their Torbay ancestors.
Posted Jan. 18, 2001 Photo of Helen Ryan Holland and her son Harold Along with the story of how I finally found them.Posted Nov. 15, 2000 Photo of Anne-Marie Ryan Roach
Photo of Pat & Jane Gosse Ryan
Photo of Thomas (Fiddler) Gosse and Bridget Quigley Gosse
Photo of Thomas (Fiddler) Gosse, some of his children and Tim Quigley.
Photo of Robert and Margaret Quigley Morey
Photo of James Whitty and four of his children
Photo of Bessie Tapper Drew and her children
Photo of Jack and Mary Ryan Quigley with their son, Gerald.
Other Links Some for research, some for general information and others for fun.
My name is Pat Jenkins. Click here if you wish to...
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