by Carole (Hann) Hefferton
We have found listings of church records online showing Hanns from Puddletown (formerly Piddletown), Dorset, England. There are also mentions of Hands in Affpuddle and Melbury Osmond. The Melbury Osmond Parish website says Thomas Hardy’s grandmother, Elizabeth (Betty) Swetman of Melbury Osmond, was married to George Hand of Affpuddle, “a young man of whom her father strongly disapproved”, in Melbury Osmond church. Their daughter Jemima was Thomas Hardy’s mother. Melbury Osmond is called “Little Hintock” in Hardy’s novel, The Woodlanders, in which the heroine’s name is Grace Melbury.
We believe that William Hand and his wife Betty Symonds are our earliest known Hann ancestors. Glenn Hann’s notes say that they were from Affpuddle, Dorset. Carole (Hann) and Paul Hefferton have visited their grave at Puddletown, Dorset, England. From the ages on the headstone, we estimate that William and Betty were both born in 1752. The Puddletown records show a baptism of a Betty Symonds, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth, on October 23, 1752. They also show a marriage of Richard Symonds and Elizabeth Crocker of Piddletown on January 12, 1752. These were likely Betty’s parents.
The inscription on the headstone at St. Mary’s Church in Puddletown says:
“Sacred to the memory of Betty Hand who departed this life Feb. 6th, 1828, aged 76 years.
Also William Hand, husband of the above Betty Hand who departed this life October 11th, 1828, aged 76 years. Also John Hand, grandson of the above, who departed this life Jan. 23, 1823, aged 21 years.”
John Hand – Piddletown/Puddletown records show a John Hand, son of William and Betty Hand, baptized in November 1776. From 1773 to 1792 eight more children were born to William and Betty.
Per Cliff Andrews:
“ A John Hand died at Cape Freels in 1824. Three observations, used in conjunction with reasonable speculation, would seem to confirm that he established the lineage of the Hand-Hann families of Cape Freels, Pinchard’s Island and Wesleyville.
1) His death coincides with the death dates of other elderly original inhabitants of Bonavista Bay North, who came to Nfld. around 1785.
2) A number of Hand children were born at Cape Freels between 1798 & 1813: William 1798, John ca. 1800, Mary ca. 1805, Silas ca. 1813.
3) The name John was given to a male child in almost every Hand-Hann family in Cape Freels and Wesleyville, from 1800 on.
Thus, there seems to be sufficient evidence to conclude that the Hanns of Cape Freels, Pinchard’s Island, Wesleyville North and Wesleyville Centre all originated from the John Hand who came to Cape Freels from Dorset, England, around 1785.”
However, that would have meant John was only 9 years old when he came over. Glenn Hann’s notes state that John Hand came from England in 1790.
The first recorded spelling of the name at Middle Bill Cove, Cape Freels, was HAND. It seems that HAND and HANN became interchangeable around 1830, when the names of members of the same family were being written in both forms.” John Hann was a shipbuilder. Researcher and author Rev. Naboth Winsor has located records in the Newfoundland Archives listing vessels built by John Hann in 1830.
William Hand, son of John Hand and ??, was born in 1798 at Cape Cove, Cape Freels, died there on August 20, 1856, and was buried on August 22. He married Mary Ann Young on October 19, 1825 at Middle Bill Cove, Cape Freels, NL. William’s death is recorded in the diary of Rev. Julius Moreton, the clergyman at Greenspond:
“The sick man at Cape Freels soon died and I went there in a skiff to bury him according to my promise. On the way the crew called at Cold Harbour [later Wesleyville] to take in a brother [John] of the deceased man. We finally landed at Cape Island and walked two miles to Middle Bill Cove, arriving at 8 p.m. on the 22nd. I read the burial service to about 140 persons.”
A tombstone to the memory of William can be seen at the cemetery, Cape Freels South, and another to his wife Mary, bearing the dates 1810 – 1883.
John George Hand/Hann, son of William Hann and Mary Ann Young, was born in 1827 at Cape Cove, Cape Freels. On October 26, 1848, John Hand married Sophia Melendy of Cape Island. They were married at Greenspond by Rev. James Gilchrist. The witnesses were Thomas Oakley (or Parker) and John Young. Sophia was the daughter of Thomas Melendy and Julia Osmond.
From the Royal Gazette, St. John’s, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 1858: “On Monday, Aug. 25, 1856, a boat was on her way from Cape Freels to St. John’s, with fish and oil, the crew of which consisted of John Hand and his three brothers and a man belonging to Bonavista named Benjamin Leader who, it is said, was in liquor. A fight ensued on board, and two of the brothers, [David and Abel] in the act of quarreling, fell overboard and were drowned, before any assistance could be rendered to them. The wife of one of the unfortunate men was on board at the time and witnessed the melancholy event.”
Cliff Andrews: “Two years later Sophia and her children George, Charles, Peter, Julia, Martha, Virtue, Dorcas, Eliza and Mary Ann, relocated from Cape Freels to The Reach in Wesleyville. George, the eldest and only member of the family who had married at Cape Freels, probably initiated the move.”
One day when she was very old she was ill, upstairs in her bed. Her son George and grandson Lloyd were there, and the minister, Mr. Hillier. George and Lloyd were going to go home for dinner. The minister said, “I think I’ll stay and see the end of her.” George said, “If you’re going
to wait until she goes, you’ll starve.” The next morning she came downstairs again. (Story told by Lloyd)
Sophia was Lloyd Hann’s great-grandmother. She lived with her son Charles (Lloyd’s great-uncle, whom he called Uncle Charlie). Sophia lived to be over 100 (see attached articles about her). Her headstone and a storyboard about her are in the cemetery near the United Church in Wesleyville.
George Hann, son of John Hann and Sophia Melendy, was born February 17, 1850 at Cape Cove, Cape Freels, and on October 24, 1871 married Louisa Stokes, daughter of Malachi Stokes and Sarah (??). Louisa was the mother of his children. After her death, he married Judith, widow of William Brenton. George died at Wesleyville in 1942.
After moving from Cape Freels, George and his brothers Peter and Charles obtained a grant, dated November 25, 1881, for 11 acres of land near the Reach, located at the mainland opposite Swain’s Island. [now 306-8 Main Street] In 1884 the new settlement on the mainland was called Wesleyville, but in the 1884 census it was listed as Wesley Town, Cold Harbour and Three Island Harbour. Cliff Andrews states that George’s mother Sophia Hann was instrumental in renaming Cold Harbour to Wesleyville. According to Cliff, other Hanns were living in Cold Harbour before George and his family moved there, namely Ann, who married John Hoyles, John, who married Caroline Rogers in 1858, Jesse, who married Theresa Hall in 1859, and Eli, who married Susannah Curtis in 1861.
George was a master mariner, and during his life he was captain of sealing steamers the Leopard and the Labrador. Per Naboth Winsor, he was also captain of the A. H. Hardy and the steamer Alert. Per A. R. Penney of Manuels, he was captain of the SS Stella Maris in 1912, when it was assigned to the Northern Labrador coast. He owned the schooner Ben Hur around 1905, also the Paragon around 1906 or before.
From “Stalwart Men and Sturdy Ships” by Naboth Winsor:
“Captain George Hann commanded the SS Leopard, [owned by James Baird Limited] from 1890 to 1891. From 1892 to 1908 he commanded the sealing steamer SS Labrador. Her record year was 1900, her catch 22,673. The total catch of the two ships under Captain Hann over 19 years was 206,257 seals, with a total value of $325,159.00. The Labrador was responsible for saving the crew of the Windsor Lake off Cape Freels on March 26, 1896. She was the strongest of the wooden ships.”
As told by George to his grandson, Lloyd Hann:
In the “Spring of the Funks”, as the year 1896 was called, the SS Windsor Lake, a sealing steamer under Capt. Mercer, got crushed in the ice and sank. Capt. George Hann in the sealer Labrador rescued the crew and 2000 seal pelts. Someone set fire to the Windsor Lake during the rescue to prevent Capt. Hann from claiming salvage.
George established a general store in Wesleyville. At one time he was supplying seven fishing schooners, all skippered by Wesleyville area men.
From “By Their Works” and “The Sea, Our Life Blood” by Naboth Winsor:
“In 1884 when there was no post office at Wesleyville, people left their letters at Captain George Hann’s shop, and the mail carrier collected them there; for his services Captain Hann received $4.00 for six months. In that year the mail service was fortnightly, by a mail carrier William Spurrell, who travelled from Greenspond to Cape Freels, and received $13.33 every three months. In 1891 Captain Hann was promoted to Postmaster, for which he received $12.00 a year. In 1901, his daughter Mary Jane was Postmistress, and we have been told that her father erected for her a small building to serve as a post office.” ERH notes confirm this, it was also a telegraph office and was on the same spot as the present post office.
The following is a description of the Hann waterfront premises by Lloyd Hann. A more complete description is in another article of his entitled “Recalling Early Boyhood/Description of Premises”.
There was a slipway that extended 60’ to the east end of Capt. George Hann’s wharf and store. The store was 30’ x 55’, two story. The front of the store faced south. The side facing the water had two windows and one large door in the centre. The west side had one window and two folding doors. The store had a peaked roof with a flagstaff.
George’s brother, Uncle Charlie’s store was about 50’ west of George’s, on the same wharf. Charlie’s store was 40’ x 25’, two story. The front faced south with a wharf about 30’ long.
There was another store on the wharf, about 25’ x 20’, used for storing salt and fish, etc. There was a space between the two stores about six feet wide. About 200’ west of Charlie Hann there was a small wharf and store owned by his brother Peter Hann.
A George Hann was a member of the Grand Orange Lodge of Newfoundland (Provincial). He was a Representative in 1896 and a Junior Deputy Grand Master in 1908. We don’t know for sure if this was our ancestor. The Wesleyville Loyal Orange Lodge was #1497.
Charles Hann (called Uncle Charlie by Lloyd), George’s brother, owned a schooner, the Emma W. Brown, which he bought in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Of the trip home, Charlie said, “She was a great sail carrier, she could sail like a witch.” The only navigation equipment they had was a chart, a compass, a barometer, a sounding lead and dead reckoning. Uncle Charlie was a very successful fishing skipper and was usually the highliner. Men would say that to have a berth with Skipper Charlie was like having a check on the bank. Lloyd heard it said that for a man to get a berth with Charlie Hann he had to be capable of passing a barrel of beef from boat to stage head (approximately 300 pounds) singlehandedly.
Virtue Hann, one of George’s sisters, was a teacher, before marrying Job Kean and joining him in his general store business in Brookfield. She wrote the song “Lukey’s Boat” as a poke at Luke Gaulton. She performed it a a concert, and apparently Luke wrote another verse as a response. Virtue had the reputation of being a very sharp businesswoman. The story is told of when she couldn’t account for a Cape Ann (cap), she billed every customer for it.
Jesse Bismarck Hann, son of George Hann and Louisa Stokes, was born on February 27, 1887 in Wesleyville, NL. He married Emma Nora Batstone from Nipper’s Harbour, who had come to Wesleyville to teach. Emma’s parents were Thomas Knight Batstone and Mary Ann Langdon. Jesse and Emma’s children were Lloyd, Clifford, Patricia and Herbert. Jesse was called “Father”, “Pop”, “Poppy” and “Poppity” by various members of his family. Emma was called “Hannie” by her Wesleyville grandchildren.
In 1912 Jesse helped build the first Methodist/United Church in Wesleyville.
Per Cliff Andrews, Emma Batstone was the first teacher at the North End Primary School in Wesleyville. Being very musical, she considered an organ very necessary for educational purposes, so she raised money by putting off school concerts, and in 1912 she purchased a reed organ for the school. Per Naboth Winsor, in 1913 her salary was $243.00, and the school had an enrolment of 31 pupils.
Emma Batstone was the first teacher at the North End Primary School in Wesleyville
Wesleyville had a brass band at that time, called the Methodist Guards Brigade. Jesse was band master and played several instruments, and it was only natural that the talented and pretty Miss Batstone would attract his attention. Having much in common, they became friends and later married. Both devoted much time to music and church work. Emma was church organist and choir director from 1912 to 1935, and also took private music pupils.
In February, 1918 the school board decided to hand over the upper flat of Wesley Hall, and the School Hall connected with it, to the trustee board for completion. Jesse was appointed to the committee for the completion of the School Hall.
In May, 1930 Jesse was appointed to a committee to oversee, with the school board, the building of a new school, the cornerstone of which said, “Erected in 1930 as a memorial to those who gave their lives in the Great War, and dedicated to the training of youth in the arts of peace. Laid by Dr. A. Diamond.” This school later became the Bonavista North Regional Museum.
Jesse Hann served on the church trustee board, for a while as secretary. On January 25, 1939 the church trustee board held a soup supper in Wesley Hall to raise money for church expenses. The cost of the supper was thirty cents for both adults and children. Five tables were used for the supper. Table No. 3 was under the charge of J. B. Howse, Jesse Hann and Leslie Winsor.
Excerpts from trustee board minutes of the Methodist (later United) church:
June 9, 1914: “The Quarterly Official Board requests that the organist (Mrs. Jesse Hann) just render a piece while the collection is taken.” And “This Board appoints Jesse Hann for taking up the collection in the gallery, and E. B. Sainsbury for assistant.”
January 25, 1921: “That no man or woman be allowed to sit in the choir without the unanimous vote of the Trustee Board.” And “That we ask Jesse Hann to act as choirmaster.” (Naboth Winsor refers to the strong male choir section and the rich, deep, strong voices, including Jesse Hann’s bass.)
December 29, 1933: “That Abram Stanford be appointed organ-blower for the ensuing year, and that Mrs. Jesse Hann, the organist-in-chief, Miss Maysie Roberts and Mrs. T. J. Pitt, assistant organists, be reappointed.”
On July 15, 1942 the church was destroyed by fire, caused by a lightning strike. However, the pulpit and many of the pews and other fittings were saved. In October it was decided to take some of the pews to Wesley Hall. Since the church had burned, the system of pew rents was interrupted, so the board decided that “each family be asked to contribute $2.00 towards the running expenses to carry on the church services.” A house-to-house canvass was made On December 15, with Jesse Hann and Captain S. Hill responsible for collecting from “Constable’s to Captain Hann’s”. A total of $267.00 was collected. Church services continued, with Wesley Hall filled to capacity. Per ERH notes, on April 16, 1945 men began work on the burned church, beating down the cement walls and tearing down the steps. Ches Burry was in charge (per Hannie’s notes).
In 1920 Captain George Hann was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Methodist Guards Brigade, with officers Bertram Hann, Captain; Jesse B. Hann, Major, and J. B. Howse, Quartermaster. From “By Their Works” by Naboth Winsor: “The uniform was a blue tight-fitting coat with a round collar and brass buttons, and blue trousers, a round pillbox shaped hat with a white band around it, and a white braid strap under the chin. There were about 20 members, and there was much enthusiasm at the beginning; concerts and socials were held to help raise money for the uniforms; and the Brigade also went to Greenspond to put on a concert. The Brigade lasted for about four years.”
Jesse Hann performed often in concerts, singing and acting out humourous songs. Per Nita Stratton, who remembers his performances, he was very entertaining and would be “all over the stage”. In 1948 at a Trustee Board concert, he did two Scottish numbers, “It Serves You Right”, and “Tobermory”.
In 1927, his father George transferred to Jesse:
“the shop building situate at Wesleyville, his stock in trade together with all his book debts, subject to the following proviso, that is to say: that the said Jesse Hann shall pay the said George Hann during his natural life the sum of $300.00 per annum and supply him with sufficient coal for his use from year to year during his lifetime, and after the decease of the said George Hann the said Jesse Hann shall pay Judith Hann, wife of the said George Hann during her natural life the sum of $100.00 per annum.” (Witnessed by Nathan Winsor)
Jesse had a 32 foot boat called the Black Cat, so named because it was painted black from stem to stern, top and bottom. This boat was a cod seine skiff, used for fishing with cod seine before the coming of boat engines and cod traps. It was propelled by four men, using one oar each. The oars were 26 feet long, and one can imagine that the men who used them were very powerful. In later years the Black Cat was used as a barge for carrying freight and coal, and was towed by another boat.
There were four smaller boats, one about 20 feet long with a 4 hp Hubbard make-and-break “one lunger” engine, one 15 foot punt, one clinker built rodney, and one four oared skiff of about 18 feet.
In October, 1933, Jesse borrowed $1,200.00 at 3% interest from his father George as a loan to purchase a motor boat, engine and equipment. This may have been the Mianus, which was a 32 foot long trap boat, used for hauling cod traps and fishing gear.
He owned another motor boat called the Mabel, which was more for pleasure, with a closed foredeck cabin and aft cockpit. The Mabel was also equipped with a mainsail, jib and riding sail, and a steering wheel.
On his son Lloyd’s birth certificate, Jesse’s occupation was stated as fishing. He was also an insurance agent for Imperial Life. His wife Emma (Hannie) recorded in her diary: “January 11, 1943 Pop (Jesse) won an Imperial Life competition. August 31 – September 6, 1946, Jesse attended an Imperial Life convention at the Newfoundland Hotel. Returned by SS Glencoe.”
On March 12, 1946, his daughter-in-law Ruth went to Brookfield Hospital to get ointment for his arm (a scald) – pouring coffee from pot and put out foot to break Barrie’s fall from pram. (per ERH notes)
In the June 3, 1948 referendum on Confederation, Jesse was Deputy Returning Officer for Wesleyville Centre. Lloyd Hann, Billy Fifield, and Edgar Winsor picked up ballot boxes by boat that night from Newport, Flat Island, Silver Island, Fair Island, Paul’s Island, Sydney Cove, Round Harbour, and all around Indian Bay.
From Emma’s diary: “November 2, 1948 Father (Jesse) in bed resting as Dr. McGivern said complete rest will cure pain over heart and blood pressure.”
Jesse died intestate (without a will) in 1951. Lloyd was made manager of the estate, and in 1954 a lawyer drafted a Deed of Disclaimer to be signed by Jesse’s widow and other children of all their interests in his estate in favour of Lloyd G. T. Hann. The copy in our possession has names penciled in. It is unknown if a signed copy exists or if it was ever executed.
Lloyd George Thomas Hann, son of George Hann and Emma Batstone, was born at Wesleyville on March 15, 1915 and died September 8, 2005. His siblings were Clifford Batstone Hann, 1916-1992, Patricia Jean Hann Bothwell, 1919-2018, and Herbert Victor Hann, 1921-2014
Lloyd met his future wife, Evelyn Ruth Porter of Elliston when she came to Wesleyville to teach in September, 1937. She noted that in 1937 she taught the kindergarten pupils the Highland Fling for a concert, to the tune of “Keel Row” (jam-jar). If the children were being too restless in class, she would play the organ and have them march around the room to burn off some energy so they could come back to their places and concentrate. She taught at Wesleyville for three years, and for the first two years boarded with Lloyd and his family. E. Ruth was the daughter of Garland Porter and Jessie Trask. One day at the dinner table she announced she was accepted for a teaching position at Buchans. Everyone was surprised that she was leaving Wesleyville.
Ruth taught at Buchans from September, 1940 to December, 1941, when she left to marry Lloyd. She had to give up her teaching profession because at that time married women were not hired as teachers.
E. Ruth Porter and Lloyd G. T. Hann were married in Elliston on December 27, 1941. They didn’t go to the church as it was slippery, and the church would have been cold with only a potbelly stove. The minister, Rev. J. T. Clarke, came and held the ceremony in Kador Porter’s (Aunt Elizabeth’s) front room. Mrs. Clarke played the organ. Clara Burt (Lenora Burt Tilley’s sister) was bridesmaid. She later married a Coles. Henry (Harry) Chaulk was best man. He was the husband of Vera (Vee) Barbour Chaulk, who later lived in Trinity, TB, and was organist there.
They got on the steamer for Wesleyville at Catalina, but it was held there for two nights due to weather – Lloyd in the men’s cabin and Ruth in the women’s. When they arrived at Valleyfield, they got off and walked to Wesleyville, getting home at 7:00 a.m., before the boat. They went to bed, and Poppy Hann (Lloyd’s father Jesse) saw the suitcase in the hall when he got up. Cluney Blackwood and the boys were waiting with guns to greet them at Wesleyville wharf, but Lloyd and Ruth didn’t get off. The boys were surprised when Lloyd walked up behind them.
Ruth taught music, and was church organist for many years and was very active in church, Ocean View seniors group, and other community organizations. In the 1940’s Rev. and Mrs. Clarke came to Wesleyville for three years. Their oldest son Ewart credits Ruth with having helped him get into music. The organist at Jubilee United Church in Wesleyville, Dorothy (Mrs. Benjamin) Winsor, wouldn’t let him have a turn playing. A couple of years later in church. The Women’s Missionary Society had a service at which Ruth was playing, and she let Ewart play all the hymns.
She was a census taker in 1951, when she enumerated not only people and dwellings, but their animals. She also took the census in 1966 and 1971, when she made $335.84 for 101 hours at $2.60, plus mileage and instruction. Her notes show the 1971 populations of Newtown as 513, Wesleyville, Brookfield and Pound Cove as 1,148, and Badger’s Quay, Valleyfield and Pool’s Island as 1455. [Total of 3,116 for what would become New-Wes-Valley] Greenspond was 441.
Their son Barrie was born at home April 16, 1946. They had gone to Brookfield Hospital on foot and by sleigh, but were turned away. Dr. Jim Gough said, “Come back Wednesday.” (There was a party going on at the hospital.) The nurse said all the floors were varnished and the beds dismantled. For this falsehood, she lost her job. (as told by ERH)
1956, in early spring, Clarence moved Hanns’ hen house to the back bank. When the snow went away, Ruth cleaned up the site, picking up boards, etc. She believes this and the down the road drainage was the cause of her hepatitis. She was in hospital over a week in July. Dr. and Mrs. Rutherford, Ruthie and Sammie came often to take Carole with them to Windmill Bight. Ruth had to ask her mother, Jessie (Mom Porter), to return from Elliston in early September, earlier than usual, because of a relapse, severe headaches, etc. From mid-October to mid-November of that year, Ruth was in hospital in St. John’s. After this she went to Elliston, where Mom Porter had taken Pat and Carole. Lloyd and Ron Sturge went over to Bonavista to bring the family back to Wesleyville on November 18, 1956. (per ERH notes)
Lloyd inherited the family house jointly with his father Jesse from his grandfather George. His grandfather called him, “Lloyd George”. In 1953, Clarence, Uncle Charlie and Lloyd sold the house and land on the hill [was this Uncle Peter’s?] to Robert Standford. The witness was JP, Nat Winsor. This was later owned by Jake Winsor, and finally by Barrie Hann.
Lloyd inherited the family shop from his father. George Hann’s will reads: “The shop to be the property of my son Jesse Hann while he is doing business, in case of his closing down business the said shop and all its effects (apart from stock in trade) to be the property of my grandson Lloyd George T. Hann.”
As a young man Lloyd was a member of the Orange Young Britoners, which for many years had a membership of nearly 200. Each year on New Year’s Day, along with the Orangemen, they would parade from the Orange Lodge to the church, then parade through town, and then to Wesley Hall for a roast beef dinner. This was followed by a concert put on by the Orange Young Britoners.
In the early 1930’s he entered a Listerine slogan contest by mail to New York. His entry was, “Listerine is the safe antiseptic with the pleasant taste.”
In 1934, he turned 19 at the ice as a sealer aboard the SS Imogene, and went again in 1935 on the Imogene. (See notebooks and correspondence with his mother, also transcription of notebooks.)
Lloyd was a self-taught man and a lifelong learner. Some of his studies were:
– Diesel and electrical engineering at Coyne Electrical School in Chicago in 1944-45. The length of stay in the U.S. was stated on his 1944 Visa as about six months.
– Radio, Television and Engineering from the Radio College of Canada, 310 Yonge St., Toronto
– Principles of Refrigeration from ICS in 1955
– Electrical Engineering from CSE, Montreal
– Electronics/Radar, etc., from National Radio Institute, Washington, DC in 1965
– Ocy-Acetylene and Electrical Welding from CLA
His first non-self-employed job was with Marshall Motors in St. John’s, Nfld., doing radio sales and service and refrigeration.
In 1936 he wired the Wesleyville church, at a cost of $113.00, and in 1937 he installed a lighting plant in the church. He installed one on his property and supplied electrical power to several neighbours for some years. He would start the engine to turn on the power at dusk, and at around 11:45 p.m. he would dim the lights three times to signal to his customers that the power would be turned off in 15 minutes. He supplied power to the church from 1955 to 1957 (per Naboth Winsor). He also sold and installed many lighting plants.
From Emma Hann’s diary: “On New Year’s Eve 1948 LG put bulbs amounting to 1900 watt on pole at top of house; with the trees laden with sprinkling snow and the ground covered with pure white snow, the effect of the high electric watt made the place look almost like a fairyland. I shall long remember just the thrill it gave to see such a pretty sight. 7:45 on New Year’s night the lights en masse are on again but the lighting effect is not so wonderful, as the wind has swept all snow from the trees, thus losing their Yuletide effect.”
From E. Ruth Hann’s diary: “Dressed up warmly at 12:30 to view the effect from a distance – down by the school – near the school pond, etc.”
Lloyd became an agent for Red Wing marine engines, and spent many years installing them in boats around Newfoundland. In 1929, he had the first outboard motor in Wesleyville, and in 1938 he and Clarence built his speedboat, the Arrowhead.
He owned the cabin cruiser Miss Red Wing, built in 1934 by Tom Vincent of Newtown. She was powered by a Red Wing Thorobred engine. She had one mast and was fitted with a mainsail and jib made by sailmaker Hedley Brenton of Wesleyville. Lloyd’s father Jesse fitted out the cabins and galley with shelves, cupboards and drawers. Lloyd’s next boat was the Red Wing Chief, built around 1940 by John and Noah Kean of Pound Cove.
These boats were used for transportation in his business and were also chartered and used to carry passengers. The Miss Red Wing was chartered twice by champion sport fisherman and author Lee Wulff for trips around the Newfoundland and Labrador coast. In 1948 S. F. Vincent hired the Red Wing Chief for a Confederate Party company. During World War II, the Red Wing Chief was used around the coast of Newfoundland, which was classified as dangerous waters, qualifying as Merchant Navy. Lloyd also served for a time aboard a US Navy PT boat, which later became the Dept. of Health’s X-Ray boat, the Christmas Seal.
In June, 1954, Lloyd and Clarence Hann built a Chris Craft boat in the front garden, and moved it down to the bank near the waterfront on June 24.
When Brookfield Hospital was built, around 1943, he was employed by the Department of Public Works to do all the electrical wiring and install all related equipment for the hospital and power house. Over the years he did much maintenance and repairs there on the boilers, refrigeration and other equipment.
While wiring St. Peter’s Church in Twillingate in December, 1949, Lloyd fell off a ladder and broke his ankle. It was treated and put in a cast there, but in March, 1950 he had to have surgery in St. John’s to graft a piece of bone.
By the late 1940’s there was a road from Hare Bay to Gambo, and on a typical trip to St. John’s or the Avalon Peninsula, he would get dropped off at Hare Bay by the Red Wing Chief, get a taxi from there to Gambo, where he would get the eastbound train, and then in some cases take a taxi from the train to his destination.
When the Experimental Fish Plant, built in 1956 and run by the federal Department of Fisheries, was opened in Valleyfield, he was hired as chief stationary engineer there. He was in charge of the boiler room, machine shop and all maintenance. Although he kept his workshop in Wesleyville, he moved his family to Valleyfield in 1957, where they lived in Cottage #6 on the plant grounds for approximately 11 years.
In 1957 while he was employed by the Department of Fisheries he was sent for training to:
– Montreal, for two days at Volcano Limited, for operating and servicing boilers
– Crystal Lake, Illinois, for five days at P & H Diesel School, Harnischfeger Corp.
– Fitchburg, Mass, for five days at Canadian General Electric
– Halifax, for five days at Canadian Ice Machine Co., and Lunenburg Foundry
When the fish plant was bought by Boyd Way, the family moved back to a new house in Wesleyville in February, 1969. In September of that year Barrie and Maureen and family moved into the lower level of the house. Lloyd built his business up to full-time, with his son Barrie joining him. In 1973 Hanns’ Electric was incorporated. Barrie had been working with him for several years, and in November 1973 Carole and Paul moved home from St. John’s and joined the family business.
Lloyd remained active all his life until about a year before he died at home in 2005. He loved going out in boat with his family and his dogs. He continued to work in the shop for many years after he officially retired, overhauling and selling engines, etc. He made many beautiful brass and wood pieces on his lathe, which he gave as gifts to family and friends. In 1996 he made brass candleholders for St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Newtown, by request of Peter Hall. He recorded dozens of videos of community events and interviews with fishing skippers, etc. These have all been put on DVD’s and catalogued by Maureen Hann. He was also a prodigious writer, and all of his memoirs have been transcribed.
Carole Hann Hefferton and Paul met at a dance at the College of Trades and Technology in St. John’s, in October, 1969, where Carole had studied Shorthand-Typing and Paul was studying Machinist. Carole was a secretary at Imperial Life Insurance and Paul was a machinist at E. F. Barnes.
They were married in Wesleyville on August 6, 1972. Their first home was on Kenmount Road, St. John’s, a two-bedroom basement apartment. In November, 1973 they moved to Wesleyville to join the family business. They lived with Carole’s parents for eight months, then in July, 1974 bought their own house at 131 Main Street, Valleyfield.
They both worked at Hanns’ Electric Limited from 1973 until Paul retired in the fall of 2012 and Carole retired in September, 2013.
David Eric Hefferton was born in 1975. In 2001 he married Penny Bungay and had two sons, Alexander Samuel Paul, born in 2001, and Brandon Scot, born in 2005. In 2014 David was remarried to Carolyn Marie Hunt of Centreville.
Daniel Keith Hefferton was born in 1978. In 2010 he married Mary Cvitak and they had two sons, Nathan Joseph Paul, born in 2014, and Matthew Charles Andrew, born in 2015.
