Hefford

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Hefford
Current region Newfoundland and Labrador
Place of origin England
Foundedca 1890

The Hefford Family of Random Island[a]

The first Hefford family to settle permanently in the Random Island area was that of Elias and Maria (nee Ivany) Hefford of New Perlican who moved to Snook's Harbour in the late 1880s or early 1890s "to sail with the Loders who operated fishing schooners out of [there][b] at that time"[1] [see Loder Family]. We will consider Elias and Maria to be the "First Generation" of the Hefford Family of Random Island.

Pre Random Island

A 1998 review of the historical occurrence of various family names in Newfoundland[2] found that early instances for Hefford were "William of New Perlican, 1682" and "William Hefford, of Trinity Bay, 1773". It also notes early instances of similar surnames with an indication that they were just different spellings of the same name: "William Heyford (spelt Hettford in 1681), of New Perlican, 1675".

Further detail on the early history of the Heffords in Newfoundland has been provided in a 2002 article[3] in The Newfoundland Ancestor which states:

One of the earliest Newfoundland references to the Hefford family concerns a William Hefford, who in 1675 was fishing out of New Perlican, Trinity Bay. William was reported to have had three boats, four stages, a flake and eighteen servants. By 1753 the Hefford family was well established in the Trinity Bay area and in particular at New Perlican. The following Hefford families were living in New Perlican, circa 1750-1800: James and Elizabeth, William and Honor, Simon and Martha and James and Mary. Listed in the William Warn Ledger (1749-1759) is a William Haeffeard.

The article also lists the family of a William and Mary Hefford of New Harbour (about 30 km south of New Perlican), including a son William-b1810[c] baptized at age 13 years in 1823 (so born ca[d] 1810). This is consistent with some of the New Perlican Heffords moving further up Trinity Bay to New Harbour[4]. William-b1810 may have been the father of the Elias who settled in Snook's Harbour, although this is doubtful.

Specific information on the potential ancestors of Elias Hefford is provided in the French Family Tree on Ancestry[5] which indicates that Elias, born in 1856 in New Perlican, was the son of William-b1816 (Hefford) born in 1816 in New Perlican and Ellen Seward - born there in 1822. This Tree also indicates Elias had a brother Jacob who was born in New Perlican in 1864, and married and had 10 children there.

The French Family Tree also indicates that Elias' father William-b1816 was the son of James-b1785 (b ca[d] 1785) and Mary (b ca 1795) Hefford, both born in Newfoundland, and that James-b1785 was the son of a James-b1729 Hefford born in Newfoundland ca 1729. James-b1729 (or perhaps James-b1785, if his birth year was actually earlier than indicated) may have been the husband in the "James and Mary" couple mentioned in the Newfoundland Ancestor article[3] (above).

Other information on the early Heffords in Trinity Bay is available from the "Listing of Grave Sites (that have headstones or markers) in New Perlican" cemeteries[6]. The Listing includes a William Hefford who was born in 1727 (hence William-b1727) based on his indicated death on 8 Jun 1788 at age 61 yrs, and wife Honor Hefford (her married surname) who was born in 1734 based on her indicated death in Dec 1815 at age 81 yrs. They are likely the “William and Honor” couple mentioned in the Newfoundland Ancestor article[3] (above).

While there remains some uncertainty regarding Elias’ specific ancestors, the collective evidence indicates that at least a couple of generations of his ancestors lived and fished on the other side of Trinity Bay, initially at New Perlican and then with some moving to New Harbour.

Random Island Families

First and Second Generations

Elias Hefford and Family

Elias Hefford, born in New Perlican in 1856, married Maria Ivany of Salmon Cove (later Champneys) before moving to Snook’s Harbour[1]. They had at least three children:

  • Peter Hefford who was born in 1886 and died in Snook’s Harbour in 1960[7]. Peter was a marine engineer and sailor[1].
  • John Hefford who moved to Sydney Nova Scotia where he married and worked in the mines there. Sadly, John died in a mining accident there[8]. His birth and death dates, and any children, are not known.
  • Bertha (Albertha) Hefford (Hefferon) who was born in Snook’s Harbour in 1893 and married William G Bowring of Britannia on 30 Dec 1912. They lived in Britannia, and had at least 8 children[9].

Elias died in Snook's Harbour in 1929 and is buried in the Snook's Harbour United Church Cemetery[7][8].

Second, Third and Fourth Generations

Peter Hefford and Family

Peter Hefford married Jessie Cooper (1887-1983) of Snook's Harbour [see Cooper Family]. Peter and Jessie, and his sibling(s) were the "Second Generation" of the Heffords of Random Island. Peter and Jessie lived in Snook's Harbour and are buried in the United Church Cemetery there[7]. Peter and Jessie had the following children[10], all born in Snook's Harbour:

  • Lewis who was born in June 1908, married Gladys Francis Theodora Smith (1914-2010) of Apsey Brook [see Smith Family], and died in Snook's Harbour in April 1983;
  • Blanche who was born in Nov 1910 and died in September 1923 in Snook’s Harbour; and
  • Ella who was born in August 1913, married Charles (Charlie) Reid and had at least 3 children, and died in January 2000 in Clarenville.

Peter and Jessie’s children, and the children of Peter's siblings (e.g., those of William and Bertha Bowring of Britannia), were the "Third Generation" of the Heffords of Random Island.

Peter Hefford [i][1]
Jessie Hefford with Lewis & Blanche [i][1]
Gladys & Lewis Hefford[ii][11]
Ella & Charles Reid[iii][12]
Headstones of Peter & Jessie Hefford (left), and of Lewis & Gladys Hefford (right) in Snook’s Harbour United Church Cemetery [iv]

Lewis Hefford and Family

Lewis Hefford worked as an inshore fisherman, logger and at the local Smith Brickyard[11]. His family fishing activities included the landing of remarkably large codfish at the family wharf in Snook’s Harbour in the 1960s. Wife Gladys ran a retail store in Snook’s Harbour for over 45 years, with Lewis’ help (this followed the closure of the store on the other side of Snook’s Harbour run by cousin Jane Loder [see Loder Family]).

Lewis and Gladys raised 7 sons in Snook’s Harbour; they are members of the "Fourth Generation" of the Heffords of Random Island.

Photo Credits

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Martin (1990) via Gladys Hefford
  2. ↑ Corbett & Dalton (2005)
  3. ↑ Martin (1991) via Marjorie Tiller
  4. ↑ Provided by John W Loder (also see Snook’s Harbour United Church Cemetery).

Notes

  1. ↑ Prepared by John W Loder (JohnWLoder@gmail.com) with input from Glendon & Evan Hefford. John is a great grandson of John & Jane (Smith) Loder who settled in Snook’s Harbour in the 1870s, and is thus related to the Fourth & later Generation(s) of the Random Island Heffords via the Smith Family. He is also related to the Third & later Generation(s) of the Heffords via his great-great grandmother Rachel (Cooper) Loder and the Cooper Family. He may also have a distant relation to the early Heffords of New Perlican via his grandmother Leah (Efford) Loder of Port de Grave. Glendon and Evan are great grandsons of Elias Hefford.
  2. ↑ A [square bracket] around text indicates that the specific text is a summary rather than verbatim quote.
  3. ↑ The notation "FirstName-b####", such as "William-b1810", where "b" refers to "born in" or "baptized in", and "####" to a specific (or approximate) year, will be used to help track different members of the Hefford Family, especially those with the first name of James or William.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "ca year" is a shortened notation for "circa year" or "around year". Thus "b ca ####" refers to "born or baptized around (year) ####"

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Martin, Wilfred B.W. (1990). Random Island Pioneers. St. John's: Creative Publishers. p. 268.
  2. ↑ Seary, E.R.; Kirwin, W. (1998). Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland. McGill-Queen’s University Press. p. 574.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Evans, David (2002). Some Notes on the Brown, Hefford and Hillier Families of New Harbour and the Newhook Family of Dildo. publication of the Newfoundland and Labrador Genealogical Society Inc.: The Newfoundland Ancestor, Vol 18, No 1. pp. 7–22.
  4. ↑ "Newfoundland's Grand Banks – Genealogical and historical data for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador".
  5. ↑ "The French Family Tree on Ancestry.ca, created by user kfrench1999". Ancestry.ca is a genealogical website with Family Trees based on records and input from its members. It includes some Family Trees with inaccurate information and relations, such that they are not fully reliable.
  6. ↑ "Listing of Grave Sites in New Perlican".
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Find A Grave". Headstones of Peter & Jessie Hefford, and Lewis & Gladys Hefford are in the Snook’s Harbour United Church Cemetery. Elias is also buried there.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Communication to author from Elias’ great grandsons Glendon Hefford (in Nov 2022) and Evan Hefford (in Dec 2022).
  9. ↑ "Family Search genealogical site". Bertha Hefford is entered as Albertha Hefferon (ID # LX3M-2Q6).
  10. ↑ "The Random Island Tree on Ancestry.ca, created by user Peter Smith".
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Corbett, Gloria; Dalton, Arthur (2005). The Smith-Bramleigh Family from Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Beyond. pp. 400+.
  12. ↑ Martin, Wilfred B.W. (1991). Random Island and Beyond. St. John's: Creative Publishers. p. 268.
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