This is a long history of the Gavins. Dicks and non-Dicks. Proud to say my grandmother was a true Dick, being Charlie Gavins sister. They were referred to as the Dicks from the Lower Road because in years past, when you were driving from North Cape to Tignish, there was a T in the road at the intersection of Broderick Road and Doyle Road ( where Islands End Motel is) Past the Motel, toward the shore, there was another road that took you along the shore road (referred to as the Lower Road) and it connect right about where Floyd Shea lives. Years later they built the new road between Floyds and connected to the main road to North Cape at the intersection of Doyle and Broderick. There were Gavins on the Broderick Road and some on the Shore Road (Lower Road) thus the name of Dicks from the Lower Road. I heard some people from the North Cape area still refer to them as Dicks from the Lower Road. GAVIN: We have already referred to the nomadic nature of Irish emigration to the West Prince area at the beginning of the 19th century as opposed to that of Acadian migration at the end of the 18th. Irish people tended to move from one area to another out of necessity, while Acadians moved to different areas due to periods of harassment by mainly Scottish settlers from the British Isles who encroached on their lands. This of course was historically the result of centuries of warfare between England and France, whether on the continent or in America. For example, the Daltons and Doyles were at Lot 7 or at Rocky Point before settling here, the Reillys came from the Miramichi area of northern New Brunswick, the Brennans and Brodericks came from Newfoundland, and the list goes on and on. And well, the same situation holds true for the Gavins who settled in the area encompassing the Parish of St. Simon and St. Jude, headquartered at Tignish. An historical text published in Tignish in 1899 relates that John Gavin landed at New London, Prince Edward Island from County Waterford, Ireland, in 1817. This would mean that he arrived here shortly after the first wave of Irish emigration and well before the peak of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland in 1845. The text in question makes no mention of his wifes name, but that he had a family of eleven children, all of whom were born in Ireland except for three children who were James, Martin and Mary. Two other children named John and Michael lived at Sea Cow Pond, whereas Martin resided on the Peter Road. No reference is made of the wives of these men. The text ends by stating that John and his wife were interred in the Old Roman Catholic pioneer cemetery located at The Green which borders the Gulf of St. Lawrence. There seems to exist some discrepancy between this source of information and another unpublished one stating that the Gavins came from Ireland to Chatam, New Brunswick in 1812 and subsequently moved to Prince Edward Island in 1815. This latter source indicates that the first Gavin to have settled in Prince County was the only survivor of a family of 12 sons who was still living in Ireland after the Irish Rebellion against the English in 1798. It is likewise learned from this source that his name is not given but that he settled at West Point and later removed to OLeary Corner, P.E.I. where he ran a road house (an inn on a main road in a country district). His son James moved to Norway (Sea Cow Pond to be exact). His first wife was Bridget McGrath, and they raised a family of eight children who were Michael, Peter, John, James, Margaret, Sarah and two girls whose names are unknown and who later lived in the United States. His second wife was Catherine Moran, from which union Elizabeth, Timothy, Martin and Catherine were born. It is an incontestable fact that West Prince remains the home of the Gavins, with the largest concentration of them within the Parish of St. Simon and St. Jude at Tignish. While there are a goodly number of them today in the Alberton area, there are only a handful of them elsewhere on Prince Edward Island. There were only two persons with the Gavin name, both girls, ever baptised at Palmer Road and none either at New London or West Point where it is said they landed before settling here. The Gavins settled in three distinct areas in West Prince, namely at Sea Cow Pond, the Kildare-Greenmount area where they came to be known as the Alberton Gavins, and at Woodvale, not far south from Profits Corner on the Western Road. We shall read about them momentarily. Some local Gavin observers have mentioned the possibility that the name Gavin has French origins from the name Gauvin. The family name Gauvin is quite prevalent in French Canada. If indeed this were the case it would strongly be inferred that they were French Huguenots (Protestants) cast out of France because of religious persecution and finding refuge in Ireland, converted to Roman Catholicism. This of course makes for a bit of fascinating history which historians are prone to label as a romanticized version of it, founded on a certain degree of speculation rather than fact. Another report states that the Gavin name may have come from the English word Givens whose meaning is unknown. It has been known that Given is a family name and that there were some Givens who once lived in the Bloomfield area. The Gavin family name was spelled Gavan in Tignish baptismal records which began in 1831. The first to be baptized was Marie Gavan, born May 26, 1833. Her parents were Timothy Gavan and Marie Herren (sic). The latter was quite possibly Mary AHearn since Timothy Gavin born in Ireland and son of John Gavin (Sr.) had married a woman of that name on September 26, 1825. The officiating priest at the above baptism was Rev. Sylvain-Ephrem Perrey (Poirier), the first Acadian priest of Prince Edward Island who was born at The Green in 1802. He wrote the baptismal entry in French. The name changed to Gavin and has remained thus ever since with the baptism of Peter Gavin, July 17, 1848, whose parents were James Gavin and Bridget McGrath. We shall now tell about the Gavins who settled in three separate areas of West Prince, beginning with those who molded a new life at Sea Cow Pond near North Cape. Their land bordered the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They were John Gavin (Sr.), another named John Gavin, James Gavin, and Richard Gavin. A report written long after the one published in 1899 states that he [John Gavin Sr.] came to Sea Cow Pond in 1818, a year after his arrival at New London, P.E.I. This report tells us that he married Mary (Sally) Kinole and that her children were Peter, Fergus, Catherine, Margaret, Timothy, Mary Ellen, John Jr., Michael, Mary, James, and Martin. The latter three were born on Prince Edward Island and all others in Ireland. Mary is known to have been baptized at Miscouche, P.E.I., no doubt because the family was on its way to Sea Cow Pond from New London in 1818. By 1880 John Gavin (Sr.) owned 75 acres of land at Sea Cow Pond. Not far from him were John and James Gavin, who were owners of 65 and 146 acres of land respectively, the latter made up of two parcels - one of 100 and the other of 46 acres. While James was one of John (Sr.)s sons, one wonders whether the John Gavin at Sea Cow Pond is the same John Gavin (Jr.) who owned 50 acres of land at Peterville in 1880 since one of John (Sr.)s sons was named John Gavin (Jr.) Based on a written report, they are the same. In other words it seems that John Gavin (Jr.) lived at Sea Cow Pond and at the same time owned a parcel of land at Peterville. The original John Gavin (Sr.) homestead was passed on to his son James, who left it in turn to his son John F. Gavin before it was destroyed by fire in 1928. John Fs son Fred then built a new house on the original foundation. This home was inherited by Freds son, the late Walter Gavin (brother of Inez Handrahan) and is inhabited today by his wife Marguerite Handrahan. Inezs husband, the late Hubert Handrahan, and Marguerite were brother and sister. The second generation of Gavin family at Sea Cow Pond finds us in the presence of James Gavin, 10th child of the union of John (Sr.) and Mary (Sally) Kinole. A brief listing of his family is treated here because he too was one of the early Gavin landowners at Sea Cow Pond prior to 1880. He was born at Sea Cow Pond in about 1819. His wife was Bridget McGrath, daughter of James McGrath and Mary Kennedy. There were 11 children from this union, namely Mary (b. 1843), John Frederick (1844), Michael (1846-1931), Peter (1848), James (1850), Sarah (1852), Bridget (1853), Johanna (1856), Mary Ellen (1859-1885), Margaret (1861), and Jane (1863). The first school at Sea Cow Pond was located on James Gavins 100-acre parcel of land on the left side of the main highway which leads to North Cape. Edwin Doyle purchased this acreage in the 1950s from Leo Gavin who was a son of the James Gavin who was married to Ellen Doyle. Ellen was Edwins aunt. Leo Gavins siblings were Mary Rosetta (R.N.), Alfred Arbing, Anne Frances (R.N.), Catherine, Francis James, Elizabeth (Lizzie), Constance and Peter Raymond Gavin. The Sea Cow Pond School was eventually relocated from the James Gavin property to the Julie Anne Gavin farm which once belonged to Fred Gavin who was married to Annie Bridges. They were the parents of Walter (m. Marguerite Handrahan), Atwood (m. Helen Hackett), Wilson (m. Gertrude McInnis), Emma (m. Don Kline), Frances (religious nun), Edgar (m. Rita McInnis), and Inez (m. Hubert Handrahan). Fred Gavin farmed, fished and owned a lobster factory at Sea Cow Pond. The Julie Anne (McGrath) Gavin farm was sold to Fred Gavin who sold a parcel of it to the government for the establishment of a school. This parcel of land was purchased from the government some 20 years ago by its present owner, John (Johnny) Arsenault where the old Sea Cow Pond school renovated over the years still stands today positioned sideways, serving as a shed. The rest of the old Julie Anne Gavin farm belongs to three of Walter Gavins four sons - Gary, Floyd, and Gordon. Julie Anne McGraths husband was Martin Gavin and they raised three sons, who were Emmett, John and Martin. She is fondly remembered today as an elderly, pious lady with large black rosary beads in hand. Another prominent Gavin landowner listed at Sea Cow Pond in 1880 was John Gavin (Jr.). He was the seventh child of John Gavin (Sr.) and Sarah (Sally) Kinole. He owned 65 acres of land there. It must be noted that Meachams 1880 Atlas does not list him as Junior, but it lists a John (Jr.) on a 50 acre parcel of land at Peterville. There is also a John Gavin listed at Central Kildare having 100 acres. All these Johns pose difficulties for researchers, for we wonder which John lived where. John Gavin (Jr.), born in 1802 married Mary Aylward (b. 1814), daughter of Richard [Aylward] and Ann AHearn. They had the following children: John (1835-1896), Bridget (1837), Michael (1838-1904), Ann (1840-1903), Richard (Dick)(1842-1910), Sarah (Sally)(1844), Mary (1847), Timothy (1850-1850), Peter (1852-1894), Margaret (1854-1888), and Johanna (1856). The final Sea Cow Pond family treated here is that of Richard (Dick) Gavin. His descendants came to be called Dicks, a term erroneously applied to all other Gavins not descended from him. While some may view these Gavins descended from Richard somewhat in derision, there is in fact no apparent reason for this, no more than the descendants of Prosper Gaudet are called Prospers. Richard Gavin was the fifth child of John Gavin (Jr.) and Mary Aylward. His wife was Mary Ellen Farrell. From their union the following children were born: Mary Jane (1877-1897), Josephine Frances (1879), John Terrence (1880-1945), Joseph Edward (1882-1944), Cletus Joseph (1885-1947), Mary Gertrude (1887-1976), Laurette (1889-1975), Charles Boromeo (1892-1974), and Margaret Anne (Annie)(1895-1957). Richard Gavin owned 47 acres of land at Sea Cow Pond. The house he built still stands, renovated over the years. It replaced a smaller dwelling on the same property. His son Charles was the first to be born there. Both the latters two daughters, Mary and Kathleen (Broderick) were likewise born there, as were the first six children of Mary (m. Walter Hogan). Charles sold the home to a nephew, Lloyd Shea, who did most of the remodeling on it. Lloyds wife Dora later sold it to Joe Sheas son Scott. Deceased in 1996 he was a great-great-grandson of Richard (Dick) Gavin. A second territory settled by Gavins may be found in the Central Kildare-Greenmount area, forming a group of them living today at Alberton. In 1880 both Joseph and John Gavin owned land at Central Kildare. Located next to one another Joseph owned 50 acres and John 100. A written report states that John Srs son Timothy of Sea Cow Pond married Mary AHearn from Kildare and that he settled there. Their descendants, it states, can be found in the Alberton area. Since this history concerns Tignish in particular, no more will be written about them here. However, this will not be the case with Gavins at Woodvale, south of Profits Corner, for they chose eventually to resettle within the Parish of St. Simon and St. Jude in the Peterville-Ascension area. It begins with Michael Gavin (1846-1931), son of James and Bridget McGrath of Sea Cow Pond. His wife was Liza Nelligan (1853-1940). Both are buried at Alberton. Their children were Wilfred (Rev. Justins father), Peter (Anna Smythes father), Antoinette (nun at St. Paul, Minn.), Bridget (m. Ed Profit), Augustine (buried in Tacoma, Washington), James Albert (single), Mary (Richmond, P.E.I., m. Herb OBrien), Clara (single, bur. Alberta), Mabel (Dock Road, m. Alf OBrien), and Ignatius (single). Michael owned 63 acres of land in Woodvale. One of Michaels sons, Peter (1877-1955) settled at Palmer Road North. His wife was Frances (Fanny) OBrien (1886-1970). Both buried at Tignish, they raised the following children: Gertrude, Anna (m. Jack Smythe), Frances (m. Guy Shea), Herbert (1926-1977)(m. Mary Beaton (1915-1967) from Cape Breton, and Zoe who lives in Calgary. Peters son Herbert settled at Ascension-Tignish on land which once belonged to Irvine Christopher (Dannys father). Three of Herberts sons, Louis, Earl and Vernon inherited his lands, the first two living there today, while another son, Lloyd, lives nearby on land once owned by Pierre (Pascal) Poirier. Other siblings were Ethel and Sylvia. Herberts landholdings totalled some 100 acres at Ascension-Tignish, 38 acres at Palmer Road and a 50-acre woodlot on Centre Line Road. Behind these lands at a right angle to the Peter Road there lived a Martin Gavin who had an only daughter after whom the Sis Gavin Road is named. Two young Prosper Gaudet descendants have built new homes on it in recent years. Martin Gavins brother Henry, both of whom were sons of John Gavin Sr. of Sea Cow Pond, was a blacksmith on a parcel of land where he lived opposite Lloyd Gavins near Phil LeClairs. There were six Gavin families which settled within the community limits of Tignish. They were Wilfred from Woodvale, son of Michael; John R. And Charlie from Sea Cow Pond, sons of Richard (Dick) Gavin; and Claude and Edward, sons of Edward Sr. and Cletus Jr. all likewise from Sea Cow Pond. Wilfred, married to Rosetta OBrien, was a clerk at Myricks store in Tignish and was also a school teacher at Palmer Road at one time. They lived on Phillip Street where they raised nine children who were Elliot (one of four men killed in the infamous February 1932 Tignish train wreck at Handrahans Crossing near Harper Station), Isabel, Mildred, Doris, Justin (ordained priest for the Diocese of Oklahoma City where he died and is interred, 1996), Priscilla (clerk at Morris and Bernards in Tignish), Gerald, Harriett and Gregory. Stan Porter lived in their home at one time and it is presently occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Justin Gavin. Wilfreds son Justin was a cheesemaker at the Tignish cheese factory before he entered the seminary. The factory (now destroyed) was located on the Ascension Road directly facing the Perry Rafter Company. John R. Gavin (fisherman) was married to Emily Harper. Their home (now destroyed) was located on the lot directly across from Gaudets Lodge on Church Street. They raised a family of thirteen children who were Pearl, Terrance, Clifton, Dulcina, Howard (drowned in N.B.), George, Romey, Lester, Arnold, Janie, Lena, Maureen (died young from polio) and Eleanor. Charlie Gavins wife was Genevieve (Eva) Harper. Two daughters were born from their union, Kathleen (Mrs. Everett Broderick) and Mary (Mrs. Walter Hogan). Their home on Church Street once belonged to Jérémie Richard and Laura Shea. It is presently owned by Alfred Gallant, Tignish Co-op grocery manager. In later life Charlie lived with his daughter Mary, a school teacher, at her home on Church Street, located directly across from the Tignish Post Office. Claude Gavin was married to Mary Harper. They are the parents of Irene (m. Pat Handrahan), John, Kevin (m. Susan Maillet), Leonard (Lennie - Community Commissioner), David (deceased), Wayne, Barbara (m. David Gaudet), Patrick (m. Linda Ellsworth), Claude, Howlan and Wilbert (deceased). The family lived on Church Street in the house which once belonged to Lt. Gov. Charles Dalton, Chester McCarthy (lawyer), Clifford and Ross Bernard. It is the present home of Cyril Arsenault, Ulrics son. Edward Gavin married Viola Hackett and raised seven children namely Donnie, Mary, Lorne, Glen (deceased from home accident), Elaine, Debbie and Lorraine (Tignish Co-op cashier). The family once inhabited the home presently occupied by Mrs. Jude (Anne Marie) Gallant on Church Street before relocating on Dalton Avenue. The final Gavin family noted above to settle within Tignish community limits was that of Cletus Jr., who was married to Laura Harper. They had a large family of 16 children, namely Ronald (d. young), Dora, Marion, Emmett, James (Jimmy), Cletus (d. young), twin to Jimmy, Howard (deceased 1966), Roy, Lloyd (Irving Service Station proprietor), Ralph, Gloria, Hilda, Danny, Patsy, Brian (d. young), and Kimberly. The family lived in the home which once belonged to Amable Bernard (Tignish tinsmith), now the Perrys Apts. next to the former CNR railroad tracks. Cletus was one of the first managers of the Tignish Credit Union (1953-1960). Let us end this rather lengthy treatise on the Gavin descendants by referring to a Gavin who distinguished himself in public life. He was the Honorable Peter Gavin, M.P. Born at Tignish, P.E.I., October 15, 1847, he was the son of Michael Gavin and Catherine ONeil of County Waterford, Ireland. He married Anastasia Ryan at Charlottetown June 19, 1876. He became a member of the Executive Council of the Province and was first returned to the Parliament of Canada in the 1878 general election. A merchant at Alberton, P.E.I. at one time, he later settled at St. Paul, Minnesota (U.S.A.) where he became superintendent of the Santa Fe Railway. Six children were born to Peter and Anastasia. They were Mary, Eugenie, Nellie (died at Alberton, 1886), Francis, Michael, James, and George Frederick, their youngest son who died of membranous croup January 30, 1882 at St. Paul, Minnesota. Thus ends the saga of the Gavins in the western tip of Prince Edward Island, the large majority of whom were and still are fishers of the sea.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 16:10:50 +0000
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