02/04/2026
Good day, please see below background information on the people in this photo. Taken almost 97 years ago, in 1929, this picture is the only one in our collection of our great grandmother Naomi Burgess together with five of her children - Ruth, our grandfather Richard, Elizabeth, Henry Charles and Sarah. Missing from the picture is Nellie who, when her mother and siblings were gathering in front of our lilac tree, was living in Los Angeles. Thanks to Lois Hicks and Gordon Rowe for helping verify the details. Please click on the pictures for the best view.
Looking at this picture, we think back to the event unfolding that brought everyone together. Our Uncle George was giving up fishing and had decided he would look for opportunities in the US. George’s Aunt Sarah had lived in the US for over 22 years, and she came home to Whiteway to help George with his emigration. We wonder about the people in the picture, the lives they led up to when this picture was taken, and what they talked about. 78-year-old Naomi was the well-respected matriarch of our family and for sure she could spin a few yarns. This was Sarah’s first trip home in almost 19 years, and her only child Lois was visiting Whiteway for her first and only time. Two of Ruth’s children, Chesley and Phoebe, were living with or close to Sarah in South Norwalk, Connecticut. Oh, to be a fly on the wall and hear the conversations!
Our great grandmother Naomi most certainly did not have an easy life. Naomi was born in Turk’s Cove in 1851 to Thomas and Hanna Pippy, and she helped raise her siblings after her mother died. Thomas was a boat builder, and in the 1870’s he set up a dock in Whiteway where he built a couple of schooners. Naomi married our great grandfather Henry Charles in 1872, and they settled in Whiteway. They were blessed with 6 children – Ruth (b. 1874), Richard (b. 1877), Elizabeth (b. 1880), Henry Charles (b. 1883), Sarah (b. 1886) and Nellie (b. 1890).
When Naomi was pregnant with Sarah in the winter of 1885/ 86, she slipped while getting a cabbage from the garden and broke her right arm. Living in isolation meant she had to wait until the spring thaw before she could obtain medical attention. By the time she saw a doctor, her arm had become infected, and it was amputated above the elbow. This accident certainly didn’t slow Naomi down as she continued to be a midwife (giving directions), a salter (salting quintals of codfish), making quilts and darning socks. Our Uncle Will and Aunt Susie spoke about Naomi saying that even after she lost her arm, Naomi could still turn fish on the flake and darn socks like they were brand new. To read more about Naomi, see our previous postings including the fire of 1902 when she nearly suffocated.
Ruth was the first child of Naomi and Henry Charles, and she was named after ‘Ruth’ in the Old Testament chapter the ‘Book of Ruth’ whose mother-in-law was named Naomi. In November of 1897, Ruth married widower Henry Jerrett (b. 1859) in St. John’s where Henry was a schooner master, and they sailed back to Cavendish. Henry’s first wife had passed away in 1895, and when he remarried, he was raising 3 young children, John (b. 1887), Richard (b. 1890), and Phillip (b. 1892). Henry’s son Eliab (b. 1894) died from tuberculosis in early 1897. The 1898 McAlpine’s Cavendish business directory records Henry’s occupation as a fisherman.
Henry and Ruth were blessed with 9 children of their own, Elim (b.1898), Chesley (b. 1900), Esau (b. 1902), Phoebe (b. 1904), Heber (b. 1907), Marshall (b. 1910), Dorothy (b. 1913), Charles (b. 1915) and Nellie (b. 1918). Tragically, both Esau, in 1907, and Heber, in 1908, died from tuberculosis. Of note, Phoebe was named after Henry’s first wife.
Our grandfather Richard learned traditional hunting, fishing and survival skills from his grandfather Charles and his father Henry Charles through the ‘show and tell’ method. As a boy, Richard attended the one room Methodist school which opened in the early 1880’s. After finishing school, Richard started going to the Labrador, sailing from Carbonear with renown and successful captain Edgar Penny. In 1899, Richard earned $82 from his time on the Labrador as well as learning how to knit a cod trap. When Richard returned home that fall, he gave the trap to his grandfather who fished it with Robert George.
During the 1901 Labrador trip, Richard met Jane Maver Butt (b. 1877 in Blow-Me-Down) who was a cook on the schooner and cleaned fish. Soulmates, Richard and Jane were married in Freshwater in December of 1901. They were blessed with 9 children, Jesse (b. 1902), William (b. 1904), George (b. 1907), Eleanor (b. 1910), Miriam (b. 1911), Susannah (b. 1914), Sarah (b. 1916), Elizabeth (b. 1918) and our father Henry Charles (b. 1922). Sadly, 3-month-old baby Eleanor passed away in 1910 from inflammation of the lungs. Richard continued to fish down on the Labrador until he stopped going completely in 1911.
Elizabeth (Lizzie) married Moses George (b. 1877 in Heart’s Content) in 1902. Their children were Henry Charles (b. 1904), Lillian (b. 1910), Lewellyn (b. 1913), Frank (b. 1916), Sarah Elizabeth (b. 1920) and Frederick (b. 1925). Tragically, Lizzie and Moses suffered the loss of children and infants - Henry Charles died when he was 4 years old, Lewellyn when he was 8 months old and Frederick was just a month old.
Carrying on our generational family naming tradition, Henry Charles was christened after his father. Uncle Charl, as he was called, married Maude Harnum (b. 1885 in Green’s Harbour), in January of 1906. They were blessed with 10 children, Lewis (b. 1907), Fred (b. 1910), Naomi (b. 1913), Henry Robert (b. 1914), Llewelyn (b. 1916), Violet (b. 1918), Clara (b. 1919), Pleamon (b.1921), Nellie (b. 1923) and Mary Ann (b. 1925). Like other members of our family, Charl and Maude suffered the lost of young children – Naomi died from whooping cough when she was just 9 months old and Henry passed away in 1920 from bronchitis.
Sarah like many Newfoundlanders of her generation emigrated to the United States not long after she finished school. In August of 1907, Sarah crossed the gulf on the Steam Ship Bruce, accompanied by her cousin, Lilly May (Burgess) Pike (b. 1882 in Carbonear) and Lilly’s son Curtis (b. 1906 in Portsmouth). Sarah lived with her cousin, as a domestic, helping with household chores. For genealogy purposes, Lilly’s father John (b. 1846 in Crocker’s Cove) and Sarah’s father, Henry Charles, were brothers.
Sarah’s experience in the US must have been positive, because in 1908 she was joined by her younger sister Nellie, who also emigrated to the US to work as a servant.
In March of 1910, Sarah married Charles Frederick Hulse (b. 1885) of Connecticut and according to the census of that same year, Sarah was now living in South Norwalk, CT., with the Hulse family. Charles and his brother Harold were both hatters, working for the Crofut & Knapp Company. The same census records Nellie living in Portsmouth as a domestic for the Booth family.
Later that year, Sarah and Nellie returned home to Whiteway for a visit. This would be the last time our family from their generation would all be together. On November 3, 1910, Mrs. Charles Hulse (Sarah) and Nellie sailed together on the Steam Ship Bruce to North Sydney on their way back to South Norwalk and Portsmouth.
Nellie married Frank Virden McCollum (b. 1883 in Illinois) in Portsmouth. Frank, a fireman for the US Navy, was previously married and had an 8-year-old daughter, Minnie Aline McCollum. In June of 1912, Nellie wrote home saying she was coming for a visit and wanted to be met in Whitbourne on June 13th. From what we can determine, this would be Nellie’s last visit home.
Lest we forget. Three of Ruth and Henry Jerrett’s sons served during World War I - John with the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, Richard with the First Newfoundland Regiment, and Elim with the Newfoundland Forestry.
The 1920 census of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, recorded Nellie and Frank living on Union Street and Frank was employed as a machinist in the Navy yard. Sarah, Charles and Lois are living on High Street in Norwalk City, Connecticut. Charles is still working as a hatter with Crofut & Knapp Company.
The 1921 census of Whiteway recorded Richard, Jane and their 7 children along with Naomi living close to Uncle Charl, Maude and their 6 children on Burgess Lane. Moses and Lizzie George and their 3 children are living on George’s Hill. Henry, Ruth and 8 of their children are living in Cavendish. Richard, Charl and Henry are primarily working as cod fishermen.
In 1926, two of Ruth and Henry Jerrett’s children, Chesley and Phoebe emigrated to the US. They rode the train from Cavendish to St. John’s where they boarded the Steam Ship Silvia and set sail for New York. They arrived on the 7 of February and initially stayed with their Aunt Sarah and her family on 75 Spring Street, South Norwalk, CT.
This brings us up to when this picture was taken.
In 1929, Sarah and her daughter Lois spent the summer in Whiteway. This was Lois’s first visit here, and we wonder what she thought. Whiteway certainly wasn’t New York or Boston! Sarah and Lois brought stylish clothes, and we are sure Lois had fun dressing up with her cousins. Sarah carried a camera with her and took now treasured pictures which, after her return to the US, she mailed to our Aunt Mame (Miriam) Rowe. It should be noted that Phoebe Jerrett was also visiting her family in Cavendish at this time.
Our lilac tree traditionally blooms in late June, early July so we figure that is when the picture of Naomi and her children was taken. We also think Lois was the photographer. Of course, when in 1929 the picture was taken and who took it doesn’t really matter! The picture is proudly displayed on our wall.
On August 17, Lois, Sarah, Phoebe and George said their goodbyes to family, took the train to St. John’s where they boarded the Steam Ship Fort St. George. They stopped in Halifax and docked in New York on August 22. On their trip back to the US, they took several pictures on the boat deck which are family treasures.
Six days after they all arrived in the US, Phoebe Jerrett married Sarah’s brother-in-law, Harold Hulse (b. 1889 in Connecticut), on August 28, 1929. Both George and Lois were part of the bridal party.
The US census of 1930 records our uncle George, and cousin Ches Jerrett living in South Norwalk on Flax Hill Road with Sarah, her husband Charles and Lois. According to the census, Ches was a carpenter, Charles was a stock clerk in a shirt factory and Uncle George worked in the same factory as a machine operator.
The same census records that Nellie and Frank McCollum were living on Maxine Avenue, in Los Angelas and Frank was working as a machinist in an oil refinery. They would eventually settle in Kelseyville, California and our collection includes many cards, pictures and letters from Nellie.
In October of 1930, 18-year-old Dorothy Jerrett emigrated to the US travelling from Cavendish to New York with her brother Ches. In the spring of 1931, Ches returned to Cavendish and he married teacher Ella Barrett (b. 1901 in Old Perlican) in July of that year.
Naomi passed away in the winter of 1934 after suffering from dementia. Also in 1934, 20-year-old Lois, Sarah and Charles’s only child, tragically died from an acute appendicitis attack. Ches and Ella would name their second daughter, Lois, in remembrance of Lois who passed away the previous year.
Uncle George married Anna Hildie (b. 1904 in Brattleboro, Vermont) in 1934. They had one child Jane (b. 1936 in South Norwalk, CT.), who was named after George’s mother. Jane married Gerald Courville (b. 1934 in Norwalk, CT.) in 1956 and they had 6 children. That’s research for another day!
