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We are pleased
to provide information
related
to the various branches of the Large family of Prince Edward Island,
who trace their ancestry to
John
Large or William and Margaret (Wright) Large, Irish
colonists
of Little York, (now know as York) PEI.
According
to family
tradition, John Large served as a British
officer during the Napoleonic Wars. The documented evidence begins with the arrival of
John
Large
along with his wife and several children at New London Bay,
PEI on August 22, 1817.
Their
voyage of 72 days from Dublin, Ireland on June
11, 1817 via
Gaspe, Quebec was aboard the brig
Hariot under the dictatorship of Capt. John Hannah. John
Large was shocked with Capt. Hannah's behaviour and travelled to
Charlottetown to make a formal statement (below) regarding the
eventful
voyage
on August 29th before John Plaw, a
Justice of the Peace.
By family tradition,
John's ancestry was Huguenot, and the
family
name originally being DeLarge ("the great"). Leaving France in the 1600's to
seek
religious freedom in Ireland, the family name gradually became
Large
and appears in land records of 1764 in conjunction with H. Walsh of
Ballykilcaven, Queens County, Ireland.
PEI, like Ireland at the same time, suffered from sectarianism and John
Large
found it necessary to prove that he was not a Catholic in an official
document in 1819 in which he declared that "I
do believe that there is not any Transubstantiation in the Sacrament of
the Lords Supper or in the Elements of Bread and Wine at or after the
conscreation thereof by any person whatever." It appears to be a
standard statement required of public office holders prior to catholic
emancipation in 1830.
Apparently the Larges and
Walshes
who had business connections in Ireland in the 1700's continued their business connections oceans
apart, as
John Large in 1818 became agent for Sir John Allan Johnson-Walsh of
Ballykilcaven,
for his lands on Prince Edward Island. As
an absentee land owner,
Sir John needed to settle his lands with tenant farmers and John Large
was
commissioned:
to
let land to farmers for
one peppercorn for seven years, by the end of that time the land was to
be in a productive state and a monetary rate set. (1)
Lot
11 in western Prince
Co. around Foxley River had
originally been granted to Col. H. Walsh of
the 28th Foot Regiment in
August
1767, as part of the
lottery that gave land in the
colony
to private developers.
John Large passenger on Board the Hariot, John Hannah master from Dublin. Makest oath and saith that he left Dublin on the 11th of June last in the aforesaid Ship bound to Quebec, that on the 12th when off the coast of Ireland they were hailed by a Man of War Brig when an officer came on Board and entered into some conversation with Capt Hannah, then returned to his own vessel, when another officer came on Board from the Brig supposed to be the Captain, in the interval between the first officer going back to his ship and the other returning, Capt Hannah concealed two of the passengers also passing one as the Stewart of the Ship, and the other as one of the crew, this officer called out all the names of the passengers seeing if they agreed with the Muster Roll.
The Deponent further states that nothing of consequence transpired until the Harriot entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, when several of the passengers were taken sick with a fever. In consequence of the fever and the want of provisions and good water a number of the passengers petitioned the Capt to land them at the most convenient harbour, that some of the passengers were against the petition, Capt. Hannah then sent for the Deponent [John Large] to come into his Cabin and told him that deponent that he would wish to appear to the passengers as if he opposed the petition and desired the deponent to push him down the steps & take the vessel where they pleased.
In consequence of the disorder increasing and by the Doctors report, a second petition was sent into the Captain, where he agreed to land them at Miramachie, or the nearest port, which he promised to do in a few hours. Four days after he put in at Gaspe where he landed sixteen & hired a Schooner to take Forth eight to Quebec. The Ship then proceeded to Prince Edward Island, with three days provisions on Board for each passenger that was left. The Deponent stated that in consequence of the Captain having delayed the arrival of the Ship in Prince Edward Island by sailing up & down the Coast for upwards of two days about the Coast of Cape Breton the passengers were in great distress for Provisions an application was made to Capt Hannah by the passengers for some Provisions which he refused to give until they purchased it from him & gave the ---y money. Some that has no money offered to give their clothes which he refused, after which the deponent states that the Brig arrived off New London on Friday last the 22nd ins where she lay at anchor till abt. 1 o'[clock] Sunday following where she was [drawn] ashore in attempting to cross the Bay.
Signed John Large
Sworne before me at Charlottetown the 29th day of August 1817 signed John Plaw J.P. (2)
Note - in legal terms, a deponent is an individual making a deposition.
Besides administering the
affairs of
Sir John, on Prince Edward Island, John Large was selected to serve
as a magistrate.
His attempt to protect the wreck and materials
of
the ship Margaret Anne, was a tale recorded within the report
of Attorney
General Johnston in 1827. The prisoners he arrested, in this case were
eventually
discharged
when
evidence against them was found to be insufficient. It is believed that
this ship was likely the Margaret
Ann of Whitby, bound for
Quebec, which was wrecked on the North Cape of Prince Edward Island in
a late gale, records of the Provincial Secretary's Office in Quebec,
31st May, 1827 indicates that "all
on board about 20 souls are drowned. The Stockton's
people buried 14 of the dead bodies."
By 1838 John had
relocated to an area of
rich
farmland in the centre of the colony in Little York (now know as York).
He
was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1831, a Judge in 1834 and a Fence
Viewer in 1839. John was active in the Little York Methodist
Chapel. Along with his wife they raised a family of nine
including:
With two
Large sisters, marrying Weeks brothers, the Weeks genealogy
has
a double interest
.
Not only did the John
Large's family settle in Little York but, William
Large
Sr., also settled
in
Little York in 1821 from Kilkenny, Ireland and was joined by Margaret
Wright
of Kilkenny in 1822. The two Large families are reputed to be
closely
related although the exact connection appears to have been lost through
time.
Their children were:
- Sarah Large (1823-1866)
m.
Thomas Mabon
- Phillip Large (1829-1923)
m. Jane Mabon
- William
Large
Jr. (1831-1909) m. Mary Ann Ayers
- Rebecca Large (1836-1864)
m.
John Ayers
- Mary Ann Large (- 1850) m.
John Mabon
- John W. Large m. Mary
MacKay
- Thomas Large
With marriages
of three Large
siblings
to three Mabon siblings the Mabon genealogy
has
numerous interesting connections.
Will of
William
Large
Sr.,
Will of
William
Large
Jr.
A genealogy of the descendants of
the two pioneer Large families was
completed
by Richard Large of Toronto in the 1980's covering several thousand
descendants.
The book, The Valiant
Connection: A
History
of Little York by Nelda Murray provides additional information on
the
York community
There is also additional
information on
the
Walshes of
Ballykilcaven to which there appears to have been an ongoing
business
association in Ireland and in Prince Edward Island.
A listing of historical Large
references from the PEI Master Name Index is available.
Large Family Genforum
, Large
at RootsWeb , Rootsweb
Message Board [Large] and the Large
Surname List are all research tools.
(1) pg
335 The Valiant Connection: History of Little York , Nelda
Murray 1993
(2) transcribed by Ian Scott from
copy filed in Large Family File - Public Archives PEI, donated by
Arnold Smith Oct 1984
Do you
have information that
could be helpful in correcting or adding to the contents of
HomePort ? We appreciate your comments, suggestions and
additions.
