John Henry Morry

John Henry Morry

John Henry Morry
Portrait in Ferryland Museum

Sometime in the mid-1800s, John Henry Morry, grandson of the emigrant, moved from Caplin Bay to Ferryland. Along with his business partner and brother-in-law, Peter Paint Le Messurier, he acquired a large house and lands that had originally belonged to Arthur Holdsworth. This massive stone house remained the family home into the early 1900s. Unfortunately, the house was eventually left unoccupied for a lengthy period. It fell into ruin and was torn down shortly after WWI. Dad Morry (Howard Leopold Morry) built his own home on the same foundations.

Description of the Holdsworth Property:

Henry Holdsworth, E.; Ferryland N. ; for sale: a plantation; stone dwelling house 60′ x 24′ , kitchen 24′ x 16′ adjoining with pantry, scullery; parlour; shop and office (all on ground floor); 4 rooms, 1st floor, attic for shop goods; cookroom 66′ x 20′ ; old house and yard 40′ x 27′ ; 7 houses with gardens; stone cooper’s shop 74′ x 16′, stone barking house with kettle 35′ x 16′; main wharf 130′ x 60′, 2 stages 20′ x 86′, 12′ x 21′, wharf store 92′ x 16′ , a store 100′ x 30′ x 18′, 4 stores 41′ X 17′, 43. x 17′, 52′ x 15′ , 71′ x 16′ ; large flake; back yard, with well; frost-proof cellar with loft, stable with hay loft; extensive meadows and gardens. William Richards E.. Ferryland, agent.

This property was advertised in the Public Ledger, April 27, 1827. 

The house and premises were used as a case study by Dr. John Mannion at Memorial University in a Cultural geography course and featured on the cover of North American Material Culture Research: New Objectives New Theories. (see below). Thanks to Steve Barnable for bringing this to my attention.

It wasn’t at this time that the Holdsworth Property first came into possession of the Morrys. An indenture between John Morry and Peter Paint Le Messurier on the one part and Arthur William Olive Holdsworth (grandson of the original owner) on the second part, dated the 3rd of May 1844, shows that the property was jointly acquired by them at that time. Thus the property must have gone unsold for the sixteen years between when Henry Holdsworth (Arthur senior’s son) first advertised it for sale and when John and Peter bought it from Arthur junior. Clearly, the property was nevertheless always considered to be that of John Henry Morry and not Peter Paint le Messurier. 

The elder Arthur Holdsworth and Matthew Morry were both friends and business associates, as this letter from Arthur Holdsworth to Matthew Morry Jr., dated February 4, 1838 reveals.

The John Morry in question was John Henry Morry, Matthew Morry the emigrant’s grandson via Matthew Morry Jr. He was married to Elizabeth Sarah Winsor, the daughter of Henry Winsor and Ann Coulman Winsor. Peter Paint LeMessurier was not only his business partner but also the husband of John’s sister Mary.

Possession of the property and ownership seem to have continued to be divided over the years. Papers pertaining to an indenture between John Morry and Peter Paint LeMessurier on the one part and Ann Winsor of Aquaforte (John’s mother-in-law) on the second part, dated May 15, 1853 indicate that, through this indenture, they then sold their entire interest in the property to Ann Winsor for £400, £200 less than what they had paid for it.

In a separate but closely linked indenture, dated the 2nd of December 1864, moreover, John Morry is found to have sold the contents of the house as well as all his livestock and farming appurtenances to Ann Winsor.

Why John would be selling the house in which he evidently continued to reside and which was ultimately to belong to his son, Thomas Graham Morry, as well as all the surrounding property and even household furniture and livestock is a mystery at this time. The “sale” to his mother-in-law may have been strictly a way of transferring capital from her to her son-in-law for business purposes or to avoid taxes. It isn’t clear if Ann Winsor moved to Ferryland from Aquaforte to take up residence with her daughter and son-in-law in the house or not. In any event, the house and lands did return to the direct possession of the Morry’s through another indenture between Ann Winsor and her grandson Thomas Graham Morry in 1881.

Children of John Henry Morry and Sarah Elisabeth Winsor

Thomas Graham Morry (right) in Fort Garry (Winnipeg) ca 1875

Alice Wylly Morry ca 1894