Clare

First generation

1. JOHN¹ CLARE was born in 1836 somewhere in England. He emigrated to Newfoundland and married JULIANNE SOUTHWELL of Upper Small Point (now Kingston) on 29 November 1861 in St. Patrick’s Church in Carbonear. Julianne was the daughter of William and Mary (King) Southwell of Upper Small Point. (John’s name on the wedding certificate was spelled Clear.) John was a fisherman in Upper Small Point in 1871. The family seems to have moved into Harbour Grace. The family was both English and Roman Catholic. John Clare died in Harbour Grace in April 1892.

John and Julianne had at least three children:

[2] i. BRIDGET CLARE,  see below.

ii. ANNIE CLARE, born 1879 in Harbour Grace. Married ALEXANDER WHELAN of Pouch Cove, Newfoundland and emigrated to East Boston befoe 1914. They had an adopted son named Elmer. Many relatives and friends from Harbour Grace boarded with the Whelans when they first emigrated to East Boston.

iii. JOHN CLARE, born 1881 in Harbour Grace. Married a woman named Annie. He appears in the 1921 Newfoundland census.

Second generation

2. BRIDGET² CLARE (John¹), born 1876 in Harbour Grace. Married 9 November 1893 to ELI COOMBS, a ship’s carpenter, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Harbour Grace. Emigrated in 1920 to East Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Died 20 April 1950 in East Boston. She had 9 surviving children you can read about on the Coombs page.

Julianne Southwell Clare and someone's baby

Bridget Clare Coombs - from her passport

Annie Clare Whalen in East Boston