Joseph Maidment H.H.

As kids, some of our most cherished memories are of time spent with our grandparents. I loved going to my grandmother Poole's house when I was young. I loved looking through her special drawer in her bureau where all these neat things were kept. I would spend hours playing putting on old jewellery; just having fun. Every time my mother would arrive to pick me up she would walk in the bedroom and find me with little mounds of things, little treasures I had found. I was immediately told to stop and put it all away but my grandmother would say "That's fine Marjorie. Leave her alone. She's having fun." and I was left to continue my exploration.

It wasn't only the bureau that had neat little treasures. Hanging from the sitting room wall were two very interesting items. One was a gun powder horn that belonged to my gr. gr. grandfather Joseph Maidment. It had his  name and an H.H. carved in it and a date1840. The other item was a very odd looking  thing made of wood. Thankfully, my  grandmother, my family history saviour, told me what it was and from where it came. Bizaare little thing really but once you know what it is it makes perfect sense.

Gun Powder Horn Joseph Maidment

Like so many of my ancestors, Joseph was a fisherman who lived in Hant's Harbour, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. He was the son of Samuel Maidment and Ann (unknown). Born on May 31, 1839 he was one of seven children. I suspect he began fishing at a young age. That was usually the case; attend school until you were a teen (sometimes younger) and then enter the fishing business so to speak.

At the age of 23, Joseph married a girl from another Hant's Harbour family named Esther Critch on September 20, 1862. As had Joseph's parents, he and Esther also had seven children. The second oldest was my gr. grandmother Eliza Jane. The oldest child, Mary Ann was born on February 28, 1863. Oops!

Joseph spent his entire life in Hant's Harbour fishing and raising his family with Esther. He is recorded in both the Hutchinson and McAlpine Directories of 1864 and 1904 respectively. That is where my trace stops for Joseph. I have to be honest, I am somewhat surprised I can't find his death record. At least I know he died before 1921 as he is not listed in the census that year.

Aboriginal Tool Made from Tree Knot

Back to the powder horn. The date of 1840 I believe was added after Joseph's death to commemorate his birth and life but as we know it is incorrect. As for the odd little item that hung  on the wall with the powder horn? As the story goes, it is a tool for grounding gun powder that was made by an old aboriginal man and given to Joseph. He carved it from a single knot of a tree. It is a truly remarkable piece of tangible history.