The earliest recorded mention of Bryant's Cove dates from 1675 when Captain John Barry noted that Thomas Hibbs had established a fishing operation there. Hibbs lived in the cove with his wife, two daughters, one son, and three fishing servants, who together operated a Shallop and a stage. One year later there was another fishing Master named William Mugwood established at Bryant's Cove - who together with Hibbs employed 12 servants. At the time the population of Harbour Grace was 36. Twenty years later in 1696, a French force under the command of Pierre D'Iberville captured Bryant's Cove during a winter campaign that saw all of Conception Bay - except Carbonear Island, fall to France. In that year "Brianscove" was home to four residents, 30 fishing servants, six shallops, and 3000 dried Cod, all of which became property of the French. During the latter half of the 1700's the population of the settlement expanded greatly with the arrival of men such as Thomas Yeatman from the west country of England. Near the end of the century the family names at Bryant's Cove included Hearne, Coughlan, Neal, Sacrey, Gosse, Noseworthy, Parsons, and Janes.
By Thomas Hibbs and his family settling Bryant's Cove in 1675 it became one of the first places settled in Conception Bay. The settlement grew steadily in the Eighteenth Century as more planters and fishermen from Poole and Bristol England, and Ireland, were attracted to Bryant's Cove because of its proximity to good fishing grounds and its excellent beach for drying fish. By 1836 Bryant's Cove was a prosperous and growing settlement of 277 people, 171 of whom were Protestant Episcopalians and eighty-six were Roman Catholic. By 1845 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel ran Bryant's Cove's first school, and by 1857, with the population at 305, a Roman Catholic School was also built. In 1921 the population of Bryant's Cove reached 395 and it has remained at about 350. The first recorded church, St. Andrew's, was built in 1855 and in 1879 a new Church of England Church was constructed which still served as the Anglican Church in 1998. In 1981 children were educated from Kindergarten to Grade Three in Bryant's Cove, from Grades Four to Eight in Upper Island Cove, and from Grades Nine to Eleven in. Bay Roberts.
The inshore cod fishery had been the economic mainstay of Bryant's Cove from the first recorded catch in 1675 until the fishery declined after 1935. The first government wharf was built in the 1950s and it was replaced with a new wharf in 1978. From 1874 to 1924 crews from Bryant's Cove consistently fished the Labrador, and since 1924 the Labrador fishery has continued intermittently on a small scale. Bryant's Cove men have also prosecuted the seal hunt; the community lost eight men in the sinking of the Southern Cross in 1914. People from Bryant's Cove have also been variously employed as miners, farmers and construction workers. In 1980 about twenty men were full-time fishermen; since 1977 they have fished mainly squid and capelin.
OTHER YEATMAN'S Although we have no other record of a Yeatman working or living in Newfoundland in Thomas' time, we do have Naval records of Yeatman's in England, at least one of whom visited the colony regularly. William Yeatman was a ships captain in the European wine trade, and the Newfoundland salt fish trade. The first mention we find of him dates from 1772 when he married Elizabeth Cranston at the Anglican Church in Poole, England. From 1774 - 1779 he served as master of the "Ranger" out of Poole - a Brigantine of 140 tons with a crew of eight. During that 5 year period Williams' voyages took him to France, Holland, Ireland, Quebec, Halifax, and Newfoundland. His career with the "Ranger" ended when she was captured by two French warships near Malaga, Spain. In 1780 William resurfaced as Master of the "Polly" - a 200 ton Brig which ferried wine from Portugal to Newfoundland, and returned to Portugal with salt Cod. In the winter of 1781 he was forced into Bay Bulls after suffering heavy damage in either a storm, or a chase at sea. William Captained the "Polly" until 1784, when he took command of the "Olive Branch", out of Poole. A 160 ton vessel. The ship was renamed the "Dove" in 1787. He captained her for 6 or 7 years until he took over the "Charlotte" in 1791. Two years later the "Charlotte" was boarded and captured in mid Atlantic by a French Privateer. However, she was retaken a short time later by William, his crew and passengers as the ship was under sail for France. Unfortunately, the admiralty records do not provide us with the details of this bold drama on the high seas. The last evidence of Williams connection with Newfoundland dates from 1792 when he signed a petition at Harbour Grace requesting a replacement for the recently departed Anglican Minister, Reverend James Balfour. Although the petition claims to contain signatures of the most prominent citizens of the town, there is no evidence that William actually lived there. More likely he was a frequent visitor, and as a businessman and ships Captain, was considered prominent enough to have his signature attached. In existence today in Oporto, Portugal there's a wine producing Company bearing the name of Yeatman.
We know considerably less about other Yeatman's of the period. Charles Yeatman may never have seen Newfoundland, but he did own the "Joseph & Ann"out of Poole which plied its trade in Newfoundland waters in 1724, Captained by Ben Parsons. Robert Yeatman found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, in 1798 when at the age of 18 he was forced into Naval service, while walking a street in the port of Dartmouth, England. Morgan Yeatman was a skipper in the French wine trade, operating out of Exeter, Devon between 1784 and 1794. And finally, Captain Thomas Yetman lived on Thames Street, Poole between 1779 - 1782, receiving an annual income of 100 pounds. Perhaps one or more of these persons were relatives of Thomas Yeatman. Poole was little more than a small town at that time, and certainly it is not unlikely that a connection existed. The population of Harbour Grace area would have been no more than a few hundred souls, and if Captain Yeatman visited there on a regular basis as he appears to have done, he may well have had contact with Thomas.
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