William Ruby, the eldest son of John Ruby and Elizabeth Carpenter, was born in 1815 in Abbotskerswell, Devon, England. He married Ann Garrett and two sons were born in Devon, Samuel and George. [1] With these very young children, they undertook the journey across the cold Atlantic to Newfoundland in 1843. A third son, Silas Garrett, was born in St. John’s, NFL in 1850. Genealogical research in Newfoundland is challenging in a different way from many other parts of Canada – this rocky island is far from its nearest provincial neighbour. Engaged in various colonial relations with Great Britain, it did not become a province of Canada until 1949. Settlement was often in remote locations where church officials may only pass through once a year or less; records in the 1800s and even early 1900s can be very scarce and may only be available as a transcript with the original destroyed or illegible. Civil registration was late in implementation and due to remote set