James Patrick Howley (born 7 July 1847 near
St. John's,
Newfoundland and died 1 January 1918 at St. John's) was a naturalist and geologist, one of the first
Newfoundlanders of European descent to visit the interior of the island of
Newfoundland at the
Bay du Nord River system.
Biography
Howley, son of Richard Howley and Eliza Burke was educated at
Saint Bonaventure's College
St. Bonaventure's College (commonly called St. Bon's) is an independent kindergarten to grade 12 Catholic School in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, adjacent to the Roman Cat ...
, St. John's, Newfoundland.
For a time he worked in the office of the
colonial secretary, but his fame came when he participated in the geographical and topographical survey of the
colony of Newfoundland. In the course of his surveying he met John Peyton, Jr., who along with his father had captured the
Beothuk
The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of indigenous people who lived on the island of Newfoundland.
Beginning around AD 1500, the Beothuk culture formed. This appeared to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples w ...
woman
Demasduit
Demasduit ( 1796 – January 8, 1820) was a Beothuk woman, one of the last of her people on Newfoundland.
Biography
Demasduit was born , near the end of the 18th century. It was once believed that the Beothuk population had been decimated by c ...
. Peyton related to Howley many stories of the Beothuk. This started a life long fascination with the indigenous people of the island of Newfoundland, and Howley began collecting artifacts, oral history and documents which related to the Beothuk. His collection culminated in the publication of ''The Beothucks or Red Indians'', which was published by
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambridge University Pre ...
in 1915. The book remains an important source on the Beothuk.
Howley was also a founding director of the
Newfoundland Museum
The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Muse ...
.
Legacy
In 2016, he was named a
National Historic Person.
James Patrick Howley (1847-1918), Parks Canada backgrounder, Feb. 15, 2016
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His son William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
served in the Newfoundland House of Assembly.
See also
* Beothuk language
References
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howley, James Patrick
1847 births
1918 deaths
Newfoundland Colony people
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)