Job Brothers & Co., Limited (formerly: Bulley, Job & Company, Bulley, Job & Cross, Job Brothers; commonly referred to as Jobs) was a

Colony of Newfoundland Newfoundland Colony was an English and, later, British colony established in 1610 on the island of Newfoundland off the Atlantic coast of Canada, in what is now the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. That followed decades of sporadic English ...

-based

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...

empire that spanned three centuries. The main business of the company centered on production and development of

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

rather than trading. The Job Brothers & Co., Limited letterhead, however, self describes the company as "steamship owners, general merchants, agents, and importers" as well as "exporters of dried cod fish, herring, salmon, lobsters, seal skins, whalebone fertilizers, cod oil, medicinal cod liver oil, seal and whale oil". As president of Job's Brothers,

Hazen Russell Hazen Russell (March 8, 1892 – November 14, 1983) was a fishery entrepreneur from New Brunswick. As a young man he moved to Newfoundland to work at the bank in Catalina. He spent the rest of his life living and working in Newfoundland N ...

had the company's vessel, ''Blue Peter'', outfitted as the first floating, frozen-

fish processing The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...

factory in the world.

Early history

The business originated around 1750 with John Bulley of

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at the ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

as the sole proprietor. Eventually, Bulley's son, Samuel took over the business. When his daughter Sarah married John Job (born

Haccombe Haccombe is a hamlet, former parish and historic manor in Devon, situated 2 1/2 miles east of Newton Abbot, in the south of the county. It is possibly the smallest parish in England, and was said in 1810 to be remarkable for containing only two ...

, Devon) in 1789, Bulley made Job his partner in the newly formed company, Bulley, Job and Company. The company's main division focused on the fish trade, including the purchase and export of

codfish Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

, with fishermen or other traders as clients. Another division handled the shipping and outfitting of vessels that participated in spring seal hunting. The company and its partnerships evolved over time. In 1808, when Nathan Parker joined the company, it was renamed Parker, Bulley and Job. Within the next twelve years, when Parker retired and James Cross of Liverpool joined the company, it was renamed Bulley, Job & Cross. In 1834, at age 15,

Stephen Rendell Stephen Rendell (May 24, 1819 – April 4, 1893) was an England, English-born merchant and politician in Colony of Newfoundland, Newfoundland. He represented Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Trinity Bay in the Newfoundland House of As ...

, later a merchant and politician, apprenticed with Jobs. An 1839 reorganization put Robert Job and Thomas Bulley Job in charge of Bulley, Job and Company in St. John's, while Samuel Job and John Job Jr. were in charge of Job Brothers in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England. About the same time, with the retirement of Thomas Bulley, the company was renamed Job Brothers. The partnership included the four sons of John Job:

Robert Job Robert Job (1794 – 1849) was a merchant and political figure in Newfoundland. He was elected to represent Bonavista Bay in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in 1836. He was born in England, the son of John Job and Sarah Bull ...

, Thomas Bulley Job, Samuel Job and John Job. Others joined the firm in the next few years thus leading to its renaming as Job Brothers & Company. Other partnerships ensued over the next century. Between 1867 and 1872, Jobs built three large "wooden walls" (wooden-hulled naval vessels) that were used for sealing, including ''Neptune'', at the same time also establishing plants at Bay Bulls,

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

, and

L'Anse-au-Loup L'Anse-au-Loup is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 692 in the Canada 2021 Census, up from 558 in 2016. In the Canada 2006 Census, there were 593 inhabitants. Common Surnames are Barney, ...

that converted fish

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...

into fertilizer. In the last century, Jobs pioneered artificial fish drying at its plants in Blanc Sablon, L'Anse-au-Loup, and

Forteau Forteau is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 377 as of the Canada 2021 Census. The town is located along Route 510 in Labrador, between L'Anse-au-Clair and L'Anse-au-Loup. There is a h ...

. Its steamship, ''Blue Peter'', was the first floating, frozen-fish processing outfit in Newfoundland. Other diversification included manufacturing, mining, processing, and timber. Jobs bought ''Hector'' around 1871, rebuilt her and renamed her ''Diana''. By 1898, it had acquired another steamer, ''Nimrod''.

Later years

In 1909, ''Erik'' broke her shaft and had to be tugged by another Jobs' vessel, ''Beothic''. In the same year, Thomas Raffles Job (son of Thomas Bulley Job), Samuel Ernest Job, William Carson Job, and

Robert Brown Job Robert Brown Job Knt. (12 February 1873 – 6 September 1961) was an English-born businessman, politician, and economic unionist in Newfoundland. He was the oldest elected member of the Newfoundland National Convention. Early years Job was bo ...

incorporated Job Brothers & Co., Limited. Thomas Raffles Job, grandson of the original John Job, became its president. The other three family members, great-grandsons of John Job, became the directors. In 1912, Jobs had a new steel steamer, ''Nascopie''.Ryan, pp. 195 After Thomas Raffles Job died in 1917, William Carson Job became the company's second president. With William Carson Jobs retirement in 1919, Robert Brown Job became the company's third president. In 1928, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

purchased a majority of the company's shares but these were re-acquired by Jobs fifteen years later. In 1945, Northatlantic Fisheries purchased sixty percent of Jobs' shares. Other Jobs plants were sold in the next two decades. The remaining Jobs plant in St. John's closed operations in 1967.

Early history

Later years

References

Further reading