Nicholas Guy ( fl. 1612 – 1631) was one of the first settlers at the

London and Bristol Company The London and Bristol Company came about in the early 17th century when English merchants had begun to express an interest in the Newfoundland fishery. Financed by a syndicate of investors John Guy, himself a Bristol merchant, visited Newfoundl ...

Cuper's Cove Cuper's Cove, on the southwest shore of Conception Bay on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was an early English settlement in the New World, and the third one after Harbour Grace, Newfoundland (1583) and Jamestown, Virginia (1607) to endure for lon ...

, colony in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, and was the father of the first

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

child born in Newfoundland and subsequently all of the country of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Most likely born in

Bristol, England Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...

, Nicholas Guy was a member of the first group of settlers to journey to Newfoundland for colonization. In the winter of 1612 - 1613 there were sixty-two people were living in the colony, and during that winter eight deaths were recorded and one birth, a boy born to Nicholas Guy and his wife on 27 March 1613. It is believed that Guy relocated to the sister colony of

Bristol's Hope Division No. 1, Subdivision I is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated community of Bristol's Hope. Bristol's Hope Bristol's Hope is the mod ...

when it was established in 1618. Sometime before 1630 Guy had moved again to

Carbonear Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasi ...

to fish, farm, and trap furs, on land belonging to Sir

Percival Willoughby Sir Percival Willoughby (died 23 August 1643) of Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire was a prominent land owner, businessman, and entrepreneur involved during his lifetime variously in mining, iron smelting, and glass making enterprises in Nottinghamsh ...

. A letter written by Guy to Willoughby on September 1, 1631Middleton Manuscript, Mi x 1/57, University of Nottingham indicates that Guy had become Willoughby's agent in the development of his land, which consisted of the northern part of the peninsula between Conception and Trinity bays. The Guy family remained the predominant planter family in Carbonear throughout the seventeenth century. The 1677 census lists both Jonathan Guy (probably Nicholas's son) and Nicholas Guy (likely Jonathan's son) living there with their families. Jonathan owned, among other things, four dwelling houses, two boats and a vegetable garden and kept seven head of cattle, eleven sheep and 3 hogs. Nicholas had one dwelling house and two boats and kept six head of cattle and 4 hogs. Although unproven, it is likely Guy was a close relative of John Guy, the first Governor of Newfoundland.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

Nicholas Guy's letter to Sir Willoughby

English emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland People from Bristol {{Canada-bio-stub