Cleal

Wessex Cleals in Newfoundland

Joseph Cleal (1825-1910) Pioneer of Marystown

A recent history of Marystown claims that Joseph Cleal, a native of Bridport, Dorset, who set up his home in 1837 near Birchy Island in Creston South, is recognized as the first documented resident of Marystown. This fact is further affirmed in a history story board in the centre of the town near the town hall. Cleal descendants still reside in the Marystown and Creston South area.

It is interesting that our late past-president, Arthur Cleal, who was so fervent in supporting the goals of our Wessex Society, although a native of Poole, also had ancestral roots in the Bridport and nearby south Somerset area.