Canadian Journal of Irish StudiesCanadian Association of Irish Studies

Dr. Moses Harvey (1820-1904)Author(s): Michael BoyleSource: The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, Vol. 34, No. 2, Ireland and Newfoundland /L'Irlande et la Terre Neuve (Fall, 2008), p. 68Published by: Canadian Journal of Irish StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25515725 .

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Michael BOYLE

Profiles of Irish Newfoundlanders

Dr. Moses Harvey (1820-1904)

Of all the Irish people who came to Newfoundland in the 19th century, few equal the literary achievements and

scientific contributions of Moses Harvey. Harvey was born

in 1820 at Armagh, Northern Ireland and he studied at the

Belfast Royal Academical Institute, later to be ordained

a Presbyterian minister in 1844. He spent eight years in

ministry at

Maryport England, and he married Sara Browne

in 1852: they soon immigrated to St. John's.

Harvey had great fame as a preacher drawing many

people to hear his "carefully prepared, graceful and polished discourses" and he was lauded for his inspirational

sermons

(Riggs). Harvey served at St. Andrews Free Church until

1878. He then resigned because of hearing problems just at the time the two Presbyterian congregations in

St. John's were

amalgamating. In 1861, along with noted

Newfoundland historian Prowse, he founded and acted as

president of the St.John's Athenaeum, which was dedicated to the discussion of scientific and literary knowledge. Harvey

was foremost a publicist and promoter for Newfoundland

and Labrador.

He was a visionary in that over one hundred and

fifty years ago he was suggesting the development of the

natural resources and the protection of the fragile marine

environment. He complained about over fishing by foreign

fleets on the Grand Banks and he was appointed

to a

Government fisheries commission concerned about cod

protection and aspects of the seal hunt. In the second half

of the nineteenth century Newfoundland was the focus of

scientific, romantic, and humanitarian interest; stories about

Newfoundland uniqueness and peculiarities were in demand

(O'Flaherty). Given Harvey's energy and versatility it is no

surprise that he became an intellectual giant of this era.

His long lists of books had a range of subjects -

theology,

sociology, science, finance, natural history, literature,

biography, and history, and this range is but a fraction of

his intellectual endeavors.

His essays, numbering over nine hundred, appeared

regularly in the columns of the Montreal Gazette and at

least ten other newspapers. His work appeared in American

Naturalist and the Annals and Magazines of Natural History, and

he was the author of Newfoundland: The Oldest British Colony. An invaluable reference source for students and researchers

alike is the detailed 310-page bibliography of Harvey's work

produced by Elizabeth Browne of Memorial University of Newfoundland (Browne). In 1891 he was awarded a

Doctorate degree from McGill University.

Harvey's range of interests provide a great resource to

the cultural and social conditions of his era: for example, his

first hand accounts of the Great 1892 Fire and the amazing

efforts to save his own house at 3 Devon Row in the east end

of St. John's (Harvey). For many Harvey is best known for his

interest in the natural history of "sea monster fish" or 'Devil

fish' as he liked to call it, and this projected him to fame

with the discovery of the giant squid in Conception Bay in

1873. The tentacles of this 19-foot sea monster were moved

to Moses Harvey's bathtub. Some critics claim, however,

that Harvey fictionalized this event (Ellis 84). The species Architeuthis Harveryi was named in honor of his work and it

remained until the taxonomy was altered in accordance with

the procedures of the zoological nomenclature in the 1960s.

It was through his efforts that the giant squids became known

to British and American zoologists. There is a permanent

display in The Rooms Museum, St. John's Newfoundland, and it references Harvey's pioneer work.

The motif of nepotism in Newfoundland society could

apply to Harvey in that his nephews, the Monroes, became

prominent businessmen and two of his grandnephews -

Walter Monroe and Fred Alderdice from Northern Ireland -

were two of the last three Prime Ministers of Newfoundland.

He had a family of three sons and tragedy struck in 1890 when his son Charles was

mysteriously drowned at Long Pond. Harvey died of an apparent heart attack and his body

was found in his garden early in the morning of September

3, 1901 (Prowse). Moses Harvey

came to his adopted country as a

preacher, but his prophetical writings and commentary still

provide marvelous insight to the life and times of latter

day 19th century life in England's oldest overseas colony of

Newfoundland.

Works Cited:

Aldrich, Fredrick A. "Moses Harvey." Dictionary of Canadian

Biography, 1901-1910. vol. XIII. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994.

Browne, Elizabeth. "The Works of Rev. Dr. Moses Harvey

(1820-1901): An Adventure in Bibliographic Research/' Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University, St. John's, 2002.

Ellis, Richard. In Search of the Giant Squid. Lyon Press, 1998: 84.

Harvey, Moses. "In the ruins of St. John's." New York Tribune 31 July 1892.

O'Flaherty, Patrick. The Rock Observed: Studies in the Uterature of Newfoundland and Labrador. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1979.

Prowse, Daniel. "The Judge's Tribute to the Late Dr.

Harvey." The Telegram, 4 September 1901.

Riggs, Bert. "A Newfoundland Intellectual." The Telegram 21 March 2005.

68 Profiles of Irish Newfoundlanders

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