A nursery for seamen: life histories from the St. John's Royal Naval Hospital Cemetery, Newfoundland

A cemetery associated with the St. John’s Royal Naval Hospital, NL (~1725-1825) was partially excavated in 1979, uncovering the skeletal remains of at least 21 individuals. Isotopic analyses (δ¹³Cvpdb, δ¹⁵Nair, δ¹⁸Ovpdb, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) were used to examine the diet and geographic origins of these individuals and compare them with recent results from other British Naval cemeteries. Their origins according to enamel carbonates and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr are mainly consistent with the British Isles and the bone collagen values were largely consistent with naval rations. There was some variability in δ¹⁵Nair and δ¹³Cvpdb values, suggesting different social classes and the consumption of C₄ foods associated with North America. While this study has highlighted deficiencies in the ability of isotopic analyses to define the variability within naval rations, it is the first to examine origins of early modern naval sailors isotopically, as well as the experiences of these sailors within the context of Newfoundland.

Vernacular perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood among Newfoundland offshore workers and their families

My thesis is an ethnographic study of how offshore workers of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as their families, express and reflect upon traditional Newfoundland constructs of fatherhood and masculinity through narrative and ritual. With a schedule that often involves a constant shift between home and away, offshore workers in the province take part in high-risk professions in order to provide for their families back home. These professions, and their associated lifestyles, involve the incorporation of routine strategies that allows family culture to maintain itself. At the same time, these professions largely carry on a tradition of hegemonically masculine practices, albeit in a newer context. Drawing on a blend of literary and ethnographic research based on the Avalon Peninsula, I utilize examples of current Newfoundland culture to describe how nostalgic memoirs of outport Newfoundland create models of hegemonically masculine fatherhood in the province. I go on to explain how those models manifest themselves in the experiences of current offshore workers, and how they affect their spouses and children. Furthermore, through examining how young adults with offshore-working parents describe their experiences of their fathers, it is possible to see how the effects of local hegemonic masculinities are manifested through narratives about fathers who worked away from home.