Community Name
Why this community was tagged with the name Ivany’s Cove isn’t known at this point, though oral tradition has it that it was named after an Ivany family. Both the Bailey and Ivany surnames were prominent at the Trinity – Bonaventure area of Trinity Bay. It may, then, invite the notion that the Baileys who settled at this little cove may have been relatives/acquaintances of the Ivanys who had been there for a brief period earlier and from whom the community gets its name.
Earliest Settlers
The following gives some indication of who some of the earlier settlers of Ivany’s Cove were:
Elizabeth Jane Churchill, daughter of James Thomas and Susanna (nee Cooper) Churchill of Grates Cove via Hillview/Dark Hole, was born at Ivany’s Cove circa 1886.
Anora Avery, daughter of Jabez and Rebecca Avery from Southport, was born at Ivany’s Cove circa 1886.
Mary Jane Bailey, daughter of James and Betsy (nee Drodge) Bailey of unknown origin (possibly Kerley’s Harbour), was born at Ivany’s Cove circa 1895.
Religious Denomination
Because of its relatively small size, Ivany’s Cove has never had its own church. Residents of Church of England / Anglican and Methodists / United Church faiths opted to attend church services at nearby Hillview or Northwest Brook/Black Brook.
Occupations
Woods work, the inshore fishery, followed by work related to the railway, were the occupations of the early settlers.
Note: This article is subject to further correction and revision.
NOTE: See also information from Decks Awash, Volume 15, Number 6, November-December 1986