I have ancestors that came from England and ended up as fishermen in Newfoundland in the 1700 -1800's. I believe they were from the parish of Sherborne in Dorset. I believe that the fishing company (Poole) hired them as seasonal workers as young lads. Which, I understand, was very common back then. I also understand that the Poole company had to have some records of who they hired. I would like to know how I could find those records to see if my ancestors were some of those whom they hired. The parents were Jacob and Ann Atwood and there children were:
Ann Atwood born 13 May 1745
Jacob Atwood born 24 Feb 1747
Esau Atwood born 13 May 1750
Nathaniel Atwood born 19 May 1752
Hester Atwood born 19 Apr 1756
I have records from Newfoundland (Keith Matthews name file) that reference a Jacob, Esau, and Nathaniel Atwood. Sometimes the last name is spelled Attwood.
Esau in particular registered a 'fishing room' in 1805 and it stated that he had it for 27 years which would mean that he must have started to 'winter' over or stay in Newfoundland permanently from about 1778 if this is indeed my Esau.
I would surely appreciate any help you could give me.