The Life of James Pearl (Part 2)

 Welcome to the finale post on the life of James Pearl! Below details his life after he settled in Newfoundland, and all he got up to on the island.

A Sailor Settles Down

    Pearl's first attempt at settling down to cultivate land was actually in Shelbourne County, Nova Scotia, but disputes with his neighbours and legal issues led him to sell his plots of land there before returning to England (1). After some time, Anne and James sailed from London to St. John's, and arrived on November 4th, 1829 (2). At the time, officers of Pearl's rank and service would routinely receive land grants for 1000 acres, and he had a letter from the colonial secretary entitling him to that amount. So he went to the governor of Newfoundland, Sir Thomas Cochrane, and requested 1000 acres about six miles west of St. John's on land which was known as the Island. However, Cochrane, for various reasons including competing land requests and his own dislike of Pearl, only granted him 500 acres (3). 

    Pearl's venture into land ownership and cultivation came with its own problems. He had trouble with his neighbours; some lived on lands he felt he had a right to (though it was not included in his 500 acre grant), some would trespass on his property, and two even caused a fire on his property, as the flames they used to clear their own leapt onto his. On top of that, Pearl's long career in the navy had not prepared him for life as a gentleman farmer, and his displeasure at never being promoted past the rank of commander bled into his disappointment at not being treated with the respect he felt he deserved on land. He also fought continuously with the governor until Cochrane returned to England in 1834. However, life in Newfoundland was not all bad, as James and Anne were part of the social elite on the island, spent lots of time with Pearl's family, built and ran a horse racing track on their property, and were able to return to England for breaks as they wished (4). 

Cochrane vs Pearl

    Pearl's feud with Cochrane went beyond the problem of insufficient land acreage. The first thing Pearl did after arriving in Newfoundland was ask Cochrane to appoint him as harbour master, which Cochrane refused to do. Additionally, Cochrane only agreed to grant Pearl the 500 acres if Pearl named it Mount Cochrane. However, likely in part because of their poor relationship, after Cochrane left the island he renamed it Mount Pearl. Furthermore, Cochrane continuously withheld the physical paper grant for Pearl's land, arguing that it was because Pearl was supposed to build a public road adjacent to it, which Pearl claim he had never agreed to. While Pearl was a fan of writing Cochrane directly, the governor almost never returned his letters, instead delegating the reply to his staff. This included his private secretary once telling Pearl that Cochrane "never ever contemplated exceeding the 500 acres he had been induced to promise you" (5). The trespassers on Pearl's grounds were also encouraged by Cochrane, who abused his power to continuously interrupt Pearl's estate. 

    Not ones to stick to one grievance, Cochrane and Pearl also argued over politics. On the matter of responsible government for Newfoundland, a hotly debated topic in the 1820s and 1830s, Cochrane and Pearl wildly disagreed. Pearl was in full support of responsible government, and argued for its institution in the English court. Cochrane, on the other hand, did not believe it was a good idea for the island (6). In addition, the Pearls' trip to England during the winter of 1831 and 1832 sparked another conflict. While in London, Pearl informed the British government that the Colonial Secretary they had appointed for Newfoundland had left the island, with no intent to return, and that, instead of informing them and waiting for the appointment of a new one, Cochrane had promoted his own personal secretary. Once they knew, the government made Cochrane dismiss his own man, and replaced him with one they had selected. Their political disagreements coincided with their personal dramas. 

    In 1831, a rumour started to circulate among Newfoundland's elite that Cochrane was going to be recalled as governor. Cochrane, along with all of his friends and lackeys, believed that Pearl had started this rumour while he was in England. This led to many people, who were either directly or indirectly linked to Cochrane, writing incredibly rude, and sometimes even aggressive, letters to Pearl instructing him to confess to the lie. Nevertheless, Pearl vehemently refuted every accusation. In the end, it was revealed that he was never involved in the rumour, but rather that Cochrane's doctor began it. While this was happening, Pearl also refused an invitation to one of Cochrane's dinner parties, as "he didn't like the way he was invited" (7). Pearl's feud with Cochrane extended to his family as well. After his sister Ruth Holbrook's husband passed, Pearl encouraged her to write letters directly to Cochrane to ask for a grant to the land he had been cultivating. These letters were apparently vicious on both sides, and attacked each other's characters and credibilities before the grant was ultimately denied (8).  Clearly, their grievances went beyond land grants. 

Portrait of Admiral Sir Thomas John Cochrane

Conclusion

   Though the record shows differing dates, it is likely that  James Pearl's short life ended in the early hours of January 14th, 1840. He was buried in the Anglican cemetery in St. John's, where his headstone still rests today (9). In roughly 40 years, he travelled across the globe, founded a city that still bears his name, and met many of the most notable historic figures of his time. From serving in the navy to settling in Newfoundland, his life was filled with notable and fascinating stories, which colour Mount Pearl's earliest history with intrigue and delight. 

James Pearl's Headstone - K. Fifield, findagrave.com

Bibliography

1. Donald L. Hutchens and Lilla Ross, Pearl: The Man and The Place, (St. John’s: SeaFlow Publishing, 2007), 33.

2. Pearl, 35.

3.  Pearl, 37.

4. Pearl, 39, 43-46. 

5. Pearl, 39. 

6.  Frederic F. Thompson, “COCHRANE, Sir THOMAS JOHN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed August 2, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cochrane_thomas_john_10E.html. 

7.  Pearl, 47. 

8.  Pearl, 37-55. 

9.  Pearl, 59-60.