Henry Crout

Henry Crout, Sir Percival Willoughby’s first agent in Newfoundland, arrived on the Island at Renews in May 1612 bringing with him Thomas Willoughby (Sir Percival’s son) and eight apprentices. By August Crout was at Cupers Cove and on September 1 he led an expedition overland towards Trinity Bay in an effort to establish contact with the Beothuk Indians. Crout accompanied John Guy on his voyage into Trinity Bay in October 1612 and undertook a second voyage into the bay in the summer of 1613. Crout left Newfoundland in August of 1613 and returned in 1616 but appears to have stayed for only one year. His letters to Willoughby and the weather diary he kept between September 1, 1612 and May 13, 1613 contain invaluable information on both the early days of the colony and the colonists’ attempts to establish a fur trade with the Beothuk in Trinity Bay.