Robert Dyer

Who was Robert Dyer?

Robert Dyer left the village of Heytesbury, in the county of Wiltshire, England, to voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to serve as a Newfoundland School Society teacher in the fishing community of Greenspond, Newfoundland. The Newfoundland School Society was established by the English merchant, Samuel Codner, who realised the need for educating the poor population of Newfoundland, and other poor colonies in British North America as well. Dyer arrived for his first time in Newfoundland, in 1839 and began his career as a teacher. Dyer stayed in Greenspond for twenty years, earning the respect and admiration of all the inhabitants and anyone who met or worked with him. Dyer was also ordained a Church of England Deacon in 1849; therefore, his work in Greenspond consisted of both teaching and ministerial duties. Dyer and his family later moved to Alberton, Prince Edward Island, where he was a minister in a Church of England Parish.