Willoughby was drawn into the Newfoundland Company venture by
John Slany, to whom he was heavily in debt. Appointed to the council which managed the company's affairs in 1610, he sent his third son
Thomas to
Cuper's Cove in 1612 along with
Henry Crout and six apprentices. The orders to the party were to leave the colony and develop Willoughby's own tract which was all that land north of a line drawn between
Carbonear and
Heart's Content on the
Bay de Verde Peninsula. This also included the rich fishing grounds around
Baccalieu Island.
Bartholomew Pearson and a surveyor named Olney had made the trip to
Newfoundland to access its mineral and agricultural potential. Willoughby's main interest lay in the mining potential of
Bell Island and was very critical of his party's lack of exploration on the island upon their return to England. Willoughby's partnership in 1618 with
Thomas Rowley and William Hannam to give them half of his tract for a nominal fee had turned sour. Willoughby's entitlement to the land was becoming increasingly harder to maintain as he could not find anyone to settle on it. Then in 1631 he entered into a partnership with
Nicholas Guy, who at the time was living in Carbonear. His son, Sir Francis Willoughby (1635 - 1672), married Cassandra Ridgeway, daughter of
Thomas Ridgeway, 1st Earl of Londonderry. His daughter, Elizabeth Willoughby, married
Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet of Hopton. Another daughter, Bridget Willoughby, married to Henry Cavendish II, son of
Sir Henry Cavendish, and grandson of
Sir William Cavendish and Countess
Bess of Hardwick. His grandson was
Francis Willughby of Wollaton, father of
Cassandra, Duchess of Chandos. == References ==