Thanks Len - Even knowing the history of those hard times, this piece paints a pretty grim picture of the environments our people endured as they struggled to survive. I imagine depression was common in the population - reminds me to be more grateful for my lucky circumstances. ----- Original Message -----
From: "Len Swindley via CoTyroneList" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: "Len Swindley" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2018 7:02:19 PM Subject: [CoTyroneMailingList] Observations on the Inhabitants of Clogher Parish, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland 1833-5 Hello Listers; There has been recent interest expressed in the lives of our Tyrone forbears (thanks to Elwyn) and here is an extract from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of the 1820s-30s that offers some observations on living conditions in Clogher parish. Having read through many of the memoirs covering the parishes of Co. Tyrone, this report could be applied similarly to all parishes. Len Swindley, Melbourne, Australia EXTRACTED FROM ORDNANCE MEMOIRS OF IRELAND: PARISHES OF COUNTY TYRONE VOL. 1 (INSTITUTE OF IRISH STUDIES, QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST) (1990) STATISTICAL MEMOIR BY LIEUTENANT R. STOTHERD ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: THE HABITS OF THE PEOPLE 42nd: There is very little order, cleanliness, or neatness in general to be found either in the houses or of the more wealthy farmers or in the cottages of the poor. The turf stack often approaches within a few yards of the door and thus intersects the view and stops the currency of the air. The yard in front of the house is full of the odour of the cow house and stable, for they are often built in the very front and sometime adjoining the dwellinghouse. The lanes and approaches to the house are narrow, rough and filthy in the extreme. Within no order is visible; you may see pigs and fowls eating in the kitchen and everything is dirty and confused, the furniture a few pots and noggins, a stool or a broken chair. The potatoes at meals are thrown out in a basket and so laid on the table or on a stool, and the whole family gather round, master, mistress, children and servants in a mass, and eat out of the basket without knife, fork or any appendage at meals. A man who can give his daughter in marriage 50 or 100 pounds will live in this manner. But this is not universally the case: sometimes everything is seen comfortable, neat and clean, both within and without the farmhouse, the furniture good and decent, the kitchen neatly tiled, the outside of the house well whitewashed and thatched, the yard and lanes about the house in good repair and clean. It is, however, to be regretted that very few instances occur where this order and decency is observed. FOOD 44th: Potatoes and milk is the general food of the farmers of this barony, for breakfast, dinner and supper during 9 months of the year. This is sometimes varied by a bit of bacon for dinner, sometimes butter and oaten bread or eggs are added to the potatoes for dinner. In 3 of the summer months when potatoes begin to fail, stirabout or flummery is substituted for potatoes, for breakfast or supper. 45th: The same report will serve for the manufacturing class and tradespeople. 46th: Potatoes and milk, or when milk grows scarce potatoes or herrings, or potatoes and salt is almost the only food of the poor inhabitants during the entire year. Occasionally a little stirabout is added for supper or breakfast in the summer months. EDUCATION 47th: There is certainly a general desire of instruction in all classes of the people, both Protestants and Roman Catholics. The poor are anxious to teach their children reading, writing and arithmetic, and although the facilities for the education of the Roman Catholics is not so great as for the Protestants, being hindered by their priests from attending Sunday and other schools, yet there is certainly a desire in the minds even of the Roman Catholics for the education of their children. 48th: The children of the poor pay for their education according to the following rates: for spelling and reading, for writing for arithmetic, for book-keeping [blank] 49th: It is believed that there is at least an improvement in the morals and cleanliness of children attending Sunday Schools. They are not permitted to attend unless they are clean and they are expelled if any gross immorality be committed. It is also hoped that there is in the inhabitants in general, a greater respect for the laws, fewer quarrels and less fighting than formerly Sent from Mail for Windows 10 _______________________________________________ CoTyroneList mailing list [email protected] http://mail.cotyroneireland.com/mailman/listinfo/ (_internal_name)s
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