[CoTyroneMailingList] CoTyroneIreland.com - New Content - Ballindrait Presbyterian Church, Clonleigh Parish, Co. Donegal Marriages 1824-69

[Jim McKane via CoTyroneList]

Ballindrait Presbyterian Church, Clonleigh Parish, Co. Donegal Marriages
1824-69 
- *updated
& expanded*

Thanks again to Len Swindley for another great addition to CTI!

Jim McKane
South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
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Re: [CoTyroneMailingList] Life in Tyrone in the 1800s

[Gordon Wilkinson via CoTyroneList]

Elwyn,

The 'new' map of Europe would probably be out of date anyway, what with 
the rapid changes of country boundaries at the time! Interesting to note 
that school inspectors are not now used - at least in Australia - 
although I do recall their presence right up to early high school. A 
change for the better - or worse? The list is not that far removed from 
the present day events, with perhaps some emphases changed. ;)


Gordon


On 27/10/2018 12:50 AM, Elwyn Soutter via CoTyroneList wrote:
Continuing the theme of trying to get a feel for life in Tyrone in the 
1800s, folk might be interested in details of early school records 
that they might find interesting.
Broadly, there are 2 sets of records held in PRONI. The first is 
attendance records. So that’s daily attendance for each pupil which 
can contain their age, townland, parents names and academic progress 
(or lack of it). The second set are files on the management of each 
school. These contain details of the building, it’s general condition, 
the teachers and their salaries, the results of school inspections and 
steps made to improve facilities.
PRONI has produced a list of all the attendance records it holds. They 
are filed by parish. So it’s easy enough to find out if there are any 
records for the school your ancestor may have attended, provided you 
know which parish and ideally which school they attended. Many records 
have not survived, and it’s worth knowing that most of PRONI's records 
are for the National Schools (which commonly started in the 1830s and 
1840s). There were plenty of other schools around the country run by 
churches and charitable bodies. Their records mostly have not made it 
into preservation.
The attendance records are held in the PRONI fond SCH. The list of 
schools can be found on the PRONI website. The school management 
records are filed under reference ED in PRONI. If you search the 
e-catalogue for ED plus the school name you should be able to find out 
whether they have a file for the school you are interested in. Note 
that both the attendance records and the school management records are 
not on-line. They are in paper format and so you need to go in person 
to view them (or get someone else do it for you).
I have attached a summary of events for a school in Co. Antrim to give 
you a flavour of the sort of information – some of it a bit surprising 
– that can be found in the management files. Common themes I have 
noted, having looked at quite a lot of these files:

1.Poor standards of education
2.Poor attendance records
3.Teachers failing to keep accurate attendance records. Sometimes not 
compiling them. In others increasing the attendance to justify a case 
for additional resources (eg an additional teacher). Every generation 
has probably fiddled management stats since the dawn of time, and they 
were certainly at it in the 1800s.

4.Drunkenness by teachers.
5.Immoral activities with the pupils
6.Teachers having difficulty getting the children to attend school, 
especially when there was work to be done on the farm (ie the summer 
months). Parents couldn’t see the benefits of education and felt the 
children were more useful working in the fields than at school.

7.Lack of resources to teach effectively.
*AUGHTERCLONEY National School, Co. Antrim *(PRONI: ED/6/2/2/1)**
This school opened in 1834 on a 99 year lease. The records up to 1855 
have been lost but this file covers from 1855 to 1896. Sad to say, 
there was a general theme of underperformance by the teachers over the 
years:

2.1.1857 “Manager to secure a more regular attendance of pupils.”
15.5.1857 Teacher P McGoldrick to comply with programme to observe 
cleanliness.
16.5.1857 48 males and 28 females enrolled; 21/11 actually in 
attendance; average ages 8/10; 10 pupils under 9 years of age.
2.11.1860 P McGoldrick admonished for neglecting to enter attendance 
before noon
17.10.1861 P. McGoldrick admonished not to smoke in schoolroom. Should 
he again be reported for doing so he will be depressed or dismissed.

22.2.1862 Deficiency of pupils in writing and arithmetic.
5.11.1862 Low proficiency of pupils. Map of Ireland to be provided
6.3.1863 £8 salary to Rose Duggan as workmistress
20.1.1865 Withdraw salary from Rose Duggan workmistress, average 
attendance being insufficient. Windows unsatisfactory. Provide a new 
map of Europe.
25.5.1866 Low proficiency in geography and arithmetic. Still waiting 
for a new map of Europe.
11.6.1869. Business to be commenced punctually in future. Map of 
Europe to be provided.
1871 Sale stock and map of Europe to be provided. Roof to be repaired 
and house whitewashed.

1871 Teachers salary was £24 p.a plus free schoolhouse.
21.3.1871 Salary to Patrick McGoldrick terminated 31.3.1871. Retiring 
gratuity granted. Patrick Canavan to take over from 1.4.1871.
1872 Manager informed that generally proficiency must be improved. 
Patrick Canavan admonished.
Manager admonished re low progress of infants class. 1^s

Re: [CoTyroneMailingList] Observations on the Inhabitants of Clogher Parish, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland 1833-5

[Gordon Wilkinson via CoTyroneList]

Thanks Len,

This description refreshes my memory of when, during the war years in 
Belfast, our family would visit a friend's farm in Hillsborough - near 
the present-day Royal Estate - and assist in their harvest. The farm was 
well ordered, but chooks, geese, dogs and cats would roam just outside 
the kitchen door. The floor of which was tiled in rough-hewn slate, yet 
kept clean daily with a reed broom. Animals were actively discouraged 
from entering the kitchen which was the hub of the house, although some 
managed to be smuggled in by us kids. We slept in the barn, and I can 
vouch that straw can be very prickly! Water was collected daily from the 
hand pump in the yard and slops were fed to the penned pigs. The rustic 
smell was all-pervasive. The few cows were milked twice daily, but I was 
not taught how. I was, however, taught how to churn butter and to keep 
clear of the geese as ganders could be aggressive, and I couldn't tell 
the difference then. :-). For our services, we would be treated to 
somewhat more and varied food than the war-time ration allowed. All the 
children went barefoot which, being a townie, I found painful at times. 
Try walking across freshly cut stubble.


On arrival in Australia in '48 I stayed for a time with my Aunt and 
Uncle on a rural property in western Victoria. When school was out and 
on weekends I would assist uncle earn some money by digging potatoes or 
stripping tan-bark from acacias. I found it back-breaking work and also 
difficult to avoid spoiling the spud crop with the tangs of the fork - 
much to uncle's annoyance. (Maybe I was just trying to avoid be asked to 
help the next day ;-))


We now have cars apiece, a beautiful home, infrastructure galore, &c, 
&c, &c, and  more food than is good for us. How times have changed!!!


Gordon


On 26/10/2018 10:32 AM, Len Swindley via CoTyroneList wrote:


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



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