A Houldin' For Iver...

I was working on some future updates for my web site when I came across this poem.  I liked it so much I thought I'd share it :)

A HOULDIN' FOR IVER.

Oh, there's nothing on earth like a shed of one's own
     On a fiel' that's a body's for iver!
It's there ye have courage to "lay down yer bone"
    And give thanks to tbe bountiful Giver.
I would rather be lord of a scraw-covered bay
     Than be tenant at will of a castle;
And I'm happier here in this humble wee way
Than an emperor's wealthiest vasal.

     Chorus:
     For iver, for iver! my houldin's for iver,
          As nate a wee spot as you'd see!
     I envy no throne with a cot of my own
          For Betty, the childher, and me!

Not a master to plaze, not a mortal to fear,
     Not a want if we steadily labour;
But from autumn to autumn the height of good cheer
     And a bite for a hungery neighbour.
I live in content like my daddies of yore,
     No baillie to spy or to plunder;
And I drain it, and dig it, and dung it galore,
     Till the craps are the counthery's wonder.

When driven in couple, like wethers or goats,
     Poor cotters crowd in at elections,
The landlords may scare from the crathers their votes,
     But conscience gives me my directions.
The clark's but a sarvant, the taicher's a slave
     Doctors dodge, and the clargy palaver;
But I needn't knuckle to tyrant or knave
     I'm lord of my acres for ever!

     Chorus:
     For iver, for iver! I houl' them for iver,
          As purty wee fiel's as you'd see!
     I envy no throne with a cot of my own
          For Betty, the childher, and me!

Henry M'Donald Flecher

A Short History of the Presbyterian Churches of Ballymoney, County Antrim.

I've added the transcription of another short history to my website.

Published in 1898, A Short History of the Presbyterian Churches of Ballymoney, County Antrim, contains brief histories of the four Presbyterian Churches in Ballymoney to that date.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~econnolly/books.html

Millisle and Ballycopeland Presbyterian Church: A Short History

I have updated my web site with the transcription of Millisle and Ballycopeland Presbyterian Church: A Short History.

This book was written in 1934 by the then minister, Rev Thomas Kilpatrick, and tells the story of the Presbyterian congregations of Millisle and Ballycopeland which are situated along the coast of North Down and were erected in the late 1700s and united as a single congregation in 1906.

Following the usual style of congregational histories of the time it details the formation of the congregations and its progress through its ministers but also contains the names of many of its members and families from Millisle and surrounding townlands.

Commenting on the hardship suffered in the area during the Famine it contains an interesting genealogical note for those of our American cousins in Illinois:

During these years of hardship and distress many members of the congregation of Millisle emigrated to America. Most of these settled in and around Rock Island, a city of western Illinois, U.S.A. on the Mississippi River. A strong colony of Irish settlers from Ballymacruise, Drumfad, Ballyhaskin, Ballywhiskin, and adjoining townlands was established here, and that colony still exists. The descendants of those early emigrants differ in speech from the surrounding farmers and tradespeople, and they still like to have news about Millisle and the old folks whose names are so familiar to them.

Who Did You Think They Were? - Genealogy and the Family Secret

"It's like opening Pandora's Box!" Those were the words used by actress Jane Horrocks in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?  when talking of the journey she had just made through her family history.  "Betrayed and let down" were the words used by her aunt when she found out about her family's hidden past. These are words which strike a chord with many family historians.

Over the last decade one of the fastest growing pastimes has been genealogy and family history. Genealogy has become big business.  But for those researching their family history there is a personal element many may fail to take account off... family secrets!

Researching your family history can sometimes be like living in your own detective novel - following the clues to dig out the truth. But for the family historian the truth may not be what they think and there is a need to be prepared for what may be uncovered.

Indeed, Dr Anne-Marie Kramer of Warwick University who analysed responses to questions about family history research put to people taking part in the Mass Observation Project, based at the University of Sussex, said of family history, "It can reopen old wounds and shatter illusions about a family's 'respectable' history.  Illegitimate children, hidden affairs, troubled finances and deceit all await those determined to piece together their family's past. In investigating their family history, researchers could open up a Pandora’s Box of secrets and skeletons, such as finding there are family issues around paternity, illegitimacy or marriage close to birth of children, criminality, health and mental health and previously unknown humble origins."

Who Do You Think You Are? is a long running TV series produced for the BBC in which celebrities trace their family tree. The show, sometimes slated by the genealogical purists for its glossing over the much of the background research, focuses on the trials and tribulations of one or two particular ancestors and many consider the best scenes those in which the celebrity is confronted by the family secret.

Kim Catrall, whose grandfather disappeared when her mother was 8 years-old, discovered that he had remarried and had another family, Vic Reeves discovered his grandfather had been a bigamist and left a family behind, Bill Oddie learnt of his mothers mental issues and Griff Rhys Jones learned that his grandmother had been adopted following the death of her parents in a train crash and why the the tragedy had been kept secret for so many years.

Family historians need to be prepared for uncovering stories like these and deal with them sensitively especially if any of those involved are still alive - sometimes a little discretion can go a long way.  Of course, there are some people for whom having an ancestor who was "a bad boy" (or girl :) is a positive bonus - almost as good as having royalty in the family line.

Today having a child out of wedlock would be seen as no big deal but only a couple of generations ago it was another world.  It was considered scandalous and brought shame upon a family and many were hidden away with children being adopted out or placed in children's homes. 

Our ancestors were not all saints and it would be foolish to believe they were, but for me the programme also had other memorable moments which showed that not all family secrets are necessarily negative.

Moments such as Jeremy Paxman being almost in tears on learning of his maternal great-grandmother's life bringing up 11 children in a one-room Glasgow tenement, the story of how Rory Bremner learned of his fathers heroics in Holland during WWII or Rick Stein's travels to China to learn of the deprivations and personal tragedy of his great-grandfather Henry Parkes, a 19th century Methodist missionary to China.

It is not the tales of fame and fortune which tell the story of our forebears for those are few and far between, but it is stories like these and many others which tell a truer tale, for those secrets when uncovered tell tales of tragedy, hardship, perseverance and triumph. Of the struggles to make ends meet and to survive in conditions which today would be considered barbaric. Living through times of famine and pestilence or in the cramped filthy housing conditions endured by those working in the mills and factories of the Industrial revolution.

Who Do You Think You Are? may be entertainment built on the fame of its celebrity participants but take that celebrity away and what you find are the stories that lie behind us all.

Vuvuzelas and the 12th

I went down to see the Orange Order parade in Newtownards today.

The highlight of the parade for me though was not the spectacle.

It wasn't the music with great performances from the Ballywalter and Ballykeel Flute bands, Kircubbin and Ballyfrenis Accordion or listening to the Symington Silver Band.

It wasn't the guys in period costume leading the parade on horseback, the Lambegs, or even the elephant in a pink tutu!

No! It was when the guys came round before the parade selling the usual flags, toy drums and fluffy snakes on sticks... for, no doubt inspired by the vuvuzelas at the World Cup, among the items for sale were toy horns.

The highlight was two minutes after giving them to the kids and getting the pictures the mums realising just what a mistake they made and trying for the rest of the day to shut them up...

The Gulf Oil spill is a Lot of Gas

In the latest edition of the Discovery podcast from the BBC World Service Jon Stewart travels to where scientists on board the research vessel Cape Hatteras are studying the underwater plume of oil and gas leaking from the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

It discusses how around 40 per cent of the plume from the Deepwater Horizon blowout is actually methane gas and how study of this natural gas will help scientists to estimate the true extent of the oil leak and its potential impact.

Methane is also thought to be the main culprit in the blowout that started the leak, and ice crystals formed by the gas sabotaged efforts to put a containment dome over the leak a few weeks ago.

Of greater import however is how the methane poses a longer-term threat to the ecosystem of the Gulf than the oil as the oxidation of methane by microorganisms in the water can lead to oxygen-depleted dead zones where fish and plant life cannot survive.
 
Other links

http://www.helium.com/items/1864136-how-the-ultimate-bp-gulf-disaster-could-kill-millions
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=deepwater-methane-study

Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland on the move

The Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland (PHSI) has announced it is to move to new premises at 26 College Green, Belfast, which is adjacent to Union Theological College and Queens University. The Society, which has been based in Church House the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland since its inception in 1907, hopes the move will be completed by the autumn and that disruption to the services of the Library will be kept to a minimum. If you were thinking of paying a visit to the Library it may be best to call ahead. You can reach contact the Librarian at (028) 9032 2284 or librarian@presbyterianhistoryireland.com

The move will involve a substantial expense on the limited funds of the Society however, and an appeal has been set up help offset the cost and help with the refurbishment of the new rooms. Many of the Society's members have already responded to the appeal but any donations from members of the Churches connected with the Society or interested members of the public would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be sent direct to the Treasurer, Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW.

The Society was formed in 1907 by members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland with the aim of promoting the knowledge of, and education in, the history of the churches of the Presbyterian order in Ireland, and to collect and preserve historical materials and records of those churches.

While the Society's main concern is with historical material relating to these Churches, the collections are of wider ecclesiastical, social and political interest and are consulted by a wide variety of students.

The Society collects items of Presbyterian interest and their library contains a large number of books, pamphlets and artefacts relating to Presbyterianism including some original manuscript material, diaries, letters, speeches and sermons. Among newspapers and journals, one of the Society's main holdings is The Witness, which ran 1874 to 1941. This valuable source of information is also available on microfilm.

The Society recent appointed Miss Valerie Adams, formerly of the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, to the post of Librarian.