My husband and I recently experienced the birth of our first grandchild.
The event has been one of the most amazing things in the world.
I began to think about the people that came before her.
The seed that grew to be the person we now know.
Both parents have Irish lineage plus other ethnicities.
I took a small break after our son's baby was born.
I helped out in the way that grandmothers generations before me have done.
The little things a Grandmother can do to ease the panic that takes place with young people
and babies.
So now that the little seed is older and sleeping better Mommy is finding her way and needs the
Grandmother less and life begins.
So I am back at the helm and diving into my research for this book.
I have also been trying to wrap my mind around the process of the Flax Growing that produced the
beautiful linen and damask.
As I research this subject I have found that the whole thing was a grueling, back breaking
process in which the entire family had to be involved in some way.
I would imagine that this made the family close in some ways as I'm sure they worked close and
for long periods.
The flax seeds themselves were strange looking but oh so valuable to the Flax Farmer.
The beautiful results begin in such rudeamentary origins yet their yield is useful and beautiful
Showing posts with label flax growers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flax growers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Flax growers bounty list explains so much!
The first thing I wanted to get clear in my mind was where exactly John May came from.
I know from the previous research done by my mothers cousin that John May came from Diocese downs.
I found out online that Diocese of downs which presently covers part of county down and part of Armagh.
It is divided into 79 parishes with 115 churches.
After several failed attempts at locating the town where
John May lived while in Ireland I stumbled across a huge piece of the puzzle.
I typed in John May + county down and the puzzle was uncovered and then some.
I found John May from county down town of Drumgath listed on
The 1796 Flax Growers bounty List.
This list served as such a huge break in the research
because of the fact that my ancestor left Ireland before 1864
when The General Civil Registration was organized.
The Flax growers bounty list, or The Spinning Wheel Premium Entitlement list was created in 1776 to publish the list of approximately 60,000 individuals who received the right to plant Flax seed.
This list was created in response to special initiatives by the Goverment to encourage the production of linen.
Those on the list that planted one acre were awarded four spinning wheels while five acres of flax plant was rewarded a loom.
Drumgath is one of the smallest parishes of the diocese of Dromore.
It includes thirteen townlands and includes the small market town of Rathfriland
which includes most of the countryside.
The Parish was established by the Synod of Kells in 1152.
The Synod of Kells were a culmination of the Pre-Norman church reform movement.
This reform legislated such things as payment of Tithes and re-assignment of
Irish Dioceses to four provinces Dublin, Tuam, Armagh and Cashel.
Before the Synod of Kells the area was ministered to by Monks.
It is believed that there was a monastary around the site of the old
Drumgath cemetary.
In 1764 a woman found a bell that dates back to the ninth or tenth century and which was of common type to be used in Irish monasteries until the year 1000.
Even though this piece of the puzzle is huge I still have many more to uncover.
I can't help but wonder if John May was so successful in 1796 in the linen process why would he leave his mother country and travel to America and then
marry Mary Ann Riley in 1804 Ste. Genevieve Mo.
My next puzzle piece will be to find the ship he sailed on to America and when.
I know from the previous research done by my mothers cousin that John May came from Diocese downs.
I found out online that Diocese of downs which presently covers part of county down and part of Armagh.
It is divided into 79 parishes with 115 churches.
After several failed attempts at locating the town where
John May lived while in Ireland I stumbled across a huge piece of the puzzle.
I typed in John May + county down and the puzzle was uncovered and then some.
I found John May from county down town of Drumgath listed on
The 1796 Flax Growers bounty List.
This list served as such a huge break in the research
because of the fact that my ancestor left Ireland before 1864
when The General Civil Registration was organized.
The Flax growers bounty list, or The Spinning Wheel Premium Entitlement list was created in 1776 to publish the list of approximately 60,000 individuals who received the right to plant Flax seed.
This list was created in response to special initiatives by the Goverment to encourage the production of linen.
Those on the list that planted one acre were awarded four spinning wheels while five acres of flax plant was rewarded a loom.
Drumgath is one of the smallest parishes of the diocese of Dromore.
It includes thirteen townlands and includes the small market town of Rathfriland
which includes most of the countryside.
The Parish was established by the Synod of Kells in 1152.
The Synod of Kells were a culmination of the Pre-Norman church reform movement.
This reform legislated such things as payment of Tithes and re-assignment of
Irish Dioceses to four provinces Dublin, Tuam, Armagh and Cashel.
Before the Synod of Kells the area was ministered to by Monks.
It is believed that there was a monastary around the site of the old
Drumgath cemetary.
In 1764 a woman found a bell that dates back to the ninth or tenth century and which was of common type to be used in Irish monasteries until the year 1000.
Even though this piece of the puzzle is huge I still have many more to uncover.
I can't help but wonder if John May was so successful in 1796 in the linen process why would he leave his mother country and travel to America and then
marry Mary Ann Riley in 1804 Ste. Genevieve Mo.
My next puzzle piece will be to find the ship he sailed on to America and when.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Research for dummies
As I dive head first into the second year of research for my book
I have stopped to ponder my position in life as a writer.
I have been researching for this book with no name for over a year.
The research began when my mother brought a binder to my house.
This binder was chock full of information about my ancestors.
A relative had begun the research in the eighties and now I had it in my hands.
I knew from my mother that my Great,Great,Great grandfather John May was the founder of Yoakum Texas.
Quite frankly I never thought twice about that aspect of my lineage. Maybe it is my age or the fact that I have one grown son and step son that made me wonder about who I am and where I come from and what my heritage means to me.
In the year of research I learned an unbelievable amount about the Irish race.
Of course I learned some valuable things about John May
but more importantly I learned that he and other immigrants from Ireland paved the way for all my cousins and relatives to live with little or no discrimination.
Sadly discrimination is something that he and other immigrants experienced the entire time they lived in the country they fondly referred to as "Amerikay"
I have stopped to ponder my position in life as a writer.
I have been researching for this book with no name for over a year.
The research began when my mother brought a binder to my house.
This binder was chock full of information about my ancestors.
A relative had begun the research in the eighties and now I had it in my hands.
I knew from my mother that my Great,Great,Great grandfather John May was the founder of Yoakum Texas.
Quite frankly I never thought twice about that aspect of my lineage. Maybe it is my age or the fact that I have one grown son and step son that made me wonder about who I am and where I come from and what my heritage means to me.
In the year of research I learned an unbelievable amount about the Irish race.
Of course I learned some valuable things about John May
but more importantly I learned that he and other immigrants from Ireland paved the way for all my cousins and relatives to live with little or no discrimination.
Sadly discrimination is something that he and other immigrants experienced the entire time they lived in the country they fondly referred to as "Amerikay"
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