Nick Maxwell Estate records as a source for family history By Fiona Fitzsimons In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries c. 95% of productive land in Ireland was in estate ownership. The number of families that owned these estates was tiny. They derived great authority and wealth through their monopoly on landownership. Every estate was organised and … Read more
WILLIAM FERGUSON MASSEY, OR ‘FARMER BILL’ AS HE WAS KNOWN IN HIS ADOPTED COUNTRY, IS ARGUABLY LIMAVADY’S MOST FAMOUS SON. HE WAS PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND DURING TURBULENT TIMES, MOST NOTABLY DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR, FROM 1912 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1925. HE IS NEW ZEALAND’S SECOND-LONGEST SERVING PRIME MINISTER. By Aaron Callan … Read more
Born on 26 March 1856, the son of John Massey, a Limavady farmer who left for better fortunes in New Zealand in 1862, William remained behind with relatives to complete his education. Eight years later, aged fourteen, he joined his parents in New Zealand. A contemporary described Massey as ‘bluff and hearty, thick set, and … Read more
BEREHAVEN, CO. CORK—PERHAPS NOT THE KEY TO THE ATLANTIC NOR AN ‘IRISH GIBRALTAR’, BUT NOT A BACKWATER EITHER By John Ware The Royal Navy first moved into the waters of west Cork in 1797. The west coast of Ireland is, in sailorly terms, ‘iron-bound’, and the prevailing westerlies obliged ships to be wary of it. … Read more
ARCHIVES RELATING TO SLAVERY AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR HELD IN THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND (PRONI) By Brett Irwin The majority of the records in the PRONI relating to the American Civil War are letters sent to Ireland from people who witnessed slavery and the conflict at first hand. In my research … Read more