Christmas Day at the Poor-house in Armagh, 25th Dec. 1844

Halfpenny dinners for poor children in East London. Image credit. Published in the 31st December 1844 edition of The Armagh Guardian: Christmas Day in Armagh.   On Wednesday last the annual dinner was given to the inmates of the Armagh Poor-house, by his grace the Lord Primate; the dinner consisted of roast beef and plum pudding,…

Birth of Robert Kennedy at Carland, 22nd December 1683

On this day 337 years ago, the Rev. Thomas Kennedy (1625–1714) and Mary O'Brien (c.1651–1721), his wife, celebrated the birth of Robert Kennedy, their youngest child, at Carland in county Tyrone., During his early life, Robert ran the expected course of education in Glasgow prior to ordination at Benburb Presbyterian in county Tyrone. His life…

Rev. Gilbert Alexander Kennedy of Cambusnethan

Cambusnethan Old Parish Church. Image credit. A research friend, Jonathan Gray of Killeeshil & Clonaneese Historical Society and keen student of all things [Kennedy + Carland], often refers to the "genealogy" of ministerial descendants from the Rev. Thomas Kennedy (1625–1714). This 17th century Rev. Mr. Kennedy was the first minister at Carland c.1646, and what…

Inaugural edition of The Armagh Guardian, 3rd September 1844

English-street at College-street; the Guardian building visible in the mid-ground. Image credit. On 3rd December 1844, John Thompson published the inaugural edition of his new weekly journal, The Armagh Guardian. At this juncture in his publishing career, he kept a general print shop at 63, English-street in Armagh. No matter how much and how loudly…

The Halifax Explosion, 6 Dec. 1917: Epitaph for Merle Huggins

The Ottawa Evening Journal, 6th December 1917. "1300 Killed at Halifax." On this day, 6th December 2015, a ceremony is underway to commemorate the Halifax Explosion which devastated the north end of the city ninety-eight years ago. Every year, people gather beside the Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower, to mark the wartime marine disaster which…