Just People Like Us

26/02/2024

justpeoplelikeus.picfair.com
How's about a stunning print or canvas for your home? Taken in Newcastle County Down. Memories of your holidays or your home town? Maybe just for fluffy clouds and the seaside? Check out my picfair website and take your pick! Collection will be added too from all around the area. Any special requests, comment below! Thanks for looking :)

25/02/2024

A wee video of me explaining why I do the things I do...I think?

16/12/2021

Check this out from https://bit.ly/30vC3dj
An Auxiliary to Murder, documentary featuring Coleraine involving the tumultuous history of Ireland in the 1920's. Play episode to turn on subtitles, bottom right corner.

The story of Hilda Emily Hunter from Coleraine, the final victim of the 'Auxiliaries'.

01/12/2021

1920's documentary involving people from Coleraine. Can't wait to watch this! Roll on the 15th! For anyone into history and murder!

A new documentary from Irish language TV station TG4 is set to tell the story of a New Zealander who was an ‘Auxiliary’ in the Irish War of Independence and his relationship with a Coleraine woman that ended in her tragic death.

05/10/2019

Whilst working on a tree with a local lady for herself and her late husband the subject of the workhouse has been prominent. We hope to share her story when the time is right. This has prompted me to repost my blogs on the workhouse, a lifeline for many of this town even though the memories may be sad...

http://unique-family-tree-posters-and-documents.weebly.com/blog/coleraine-workhouse-est-1841

http://unique-family-tree-posters-and-documents.weebly.com/blog/poorhouse-graveyard-coleraine

The history of the poorhouse graveyard located just off the Ballycastle Road begins circa 1850. Contained within the workhouse minute books, available via proni , the call for a separate burial...

04/10/2019

Recent comments on my work…makes you feel good :) Page needs a complete overhaul...out of date...WIP...

21/08/2019

Latest project - Wedding Day Scrolls.

I had the privilege of researching a tree for a recently married couple and was asked to create family scrolls with these results. (Can be completed with your own research)
Not only appropriate for wedding days but anniversaries or simply family keepsakes.
Can be presented as scrolls or framed.
Presented on special custom paper (8"x8.5")
Feel free to PM with any queries :)

28/07/2019

An Introduction which would be included in any research by myself and document/book made regarding your family history.

Welcome to the bare bones of your family tree.

In the following pages you will see information found as of this date regarding your ancestors.

I cannot stress enough the importance of being completely sure, using birth, marriage and death certificates, that you are following the correct family. It is easy to assume due to names and locations you are right but without the proof you could easily be wrong. Many localised families called their children by the same names, so cousins or any distant relation born around the same time in the same location could easily be mistaken for your ancestor.

The information I have found within these pages are the bare bones, certified, some embellished, from which you can see the people who lived before you. Your Great Grandparents, their parents, their brothers and sisters etc. Where they lived, what their occupations were. From this information you can seek to find out more about any individual you choose too.

I have placed links to websites for future reference throughout and as time goes by I have no doubt more information/archives will become available.

Good luck in your quest and thank you for letting me be part of your family history journey!

Lucy Laverty aka Just People Like Us

15/07/2019

Idea for personalised baby greeting card showing all sides, front, back and inside....thoughts? ;)

06/07/2019

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48786435

About 100 people attend a memorial at a Canadian beach close to where the remains were found.

03/07/2019

Following last weeks thought for the day concerning emigrants from Magherafelt workhouse, this poem popped up in my fb memories. Written as spoken by Will Laverty, very poignant and thought provoking.

The Workhouse
Part one:
I mine me Da wi his heid in his hans
Wi teary een lukkin at is wee wans
A broken maun as he slowly stans
An put hir irms aroon oor mawther
I seen her een wur tear filt tae
And nither o them had a wurd tae sey
I alloo’ed something naw guid wus happenin thon dey
A dey I mine lake I mine nae ither

They lifted wee bags frae the kitchen flur
An led me an wee Rosie oot oor front dur
Withoot lukkin bak we tramped fer an ‘oor
We wunnured what it wus they wur plannin
I alloo’ed maybe we wur gan tae the shap
But whun we got there we didnae stap
We kep on the street right ip tae the tap
Tae whur a big rid hoose wus stannin

Mae Da was mute an mae ma wus mopin
An I shane seen why whun thon dur swung open
Here wus a place ye cud lose all hope in
They ushered me an wee Rosie inside
I lukked aroon as the dur closed behin
It wus only me an Rosie had been lot in
I didnae know whur tae begin
When Rosie lukked at me a’ teary eyed
I tuk her han an hoult it tight
I sez wee Rosie it’ll be a’ right
They’ll be bak fer is afore the night
I wus only eight but I wus tryin
Wee Rosie gleeked at me wi trust
If I said it was so well then it must
But my promises shane wud fa tae dust
and wee Rosie wud know I wus lyin

They set is doon an shaved oor hair
An aksed is baeth whit age we wur
Then they tuk u away an kep me there
I seen the fear in your een me wee Rosie
I dane mae best tae run tae you
But a big bodie geen me a cuff or two
An hoult me as you disappeared frae view
The last time I iver seen ye wee Rosie

I ley thon night on a thin stra beid
Withoot a pilla fer mae heid
Naebodie asked if thur was aught I’d need
It wus coul an too dark tae see
I thought o mae Da sittin pleyin his fiddle
An him tasin is wi some wee riddle
An mae Ma singin as she baked scones on the griddle
Nae mare music or scones fur me
Thon workhoose wus a terrible fate
An niver mine I wus only eight
They garred me work tae earn mae mate
But they fed is only gruel
We split tar rope tae oor hans wur sore
Oor nels ripped aff an our fingers tore
Nae metter whut ye dane they lukked for more
For thon wardens wur harsh an cruel

Bein only eight when I wakked in thon dor
I shane had tae larn whit mae fists wur for
Any wha tackled me didnae come bak fer mor
If I was gan doon I’d be gan doon wi a fight
They toul me there that bein poor wus a sin
An the lakes o me had tae lee my pride behin
So I bit mae lip an hoult it in
Some dey I knowed I’d show them who’s right

I suffered in thon place Rosie, an I’m sure ye suffered too
And niver a dey dawned wee Rosie, I didnae think o you
But I got strength frae that wee Rosie, I swore I’d see this through
An I waited fer the dae wee Rosie that they’d slam thon dur behin me
An I swore whun I hard thon dark dur close
An I stepped oot wi nathin but mae clothes
I’d come lukkin for you my wee sister Rose
An nathin wud stap me til I’d fin ye

Noo I didnae think I owed my country a lot
For up tae noo they’d left me here tae rot
But the army sounded better than what I’d got
When they came lukkin for volunteers
They toul is it wud be a shoart wee war
We’d be bak for Christmas or maybe afore
But I’d nae hame tae come tae onymore
So I didnae care if it lasted for years

Well Rosie the workhouse wus hell Alright
But at least they lot ye lay doon at night
I wun up in a trench haein tae sleep upright
For the thing was knee deep in watter
An the horrors there, that’s anither story
They toul is a’ aboot faith an glory
They niver said it’d be grim an gory
An if we died it didnae matter

For years I stud wi the best o men
Facin a hail o bullets that fell lake ren
But they made is charge them again an again
I cried your name ivry time they assailed me
Guid men fell ivry passing day
An finally a bullet came my way
I mine weel thinkin as I faded away
Wee Rosie I’m sorry I failed ye
It seemed my last thought wud be o you
But against the odds I made it through
They sey ye’ll naw die until ye’re due
Maybe I wus spared so I could fin ye
They fixed is up an shipped is hame
In a boat full o broken and blin an lame
Men wha’s life wud niver be the same
But at least war an workhoose wur noo behin me

When the tren pulled in at oor wee toon
A crowd o folk wur millin roon
And they cheered fur is as they carried is doon
But I wunnered what they wur cheerin for
I juked mae wi oot through the thrang
An wakked up thon road we’d wakked alang
I was gan tae tak ye bak where ye belang
So I knocked on thon workhoose dor

I stepped in an aksed fer you bae name
An said I wus here tae tak ye hame
But thon guardian hung his heid in shame
The only compassion I’d seen in thon man
He toult me they had sent you awa
Awa frae me an yer Ma an Da
An Rosie what wus worst o a’
He cudnae tell me whor ye’d gan

In spite o a that I’d been through
I kep gan because I always knew
That someday again I’d meet wi you
But Rosie they stole that frae me
I niver left oor ain hame place
I stayed here Rosie joost in case
Some dae agin I’d see your face
An my wee Rosie wud come bak tae me

An ivry letter that I got
Afore I opened it I thought
Cud this be you? But it wus not
I wunner dae ye stil mine me?
Mae daes ir done noo Rosie dear
Ye’ll niver know that I waited here
And thought o you ivry dey o ivry year
But my years ir all behin me

Me sight is failing an my hour is late
I haenae got lang noo Rosie tae wait
I hear the postman at the gate
But I haenae the een onymare tae read
I’m here alain an tired an oul
I niver see anither sule
I think the morenin will fin me stiff an coul
And I’ll get my peace when at last I’m deed.

Part Two: The Letter.
Dear Brither Bertie I fear we’ll naw meet again
And that dark thought fills my heart wi pain
The last time I seen ye I was joost a wain
But Bertie I niver forgot ye
The dae we entered thon workhouse dur
Tae begin oor punishment for bein poor
As if hurting is wud mak is pure
At least that’s what they taught me
Bad enough partin frae me da an Ma
But when they took ye awa frae me an a’
My legs went weak an I started tae fa’
But nae bodie tried tae catch me
I cried your name but ye cudnae hear
Lakely ye wur feelin the selfsame fear
I wanted sae much tae hae ye near
But all they did wus watch me
Seven year I spent inside thon place
They toul me tae be thankful for God’s grace
But niver yince did I see a kindly face
Amang them that did the tellin
I toul them I wanted tae larn tae read
They niver piyed me a bit o heed
Sure the likes o me wud hae nae need
For the numbers or the spellin
It wus my fourteenth birthday, tho I didnae know
When the Matron led me doon below
An toul me it wus time tae go
I thought that ye had come tae get me
But when I stepped outside thon workhoose gate
I met an altogether different fate
It wasn’t you wha stud in wait
It wusnae you wha met me

A bodie handed me a ticket there
An said the guardians had piyed mae fare
An whun I dared tae akse him where
He said there’d be nae debatin
He toul me I shud houl my tongue
An thank the lord that I was young
And shane enough they had me brung
Tae the docks where a boat wus waitin
I aksed if you wur coming to
He said he’d see what he cud do
But I seen in his een it wusnae true
An that joy wud be denied me
Thon workhoose had stole awa my pride
An mae family tae wur loost inside
Nae wunner I broke doon an cried
Hope died thon dae inside me

On boord thon ship for New South Wales
Just anither workhoose but this time wi sails
I gret as she battled through the gales
At the loss o them left ahind me
I wept for mae Da an my dear mither
But I wept the maste an abain a’ ither
For the loos o you my sweetest brither
I hadnae even a picture tae remin me

A couple met me at the quay
It was tae be the servants life for me
Yin step removed frae slavery
In a place naw o my choosin’
I laboured there for pittance pay
An saved my monay against the day
When I’d gither enough tae rin away
Frae the misery an abusin’
Ten hard years in that place I stayed
First a servant, then a maid
Til at last I fled tae Adelaide
My first dey free since the age o seven
I didnae know a single sule
But folk wur guid an I wus toul
Whor tae fin a place oot o the coul
Sure Bertie I thought I wus in heaven

The years went by, they fairly flew
I settled doon an had childer too
But many’s the time I thought o you
An wunnered hoo ye wur dain’
Mae life had made mee doot the lord
For folks deeds had spoken looder than wurd
But for a’o that whun times wur hard
I wusnae abain kneelin doon an prayin’
I niver aksed fer personal gain
Only fer health fer a wee seik wain
And only tae see ye yince again
Afore the years wud bate me
But Bertie the years will always win
An mae earthly time is drawin in
An It piys nae heed tae kith nor kin
I hope a better place awaits me

It’s a strange thing Bertie, whun oor race is run
We luk bak tae whor it a begun
An shed a tear for what wus done
An wish it could hae been better
Ach Bertie a tear drop is fa’in on this page
It’s smudging the ink wi a terrible rage
I hope the hamefolk see the shame of the workhoose age
If any o them iver see this letter.

I hae nae address tae post this to
But Bertie I pray it fins its wi tae you
So you can know I made it through
And that I wus proud tae know ye

Goodbye dear Bertie I had to write
Afore I slip tae eternal night
But know this Bertie, before my sule taks flight
My last thought will be o ye

Your stolen sister
Wee Rosie

Willie Laverty
2nd July 2013

28/06/2019

Thought for the day....
As reported in the Coleraine Chronicle 170 years ago, June 1849....

MAGHERAFELT UNION – EMIGRATION TO CANADA

On Wednesday last, 22 individuals, inmates of this workhouse, whom the Board of Guardians had determined to send to Upper Canada, at the expense of the Union, proceeded to Belfast for embarkation. The emigrants consisted entirely of women and children, and their appearance spoke well for the good taste and efficiency of the Matron – their dresses, though not costly, being neat and becoming, and were all made by themselves, previous to their departure. The provisions consisted of oatmeal, bacon, tea, sugar, treacle, salt, &c. The cost of shipping, outfit, &c., including ten shillings payable on arrival, will be less than £5, at an average, per head, which is exceedingly moderate, and shows the greatest economy, consistent with comfort, has been used. The emigrants were much affected at leaving the place of their nativity; and a large number of spectators, including many of their relatives, had assembled to witness their departure. They,
“Like children parting from a mother, shed
Tears for the home that could not yield them bread.”
The Board of Guardians, we should think, have acted wisely in thus encouraging emigration, which, if properly carried out, and to a sufficient extent, would certainly be a great means of lessening some of the grievances of the country. – From a correspondent.
Coleraine Chronicle 2 June 1849