School: An Clochar, Neidín

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1. Landlords (continued)

   

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   He was originally a Catholic but finished up (through excessive Bible reading it was said) as some kind of New Light. He had service in his own house for his family every Sunday. This service was attended also by the family of a 'Coastguard'. It does not seem to be suspected that he perverted for the sake of gain.
   When the Famine of 1847 began he threw himself heartily into the work of relieving the distressed. He helped them with food and clothing, found work for a great many by using his own money
   He had built a flax mill and supplied it with machinery. This gave work to a great many people. He became deeply involved in debt and had to mortgage his property. So that at his death there only remained to his heir the house at Fermoyle with its grounds and some fishing and shooting rights. The heir George Hickson engineer could not afford to live in the house, he let it when he found a tenant to take it. The former lived near Castleisland. There was no trace of the flax mill left by 1890. But at the time there was an old man known as Johnny the Miller living
   Conway Hickson's widow lived on in great poverty in Fermoyle till her death about 1890.
   Conway Hickson had a brother an army surgeon who assisted during holiday time his cousin Dr. Busteed the local Dispensary doctor, with difficult cases and performed on one occasion at least a very serious surgical operation. This surgeon always gave his services free.

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   Note. Conway Hickson when repairing the fence round his lawn some time extended the fence to take in the old Robbers' Den of the eighteenth century. This den was seen in the grounds by my aunt in 1894. - a sort of cave. with charred walls and an iron hook for cooking purposes suspended from the ceiling.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. áit-spás-timpeallacht
      1. riaradh talún (~4,110)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Johanna Crowley

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   65

   Address

   Cathair Ula, Co. Chiarraí