Feburary 1920

Seagoe Parish Magazine.

FEBRUARY, 1920.

LENT, 1920.

Lent will begin this year on Wednesday (Ash

Wednesday) February 18th. Lent and Advent

are the Two Special Mission Seasons in the Church's

year. Advent leads up to Christmas, and Lent is the

season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter.

Special Services will be held as follows in the

Parish Church :-

Ash Wednesday, February 18^th-

11-30- Morning Prayer. Litany,

and Commination Service.

8 Evening Prayer and Sermon.

1st Sunday in Lent, February 22nd, Special

Sermons will be preached on " Temperance," and the

offerings at Morning and Evening Prayer will be on

behalf of the Diocesan Temperance Society. Many

of our people are in favour of Local Option and some

approve of Total Prohibition such as is now in force

by public opinion and legal enactment in the United

States and in Canada. There is still a great deal of

Drunkenness prevalent in this neighbourhood,

notwithstanding the wartime restrictions on the sale of

strong drink. We hope all who recognize the evil

and waste caused by strong Drink will combine

against it. February 22nd will be a useful opportunity

for special prayer and effort in that direction.

On the remaining Sunday Mornings in Lent a

Series of Four Sermons will be preached on the

Church Catechism," the subjects being- "The

Creed”, “The Lord's Prayer”,

“The Ten Commandments," and “The Sacraments."

The Rev. J. Taylor, M.A., Rector of St. Jude's,

Belfast; will (D.V.) preach in Seagoe Parish Church,

on Sunday, March 28th, at Morning and Evening

Prayer. We will be glad to have Mr Taylor

amongst us once again. His good work done in the

Parish when Curate of Seagoe will be long remembered.

On Sunday Evenings during Lent a course of Four

Sermons will be preached on " How we got our

Bible," and on the Wednesday evenings the subject

will be Modern Missions in India, China, Japan, and

South America.

The New Church Hymnal.

It is hoped that the new Church Hymnal will be on

sale in the middle of February. Its publication has

been delayed by disputes in the Printing trade and by

the scarcity of paper. The price of the Hymnal with

Music will be 4/6, but words only can be had in 1/-,

2/-, 3/- and 4/- editions. The Hymnal is a great

improvement on that now in use.

It contains 721 Hymns and 16 Christmas Carols. The Hymns

have been arranged in new groups and a number of cross

references will make the selection of Hymns bearing

on Special subjects very wide. Many old Hymns,

about 150 in number, have been omitted, but

practically all those which are familiar to us have been

retained. Great care has been taken in the musical

arrangement of the Hymns. Two of our best Irish

Musicians, Dr. Kitson and Mr. Marchant, were

entrusted with the compilation and revision of the

Music for the Hymns.

A matter of special interest for us in Seagoe is that

two of the Tunes—those for Hymns 340 and 628-

have been called after Seagoe Parish. The tune to

the former was written by Dr. Kitson and was given

the name "Seagoe" out of compliment to this Parish

and the Tune to 628 arranged by the Rev. Canon

David Wilson was called “Peacefield," after the house

in Ballinacor where his mother's family - the

Ruddell's - lived for many generations. The Hymnal

contains fine selection of Mission Hymns, Hymns

for Children, and Old Irish Hymns. We hope to

have the Hymnal introduced into Seagoe Parish

Church as soon as copies are available.

Our Sunday Schools.

This is the season of the year when our Sunday

School Socials are held, and we hope that as many as

possible will be held within the next few weeks.

It has been decided to have the Prize Distributions at

a later date so that the children will have the

opportunity of getting the New Hymnal for a Prize. The

Hymnals are not yet on sale in number sufficient for

Prizes. Levaghery has arranged its "Social"

for Thursday, February 6th, and the Tickets

(1/- each) are now on sale. Carne will hold its

"Social" on Thursday, February 5th, at 7-30.

We hope all our Sunday School Teachers have

secured copy of the Notes for Teachers. The price

is 1/- and if any Teacher wishes for a copy on

application to the Superintendent it can at once be

obtained. It is impossible for Teacher to teach the

Lesson without previously studying these most useful

notes.

Organ Recital.

Mr. Hardcastle, the Organist of St. Mark's Church,

will (D.V.) give an Organ Recital in Seagoe Church,

on Thursday, February 12th, at 8 p.m. The Recital

is intended to illustrate the Development of Church

Music from the earliest times. At intervals during

the Recital sacred solos will be sung. A collection

will be made, and after the payment of necessary

expenses, the Balance will be forwarded to St.

Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Soldiers.

“The Tightest Corner I was In."

We would like to print each month a record from

some one or other of our Fighting men as to "the

Tightest Corner" he was in during the war. Every

one had narrow escapes, some narrower than others.

Please write down in your own words your experience

of the "Tightest Corner" and send it on to the

Rector, and he will print it in the Magazine. Be

sure to add your name and regiment.

(page 2)

The Magazine.

We would be greatly obliged to the Magazine

Distributors if they would kindly remit their accounts

and whatever sums are due for the past year to the

Rector. Owing to the high prices for printing now

prevailing a prompt settlement of accounts is very

necessary.

By a printer's error in the January number the

price of the Magazine was put down as “One

Penny." But no change has been made. The Price

still continues at Twopence. Prices of Paper and cost

of Printing are still going up, but the Price of the

Magazine will not be raised.

Bible Class Social.

Mr. and Mrs. Rennix very kindly entertained the

members of Seagoe Bible Class to tea in Seagoe

School, on Friday evening, January 23rd. There

was a full attendance of members and a most

pleasant evening was spent. Amongst those present

Were the Rector, the Rev. H. G. de L. Singleton, and

Mr. and Mrs. James Twinem. During the evening

the members presented Mr. Rennix with a handsome

set of Carvers to show their appreciation of his

efforts. The Class meets on every Sunday morning

at 10 in Seagoe School. The present course of study

is the Book of the Acts of the Apostles..

PARISH REGISTER for JANUARY.

Baptism.

Rowan—3rd January, 1920. Thomas Andrew, son

of David Samuel and Sophia Rowan, of

Portadown.

Sponsors—Mary Stewart, Sophia Rowan.

Marriages.

Gardiner and Jamison -7th January, 1920, Thos.

Gardiner, of Moyraverty, to Anne Isabel

Jamison, of Lurgan.

Grimason and Haire -22nd January, 1920, Thos.

Miller Grimason, of Portadown, to Emily

Haire, of Edenderry.

Burials.

Quaile -13th January, Samuel Quaile, of Balteagh.

aged 60. Interred in Shankill Graveyard,

Porter - 24th January, Richard Porter, of Lower

Seagoe, aged 94 years.

Concert in Edenderry.

A very enjoyable Concert was given in Edenderry

Parochial Hall on Thursday, January 8th. The

Hall was well filled and the Programme was one of

the best ever provided in the Parish. Solos were sung

by Mrs. Johnston, Miss Sarah Martin, and Mr. Wright.

A brass and string Band gave selections under the

direction of Mr. Pallett. Mr Doherty, from Belfast,

sang and recited with fine effect, and a little Scotch

lassie on a visit to Portadown gave a splendid

exhibition of step dancing which delighted the

audience. She wore a shield of medals which she

had won in Scotland. At the close of the evening an

entertaining "Coon” sketch was given by a juvenile

party from Edenderry. Jt was well done and loudly

applauded. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to

all who had helped to make the evening a success.

Mrs. Pallett with her usual skill presided at the

piano. The proceeds were in aid of Seagoe Day

School and Edenderry Parochial Hall.

Mission Collection Boxes.

The Boxes will be collected (D.V.) early in March.

Collectors are asked to make a special effort to have

them quite full if not flowing over, this year. Give

yourself, ask your friends to give, keep the box

moving, and you will be surprised how much you can

get in. See that your box is quite full when the

collector calls for it.

The Sustentation Fund.

The collections for the Sustentation Fund are now

almost complete and they will be published at an

early date in the Annual Report. There is an in-

crease on last year in most of the districts, but

nothing like what is required to render the Finances

of the Parish secure under the altered conditions due

to the war and the rise in prices. The familiar 2/6

subscription still appears in the list, but is decidedly

rarer than in former days.

Nature Notes.

The very bright star rising in the East and visible

throughout the night is the planet Jupiter. Perhaps

some of the parishioners who have extra good sight

could see on some clear nights one or more of the

satellites or small moons which circle round him.

The Constellation Orion with the 3 conspicuous stars

forming his “belt” is very conspicuous just now in

the Southern sky each night.

The Royal Meteoro- logical Society of Great Britain

has a number of observers in each part of the United Kingdom

whose duty each year is to record the Dates of the Flowering

of the following Plants, the number added here

to each plant is the number of the day of the year

on which they are usually observed to come into

flower in the neighbourhood of Seagoe - Hazel, 49;

Coltsfoot, 69; Wood Anemone, 87; Blackthorn, 101;

Garlic Hedge Mustard, 116; Horse Chestnut, 130;

Hawthorn, 139; White Ox-Eye, 155; Dog Rose, 165;

Black Knapweed, 199; Harebell, 195; Greater

Bindweed, 205; Ivy, 277. Some of our readers who

are interested in Plant life may see if by their local

observations they can verify these figures. The

figures given are the averages deduced from

observations during the past 25 years.

ITEM.

Joshua Caddell has returned to his home in Tarson

after some years in the United States. He joined

up with the American Army when America declared

war, and was trained in two American camps, but

had not the good fortune to be sent to France.

(page 3)

Chota Nagpur Missions.

In addition to the sum of £3 5s 5d acknowledged in

last month's Magazine, we have since received the

following Card Collections - Lily Cordner, 7/6;

Charlotte Clayton, 5/-; Martha Glassey, 5/-; bringing

the total up to £4 2s 11d. In the list published last

month the sum of 10/8 acknowledged, should have

been credited to Emily Cox.

The needs of Foreign Missions are just now greater

than ever, and we hope all our Missionary workers

will redouble their efforts in this greatest of all causes.

ITEMS.

Accounts for Parochial Hall Concert - Receipts,

£11 10s 0d. Expenses £2 19s 3d. Balance, £8 10s 9d.

* *

Joshua Caddell had a unique experience recently.

On a Sunday towards the close of 1919 he was

engaged teaching a Sunday school class in the

States, and on that Sunday fortnight was teaching a

in Seagoe Sunday School.

* *

February will this year have five Sundays, an occurrence

which can only happen once in every 28 years.

* *

The reason why February has fewer days than any

other month is because the Roman Emperor

Augustus wished August, the month named after

himself to have not less than 31 days in it, and to

accomplish this took one day away from February.

* *

The Bann floods just now are said to be higher

than at any other time in living memory.

* *

Several families on the Drumcree side of the Bann

have been flooded out of their houses.

* *

Richard Porter, of Lower Seagoe, has passed

away at the great age of 94 years, after a brief

illness. A month before his death he visited his

sister, Mrs. Lutton, in Edenderry, who is now in her

100th year.

* *

Owing to the floods Derryvore is now only

accessible by boat.

* *

In Ardmore Parish the Bannfoot is isolated by the

floods.

* *

Some of the carved woodwork of the Choir Stalls

the Parish Church has been injured by the

ravages of boring insects.

* *

An unusual succession of heavy storms have been

experienced during the past few weeks. They have

blown mostly from south or south-west.

* *

Sergeant Jackson, of Edenderry R.I.C. Barracks.

Is on special duty in a disturbed part of Tipperary.

We hope he will escape the attention Of the Sinn

Feiners.

* *

316 Copies of Seagoe Calendar were sold off in

few days. We regret it was impossible print off any more.

* *

Last year the Parish subscribed £21 19s 7d to the

Co. Armagh Protestant Orphan Society.

* *

Mrs. Rennix, wife of the Principal ot Seagoe

N.S., has been appointed Assistant in succession

Miss Bailey who has retired.

* *

The Annual Report of Seagoe Parish for 1919 will

shortly be published.

* *

The Municipal Elections under the new system of

Voting created some excitement in Edenderry. We

congratulate Mr. David Rock and Mr W. J. Moffett

on their election. They are both very useful

members of the Council.

* *

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson very kindly entertained the

Choir at a Social last month. A very enjoyable

evening was spent.

* *

Cottage Services have been held during month

in several districts of the Parish and

largely attended. We thank Mr. Major, Mr.

Graham. Mr. W. J. Caddell, and Mr. J. Connolly who

have kindly lent their houses for the services.

* *

We are glad to see the steam roller work in

Seagoe. The roads badly needed repairing.

* *

Young men should join Mr. David Guy’s Gymnastic

Class which meets in Edenderry Parochial hall every

Thursday at 8.

* *

A few copies of Seagoe Parish Almanac may yet be

had, price £2 each from the Sunday School

Superintendents, or at Mr, Kyle's Grocery Stores, Bridge

Street.

* *

The Rev. J. Taylor, Rector of St. Jude's, Belfast

will (D,V.) preach Seagoe Church on

March 28^th.

* *

(page 4)

OLD SEAGOE NOTES.

The Original Plans of Seagoe Parish Church,

1816. - The original Plans for the building of the

present Church can be seen at the offices of the

Representative Church Body in Dublin. They are

signed by the Architect. The Church is in the early

English style of Architecture. In the plans there are

some variations from the present Church. The

tower as originally designed was wider, and a lancet

window was to be inserted at each side of the front

entrance door, Small entrance halls were provided

opening off the present hall to right and left, which

seems to suggest that there were to have been two

inner entrance doors to the Church. This would have

been a great improvement on the present

arrangement as there is no shelter now from the draught

which blows through the west door.

* *

A Curate's Endowment Fund for Seagoe

Parish, 1879. - At a meeting of the Select Vestry

held on 10th November, 1879, it was proposed that

portion of the sum of £6365 10s 4d invested towards

the endowment of Seagoe Parish should be set apart

for a Curate's Endowment Fund. This was based

on the ground that the larger portion of it was

derived from the Curate's Composition Balances at

Disestablishment, the Vestry desired that the sum of

£200 per annum as endowment should be available

for the Rector's income, and £75 for the Curate's.

They also desired the Archdeacon of Dromore and

Colonel Waring to convey to Major Blacker this

fact that although these proposed schemes are

somewhat different from his ideas, they feel that

both he and they have the one common object in

view “the placing of Seagoe Parish on an equal

level with the neighbouring Parishes," and they

trust that a proper understanding may now be

arrived at, so that provision for present and future

may be made, and that the Parish may know what

is required of them.

* *

Ten Townlands taken from Seagoe Parish,

1878 - At a meeting of Select Vestry held

in Seagoe Vestry-room on the 16th October,

1878, Major Blacker in the chair.

Major Blacker reported, that yesterday, the 15th

inst., at the Diocesan Synod, held in Belfast, the

10 Townlands belonging to Lord Lurgan were

ordered to be transferred from the Parish of Seagoe

to the Parish of Shankill, and that he, on the part

of Seagoe, had seconded the proposition of Rev.

Theophilus Campbell to that effect.

[The Townlands were Aghacommon, Annaloist,

Ballynamoney, Boconnel, Drumnakelly, Kinnego,

Knockramer, Silverwood, Tannaghmore West,

Turmoira. They had formed part of the Parish

since the year 1444.]

* *

Seagoe Rectory 100 years ago - In continuance of

our reference to Seagoe Rectory in our last

issue the following particulars may be of interest. In

1809 the glebe lands were surrounded by a number

of large Elms, which had been planted early in the

18th century. They were much admired for their

size and beauty up to the year 1810, when owing to

the death of the Rector, the Rev. George Blacker

the Rectory was uninhabited and neglected for some

years. Dean Blacker who succeeded the Rev. George

Blacker as Rector and Vicar did not take much

interest in the house, and about 1817, when timber

had become very scarce and dear, sold the trees to timber

merchants. so that in the year 1819 there were no large

trees on the Rectory lands. Considerable

dissatisfaction resulted from the Dean's action, In the

year 1828 the trees were planted which surround the

glebe lands. A complete list of all the trees, and

the price paid for them, is still to be seen in the

Rectory papers in the Record office, Four Courts,

Dublin. The site of the Rectory is exposed to strong

winds, and the trees were planted for shelter. The

planting was done under the direction of Archdeacon,

Saurin, who was appointed Vicar in 1826.

Another improvement effected by Archdeacon

Saurin was the formation of the inner walled garden.

This had been up to his time an enclosed paved yard.

He got the pavement removed and the yard

transformed into a handsome garden, in which fruit trees

of all kinds, also figs, peaches, and the mulberry tree

(still there) were planted. All the paths in the

garden were relaid, and a path was made through

what is called the lawn at its north side, towards the

Bann. This path is now grown over.

A path was also made from the Rectory door

across the Rectory grounds to a gate opposite to the

gates of the present church. This path still exists

It was fenced by a holly hedge and cost £7 4s 0d to

make.

Rectory Repairs in 1828 - Inner Garden, Iron

gate and hanging it £1 1s 0d.

Part of old garden now, formerly a shrubbery, trenched

2 ft. deep, 17 square perches at 2/6 a perch £2 3s 6d.

Gravelled all the walks in old garden and made

them in the new part, £5 0s 0d.

Two old orchards, of about 160 trees, and little

orchard piped, fence from gate up, gripe piped, fenced

and levelled, £5 4s.

Planting trees round lawn £18 12s 4d.

The following trees were planted in the inner

Garden - 18 Espalier apple trees, round beds £13 10s;

4 plumb trees at 8/6; 6 cherry trees on walls £1 4s;

1 fig tree 8/-; 7 peach trees £2 16s; 1 apricot 2/6,

5 pear trees £3 2s 6d; 1 mulberry tree at 4/-;

pear trees in corner of beds £3 4s.