November 1933

Seagoe Parish magazine.

NOVEMBER, 1933.

CLERGY :

Rev. Chancellor Archer, B.D., The Rectory,

Seagoe.

Rev. W. F. Hayes, B.A., The Bungalow, Lower

Seagoe, Portadown.

CHURCHWARDENS :

Rector's—Mr. James Twinem.

People's—Mr. Wm. White.

Harvest Thanksgiving Services.

The annual Services of Thanksgiving for the

blessings of Harvest were held in the Parish

church on Thursday, Oct. 19th, and on the Sunday

following. At the Thursday service there

was a large congregation. The Rev. C. J.

McLeod, Rector of Maralin, preached. He

spoke of the urgency of the call to the Foreign

Missionary work of the Church. The Harvest

truly is plenteous but the labourers are few.

Our prayers should ascend to the Lord of the

harvest that he would thrust forth labourers

to His Harvest. The anthem was sung with

great heartiness and fervour by a large Choir.

The solo was taken by Miss Montgomery. It

was one of Barnbay's fine anthems and gave full

scope to soloist and choir. The Rev. G. H.

Gaunt read the 1st lesson. The offerings were

on behalf of Foregn Missions. The Church had

a very tastefully decorated by many willing

helpers. There was a splendid abundance of

beautiful fruit and flowers, the product of this

golden summer and autumn.

On Sunday, October 22nd, the Services were

continued and were attended by large congregations.

In the evening seats had to be placed in

the aisle to accommodate those who failed to

find places in the pews. At, Morning Prayer the

preacher was the Rev. R. H. White, Rector of

Holy Trinity Church, Belfast. His earnest

words interpreted for all present the duty of

heartfelt thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father

for the great gift of the Harvest.' The Anthem

and musical portion of the service was beautifully sung.

An impressive service was held at 3.30 for the

children attending Seagoe Afternoon Sunday

school. The hymns were heartily sung and the

children listened with great attention to the kind

words spoken by the Rev. R. H. White. The

offerings were on behalf of Seagoe Sunday School

Lind. Mr. T. H. Wilson presided at the organ.

On Sunday evening the Church was crowded

some time before the Service began. The

canticles were sung to special settings. The

service was very hearty and a true spirit of

Thanksgiving seemed to inspire it. The Rev.

Precentor Hurst, Rector of Moira, preached.

The solo in the anthem was sung by Miss Montgomery.

Our special thanks are due to Mrs.

Casey, who presided at the organ at each of the

services. The offerings on Sunday were given

to the Parochial Fund for the upkeep of the

Church and its services. We thank very heartily

all those who so kindly sent gifts of fruit,

flowers and corn for the decorations.

District Harvest Services.

Thanksgiving Services were held during the

month of October in no less than five of our district

centres. On Sunday, October 1st Levaghery

had its Service of Thanksgiving, which

was continued on the following Monday. The

Rector preached at the Sunday Service, and Mr.

J. Sandford, junior, on the Monday evening.

At both Services the school was filled. The decorations

were beautiful and some splendid fruit

formed a notable feature. Miss Selina Bradshaw

conducted the musical part of the Services, and

three members of the Choir sang an anthem.

Drumgor held its Services on Sunday, Oct.

8th, and the following Monday. The Hall håd

been tastefully decorated and there were large

gatherings at both Services. The Rev. W. F.

Hayes preached on Sunday, and the Rev. W. G.

Kerr, Curate of St. Mark's, Portadown, at the

Monday Service. At the latter Service the

lesson was read by the Rev. G. H. Daunt. Miss

Gracey presided at the harmonium. Just prior

to the Service on Monday evening, those who

were coming to the Service witnessed the great

shower of meteorites and were greatly impressed

by the sight. Services were held at Carne

Church Hall on Sunday, Oct. 15th, and Monday,

Oct. 16th. As at the other centres there

was a crowded attendance on both occasions.

Much trouble had been taken in decorating the

Hall. The Rector preached at the Sunday Service,

and the Rev. G. H. Daunt on the Monday

evening. Members of the Parish Church Choir

gave useful help in the singing, and Mr. T. H.

Wilson kindly presided at the harmonium. The

Services were very hearty.

Bocombra new Church Hall was crowded for

the Services held in it on Sunday, Oct. 29th,

and Monday, Oct. 30th. It was the first occasion

on which Harvest Services had been held in

It was brightly lighted with new

lamps suspended from the ceiling. The decorations

were very fine, including branches of crab apples crowded with fruit. The Rev. F. J.

Halahan, Rector of Drumcree, was the preacher

at the Sunday Service, and on Monday the Rev.

G. H. Daunt, formerly Rector of Knocknamuckley.

The lesson at the Service on Monday was

read by Mr. James Twinem, to whose exertions

we owe the existence of the Hall. Miss Hilda

Walker kindly and efficiently presided at the

harmonium at both Services. The offerings on

Sunday were devoted to the furnishing of the

Hall ond on Monday were equally divided between

the Sunday School Prize Fund and Foreign Missions.

New Gates at Bocombra.

Our new Church Hall at Bocombra has been

further improved and completed by the erection

of new pillars and gates. Seagoe Mothers' Union

contributed liberally towards them. Mr. James

Twinem himself made and designed the ornaments

on the pillars.

The New Plot.

The preparation of the new plot of ground beside

the Church has made great progress during

the past month. Permission was obtained from

the Rural Council to open the roadway, and a

main drain has been laid from the present

Church ground, under the road and through the

School ground to the ditch in the Grove Field.

Permission was also obtained from the Diocesan

Council and the Representative Church Body to

cut down three trees in the Church ground so

as to allow of the passage of the main drain

from the new ground through the Church

ground. In the new plot a drain six feet deep

has been dug under the main central path, and

four equally deep drains have been cut at right

angles to it. This system of drains will ensure

that the new plot will be thoroughly drained. A

deep man-hole has been constructed in the lower

corner of the present Churchyard, and this will

catch the drainage from the old as well as the

new ground. The new gates have been made

and will be erected at the entrance to the

new plot without delay. All the work at the

new plot has been done by men from the Parish

who have beep unemployed, and this spell of

employment has been a great help to them.

They have done the work with great zeal and

efficiency,

Prime Minister of Ontario

The Right Hon. George Henry, Prime Minister

of Ontario, whose father was born and

brought up in Bocombra, has ' sent a subscription

of £2 to Mr. James Twinem towards the

cost of the new Hall at; Bocombra. Mr. Henry

is very popular with all parties in Canada. He

visited Bocombra three years ago and was greatly

interested in seeing the place where his ancestors

had lived. His daughters, the Misses

Henry, visited Seagoe two years ago. The many

parishioners of Seagoe who live in Toronto and

the Province of Ontario are to be congratulated

on having a Seagoe man as their Prime Minister.

The Wednesday Service,

A Service is held on each Wednesday evening in

the Parochial Hall at 8 0'clock. It takes

the form of a short service, followed by a half

hour Bible study. 'The subject for next Wenesday's

study is Acts, chap. 1

Seagoe Mothers' Union.

A most enjoyable somal evening was held

the M. U. in Seagoe School on Tuesday, October

10th, at 7.30 p.m. There was a very large

attendance. The President, Mrs. James Twinem

and the committee had arranged all kinds

games and amusements for the mothers, which

were thoroughly enjoyed.

The next meeting of the Mothers' Union

be held in Seagoe School on Tuesday, November

14th, at 7.30 p.m. Tea will be provided

for all who come and the Rector will give

address.

The Parish Almanac.

Copies of the Parish Almanac will be on sale

at Mr. Vance's, in Bridge St., and from the

Sunday School Superintendents on and af

Dec. 1st, price twopence.

It contains three beautifully coloured pictures

and a text from scripture for every day in the year 1934.

your copy early as the numbers available

be limited.

Edenderry Harvest Festival

On Sunday, Nov. 5th, Harvest Thanksgiving

Services will be held in Edenderry Parish

Hall at 3.30 p.m. and will be continued on Monday,

Nov. 6th, at 8 p.m. An anthem will

sung by a special choir which has been train

by Miss Hilda Walker. The offerings on Sunday

will be on behalf of the Parochial

Fund and on Monday for Foreign Missions.

A Strange Visitor.

Seagoe Parish was honoured by a strange

visitor last month. About four o'clock in the

afternoon Mr. Hugh Carville was out with gun

in Killicomaine, and thinking he saw a ha re

he fired at it. It happened to be, not a hare

but a bird of about the same sue and of beautiful

plumage, The body was of chocolate brown

colour, the tail was black, with a cluster of white

downy feathers round it. The bill was black

with a white feathered patch at each side. The

wing feathers were black and white. The most

notable feature in it were a series of small bright

blue feathers on each wing. No one has yet

been able to identify the bird, which is evidently

of foreign origin, No doubt the fine hot Summer

induced it to leave its usual habitat and

visit our northern lands. Mr. Carville has

it stuffed.

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE

Armistice Day Services.

On Sunday, Nov. 12th, Special Armistice Day

services will be held in the Parish Church.

Seagoe C. L. B. will parade at the Service, and

a wreath will be placed at the Memorial Pillars.

The collection at Morning Prayer will be on behalf

of Earl Haig's British Legion Fund.

Change of Address.

The Rev. W. F. Hayes has moved from Edenderry

and is now residing at The Bungalow, Lower Seagoe.

Parish Register for October

Baptisms.

The following were Baptized in the Parish

church on October 7th, 1933

Bonis—Samuel, son of Robert John and Elizabeth Bonis, of Kernan.

Sponsors—Anne Wilson, Elizabeth Bonis.

Carville—Alma Victoria, daughter of Hugh and

Cora Holroyd Carville, of Killicomaine.

Sponsors—Sarah Carville, Cora Holroyd Carville.

Hall—Thomas Raymond, son of William John and Elizabeth Sophia Hall, of Lower Seagoe.

Sponsors—William John Hall, Elizabeth Sophia Hall.

.

McMullan—Caroline Webb, daughter of Herbert and Amelia McMullan, of Lylo.

Sponsors.—Caroline Webb, Amelia McMullan.

Marriages.

Dawson and Fryers—Oct. 20th, 1933, James George Dawson, of Tarson, to Mary

Alice Fryers, of Knocknamuckley, Parish of Knocknamuckley.

Harra and Jackson—Oct. 26th, 1933, Victor Harra, of Edenderry, to Ethel Jackson,

of Portadown.

Our Sunday Schools,

We are drawing near the end of the Church's

year, and on Advent Sunday, Dec. 3rd, the new

Sunday School Calendar will begin to be studied.

The new Calendars will be distributed through

Sunday Schools on Sunday, Nov. 26th.

F.W.O.

The new sets of envelopes for the year 1934

will soon be ready. They are in two colours,

red and yellow. An appropriate text is printed

each envelope. We hope that any of the

parishioners who may not have given in their

envelope offering will do so without delay.

Bring your envelope to the Church and reverently

place it in the offering. It, is your gift to

God. Almsgiving, as we learn from the book

of the Acts of the Apostles is regarded by God

as an act of worship.

Annual Subscriptions.

Annual subscriptions to the Sustentation

Fund should be paid in not later than the middle

of December. All Parish accounts close on De-

cember 31st.

Subscriptions to the New Plot.

A full list, of the sums collected towards the

completion of the new plot beside the Church

will be published in an early issue of the

Magazine.

C. L. B Concert.

On Thursday, Nov. 16th, a splendid entertainment

of a most novel kind will be given in the

Parochial Hall by the C.L.B. We recommend

our readers to secure their tickets at once. The

price of the tickets is 9d and 6d. The proceeds

will be given to the C. L. B. Funds.

25 Years Ago.

NOVEMBER, 1908.

We resume our notes of 25 years ago which

last appeared for March 1908 in our April issue.

In this year the Curate was the Rev. Walter R.

Crichton, B.A., living at Seagoe Villa. He is

now Archdeacon of Madras. The local matter

records Harvest Services in the Parish Church,

at Carne and at Hacknahay. The Rev. G. G.

Mervyn, Vicar of Ballymacarrett, was the

preacher on Thursday in the Parish Church and

on the Sunday the Rev. S. P. Mitchell, Rector

of St. Nicholas's Church, Belfast. The anthem

was " Praise ye the Lord," and Mr. T.

H. Wilson presided at, the organ. At Carne the

Rev. J. W. Johnston, Curate of Drumcree,

preached. At Hacknahay the Rev. J. Taylor,

Curate of St. Thomas's, Belast, was the special

preacher. Seven Baptisms are recorded, as well

as three marriages. One of the marriages was

of two sisters to two brothers. Four Burials are

recorded. A Harvest Service is announced to

be held at Drumgor on Nov. 9th, and the

preacher was to be the Rev. J. J. O'Malley,

Curate of St. Mark's. The Select Vestry have

decided to build an addition to the Church

stables. In the Old Seagoe notes a reference is

made to the " Big Wind" of Sunday, January

6th, 1839. It began from the S.S.W. at 10 p.m.

and raged till 4 a.m. It blew the spire off Lurgan Church.

Old Seagoe Notes.

A Statistical Account, of Parochial Survey of

Ireland, drawn up from the communications of

the clergy by William Shaw Mason, Esq.,

M.R.I.A., Volume 11. Printed at the Hibernia

Press Office, Dublin, 1816.

Page 520, et seq. Parish of Seagoe (County

of Armagh). By Lieut.-Colonel Blacker, of the

Armagh Militia.

(Continued from our last issue.)

Two great leading roads pass through this

parish, viz., the road from Armagh to Belfast,

and that from Portadown to Banbridge, to which

may be added a new line made within the last

twenty years leading to Waringstown, Dromore,

and the County of Down in general.

The roads are generally good, though it is by no

means easy to keep them so from the immense

numbers of narrow-wheeled carts which are constantly

traversing them. The farmhouses exhibit much

appearance of comfort; those on Carrick estate

are remarkable for their neatness and comfort;

but in many places are to be

seen cabins of the most miserable description ;

the numbers of the latter are happily on the decrease.

The scenery in the summer is rich and

varied; the prospects from the rising grounds,

of the Bann, Lough Neagh, Mourne Mountains,

etc., are strikingly beautiful.

The only ancient building is the Church,

which is now more than half buried in the

graves with which it is surrounded. The pews

and pulpit are of old black oak of curious workmanship ;

the latter exhibits a date on the front

of 1666. Within the last three years an exhibition

of taste took place here which should be

handed down to posterity. This fine old black

pulpit and reading desk were— 'risurn teneatis,"

actually painted a muddy yellow. There remain

two of the old circular raths, one at Lisnisky, and

the other at Lisnamintry.

The population of this parish has been ascertained

by the late returns to exceed 5,000 souls,

nine-tenths of whom are concerned more or less

in the linen manufacture, the children of both

sexes being initiated into the work at a very

early age.

The appearance of the people indicates a high

degree of civilisation. On Sundays and at fairs

their dress is remarkably neat and cleanly; their

habits are in general industrious; they are a loyal,

peaceable and generally speaking religious.

Some years ago when the North of Ireland

was disturbed by those deluded wretches call

Hearts of Oak and Hearts of Steel, this parish

came in for its share of the contagion. The

meetings took place at a cross-roads called from

a large rock on the spot, " The Blue Stone.

A dreadful murder was committed near this

spot in the year 1781, and the perpetrators being

brought, here for execution, their bodies were

thrown into a hole by the side of the rock, which

was heaved on top of them. Some days afterwards

their friends having shown a disposition

to take up the bodies a spirited magistrate

repaired to the spot, where they had actually

commenced operations. He then had the remains

dug out, and having burned them, swept the

ashes into the hole. burying the rock with them

below the surface of the road, where it has lain

undisturbed to this day. From this period the

morality and general good conduct of the people

appear to have been progressive. It, is but a

short time ago since they were much addicted

to the barbarous custom of cook-fighting (that

which nothing is more pregnant with mischief

to the individual and the community): and that

they are fast laying aside. The law for preventing

riotous assemblies, which these meetings

always are, has been exerted once or twice and

explained to the people with the best effects

and there is every reason to hope that this inhuman

practice will in a very short time be unknown.

As to personal appearance, the females are

generally handsome; their occupation (spinning

by confining them much within doors, contributes

to render them more delicately fair than

the women of other districts.

SERVICES—The PARISH CHURCH

HOLY COMM UNION—1st Sunday after Morning

Prayer ; 3rd Sunday at 8 a.m., and on the Chief

Festivals.

HOLY BAPTISM—1st Sunday of each Month at 4

p.m., and during any Service in the Parish Church,

notice be given ; Two Sponsors at least are required

and they must be Confirmed Members of the Church,

Churchings are held at each Baptism. Mothers are

expected to bring a thankoffering. (See Book of

Common Prayer )

MORNING PRAYER—Sundays and Chief Festivals,

11 30 a m.

EVENING PRAYER—Sundays, 7 p.m.

DISTRICT SERVICES.

Hacknahay—Last Sunday of Month at 3-30 p,m.

Drumgor—Second Sunday of Month at 4 p.m.

Edenderry—Wednesdays at 8pm

CLASSES, &c.

BIBLE CLASS FOR MEN in Edenderry on

Sundays at 10-15 a.m.

SUNDAY SCHOOLS -10 a.m. Edenderry Parochial

Hall and Seagoe School. 3 p.m. Seagoe, Edenderry

Parochial Hall, Levaghery, Hacknahay, Carne,

Drumgor, Bocombra,

MOTHERS' UNION—2nd Tuesday of each month

at 7-30 p.m.

CHURCH LADS' BRIGADE in the Parochial Hall

on Tuesdays and Fridays,

GIRLS' FRIENDLY SOCIETY in Seagoe School on Mondays at 8 p.m.

SEAGOE P.E. SCHOOL, 9-15 a.m. Principal—Mr.R. Scott.

MARRIAGES must be performed between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Licenses are issued by Ven. Archdeacon Hannon

Rectory, Lurgan. Due notice (48 hours) must be given to the Rector of intended weddings FEES—BY License—

Labourers 5/—, Tradesmen 10/—, Merchants and Farmers 15/-, Professional £1. By Banns 5/- FUNERALS will be attended by the Clergy if proper notice be given.

SICK CASES should be notified to the Clergy without delay.

FEES FOR CERTIFICATES—BAPTISM 3/7, Children (Factory) 1/- and 2/- (non residents); MARRIAGE 3/7 An extra Search Fee is chargeable in certain cases.

It will be a help to the Clergy if they are notified of the

arrival of new Church families in the Parish.

A copy of the Magazine will be sent by post to any subscriber for 3/- per annum.