September 1908

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER, 1908.

HACKNAHAY DAY SCHOOL.

It was somewhat of a venture to open a new Day School in the Parish but we are able to record with pleasure that the success of the School so far has exceeded our most sanguine expectations. The average attendance for the 4 weeks since opening has been 51, and the number on Rolls 56, so that we may safely say that the future success of the School is assured so far as regards the number of children attending. But in other respects the school has been most successful. The discipline, attention, and neatness of the children would compare favourably with schools of long standing, and the high average of attendance proves how interested the parents and children are in the success of the School. We congratulate Miss Wilson and her assistant, Miss M. Dickson, on the work already accomplished and which we believe is an earnest of even larger success in the future. The school premises have been put into good order and the playgrounds made tidy by the cutting of the grass and hedges. We have to express our hearty thanks to Mr. George Calvert for the trouble and expense he has incurred in making these improvements. We have also to thank the parents of the pupils for the way in which they have supported the School.

SEAGOE DAY SCHOOL.

This School continues to prosper under Mr. Chamber's careful and experienced management. New pupils are being enrolled every week. We notice in the Schoolroom two framed specimens of Needlework done by pupils of the Schools, and showing excellent workmanship. Two pupils of the School competed last week for entrance to the Municipal Trades Preparatory School. Thomas Ruddell won First Scholarship, and James Johnston was successful in passing the Examination. The fact that a boy won First Place direct from the School speaks well for the thoroughness of the Education imparted in Seagoe School.

OUR SUNDAY SCHOOLS.

During the holiday season our Schools have somewhat suffered owing to the diffculty of supplying the place of teachers who are absent, but now that the holiday time is over this diffculty will come to an end. The Lessons for September in the Morning Schools are taken from St. Matt., chap. xxvi, and St. Luke xxiii, being the narrative of Our Lord's Passion. In the Catechism the lessons are on the Lord's Prayer and its Explanation. In the Afternoon Schools novelty is introduced in Special Lessons on the Book of Common Prayer in connection with passages of Scripture, 2 Kings xx, St. Luke xv„ and PS, xcv. In the Catechism the important questions on Baptism with Scripture proofs are being taught.

We recommend all our Teachers to read the Article in the August number of the Sunday School Magazine on "The Training of Teachers." It makes very useful suggestions. The Teachers'

notes on the Lessons for the Month are also exceptionally good.

BAPTISM.

The Baptism of the infant daughter of Major and Mrs. Blacker took place in the Parish Church on Wednesday, September 2nd. The Rev. Canon Blacker and the Rev. J. E, Archer offciated. It is a curious. fact that the last Baptism of a member of the Blacker family in Seagoe Parish Church took place so long ago as January 9th, 1765. The entry in the old Register is as follows: “January 9th, 1765, George, son of William and Letitia Blacker.” This was the Rev. George Blacker, afterwards Vicar of Seagoe, and who planned the building of the present Church. Now after the lapse of so many years and in the Church built by the Rev. George Blacker, another member of the family has been baptized, and the close connection which has for so many generations existed between the Blacker family and the Parish of Seagoe has been still further strengthened on behalf

of the Parish of Seagoe. We offer to Major and Mrs.Blacker our congratulations, and our prayers that God's blessing may rest upon them and theirs in their home at Carrickblacker.

BAPTISMS.

"Go ye into all the world, and baptize all nations."

Aug 1st—Thomas Archer, son of William and Sarah Robb, Glasgow

“ “ —Caroline, daughter of David and Sarah Jane Guy

“ “ —John, son of Thomas and Emily Best.

“ “ —Ellen, daughter of Samuel James and May Loney.

Sep 2nd—Joan Lucy, daughter of Major and Mrs. Blacker.

MARRIAGE.

“Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.”

Aug 20th—Joseph Fletcher, Killycomaine, to Jane Eliza McLoaghlin, Lisniskey.

BURIALS.

“Oh grave, where is thy Victory?”

Aug. 9th—Sarah Isabella Robinson, aged 21.

“ “ —Jane Watson, aged 12.

“ 13th—Sarah Brown, aged 62,

“ 26th—William Levingston, aged 24,

Sept.1st—Henry Collins, Belfast, aged 54,

OFFERTORIES FOR AUGUST.

“Freely ye have received, freely give.”

Morning Evening£ d s £ d s

Aug. 2 ^nd---7^th Sun. after Trinity 1 15 9 0 10 7

“ 9^th ---8^th Sun. “ “ 1 0 2 0 8 6

“ 16^th---9^th “ “ “ 1 5 10 0 10 7

“ 23^{rd-----10th “ “ “ 1 8 10 0 10 0}

^{“ 30th-------11th “ “ “ 1 2 3 0 11 2}

^{Wednesdays _______________ 0 9 6}

^{Total £ 6 12 10 £3 0 4}

THE ANNUAL REPORT.

The Annual Parish Report now in the hands of the Parishioners should be carefully read by our people. Every loyal member of the Church should take a practical interest in the welfare of the Parish and it is through the pages of the Annual Report that you get most information as to how parochial affairs progress. The Preface is repeated from last year. The purchase of the Rectory is a matter that should not be put off. Next month we hope to give in Old Seagoe Notes some interesting particulars regarding the past history of the old House.

The Sustentation Fund shows an increase of £10 but the actual sum received from Residents in the Parish is only £106 9s 8d which works out at about 5s 9d per subscriber. The Townlands showing the largest increases are Edenderry, Seagoe, Drumnacanvey, and Breagh. Twelve townlands show an increase and five a decrease.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

We acknowledge with thanks the Receipt of the following sums towards the deficit in the Sunday School Account (see Report). Dr. Dawson, Finglas, Dublin, £1 ; Miss Macoun, Bangor, 10s, This reduces the deficit to £7 2s 11d. The Rector invites further Subscriptions so that the adverse balance may be wiped out as soon as possible.

ITEMS.

The Rev. J. Shearman, Curate of Longford, preached at Morning and Evening Prayer on Sunday August 9th.

Ninety-eight children were present at Hacknahay Sunday School on Sunday week. This is a record attendance, being the highest ever reached in this School.

We congratulate Mr. Jack Shanks on his appointment as Head Porter at Portadown. We are

glad the appointment has gone to a local man, and none better or more popular could have been chosen for the post.

The paper on “A Model Sunday School," read by Miss Armstrong at a recent meeting of our Seagoe Sunday School Teachers' Union, appeared in the issue of The Warden , a new Church weekly, on August 7th.

The Rev. J. Crichton, father of the Rev. W. R. Crichton, spent some days with his son at Seagoe Villa last month. Mr. Crichton was formerly Rector of Kildrumferton for many years,but had to retire some years ago owing to failing sight.

The Rev. Canon Blacker has arrived at Carrickblacker. We are glad to say he is in excellent health. There is no more welcome visitor to the Parish than Canon Blacker and we rejoice that he is again amongst us even though it be but for a brief visit.

Seagoe Harriers held a meeting in the Parish Hall last week and decided to hold the first run of the season on Saturday, September 12th. The young men of the Parish should join in this healthy pastime of cross-country running. Send in your name to the Hon. Sec., Mr Wilson Holmes, Klllycomaine.

We are always glad to meet former Seagoe parishioners who have made their home in the

Colonies or the United States of America and who return from time to time to re-visit the old Parish.

A recent visitor has been Mr. Edward Costello, son of Mr. James Costello, of Thane's Creek, Warwick, Queensland, Australia.

We notice on Mr. Waugh's counter a little Booklet of verses by Miss Mary L. Dawson. It is entitled “Voices of the Year." We recommend our readers to secure a copy. The verses are bright and tuneful and teach in homely language many beautiful lessons from the Book of Nature. The price of the booklet is 3d.

The Rev. D. Galwey, Curate of Port Glasgow, Greenock, assisted at Morning Prayer in the Parish Church, on Sunday, August 23rd, and preached at Evening Prayer on the subject of Faith, Hope and Love," I Cor. , xiii., 13. We are always glad to see Mr. Galwey when he returns home for his holidays. Mr. Galwey occupies a very important curacy in the Scottish Church.

Mr. Costello, who is a nephew of Mr. Atkinson Costello, of Carne, is a splendid specimen of Colonial manhood. He is 6ft. 6 inches in height and weighs 15 stone though only 23 years of age. He was born in Queensland where his father emigrated from Seagoe Parish at an early age. Mrs. James Costello, his mother, also spent some time in the Parish last month.

We are inclined to think that the name Seagoe is to be seen in many parts of the world. In our June number we recorded the interesting fact that Mr. McDowell, formerly of Killycomaine, had given the name " Seagoe Villa" to his new house in America. We have since learned that Mr. Costello's farm of 2,000 acres at Thane's Creek, Queensland, is called "Seagoe Farm," and has been known by that name for over 30 years. We will be glad to hear of any other similar cases known to our readers.

SYMPATHY.

We desire to express our deep sympathy with several families in the Parish who, as will be seen in the List of Deaths, have suffered bereavement young as well as old have been called away by Death and in each case after a long and trying illness. It is hard to part with those we love and yet we must not let the present darkness hide from us the glorious Light of the Life beyond. May our sorrowing ones find comfort in the words of the Master "I am the Resurrection and the Life."

OLD AGE PENSIONS.

So many are enquiring about Old Age Pensions and there is so much misunderstanding in the public mind about them that it may be well to put the actual facts clearly before our readers. To get the Pension of 5s a week the person must fulfil the following three conditions

(1) They must be 70 years of age or over.

(2) They must have resided within the United Kingdom for the past 20 years unless absent as a

soldier or sailor.

(3) Their income must be under £21 a year (but smaller pensions than 5/- a week will be given to all whose yearly income is less than £31 10s.)

But even though you are the proper age and have lived for the past 20 years in the United Kingdom and have an income under £31 10s you will not get the Pension.

(l) If you are on Outdoor Relief.

(2) If you are in a workhouse or asylum.

(3) If you are in prison (a sentence of more than one month disqualifies for a period of ten years.)

(4) Habitual Drunkards.

(5) Lazy people who have never done any steady work.

The printed forms for claiming the Pension will be issued at all Post Offices at the end of September. The particulars to be inserted on each form will be, Age, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Nationality, Place of Residence during pass 20 years, and income per week.

When you have filled in the Form return it to the Post Office and if your claim is allowed you will receive a Book of Pension Forms one of which you will present each Friday at the nearest Post Offce and you will get 5/- in return.

Those who are on Outdoor Relief will get their Pensions in January 1910, that is they will have to wait for twelve months longer than the others.

MISSIONARY EXHIBITION.

A great Missionary Exhibition will be held in Lurgan from October 13th to 17th. The Parish of Seagoe has been asked to assist at it. The Exhibition will contain all kinds of exhibits from all parts of the world. Some hundreds of curios will be supplied by C.M.S. (and possibly by some other friends) and the Missionaries who will attend will be from the staff of that Society; as a consequence any profits resulting from the Exhibition will be divided between C. M.S. and Missionary Leaves Association, an organization in London which assists two or three leading societies.

The Exhibits will comprise specimens of Native Dress, Ornaments, Household Utensils, and other objects illustrative of the customs of the people, and of the religions which prevail in different parts of the Mission Field. They will be arranged in series of courts representing Africa, (East, West, and Equatorial,) Mohammedan Lands, China, Japan, N.W. Canada, India; and in these courts brief explanatory talks will be given by Missionaries and other competent persons. There will be a separate court in which the valuable work of Medical Missions will be set forth, and there will be also a representation of a Chinese Guest Room, and Japanese Receptions will be given.

Tea and Refreshments will also be provided at moderate prices under the management of ladies from the various parishes, with Mrs. James Johnston and Miss E. Greer, as Hon. Secs., either of whom will be grateful for contributions of cakes, &c.

The Lord Bishop of the Diocese has given his cordial support to the project and has promised to perform the opening ceremony, whilst representatives of the various parishes taking part are to be found on the list of Vice-Patrons and on the Committee.

The Exhibition will be held in the Parochial and Philharmonic Halls, Lurgan. Single Ticket 6d. Season Ticket 1/6. Bible Class Members 3d each. Tickets obtainable through conductors of classes.

NATURE NOTES FOR SEPTEMBER.

September is a very interesting month from a Naturalist's point of view because it marks the

transition from Summer to Autumn. Our readers will notice the new habits of the migrant birds as for example the swallow. Just now they may be seen perched in long rows on the Telegraph wires beside the Railway line. They are gathering together for their long flight to the warmer climate of Southern Europe or Africa. By the end of the month they will have disappeared. Last year the last swallows were seen in this neighbourhood on September 30th. It would be interesting to note their last appearance this year.

One of the few wild flowers still brightening our hedgerows is the Golden Hawkweed. It blooms from July to October. Its blooms somewhat resemble the Dandelion but are smaller. Its stem is rough with hooked bristles. The blossoms are very numerous and are chiefly on the branches at the upper part of the stem.

A great many of the young men of the Parish are fond of angling in the Bann. On a Summer or Autumn evening they go out to the pleasant meadows along the Bann with rod and line, or else take a boat and fish from it. But fishing on the Bann is a somewhat restricted sport, and it generally consists in drawing a few pike from the water. Some of our readers may like to hear something about the Pike which frequents our river. We take the following from a very old Book which we would recommend all our fishing friends to read; it can be bought for a few pence at any bookseller's; it is called The Complete Angler, and was written by a great fisherman, Isaak Walton, in the year 1653.

“The mighty Luce or Pike is taken to be the tyrant of the fresh waters. He is the longest lived

of any fresh-water fish, having been known to live for 40 years. The smaller or middle sized Pikes

are observed to be the best meat. Some call the Pike, the fresh water Wolf, by reason of his bold,

greedy, devouring disposition. It is recorded that a man brought a mule to drink at a stream, and a

pike bit his mule by the lips and hung so fast that the mule drew him from the water. Some say the

pike can eat even venomous things and not die, for he has in him a natural balsam or antidote against all poison. He is a solitary fish, never swimming in shoals. To catch him you must bait your hook with live fish (roach or dace) or frogs. Fasten your hooks on a windy day to a bundle of straw and the wind will blow it across the stream.”

OLD SEAGOE NOTES.

Kilvergan.—The townland of Kilvergan is of special interest in the Parish because it was, up to the time of Disestablishment, Glebe land. The Townlands of Seagoe and Kilvergan formed the

endowments of the living of Seagoe. But how came it that a townland so far away from Seagoe Church was attached to the glebe? A possible answer is suggested by the name. Kilvergan is apparently derived from Kill, the Irish word for a Church, and it is quite possible that the second part of the word is derived from the word “Virgin.” If that be the case it seems as though a Church at one time existed in that townland and that it was dedicated to the Mother of Our Lord. Just as we have many Churches called by her name as e.g., in Belfast, St. Mary's Church on the Crumlin Road. No trace of the old Church exists and of course if it ever had a separate existence it must have been united with Seagoe many centuries ago.

We are indebted to Mr. Thomas Martin, of Kilvergan, for an interesting fact which bears on the above conjecture. It is that when the building of a new Church was being discussed about the year 1811 and the site of the Church had not yet been fixed, it was proposed that the Church should be erected at Kilvergan. Some of the older inhabitants of the district who were living about 20 years ago remembered that the workmen's tools for the building of the Church had actually been brought to Kilvergan, but it was then decided that the Church should be built on the present site in Seagoe. Of course it is to be borne in mind that in 1811 the Parish of Seagoe extended to Kinnego near Lurgan, and so the site at Kilvergan would be exactly in the centre of the Parish as it was then constituted. And it is also to be remembered that Portadown at that time was a very insignificant place, and so the populous district of Edenderry did not exist.

Killycomaine like Kilvergan suggests that orginally there was a Church or Kill in that townland. And this supposition is strengthened by the fact that about 200 years ago the name was spelt Killkillomaine. We have not been able to discover the meaning of the latter part of the word. Perhaps some of our readers could help us.

One of the most curious cases of local pronunciation in the Parish is the way in which an “r” is added to the name of the townland of Balteagh which is always pronounced as if it were “Balteer.” That this pronunciation is of ancient date is proved by the fact that in the Registers of 1711 or thereabouts we come across the word 'Balteer' although the usual spelling then was Balteagh. A similar example is found in the usual pronunciation of the name of the Mill at Hacknahay which is generally called “Blackert's Mill,” a 't' being inserted at the end of the word.

Now that Old Age Pensions are in such demand and everybody is trying to prove that they are 70 years of age, it is very important that they should be able to remember " the great wind."

Several old people in the Parish are able to state now with much satisfaction that they must be 70 because they mind “the big win'.”

The storm to which they refer took place on January 6th, 1839. It blew with great violence all over the country. In Dublin the Liffey overflowed its banks and caused a great flood. In the midst of the storm the Bethesda Church in Dublin caught fire and many houses in the neighbourhood, as well as the Church, were burnt down. One of our Parishioners remembers being carried by her father into the Rectory near where they lived for protection from the storm as it was thought their home would be blown down by the violence of the wind. The storm began at nightfall and blew during the night. Another parishioner remembers the roof of the house being stripped and trees uprooted. The storm arose on Sunday evening and blew from the East.