Andrews, Thomas
Andrews, Thomas (1873–1912), shipbuilder, was born 7 February 1873 at Ardara, Comber, Co. Down, where his family, members of the non-subscribing presbyterian church, had been prominent in business for several generations. He was the second son of Thomas Andrews (1843–1916), for…...
Ferguson, John Stephenson
Ferguson, John Stephenson (1761–1833), linen manufacturer, was the eldest son of James Ferguson (d. 29 December 1784), medical doctor, and Jane Ferguson (née Stephenson) of Belfast. His date of birth and details of his education are unknown. His father, who had other children from…...
Fields, Arthur
Fields, Arthur (1901–94), photographer, known as the 'man on the bridge', was born Abraham Feldman on 27 October 1901 at home in Dublin to Ukrainian Jewish parents Malka (also known as 'Molly' or 'Mary'; née Sweed) and Simon Feldman, a draper, of 6 Raymond Street, Dublin 8. He had four…...
Gamble, David
This is a co-subject for the entry on Gamble, Josias (or Josiah) Christopher. View the original entry....
Gamble, Josias (or Josiah) Christopher
Gamble, Josias (or Josiah) Christopher (1778–1848), presbyterian minister and chemical manufacturer, was born in August 1778, fourth of five sons of David Gamble, farmer, from near Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, whose wife's maiden name was Rutherford, and who also had a daughter.…...
Harshaw, James
Harshaw, James (1797–1867), farmer, diarist, and presbyterian nationalist, was born in the townland of Ringbane, Donaghmore parish, Co. Down, last child of James Harshaw and Mary Harshaw (née Bradford). The senior James was one of the major landholders in the eastern part of the…...
Henry, Samuel (‘Sam’)
Henry, Samuel (‘Sam’) (1878–1952), folk-song collector, was born in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, youngest among five sons of William Henry and Mary Henry (née Biggart). He had two sisters; one of his brothers became town clerk of Coleraine. Educated locally, he entered the customs…...
Jackson, Henry
Jackson, Henry (1750?–1817), iron founder and United Irishman, was the fourth son in the family of five sons and one daughter of Hugh Jackson (1710?–77) of Creeve, Co. Monaghan, and his wife, Eleanor (née Gault), who belonged to a family engaged in the linen trade, apparently…...
Lewis, Helen
Lewis, Helen (1916–2009), Holocaust survivor, dance teacher, choreographer and memoirist, was born Helena Katz on 22 June 1916 into a well-off Jewish family in Bohemia in the Austro-Hungarian empire (Bohemia became part of the new state of Czechoslovakia in 1918). She was an only…...
Long, William Joseph
Long, William Joseph (1922–2008), politician and fisherman, was born 23 April 1922 in Stockton-on-Tees, England, the son of William Long and his wife Frederica (née Walker). He received his secondary education in Friends' School, Great Ayton (North Yorkshire), an agriculturally-oriented…...
MacAdam, James
MacAdam, James (1801–61), manufacturer and geologist, was born in High Street, Belfast, the first child and the elder of two surviving sons of James MacAdam (1775–1821), merchant, and Jane MacAdam (née Shipboy) (1774–1827), a Belfast native. Two siblings died in infancy while a…...
Mason, Thomas Holmes
Mason, Thomas Holmes (1877–1958), photographer, naturalist, meteorologist, and businessman, was born 9 September 1877, eldest among three children of Thomas Mason, optical manufacturer, and Sarah Mason (née Barry) of Dublin. Having worked in the family business in Parliament St.,…...
McCaughey, Sir Samuel
McCaughey, Sir Samuel (1835–1919), pastoralist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist in Australia, was born 30 June 1835 in Tullynewey, near Ballymena, Co. Antrim, eldest son and second child of Francis McCaughey, tenant of a large farm, and Eliza McCaughey (née Wilson), who later had…...
McIlmoyle, Robert John
McIlmoyle, Robert John (1875–1965), Reformed Presbyterian minister and member of the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), was born 10 April 1875, eldest son among five sons and four daughters of Robert McIlmoyle, farmer, of Stradreagh, Limavady, Co. Londonderry, and Margaret McIlmoyle (…...
Moore, Robert
Moore, Robert (1886–1960), farmer, politician, and presbyterian minister, was born 26 September 1886 at Ballymacannon, Ringsend, near Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, son of Kennedy Moore, whose family had farmed in the area for generations, and Mary Elizabeth Moore (née McFetridge).…...
Ritchie, William
Ritchie, William (1756–1834), shipbuilder, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and had a shipbuilding practice at Saltcoats. In March 1791 he visited Belfast and, seeing the potential of the port, returned on 3 July 1791, with ten men, apparatus, materials, and his younger brother…...
Scott, William
Scott, William (1765–1858), shirt manufacturer, was born 12 March 1765 in the townland of Ballougry, in the Liberties of Derry city, the youngest of three sons of David Scott, a farmer, whose ancestors had held the farm since 1610. After a limited education, Scott was apprenticed to…...
Shanks, James
Shanks, James (1854–1912), farmer, agrarian activist, and self-taught naturalist and historian, was born 4 November 1854 on Ballyfounder farm, two miles south of Portaferry on the Ards peninsula, Co. Down. A presbyterian, after attending Portaferry no. 2 national school until age…...
Sinclair, John
This is a co-subject for the entry on Sinclair (Sinclaire), William. View the original entry....
Sinclair (Sinclaire), William
Sinclair (Sinclaire), William (1760–1807), linen manufacturer and radical, was second among four sons of Thomas Sinclair (1719–98), merchant, and his wife Hester Eccles Pottinger, whom he married in 1749. Thomas came to Belfast from Newtownards and served his apprenticeship with…...
Sinclair, Thomas
This is a co-subject for the entry on Sinclair (Sinclaire), William. View the original entry....
Solomon, Philip Raymond ('Phil')
Solomon, Philip Raymond ('Phil') (1924–2011), music promoter and businessman, was born on 27 April 1924 in Ashley Gardens, Lansdowne Road, Belfast, the younger son of Maurice Solomon (born in Belfast to Russian-Jewish parents) and his wife Evelyn (née Peres), a native of Leeds. In the…...
Stewart, Sir Herbert Ray
Stewart, Sir Herbert Ray (1890–1989), agriculturalist, was born 10 July 1890, only son of Hugh Stewart and Rebecca Stewart (née Ray), both of Co. Down farming stock. Although born in Cambridge, Mass., USA (because of a family quarrel), he grew up in Co. Down, to which he returned…...
West, Harry (Henry William)
West, Harry (Henry William) (1917–2004), farmer and politician, was born in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, on 27 March 1917, eldest child and only son (he had five sisters) of William West, farmer and former secretary of Fermanagh County Council, and his wife Harriet (née Spence). West's…...