Smith, Col. James
Smith, Col. James (c.1713–1806), lawyer, soldier in America, and signatory of the American declaration of independence, was born in the north of Ireland, second son of John Smith, a farmer with a large family. There are few details extant about his background or date of…...
Smyth, Richard
Smyth, Richard (1826–78), presbyterian minister and MP, was born 4 October 1826 in Carncullagh, near Dervock, Co. Antrim, second son of Hugh Smyth, an elder in Carncullagh, and Mary Ann Smyth (née Wray); three of his brothers also became presbyterian ministers. The effects of a…...
Stevenson, John
Stevenson, John (1850–1931), printer, inventor, antiquary, and author, was born in Rostrevor, Co. Down, in 1850, eldest among three to five sons of John Stevenson (d. 1881) and Harriet Stevenson (née Walsh; d. 1891). One brother died in childhood and one as a young man; there may…...
Stewart, Anthony Terence Quincey ('A. T. Q.')
Stewart, Anthony Terence Quincey ('A. T. Q.') (1929–2010), historian, was born on 8 July 1929 in the Ballygomartin area of north Belfast, only child of Christopher Greenwood Stewart, a baker, and his second wife (née Quincey), who came from Stockport, Lancashire. The presbyterian…...
Stewart, Robert
Stewart, Robert (1739–1821), 1st marquess of Londonderry , politician, was born 27 September 1739 in Dublin, eldest son of Alexander Stewart (1697–1781), landowner in Co. Down and briefly MP for Derry city (1760), and his wife Mary Stewart (née Cowan), his cousin and an heiress…...
Stewart, Robert
Stewart, Robert (1769–1822), Viscount Castlereagh and 2nd marquess of Londonderry , chief secretary for Ireland, politician, was born 18 June 1769 at 28 Henry Street, Dublin, the second, but only surviving, child of Robert Stewart (…...
Swan, Harry Percival
Swan, Harry Percival (1879–1970), businessman, antiquarian, and author, was born 4 June 1879 at Ardeelan House, Buncrana, eldest child among five sons and three daughters of Thomas Swan, miller, and his wife Isabella, daughter of James Cooke of Belfast. His father owned a milling…...
Taggart, Thomas
Taggart, Thomas (1856–1929), politician, was born 17 November 1856 in Emyvale, Co. Monaghan, sixth child and younger son among two sons and five daughters of Thomas Taggart, of Emyvale, and Martha Taggart (née Kingsbury), native of Scotland. The family emigrated to the United…...
Templeton, John
Templeton, John (1766–1825), naturalist and philanthropist, was born at Bridge St., Belfast, son of James Templeton, a prosperous wholesale merchant, and his wife Mary Eleanor, daughter of Benjamin Legg of Belfast and Malone. Background and education The…...
Tennent, John
Tennent, John (1772–1813), United Irishman and French soldier, was born 11 October 1772, sixth child and third son of the Rev. John Tennent, minister of the Seceding Presbyterian congregation of Roseyards, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, and Anne Tennent (née Patton). Though 1772 was the year…...
Tennent, Robert
Tennent, Robert (1765–1837), medical doctor, merchant, and philanthropist, was born 9 August 1765, fourth child and second son (of five) of the Rev. John Tennent and Anne Tennent (née Patton). One brother died young in the West Indies in 1794. After completing his medical studies…...
Tennent, William
Tennent, William (1760–1832), Belfast merchant, banker, and United Irishman, was born 26 June 1760, second of the eight children and eldest of the five sons of the Rev. John Tennent, minister of the Seceding Presbyterian congregation of Roseyards, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, and Anne…...
Thomson, Charles
Thomson, Charles (1729–1824), radical leader in pre-revolutionary Philadelphia, and secretary of the continental congress and of the US congress, was born 29 November 1729 in the townland of Gorteade, in the parish of Maghera, Co. Londonderry, third child among five sons and a daughter…...
Thomson, Samuel Smith
Thomson, Samuel Smith (1778?–1849), doctor and philanthropist, was one of at least four children of James Thomson, surgeon in Coleraine, and his wife Ellen, youngest daughter of Samuel Smith (1691–1760), who was prominent in Belfast, was related to many of Belfast's well known linen and…...
Underwood, Thomas Neilson
Underwood, Thomas Neilson (1830?–1876), founder of the National Brotherhood of St Patrick, was born probably at Strabane, Co. Tyrone, the eldest son of William Robert Underwood, and his wife Margaret (née Neilson). According to a lengthy obituary of Thomas Neilson Underwood in the…...
Upton, Arthur
Upton, Arthur (1623–1706), presbyterian politician, was born 31 May 1623, the eldest son of Captain Henry Upton of Castle Upton (or Castle Norton), Templepatrick, Co. Antrim, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Sir Hugh Clotworthy; he had three brothers and three sisters. Sir Hugh,…...
Waller, Sir Hardress
Waller, Sir Hardress (1604–66), soldier, politician, and regicide, was the son and heir of George Waller of Groombridge, Kent, England, and his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Hardress. Waller's family was one of the wealthiest in Kent, and his cousin was the parliamentarian…...
Warden, David Bailie
Warden, David Bailie (1772–1845), United Irishman, diplomat, and bibliographer, was born at Ballycastle, Co. Down, eldest among three sons of Robert Warden, tenant farmer, and Elizabeth Warden (née Bailie). Educated locally, he studied for the presbyterian ministry, despite being…...
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…...
White, James Robert (‘Jack’)
White, James Robert (‘Jack’) (1879–1946), soldier and anarchist, was born in May 1879 in Broughshane, near Ballymena, Co. Antrim, only son among five children of Field-marshal Sir George Stuart White, an Anglo-Irish landowner and distinguished soldier, and his wife Amy, daughter of…...
Wilson, Daniel Martin
Wilson, Daniel Martin (1862–1932), lawyer and politician, was born in Limerick, son of the Rev. Dr David Wilson (1819–94), moderator of the presbyterian general assembly 1865–7. His father was married twice: first (1845) to a daughter of William McFurran, and secondly to Jessie…...
Witherow, Thomas
Witherow, Thomas (1824–90), presbyterian minister and historian, was born 29 May 1824 in his maternal grandfather's house at Ballycastle, near Limavady, Co. Londonderry, eldest in a family of four children of Hugh Witherow, a prosperous farmer and grazier from Aughlish, near…...
Wright, William (‘Billy’)
Wright, William (‘Billy’) (1960–97), loyalist paramilitary, was born in July 1960 in Wolverhampton in the west midlands of England, son of David Wright and his wife, both originally from Portadown, Co. Armagh. The Wrights had moved to England because of harassment after David…...
Wylie, William Evelyn
Wylie, William Evelyn (1881–1964), judge and doyen of the RDS, was born 26 June 1881 at Kenilworth House, Kenilworth Square, Dublin (the residence of his maternal uncle John Girdwood Drury), son of the Rev. Robert Beatty Wylie, LLD, minister (…...