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Blackwatertown

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"Blackwatertown, a post-town, in that parish of Clonfeacle which is in the barony of Armagh, county of Armagh, and province of Ulster, 5 miles (N.N.W.) from Armagh, and 70 (N.N.W.) from Dublin; containing 103 houses and 528 inhabitants. This place is situated on the old road from Armagh to Dungannon, and on the river Blackwater, from which it takes its name; it is connected by a stone bridge of three arches with the old village of Clonfeacle, now forming part of the town."

[From the Blackwatertown segment in Lewis' Topographical Dictionary (1837)]

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Archives & Libraries

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Business & Commerce Records

  • Betty, William (1700-1703): cited in Apprenticeship Registers, held at Cheshire and Chester Archives and Local Studies Service, England; ref. ZM/AB/2/f.16v.
  • Brownrigg & Co., canal from Armagh City to the River Blackwater Canal (1800); National Archives of Ireland, ref. no. OPW5HC/6, item 0464
  • Fox, Felix: Spirit dealer, Blackwatertown:  Spirit stock book and other accounts (1899-1922); PRONI ref. D1789.
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Cemeteries

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Census

  • 1901 and 1911 censuses, for the parish of Clonfeacle (includes Blackwatertown): FHL film numbers
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Church Directories

  • Church of Ireland Clonfeacle
    • Church of Ireland - Find a church page
      • Parish Church of St. Patrick -- Mailing address: 4 Clonfeacle Road, Benburb, Dungannon, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland  BT71 7LQ;  Tel: 028 3754 8239
    • Representative Church Body Library
      • Braemor Park, Churchtown, Dublin 14;  Tel: +353 (0)1 4923979
  • Methodist Blackwatertown
  • Roman Catholic Moy (Armagh diocese)
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Church History

  • Coote, Charles, Sir, Excerpt for the parish of Clonfeacle from Statistical Survey of the County of Armagh, pub. 1804
     
  • Dillon, Charles (fl. 1980), Handing on the faith in Clonfeacle: St. Jarlath's Church bicentenary celebr... , The Author, Moy, 1980
    • QUB: Main Lib., Belfast Campus (Special Colls) - h p BX1507.C6/DILL
       
  • Rickey, Walter, The extraordinary conduct of the Rev. Doctor Richardson, Rector of the parish of Clonfecle in the Diocese of Armagh, towards the curate of the said parish; briefly stated, printed for the author, by John King, 2, Westmorland-Street, Dublin, 1807
    • NLI: LO 6200, Coll. Lo; P 1195(4), Collection P.
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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Blackwatertown which are provided by:

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Directories

  • 1846 - Slater's National Commercial Directory of Ireland
  • Index of 84 entries for residents of the villages of Blackwatertown and Loughgall
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Gazetteers

  • Lewis, Samuel, Blackwatertown, from Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
  • Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, Blackwatertown (1846)
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Historical Geography

The civil parish of Blackwatertown contained the townlands of:
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History

  • "In the parliament of 1585 (413), which [Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone] attended as baron of Dungannon, he was made earl of Tyrone in succession to his (reputed) grandfather Conn Bacach; and in 1587 the queen granted him the inheritance; but he was to give up 240 acres on the Blackwater as a site for a fort. This fort was built soon after and called Portmore; it commanded a ford which was the pass from Armagh into Tyrone, O'Neill's territory; and its site is now marked by the village of Blackwatertown." [Source: The Concise History of Ireland, by P.W. Joyce; posted to Library Ireland's web site].
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Manors

Major Collections held at the PRONI:

  • The Dartrey Papers
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OSI grid reference H8471152381 (Lat/Lon: 54.412968, -6.695999), Blackwatertown which are provided by:

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Newspapers

  • IrelandOldNews - an ongoing, volunteer project to transcribe 18th & 19th century Irish newspapers
    • Input "Blackwatertown" and spelling variants into the "Find" box
    • Also try inputting townland and other placenames found in the parish of Clonfeacle
    • Of course, you may also wish to search for your favourite personal and family names!
    • Revisit the IrelandOldNews web site periodically, as transcribers update their county pages regularly
  • The Belfast Newspaper Index, 1737-1800; compiled by Dr. John C. Greene of Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.A.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

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Public Records

  • Holdings of documents related to Blackwatertown at the PRONI
    • Blackwatertown document; PRONI ref. T/1208.
    • PRONI ref. D/1789/2/1-3 3:  Letters from Jane Murphy, Philadelphia, to Felix Fox, Blackwatertown, 1929-1930.
    • PRONI ref. D/1813:  This collection of about 500 documents, dated 1758-1946, includes case papers, deeds and legal papers in the action of Rev. Michael Canon O'Brien, Parish Priest, Loughgall, versus Sarah M'Glone, Blackwatertown, concerning land, 1900.
    • The Dartrey Papers (D/3053 and D/526/2)
      • "Armagh estate papers: The Armagh estate is documented by title deeds, leases and other papers relating to tenements in Armagh city and to lands in Co. Armagh, chiefly the Blackwatertown estate in the parish of Clonfeacle, held under the See of Armagh, 1714-1872 and 1920. These include: legal opinion relating to the late Walter Dawson of Armagh’s lease of the tolls and customs of the markets and fairs of Armagh, which Primate Lindsay declared invalid, 1714; Primate’s leases to the Dawsons/Cremornes of lands in the territory of Clonfeacle, Co.  Armagh, 1779-1836, and of tenements in Armagh city, 1795-1860; deeds of mortgage on tenements in Armagh city and on lands in Cos Armagh and Louth, held by the 1st Earl of Dartrey under the See of Armagh, 1872 and 1874; and Irish Land Commission and Estate Duty Office rentals of the Armagh estate of the late 2nd Earl of Dartrey, 1920 and 1921."
  • Papers about individual parishes in the Armagh Diocesan Registry archive
    • "Clonfeacle, near Moy, Co. Tyrone -- The papers run from 1746 to 1964 (with many gaps), and include a c.1870 schedule of formal documents relating to buildings over the period 1742-1866, an epitome of a letter on irrigation addressed to the Rt Hon. Isaac Corry, c.1799-1804, by the incumbent, the Rev. Dr William Richardson, a memorial and estimates relating to the roof of the glebe house, 1802-1803, and an early-19th century memorial from the parishioners about a sum of money granted by the Board of First Fruits for a chapel of ease."
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Taxation

  • Valuation Records
    • 1848-1864, General valuation of rateable property in Ireland, "Griffith's Valuation"
      • Listed every occupier of land, the lessor of that land, size of the holding, and the rate payable on that holding
      • Clonfeacle parish segment (includes Blackwatertown) -- online at John Hayes' web site