The Telford/ Orr Family
Case Study Daniel Orr RIC Officer 1871 in a Letter to his Family in Australia
See how the initials MT on an Old School Desk in GraceHill Ireland were found by the Research Team of My Ireland Heritage belonging to Descendants of The Telford /Orr Family and how a Walk in the Footsteps of her Ancestors brought her such fantastic Joy.
Austral was a passenger ship built by John Elder & Co., Govan and launched on 21 December 1881 for the Orient Steam Navigation Company, Glasgow. She was used in the passenger route trade to Australia. Having Travelled to Australia on the Austral Daniel Orr and his wife finally could be at rest with their Children who had departed Ireland 20 years prior.
Daniel Orr married in 1845 in Drumnafivey Co Antrim and lived an outstanding Life as an RIC Officer based in Mountrath in the Co Laois area where he reared his Family.
Three of his Children headed to Australia just after the Famine in Ireland for a New Life. A letter was sent by Daniel to his children in 1872 outlining the Fact that he had just retired and was finding it extremely difficult to both live without his Children now departed to Australia and that fact that his he was trying to get by on his Pension.
Very little information was provided for Seán and the My Ireland Team other than the Letter of 1872.
The Team set about establishing the where abouts of the Home in Mountrath mentioned in the Letter which was only described as William Worrells Hill oppositite Dr Ryans Cottages near William Rests. Very vague information at best. Having explored the National Archive Records of Birth /Marriages and the Tax Records including Field Tenure Books Seán team were indeed able to establish the area for Daniel Orrs where abouts roughly in 1872.
Seán visited the area and spoke with locals including the local Reverend Ian Poulton who was fantastic. When Margaret Thurgate the relative of Daniel Orr arrived she was able to see exactly where Daniel Lived in Mountrath and even where he grew his Vegetables and had a small Bog of Turf to heat himself and his wife mentioned in the Letter. They visited the Local Famine Poor Law Union House where Daniel would have brought some unfortunate people who had fallen on hard times in the late 1840s. They also visited the Borris in Ossory Court House where a Record had previously been found for 1861where Daniel Orr was the Royal Irish Constabulary Officer in Charge.
Next a visit was planned to the home Town Land of Daniel Orr his wife Mary Bleakly and their Parents in Drumnafivey Co Antrim. Again Seán had spoken with the Locals prior to the Visit and found the exact Location in the Field Town Land of Drumnafivey where the family were based in Co Antrim.
There was another side to the Family which was researched known as Telford in Grace Hill North Belfast this is a Moravian Village from the 1700s. It was fantastic Journey as Seán had arranged that the local Historian would meet Margaret and show her the records. It was an outstanding Find to see MT written on the Old School Desks. Maraget said that these of course were her own initials and also Her Mothers initials Margaret Tellford .
Best of all was to Find in the records the writing “all Decendants gone to Australia 1850”. The Graves were hard to Locate but because Seán had spent the Time on a Prior Visit to Gracehill looking for William Telfords Grave he was able to surprise Margaret with the Find.
