I want to resume this series of blog posts by going back to my 2x great-grandfather David Mulberry. I was told that David was a man of small stature who went about on a donkey and cart in the early hours of the morning. If you weren't up when he knocked on the door he wouldn't be very impressed. There was another tale in which he went out to watch the bands with his son Isaac and in the process both them had a little too much to drink. On the way home Isaac fell into a small stream (a habit he would keep up for several years) along with all the shopping for the week. Isaac's poor wife didn't realise what had happened until she looked into the box, after wondering why it was so heavy, and found it full of water.
As mentioned in the previous post, David was born on 24th August 1869 to Isaac Mulberry and Elizabeth Lynch. The first mention of David on any record afterwards is his marriage to Letitia Townsley on 31st May 1900 in county Tyrone. The couple are listed on the 1901 census as living in Mountcastle, County Tyrone with the surname Mulberry. At first I had difficulty in finding them again in 1911 until I realised that they'd spelt Mowbray as Mowbry. They were living in Ballybeeny, Dunnalong with their five children, two more would be born after 1911:
- Eliza Jane b. 24th June 1901, she would marry a James Cunningham on 19th July 1934. There were no children from this marriage
- Letitia b. 30th January 1903, married a William Baird on 26th December 1934 and had two children (Isabella and David). She died on 31st December 1938 at the age of 35, leaving her husband with a 1 year old and a 3 year old. David Baird died in his early 40s but Isabella married a John McConaghy and, to the best of my knowledge, had a family. The only other facts I know was that she joined the Territorial Army and, like her mother, died aged 35.
- Isaac (my great-grandfather) b. 5th November 1905, married Mary Bonner and had 11 children, four of whom died as infants (two in the space of three months). He spent 12 years in the Irish Guards and worked in a variety of different occupations including customs. He died in on 14th September 1978 at the age of 72.
- William John b. 1st April 1907, married Margaret Barr on 1st January 1931 and had five children - William, David, Noel, James and Renee. Like his brother, he also joined the Irish Guards, I remember him being described as a man who was easy to make fun of.
- Jane Ellen (first to be registered with the surname Mowbray) b. 22nd September 1910, married James Campbell and had five children - David, Mollie, Elsie, James and Nellie. The story goes is that she was quite ruthless with her potato pounder and used it on anyone, including her husband, if she thought they had stepped out of line.
- Matilda b. 22nd March 1913, married Jim Hanna on 22nd October 1935 and had three children - Ruth, Alwyn and David
- David Jnr. b. 29th January 1915, married a women by the name of Mercedes who was originally from Gibraltar
I don't know any more information about David Snr other than he died 11th March 1960 aged 90. I believe his wife Letitia had predeceased sixteen years earlier on 12th February 1944.
There is so much historical background that could be included but it is likely this post would turn into a book. You do have notable events such as World War I, World War II, the Great Depression, the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921 and the Troubles. Whenever you piece together your own background and weave it into the wider historical context, it does make you realise how hard a life your ancestors must have had. It has made me realise that I shouldn't take my own circumstances for granted.
