Ordinary Lives

My grandmother’s middle name was Clark. She was Audrey Clark Bullock. The Clark was from her grandmother, Ellen Sarah Clark. Ellen Sarah Clark was born in the mining town of Seaham in County Durham. Her parents had migrated there from rural Norfolk on the promise of well paid and steady work. Seaham was a small village on the North Sea coast that expanded during the 19th century as the coal mines and the harbour where the coal was transported from brought wealth, trade and people to the area.  My grandma’s notes: The harbour at Seaham was built by Lord Londonderry between 1828 and 1835 to ship out the coal from his wife’s collieries at Rainton. The new town of Seaham Harbour was built around the docks and until 1850 a high proportion of the inhabitants were seamen. During the eighteen-thirties and forties other coal owners built railways from Hetton, Merton and Haswell to ship their coal from Londonderry’s harbour. In the 1850's further expansion began in the town of Seaham, Two co...

 When looking through the family archive, I found a transcript of a letter written to Mary Ellen Kelly from her cousin Mary Hanlon. As the address was Ballymitty, Co. Wexford I was intrigued. My great-great-grandfather Michael Kelly was from Ballymitty, Co. Wexford. And while I know quite a lot about his life from when he joined the army at age 18, I know very little about his life in Ireland or his Irish family. Mary Ellen Kelly was his eldest daughter and Michael had died by 1928 when this letter was written.  “Ballingly Ballymitty Co. Wexford Ireland 5/7/1928 My dear Mary, I hope you are well. Excuse me for not writing before now, but I must tell you how delighted I was to get your letter and to know you are so well as this leaves myself and all the family well thank God. Well, Mary, there are big changes in the bog since yourself and Kate Furlong was there. You did not know that John is dead. I never wrote to tell you he is dead six years may God have mercy on him. He was ...