Since it's St. Patty's Day....
Because I really don't have time to do research right now, and I do want to try and post something every day, even if it is small, I thought that I would share tidbits. If I cannot post something witty from my own brain, then I want to at least bring a little bit of opulent house history to you. I can do this by at least copying and pasting. I will, of course, give citations. Enjoy this beautiful Irish mansion on St. Patrick's Day!!
"Once
the home to the Clark family, world famous linen makers of Co. L'Derry, Ardtara
has nine spacious bedrooms with high ceilings, en-suite bathrooms, deluxe
king size beds, owner-collected antiques and original working fireplaces.
Restful views from large windows range over the extensive lawn surrounded by
mature woods before opening out to the bucolic Irish countryside."[1]
"Ardtara is an elegantly restored 19th century manor
house hotel set in eight wooded acres and located in the centre of the ring of
Belfast, the Giant's Causeway and the city of Londonderry/Derry (recently
named UK City of Culture)."[2]
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The following is from their website (http://www.ardtara.com/history/)….
Ardtara Country House Hotel in Derry is a charming and
substantial 19th century house, located in the little village of Upperlands in
South Londonderry. Ardtara was built as a family home by Harry Jackson Clark
during the reign of Queen Victoria and now accommodates visitors in the comfort
and style of a bygone era - with all the modern conveniences.
In 1888, at the age of 18, Harry ran away, determined to seek his fortune in America or the colonies. But his father caught up with him in Liverpool and made a deal - he could go to America, but as a salesman for Upperlands linen. His trip was a brilliant success. Apart from booking hundreds of orders, he visited an Indian chief and went bear-hunting in Quebec, collected a bad debt in Chicago and inveigled his way into a White House reception where he shook hands with President Cleveland. Throughout his life, he retained a fierce affection for God's country, as he called the United States. His older brother Alexander, meanwhile, became a formidable expert on the Irish and English trade and the technical side of the beetling process. Harry, by contrast, was fascinated by water power and steam power - which he persuaded his cautious family to harness. He was one of two brothers responsible for keeping the family fortunes afloat in the face of competition from cotton and other cheaper materials. Evidence of some of the objects collected on his travels can still be seen on the entrance hall with the two busts and a dinner gong brought back from the New World. William Clark & Sons is still operating in Upperlands.
In 1888, at the age of 18, Harry ran away, determined to seek his fortune in America or the colonies. But his father caught up with him in Liverpool and made a deal - he could go to America, but as a salesman for Upperlands linen. His trip was a brilliant success. Apart from booking hundreds of orders, he visited an Indian chief and went bear-hunting in Quebec, collected a bad debt in Chicago and inveigled his way into a White House reception where he shook hands with President Cleveland. Throughout his life, he retained a fierce affection for God's country, as he called the United States. His older brother Alexander, meanwhile, became a formidable expert on the Irish and English trade and the technical side of the beetling process. Harry, by contrast, was fascinated by water power and steam power - which he persuaded his cautious family to harness. He was one of two brothers responsible for keeping the family fortunes afloat in the face of competition from cotton and other cheaper materials. Evidence of some of the objects collected on his travels can still be seen on the entrance hall with the two busts and a dinner gong brought back from the New World. William Clark & Sons is still operating in Upperlands.
As well as the Clarks, there was one other local family which made a modest living during the early 1700s by finishing and bleaching linen: the Thomsons. One of them, Charles Thomson, became one of America's Founding Fathers, a Philadelphia revolutionary who penned the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. He spent the first nine years at Gorteade Cottage close to Ardtara.
Charles Thomson was born in Gorteade townland, Maghera parish,
County Londonderry, Ireland, to Scots Irish parents. After the death of his
mother in 1739, his father emigrated to the British colonies in America with
Charles and two or three brothers. The father died at sea, and the penniless
boys were separated in America. Charles was cared for by a blacksmith in New
Castle, Delaware, and was educated in New London, Pennsylvania. In 1750 he
became a tutor in Latin at the Philadelphia Academy. He was a founder of the
group that became the American Philosophical Society.
During the French and Indian War, Thomson was an opponent of the
Pennsylvania proprietors' American Indian policies. He served as secretary at
the Treaty of Easton (1758), and wrote An
Enquiry into the Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shawanese Indians
from the British Interest (1759),
which blamed the war on the proprietors. He was allied with Benjamin Franklin,
the leader of the anti-proprietary party, but the two men parted politically
during the Stamp Act crisis in 1765. Thomson became a leader of Philadelphia's
Sons of Liberty.
Thomson was a leader in the revolutionary crisis of the early
1770s. John Adams called him the "Samuel Adams of Philadelphia".
Thomson served as the secretary of the Continental Congress through its
entirety. Through those 15 years, the Congress saw many delegates come and go,
but Thomson's dedication to recording the debates and decisions provided
continuity. Along with John Hancock, president of the Congress, Thomson's name
(as secretary) appeared on the first published version of the Declaration of
Independence in July 1776.
Thomson was not merely a secretary in Congress. According to
biographer Boyd Schlenther, Thomson "took a direct role in the conduct of
foreign affairs." Fred S. Rolater has suggested that Charles Thomson was
essentially the "Prime Minister of the United States" (The
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 101, 1977). Thomson
is also noted for designing, with William Barton, the Great Seal of the United
States.[3]
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