Ulster Day September 28, 1912
Four years previous to the Easter Rising (I will be writing about this in an upcoming post) many of the people in Ulster signed the Ulster Covenant and the Ulster Declaration. The men signed the Ulster Covenant and the women placed their signatures under a more simply worded Ulster Declaration. Signatures basically meant that they wanted to stay under British rule and did not want to be ruled from Dublin.
Not all of the signatories were Protestant. Ulster Catholics signed the Covenant, too. Any Ulster person over the age of 16 could sign the Ulster Covenant or the Ulster Declaration. In total, the Covenant was signed by 237,368 men; the Declaration, by 234,046 women.
If you are interested in searching the Ulster Covenant to see if you can find your ancestors you can go to the PRONI Ulster Covenant page and download records of interest. This service is free of charge.
At the bottom of the image below are the signature of 3 generations of women who signed the Ulster Declaration on Sept 28, 1912. Mary A C Poore, my great grandmother, Agnes CC Poore, my grandmother and Christy Ann Cambridge, my 2nd great grandmother, all of 13 Cavehill Road, Belfast arrived together at the Cliftonville Unionist Club in Northern Belfast and signed 3 in a row.
The Women of Ulster sign the Declaration
Ulster Covenant Signatures The WOMEN Signatures of three generations:
Mary A C Poore, Agnes CC Poore and Christy Ann Cambridge; all of 13 Cavehill Road, Belfast
On the 2 image below, you will find the signature of my great grandfather, John Henry Poore and great uncle Henry J C Poore, both of 13 Cavehill Road, Belfast.
The Men of Ulster sign the Covenant
Ulster Covenant Signature THE MEN
John Henry Poore, my great grandfather, 13 Cavehill Road, Belfast
Ulster Covenant Signature THE MEN 1912
great uncle Henry James Cambridge Poore, 13 Cavehill Road, Belfast
Poore Family in Belfast
The image below is the Poore Family in Belfast, Ireland shortly before their 1920 immigration to Canada; back row: John Henry Poore with wife Mary Agnes Cambridge Poore; middle row: left to right; Henry, Lewis; bottom row: left to right; Olive, Chris and Carol.
Poore Family in Belfast, Ireland shortly before their 1920 immigration to Canada; back row: John Henry Poore with wife Mary Agnes Cambridge Poore; middle row: left to right; Henry, Lewis; bottom row: left to right; Olive, Chris, Carol
I found my G. Grandfather, William Henry Kerr of Portadown, N. Ireland signed the Ulster Covenant but travelled to Clones to do so. Does that mean he MUST have been born in Clones to sign it there? I have never found his birth certificate but he is believed to have been born in the early 1860’s.
Hi Colleen,
My ancestors in this post all signed the Ulster Covenant or the Ulster Declaration in Belfast, the city in which they were living at the time. They were born in England, Scotland, and Ireland. It’s not likely that birthplace played a defined part in the location that people made their way to for the Covenant signing.
There is a William Henry Kerr of Portadown in the 1901 and 1911 censuses of Ireland born in County Down. He was a Railway Engine Driver and his wife’s name was Sarah Jane. There is also a birth record on Ancestry for a William Henry Kerr born on February 28, 1857, in Dromara, Down, Ireland. Mother’s name on the birth record is Agnes Searight.
If you think this is a match I would be happy to send you images of these records through your email.
Best Wishes,
Eileen
Hello Eileen. This is Colleen Kerr. I don’t believe I had replied to you yet. I don’t beleive my G. Grandfather William Henry Kerr was born as far back as Feb. 28, 1957. He married my G. Grandmother Sarah Jane Davidson on Dec. 31, 1884 , St. Patrick’s Parish, Newry, County Down (the marrigage Cert. states they were 21 years old which would put him born in 1863 unless he ‘fibbed’ and was a few months shy of 21 years old, then born 1864). On the March 1901 Census he declared he was 36 years old (perhaps just a few weeks short of his 37th birthday)and born in County Down. On the April 1911 Census he stated he was 47 which could have meant he just turned 47 years old a few weeks earlier. On his death March 14, 1923 he was reported to be 59 years old (again perhaps just a few weeks shy of his 60th birthday). I suspect he was born sometime between March 15 and April 15, 1864. I canot find anywhere to see where he was born in Cunty Down, his parents (although his Marriage Cert. stated his father was William Kerr, Shoemaker) or if he had any brothers or sisters. Knowing this would open up so much more research for me. Thank-you again, Colleen Kerr, Victoria, BC, Canada