Allen Blog-1841 Ireland- A 420 meter scroll and a new find!

       This is the 1841 signature of my great-great grandfather,  Richard Allen. This is significant, not just because it is his signature, but because it shows that unlike many Irishmen of the time, Richard Allen was literate.

                      George Howard- Lord Viscount Morpeth

I came across this by accident today, while researching another relative. In 1841, Lord Viscount Morpeth (George Howard) was retiring from his post as Chief Secretary for Ireland. He was given a gift of a 420 meter roll of parchment consisted of 652 pieces of paper signed by 160,000 people from all over Ireland. The signatures included men from all levels of Irish society. There were some famous people of course, including the great Daniel O'Conner, but most of the signatures were those of everyday farmers and businessmen.

In 2013 the scroll was sent on a 14 month tour of Ireland, where it could be seen by the public for the first time in 170 years. It was also digitized at Ancestry.com and can be seen online.

 If you look at my Allen Family Tree on Ancestry, you can see Richard Allen's signature on the scroll. Many of his relatives and neighbors at the time also signed the scroll.

Patrick Sweeney was a neighbor of Richard Allen in Great Umberstown, and likely the brother of Margaret Sweeney.

Peter Allen and John Allen of Dangan were likely Richard's brothers and Andrew Young of Dangan was the husband of Elizabeth Allen-likely Richard's sister. 

The scroll is full of the names of many neighbors and friends of the Allen's and Sweeney's.

The names led me to more questions (of course) What relation was this Francis Allen and this John Sweeney?

Here is a look at part of page 442- can you find Rich'd Allen?

Source: page 442, The 1841 Irish Testimonial to Lord Morpeth, Castle Howard, York, England
Caste Howard Estate Ltd., Ancestry.com. Ireland, Lord Viscount Morpeth's Testimonial Roll, 1841

Historical Morpeth Roll is digitised (Click to read article)