Melvyn & Sharron Pearson |Tandragee|Co Armagh BT62
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A BIT OF ARMAGH HISTORY
On the Pearson side first of all then, for after all that is my name and the name
I identify with most and 
am extremely proud and loyal.
My roots lie in that one fair County in Ireland, County Armagh where scholars and bards abound. Ard Mhacha to give its Irish comparable Forgive me as I digress again into a history lesson, but I am proud of the fact that I hail from this fair County in Ireland.
The hill fort of Ard Mhacha, around which the modern Armagh City developed, became important in the 4th century. In the 5th century St. Patrick established his principal church in Ireland on the hill-fort site, which later became a medieval ecclesiastical capital. Armagh's capture by English (Protestant) forces in the 16th century was followed by the opening of a number of educational institutions,including a Royal school (1627),a library, and an observatory (1765).
The prosperity of the Protestant clergy and gentry in the 18th century is reflected in the city's many Georgian monuments and buildings. Contemporary Armagh is the seat of both Church of Ireland (Anglican) and Roman Catholic archbishoprics, and the city is the market centre for the district and manufactures textiles, chemicals, optical items, and processed foods. Armagh district covers an area of 261 square miles (676 square km) located south of Lough Neagh and is bordered by the districts of Dungannon to the northwest, Craigavon to the northeast, Banbridge to the east, Newry and Mourne to the southeast, and the Republic of Ireland to the southwest. Southern Armagh district is rugged terrain that slopes gradually down to more fertile lowlands in the north. Northern Armagh district is the main fruit-growing region on the island of Ireland, and the villages of Richhill and Loughgall are market centres for apples and strawberries. Light industrial centres include Keady, Laurelvale, and Tanderagee in addition to Armagh city. Most of the formerly important linen mills in the district have closed or diversified into the production of synthetic fibres. Southern Armagh district and adjacent areas near the Irish Republic's border were continuing hotbeds of sectarian violence during the late 20th century. Pop. (1981) City, 12,700; (1987 est.) district, 50,700 .
A few more facts and figures include the following extract from The New London Gazetteer (1826) ‘’Armagh, a county of Ireland, in the province of Ulster, 32 miles long and 19 miles broad; bounded in the East by County Down, in the West by Tyrone and Monaghan, in the North by Lough Neagh, and in the South by County Louth. It contains 5 baronies, 20 parishes, about 291,000 acres, 37,714 houses, and 196,577 inhabitants, and sends two members to parliament. The soil is in general rich and productive, but a hilly tract called the Fews is barren. Some good marble is found in this county; and the linen manufacture flourishes in all its branches. The only river of consequence is the Blackwater, which separates it from Tyrone."
[From The New London Gazetteer (1826)
Back to my lineage…My Great, Great Grandparents were Isaac and Anne Pearson, both incidentally had the same surname before marriage, maybe not that unusual as the Pearson clique seemed to extend from Co Armagh and spread all over the planet. To provide evidence of this take a crack at keying in ‘'Pearson' on any old Internet Search Engine. Prepare to spend the next year reading and researching the resultant entries. To narrow the search try ‘’ Pearson + Quaker ‘’ and spend a further six months researching.
To continue the genealogy lesson, Isaac and Anne begat, to get biblical, my Great Grand dad James, the first in a long line of Pearsons who majored in Guinness and Powers, a famous Irish whisky, having said that I myself have a dislike for Powers Whisky and prefer the famous Black Bush Whisky, and offerings of same has abounded from my offspring and good lady and wife Sharron over the years, particularly at set times roll on Christmas. But that is by the by.
James Pearson was born in Co Armagh I presume in the Ballyhagan / Richhill Area and probably was part of a large family which according to hearsay included brothers named, William, Charles, Frederick to name those that I have heard of. I have also been told by Frederick Pearson my dads brother that the family home at that time was the little house beside Sally McNallys Restaurant on the Markethill Road out of Portadown. Anyway James headed southwards crossing the equator bound for Christchurch, New Zealand where it seemed there were already members of the family circle acting the Maori. Reasons for this departure from the Emerald Isle are unknown, I can only guess it was the customary fortune-seeking venture. The same trek was undertaken by many a home country family in the 1800’s. The lack of employment and few prospects in Ireland was depressing and would get bleaker as the First World War came stayed and went.
Great Grandfather James was a gardener by trade and may I mention this attribute, in addition to the fondness of any bottle containing liquid has been inherited by numerous descendents including myself who pride myself on being green fingered and being able to grow a mighty oak from a twig plucked from a pot in the local garden centre, a cheaper form of developing a Capability Brown effect than spending much hard earned beer tokens in a garden shop
Obviously James found employment of the naturist type for at the goodly age of 41 he chose himself a bride, Miss Ellen White. At this point James was living in Wilson’s Road, St Martins, in the Opawa area of Christchurch.