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This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. Did you know that a Lisburn man almost sued the wife of an American President? Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-76) was born at Lissue, near Lisburn, but had made it big in New York, opening one of the world’s first […]

Benjamin Franklin, 1706-90 (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution) This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. Did a tense visit to Hillsborough cause the American War of Independence? Probably not, but it certainly didn’t help. In 1771, soon-to-be American founding father, Benjamin Franklin (1706-90), was visiting Ireland

This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. The iconic gullwing DMC-12 made famous by the ‘Back to the Future’ films was a unique and futuristic car – made in Dunmurry, near Lisburn. However, the DeLorean Motor Company only produced around 9,000 of these cars over only

Point paper, John Wanamaker Tea Room, Philadelphia, c.1900 (LMILC.2024.064.030) This point paper – part of our Ewart Liddell collection – was designed for a renowned department store in Philadelphia, USA, established in 1861 by John Wanamaker (1838-1922). In 1896, Wanamaker expanded his business by purchasing the Iron Palace, a department store in New York that

This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. Did you know there are more Lisburns in America than in Ireland? There is another Lisburn in the Lower Allen Township of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Its origins can be traced to 1739 when a small hamlet began to grow

This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. The Barbours of Lisburn are locally famous for underpinning the region’s linen thread industry and exporting it to Paterson, New Jersey. The manager of the Paterson mill, Robert K. Barbour (1825-1892), was born in Lisburn but lived most of

      Hugh McCall, The cotton famine of 1862-’63 (Belfast, 1881) – ILC&LM Collection The cotton famine of the early 1860s was devastating for the weavers of Lisburn and the surrounding area. In this rare book, the Lisburn journalist and historian, Hugh McCall (1805-97), who acted as secretary to the Lisburn Relief Committee, told

This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. Francis Rawdon-Hastings (1754–1826), 1st Marquess of Hastings and 2nd Earl of Moira, was born at his father’s estate in Moira, County Down, in 1754 where he spent much of his childhood. He would go on to live a very

This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. Civil War General, St Clair Mulholland (1839-1910) was born in Lisburn to canal-barge owning father, Henry Mulholland (1796-1856), and merchant’s daughter, Georgina Hester Agnes Sinclaire (b.1803). His family emigrated to Philadelphia in 1850 where St Clair found a talent

This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. Born in Lisburn in 1839, Civil War General, St Clair Mulholland (1839-1910), would go on to become a celebrated veteran, author, and even an accomplished painter. He was part of a very large family. The oldest of his father’s

Bridge Street has been one of Lisburn’s most important areas going right back to its earliest times. The street’s close proximity to the Lagan was vital in its development, including the growth of the gasworks, covered in an earlier Virtual Museum post. Besides functioning as the town’s engine room, Bridge Street also produced a number

This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. Lisburn-born Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-1876) rose to fame and fortune as the ‘Merchant Prince of Broadway’ after opening one of the world’s first department stores in New York and then opening an even bigger one down the street. From

Frederick Douglass, 1818-95 (Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, 3rd Irish edition, Dublin, 1845) Frederick Douglass (1818-95) was born into slavery on a plantation near Hillsborough, Maryland, USA. In 1838, he escaped and went on to tell his story, eventually becoming a leader of the abolitionist movement in the United States. Did you know

A.T. Stewart, c.1876 (ILC&LM Collection) The department store is something that we take for granted, whether it be part of our weekly shop or at special occasions like Christmas. Did you know that the development of this type of store was due in part to the ingenuity of a native of Lisburn? Alexander Turney Stewart

Thomas E. Dewey, Governor of New York and Republican presidential nominee, admiring Sinton’s tie at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, PA, 1948. (FSL, Past and Present, 1948) Around the time of US presidential elections, there is always a lot of talk about the so-called ‘Electoral College’ in determining the winner. This is the group

Model of the Mary Edson, by Werner Geyer, 2023 (ILC&LM Collection) The following poem was written by William McComb (1793-1873) on 13 July 1863, the date that the Mary Edson departed Belfast for New York. The ship was sent by Lisburn-born American millionaire, A. T. Stewart (1803-76), and on the return leg to the USA

A. T. Stewart’s residence, Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, Manhattan, New York, c. 1900 (Image credit: New York Public Library) The cotton famine of 1861-3 was devastating for many Lisburn families, with the cotton weavers unable to source the material on which their livelihood depended. The Lisburn-born American millionaire, Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-76), felt compassion

What connects a gold watch from our collection and the classic novel, Moby-Dick? During the devastating ‘cotton famine’ of 1861-5, when American Civil War disturbances blocked cotton shipments to Ireland, Lisburn’s cotton weavers faced destitution. A relief fund was established to aid those workers and attracted many significant donations, including from one of America’s wealthiest