At some point before 1851 she and her children moved to Stubbs Buildings in English Street,
Carlisle where she met John Clowney. She and John had two children together Edward and Mary before he too sadly
died. Hester worked as a dressmaker and by 1865 she had moved on to her third husband widower Nicholas Bell a Millwright
from Maryport in Cumberland!
Hester and Hugh's oldest child John was an engine fitter and in 1857 he married a Geordie
lass called Mary Bowman from Bedington. They had ten children together seven of whom where born in Darlington in
Durham. Their second child Henry was born in Arbroath, Angus in Scotland where John worked for a while.
James worked as cotton manufacturer's clerk in Carlisle and in Augst of 1858 he married Catherine
Lynch from County Cavan, Ireland in St Mary's and St Joseph's RC Church, Carlisle. Catherine was the daughter of farmer
Peter Lynch and she worked as a cotton spinner probably in the same factory as her husband.
James and Catherine had at least ten children together. The couple's first child Mary
was born on the 16th May 1859 at Carin Terrace Wetheral, Carlisle. In August of 1860 Hesse Maria was born at
home in Alfred Court, Wilburn Street, Carlisle. Shortly after this the couple moved to Ireland because their second
child Hugh was born on the 20th of April 1862 in Belfast, County Antrim.
James worked for many years as a powerloom tenter in the local linen mill. In Britain cotton dominated the textile industry throughout the 19th century but in Ireland
the chief fabric was linen. In Belfast during the mid nineteenth century there was a massive growth in the number of linen
mills and along with ship building it became one of the chief employers in the city. Like the cotton mills in Britain
employees endured similar poor working conditions and low wages. Many earned a penny or even less per hour.
A powerloom tenter would tend a tenter frame which stretched the fabric in width removing
wrinkles and drying the cloth after processes such as dyeing and finishing. It was also the job of the tenter to maintain
the machine used for this process.
Despite working in an industry that demanded long working hours with very low wages
and poor conditions James and Catherine managed to provide for their children and went on to have seven more although two
of them died in infancy.
Their eldest son Hugh was a mechanic and in 1886 he married Lizzie Kearns who was working
at the time as a vestmaker. She was the daughter of Patrick Kearns and Sarah Rice both from County Antrim. Like
his grandfather Hugh died quite young. He and Lizzie had just the one child whom they called Walter.
Hesse Maria married publican James McDonnell and they had six children, five daughters and
one son.
James and Catherine's fourth child James was also a publican. He married Margaret
Collins in 1889 and they had seven children.
Edward was born in 1870 and he was a carpenter to trade. He married Elizabeth Gilmore
and his younger sister Kathleen married Elizabeth's brother John Gilmore.
James and Catherine's youngest child John Valentine Brennan was an archietect and surveyor
who ran his business from the Belfast Bank Buildings at 1,3 North Street. One of his projects was the Church of
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Derry:
Extract from The Derry Journal, June 29th, 1928
'Yesterday, the sacred edifice was crowded
to the doors when Solemn High Mass commenced at noon. In the interior of the Church, and particularly within the spacious
sanctuary, with its many coloured marbles, there was revealed a spectacle of beauty and chasteness - reflecting in conjunction
with the general character of the construction - the greatest credit on the architect, Mr J V Brennan, MRIAI
To download Hugh Brannan's descendent chart please click the link below.
