Smyths Of The Bann
written by Paul McCandless

MILLTOWN BRANCH

Milltown lies in the townland of Lenaderg, which translated from the old Irish means 'red sweet meadow.' The name Milltown was derived from the fact that there was originally a corn mill here, the earliest recorded owner being Thomas Crawford. There may well have been a few houses originally, but with the founding of the bleachworks by John Smyth (Snr), the village grew rapidly. In the 1840s a Co-op/Post Office was established by John Smyth (Snr), which was leased out to tenants. In 1880 a Mrs Barr was Post Mistress, as well as being the local Family Grocer, Draper, General Furnisher, Milliner and Dress and Mantle Maker. Prior to the Barrs were the Wrights.

Roy Martin, now aged 76 years was the last Post Master, a position he held for 34 years until the Post Office closed in the year 2000. Roy spent most, if not all, his life at Lenaderg, his mother having managed the Post Office and shop since 1921. His shop has been described as a 'step back in time' and is well worth a visit.

Housing was established for the workers at Smyth's Hill, Dandy Row and Cedar View. Schooling was also provided by the Smyth family, John (Snr) building Lenaderg Elementary School (which was also called the Milltown Elementary School) in 1852. The building is still standing and is situated at the end of Dandy Row to the rear of the Post Office. Unfortunately it was gutted by fire several years ago and is now nothing more than a shell. When the new Milltown Primary School was built in 1953/1954 the old school became the Mission Hall and eventually a Social Hall used by the local community for concerts, Sunday school, jumble sales, etc. Milltown Brass and Milltown Silver Bands both practised there and the West Down Harriers Athletic Club met there also. Roy Martin remembered as a child pumping water from the well so they could wash themselves after a race.

MILLTOWN HOUSE

Milltown House as it is today was probably built circa 1824-1825, reputedly as a wedding present from John Smyth (Snr) to his wife Anna McClelland. The architect was most likely Thomas Jackson, who is believed to have designed the front section of Brookfield House and is known to have designed the somewhat later Belmont House, the home of Anna's father, Robert. Like Brookfield, it would appear that a 'new' house was simply built on to the front of an existing one, the back section of Milltown House possibly dating from the 18th Century.

The front section of Milltown House, with its Ionic portico similar to Belmont and Huntly Houses, consists of a spacious entrance hall with a fine, bifurcating staircase, at the head of which is a beautiful stained glass window dated 1835. Three reception rooms lead off from the hall, the most interesting of which is the drawing room with its ornate cornicing carried out by Italian craftsmen. Milltown House has four main bedrooms, although the section to the rear had many more. Like its sister houses a number of servants were employed, those at Milltown House being housed in the wing to the rear.

As well as this, Milltown House has a cellar that was divided into three sections, one of which was used for the storage of wine, something which would seem quite odd as the Smyths were founders of the local branch of the Temperance Movement!

ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY

The founder of the Milltown branch of the Smyth family was the previously mentioned John Smyth (Snr) who was born on 26th August 1798, the son of Brice (3) and Agnes Stirling of Brookfield House. He had two brothers, Brice (4) and Robert and two sisters, Elizabeth and Frances. It is within this generation that the Smyth family split into two distinctive branches - Brice (4) of Brookfield House and John (Snr) of Milltown House.

It was his father Brice (3) that taught John the manufacturing of linen in the family firm of 'Brice Smyth & Sons.' Up until the development of the Milltown bleachworks, the firm used to put their linens out to various bleachers in the district. However, in 1820 John saw an opportunity to bleach their own cloth, buying and transforming a corn mill from the Crawfords of Lenaderg. By 1824 'John Smyth & Co' was the largest bleaching and finishing works on the River Bann. The enterprise lasted for over a century and John (Snr) served as its head for over half this period.

John (Snr) married Anna McClelland, the daughter of Robert McClelland, proprietor of the 'Bann Weaving Factory.' Their marriage took place in Seapatrick village church on 10th November 1825, one of the sponsors being Andrew McClelland. Together they had 12 children: eight boys, three girls and a stillborn child - William (born 1826), Andrew (born 1828), John (Jnr) (born 1830), Andrew (born 1832), Elizabeth (born 1833), James Davis (born 1836), Brice (6) (born 1838), Albert (born 1840), George (born 1841), Anna (born 1843), Maria (born 1845) and a stillborn child (born 1848).

John (Snr) had a keen interest in politics, being active in promoting the Liberal cause, most notably in 1851 when an attempt was being made to return Major Sharman Crawford as MP for County Down. Crawford was successfully returned as an MP in 1851 serving as MP until 1857.

He was also a devout member of the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church, Banbridge, having been ordained as an Elder in 1823 aged only 25 years, a post he held for 67 years until his death on 18th April 1890.

The 'Banbridge Chronicle' printed the following in reference to his death:

"John had enjoyed good health until the morning of 18th April 1890 when he complained of heart pains. He became ill again in the afternoon and died at 2pm, aged 91 years."

John Smyth (Snr) was the only member of the Smyth family to reach this advanced age. He was a regular churchgoer and was in attendance up until the Sunday before his death. On the Sunday after his death the Rev C H Osier stated: "I allude to the departure of our respected friend and the patriarch of this congregation, Mr John Smyth." In reference to John having served as an Elder from a young age he stated that, "in the case of our respected friend this appointment must have brought with it a deep and lasting sense of responsibility. At the time of his being ordained he was still a young man and must have already displayed special marks of zeal for the cause of religion and subsequent events have shown that this was no mere youthful enthusiasm, but was of the nature of that sturdy principle which is best calculated to sustain a man in the trials and temptations of life. A fact that showed his interest in the affairs of the church took place one year when he had gone to Dublin on business through the week. There were many considerations which might have caused him to stay over on the Sunday, but rather than be absent from his place of worship he travelled all the way from Dublin at great inconvenience, when travelling was a more serious matter." The sermon closed with an exhortation to all, especially the young men present, to "take pattern by the zeal which the subject of this disclosure had ever shown for the cause of God."

At 12:30pm on 22nd April, according to the 'Banbridge Chronicle', a very large number of relatives, friends and the general public assembled at Milltown House to pay their last respects to this grand old man, John Smyth (Snr). His body was encased in a polished oak coffin which was covered in wreaths sent by his children, grandchildren and others - Miss Anna Smyth, Mr and Mrs James Davis Smyth, John Smyth (Jnr), Mr and Mrs George Smyth, Dr and Mrs Brice Smyth, Mr and Mrs McClelland (Riversley House), Mr and Mrs McClelland (Belmont House), Mr and Mrs William Smyth (Brookfield House), William Anderson Smyth, Brice (7) Smyth (Whitehouse), grandsons Malcolm, William Haughton and Pierson Smyth.

The mourners included many who were involved in the linen industry: Harold Smyth (Belfast), Mr A McClelland JP and Mr A McClelland-Solicitor, Thomas Ferguson JP, Norman Ferguson, Stanley Ferguson, Charles W Murland JP, Mrs Dickson (Bellfield House), Miss Sarsfield, Mr and Mrs John Ferguson, Mrs Murland (Ardnabannon House, Annsborough), Henry Albert Uprichard JP, Hugh Glass, Dr John Hawthorne, Dr McClelland JP, Mr Dobbin-FRCSI, Dr William Smyth JP, Dr McWilliam, Dr Tweedie, Fredrick William Haves JP, John Lindsay JP, Walter Lindsay JP, James Malcolm DL (Lurgan), Mr Watson (Lakeview House), Hugh Dunbar McMaster JP, George Crawford, Charles Smith, John Simms, Mr D McWilliam, John Ferguson. Mr T Dickson, Mr M W Blackwood, Mr J McKibben, Mr A Haire, Frederick McWilliam, Mr C Hayes, Mr C H McCall, Henry Hobart (architect, Dromore), Herbert Ewart, Jack Balfour McGown, George Preston, Charles Bowles JP, Robert Craig, John G Shaw, James Glass JP, Ernest Herdman, Samuel Russell, John Lowry, Mr F Crawley (Downpatrick), Robert Ferguson (Belfast), Henry McClelland, Mr W Beck, Mr A McGaffin (Belfast), Mr J R McCaw, Mr S Waddell, John E Emerson, Mr A Mulligan, Mr R Davidson, Mr R Moore, Mr T Dickson, Mr H McMullan, Mr S Bell, Mr F Mulligan, Mr J Dale, Mr T A Crozier, Mr J McKee, Mr J Hutchinson. As was to be expected, the clergy (both Protestant and Catholic) were heavily represented - Rev C H Osier, Rev Dr John O'Brien PP, Rev James Scott, Rev Charles Thornton Primrose Grierson, Rev Thomas Boyd, Rev D Thompson, Rev J A Crozier, Rev Oswald William Scott, Rev Samuel J Banks, Rev Joseph Dempster, Rev G Douglass, Rev Fr J Doyle CC.

From Milltown House the procession made its way to the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church, Banbridge where the coffin was placed in front of the pulpit. During the service the Rev C H Osier stated that John (Snr) "came of a race who, ever the friends of civil and religious liberty, had placed themselves on the side of Catholic Emancipation", as was evident from the attendance of the Rev Dr John O'Brien PP. At the end of the service the choir sang the anthem 'I Heard A Voice.' John (Snr) was laid to rest in the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing graveyard on the Lurgan Road.

A large marble plaque was erected by John's children in the church, which read:

IN MEMORY OF JOHN SMYTH OF MILLTOWN
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON THE 18th OF APRIL 1890
IN THE 92nd YEAR OF HIS LIFE.
THIS TABLET
IS ERECTED BY HIS CHILDREN IN GRATEFUL AND LOVING
REMEMBRANCE OF A MOST DEVOTED AND AFFECTIONATE FATHER
FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS HE SERVED AS AN ELDER
IN THIS CONGREGATION; BEING A CONSTANT ATTENDANT
ON ITS SERVICES THROUGHOUT HIS WHOLE LIFE
ALWAYS SHOWING THE WARMEST INTEREST IN ITS WELFARE.
---
"THOU WILT KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS
STAYED ON THEE, BECAUSE HE TRUSTED IN THEE."
ISAIAH CHAPTER XX VERSE XIIL

Anna predeceased her husband by 38 years, dying on 22nd February 1852 aged 46 years.

The following two pieces of information are in relation to employees in house service at Milltown House: -

An obituary in the 'Banbridge Chronicle' dated 9th March 1878 states:

"Maginnis-February 26th, at Lenaderg, Felix Maginnis, for upwards of 50 years the faithful servant of
John Smyth Esq, Milltown House."

An interesting headstone in the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing graveyard, Banbridge is that regarding a Mary Jane Nelson who died on 4th February 1886 aged 76 years. It reads: "For 40 years the beloved nurse and faithful friend in the family of John Smyth of Milltown."

CHILDREN OF JOHN (SNR) AND ANNA

William, the first child, was born on 30th September 1826 and baptised on 10th October 1826. He married Anna Dickson, daughter of Andrew, a merchant from Gilford, on 22nd August 1855 in the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church, Banbridge. The witnesses were John Walsh McMaster, Hugh McClelland and Elizabeth Gamble Dickson. William's marriage to Anna connected the Dicksons of Gilford Castle and Elmfield House with the Smyth family, as well as the Fergusons of Edenderry House (Anna's sister being the wife of Thomas Ferguson) and the Haughtons of Banford House, Benjamin Haughton's daughter Annie being married to James Dickson. William and Anna lived at Lenaderg House.

It was William who, in partnership with an engineer called Charles Smith (no relation of the family), established an iron foundry near the Milltown site around 1876. The foundry was eventually taken over by the Geoghegan family, who later took over a foundry in Newry as well.

Banbridge foundry had its own turnery, fitting shop and appliances for casting and fitting, much of the work carried out being for the bleachworks. The railings of Magherally Orange Hall were made in Smyth's foundry as was the iron water-wheel which can still be seen at McConvilles scutch mill near Dromore, County Down. Today the site is used as a lorry depot for a local transport firm, some people still referring to it as the 'foundry field.' William died on 5th March 1894 aged 67 years and was buried in the First Non-Subscribing Presbyterian graveyard, Banbridge. After William died James Henry Davies, a manager in the bleachworks, went to live at Lenaderg House, as did his son Arthur Crosfield Davies (better known as Crosfield) who also became Manager of the bleachworks after his father's death. In the 1940s the house came into the possession of the 'Irish Bleachers' Association Ltd.'

Andrew, the second son of John (Snr), was born on 2nd April 1828, baptised on 30th April 1828 and died on 24th April 1830, aged two years.

John (Jnr) MA, FRMS, MICEI, the third son of John (Snr), was born on 23rd February 1830 and was baptised on 4th April 1830 in the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church, Banbridge. John (Jnr) went on to gain fame as a scientist of some renown, inventing an apparatus known as an Ozonometer for measuring the amount of ozone in the atmosphere.

He began his studies at Drogheda Grammar School, before entering Trinity College Dublin, where he attended their Engineering School. He obtained a Diploma in December 1850 and received an MA in 1854, becoming a member of that university's senate. After completing his studies, John (Jnr) became a Civil Engineer on the Banbridge branch of the Great Northern Railway and later worked as an Engineer for the 'Bann Reservoir Company', eventually becoming their Consulting Engineer. He is recorded in 1867 as having been engaged in repairing a leak on the main embankment of the Bann Reservoir, now known as Lough Island Reavy. It was reported in one of the local newspapers of an arbitration case between the Earl of Kilmorey and the Belfast Corporation in connection with land that had been taken by the Corporation for the building of the Bann Reservoir, John (Jnr) giving evidence on behalf of Lord Kilmorey. As well as his achievements with the GNR and Bann Reservoir Company he was a Fellow of the Belfast Natural History Society from 1860; he was made a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland (1861); Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (1863); Fellow of the Royal Chemical Society (1873); Member of the Royal Dublin Society from 1877. (For a full account of the achievements of John (Jnr) see Appendix A).

John (Jnr) became a partner in the Lenaderg bleachworks with his brother William in 1858 and continued to work there until 1891 when the company was floated on the stock market under the name of 'William Smyth & Co Ltd.' William and John (Jnr) were conferred as Managing Directors and on the death of Elias H Bell in 1897 John became Chairman.

John (Jnr) married Anna Florence Haughton born in 1847, daughter of the late William Haughton of 'Moorefield', Roebuck, County Dublin, the ceremony taking place on 15th January 1878 in St Stephen's Unitarian Church, Dublin. Anna's father was the Chairman of the Great Southern and Western Railway.

Amongst their wedding gifts was a trip around Europe and a coach with six white horses. They returned home on 7th March 1878 travelling from Dublin to Lenaderg by train. When they arrived at the station they were greeted by a massive reception, the workmen having assembled in large numbers and lit bonfires. The carriage was driven to Milltown House, the way being lit by torchlight. So brilliant and widespread was the illumination that people flocked from a considerable distance, thinking that the bleachworks was on fire! John (Jnr) thanked everyone for their kindness afforded by such a welcome to him and his new bride.

On 14th March 1878 in the Milltown School the employees of the foundry presented John (Jnr) and Anna Florence Smyth with a drawing-room clock. Also present were John Smyth (Snr), Miss Anna Smyth and Master Sidney Brice Smyth. The room was well decorated with many flowers and banners were hung on the walls that stated 'Welcome Home' and 'Success to the Iron Trade.' Mr A McGaffm (Glenbanna) was Chairman and he made the presentation to the happy couple to which John Geoghegan added the following address:

"Dear Sir - We, the employees in connection with your foundry, would gladly avail ourselves of the present opportunity of testifying our sincere regard and esteem for you as our employer. We hail your return from the Continent accompanied by your lovely partner, after your wedding tour, with great delight and sincerely we wish you both many years of happiness and prosperity. Some of us have passed through our apprenticeship in your employment and are still retained in your service, others of us have been several years in this department of your work; but whether for a longer or shorter period, we are unanimous in asserting that we have ever found in you, as our Employer, a gentlemen of uniform kindness and courteous demeanour. We also know your intense desire that we should spend our earnings profitably and for this purpose how long you have laboured to promote sobriety amongst us. We cannot forget your kind consideration for our benefit in fitting up and finishing for us in your employment a reading room in which leisure hours may be spent with advantage. We remember with gratitude your thoughtfulness and generous aid in establishing a sick fund amongst us from which by means of a very small outlay on our part, large benefits have accrued to the ailing and in cases of death help towards interment. We are also reminded of your generous nature and charitable disposition in devising schemes to ameliorate the condition of the deserving poor during inclement seasons, by setting up a relief fund to provide fuel, food and clothing without regard to set or creed. And now, dear Sir, we ask your acceptance of this drawing-room clock, which we present to you and Mrs Smyth as a small and trifling token of our highest respect and of our best wishes for your future welfare."

Thomas Bailie, Treasurer and John Geoghegan, Secretary.

John (Jnr) replied to the address as follows:

"My Dear Friends -I feel at a loss how sufficiently to express to you my gratitude for your kindness, after the hearty welcome you and our other neighbours have already accorded us, in presenting my wife and myself with this handsome drawing-room clock, and your considerate and encouraging Address. I feel indeed proud and gratified to find such a friendly feeling prevail amongst you towards me as your employer, and I value it as emanating from such an intelligent and independent class of men, as that of the Engineers and Millwrights. I thank you most sincerely for your kind good wishes for our future happiness and prosperity, and I feel assured from the pleasant, mutual relations we have enjoyed in the past, that your kind co-operation will much contribute to this end for the future. You have referred in too favourable terms to the efforts I have made to put you in the way of helping yourselves and of diminishing as far as possible, by timely forethought, the pressure of adverse circumstances. It has always been my wish, in which I have been ably supported by my brother and senior partner in the firm, whilst not interfering in the slightest degree with your independence, to contribute, as employers, as far as possible to your comfort, improvement and consequent happiness, knowing as we do that employers and employed have a common interest to serve. We not only felt this to be our duty but more than that, we found it to be a pleasure, from the kind way in which you have met us and the good use you have made of your opportunities. I know, however, that I ought to help you much more in many ways and hope in the future to be able to be more useful."

John Smyth (Jnr), Milltown, 14th March 1878.

John (Jnr) and Anna had two sons - William Haughton, born in 1879 and Pierson Florence John, born in 1880 (both of whom are mentioned more fully in Appendix C).

Anna, the wife of John (Jnr), died on 16th December 1880 aged 32 years, the year in which Pierson was born. An old Family Bible recorded the following piece of information in relation to her demise: "Her confinement was easy and she got on well for a few days, but on the 10th day after having a severe headache for about two days, congestion of the brain set in. On the 14th day consciousness returned but on the 15th Peritonitis (inflammation of the bowels) set in and she passed away quietly the next morning."

John (Jnr) died on 16th December 1914 aged 84 years. After a short, but impressive, service in Milltown House by the Rev Glynn Davies, his remains were removed and the cortege left for the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church, Banbridge, where the gallery and pulpit were draped in black. The Rev Alex Graham officiated at the service in the church, whilst the Rev Gordon and the Rev Davies conducted the graveside service.

At the AGM of the General Synod of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, held in Rosemary Street First Presbyterian Church, Belfast, a resolution placed on record the deep sense of loss sustained by the church in the death of John Smyth (Jnr) MA.

Andrew, the fourth son of John (Snr) was born on 18th February 1832, baptised on 29th March 1832 and died on 23rd September 1845, aged 13 years.

Elizabeth, the first daughter of John (Snr), was born on 29th December 1833 and was baptised on 22nd January 1834. She remained unmarried and is buried along with her brother Dr Brice Smyth in Belfast City Cemetery. It records on the headstone that she died on 25th January 1921 aged 86 years; the headstone however records the wrong age, she being 88 years old upon her death.

James Davis, the fifth son of John (Snr), was born on 12th April 1836 and named after the Rev James Davis, who was instrumental in the formation of the church known as "The Remonstrant Synod of Ulster,' followers of which were known as Unitarians. Indeed, like his father, James was a devout church attendee and served on the Committee of the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church, Banbridge for 35 years, as well as being a Trustee.

At a young age he entered into the linen trade and worked with his father in the family firm of 'Wm Smyth & Co.' His main role within the company was that of travelling sales agent. It was whilst on one of his trips to America that he met his future wife, Charlotte Anna Jenkinson, who was born on 4th May 1856. She was the daughter of George Bostall Jenkinson of Newark, New Jersey, USA. James and Charlotte had four children - Charlotte Anna (Nannie), James Douglas, Ruth Eleanor and George Bostall Jenkinson.

Politically, like other members of the Smyth family, James was Unionist, although he was considered moderate and did not force his political views on others. He was also a keen sportsman and a member of the Iveagh Harriers, giving up hunting when he was older and taking up shooting instead.
He died at the age of 76 years at Milltown House on 2nd January 1913 and was buried in Banbridge Municipal Cemetery. The Rev A Gordon, First Presbyterian minister of the Manchester Unitarian College, officiated at the ceremony.

Their son, George Bostall Jenkinson, entered the Army. He was killed in the latter days of the Great War, this being a tremendous blow to Charlotte. She suffered greatly from George's death and went into moods of depression, for which she received treatment from Doctor Martin of Banbridge and from a specialist. It was probably under their instructions that Charlotte went in the summer of 1919 to visit her mother in America. This was to prove the last time the two would see one another as Charlotte died on 29th December 1919 at Milltown House aged 63 years as a result of septicaemia (blood poisoning), and was buried in Banbridge Municipal Cemetery.

CHILDREN OF JAMES DAVIS

Charlotte Anna, better known in the family as Nannie, was born on 6th May 1882 and died on 16th March 1956 aged 73 years. Ruth Eleanor was the youngest daughter, born on 14* September 1887 and baptised on Boxing Day of the same year. She died on 14th September 1960 on her 73rd birthday.

Neither Ruth nor Nannie married and spent their lives living together, firstly at Milltown House where they were both born, and afterwards at 'Dunida' which they rented from the Cowdy family. They lived there from 1924 until 1935 when Lloyd Cowdy married, after which Ruth and Nannie moved to Edenderry Cottage, a two-storey house at the main entrance to Banbridge Academy.

George Bostall Jenkinson (born in 1890) is mentioned more fully in Appendix C.

James Douglas, better known as Douglas, was the eldest son of James Davis. He was born on 4th March 1884 at Milltown House and educated at Campbell College, Belfast (September 1894 to July 1896, register number 294), him being one of its first pupils.

Douglas married his first cousin four times removed, Katherine Ethel Smyth, who was born on 25th August 1902, the eldest daughter of William Anderson (Jumbo) Smyth. Their marriage took place in Scarva Street Presbyterian Church, Banbridge on 16th June 1926, the ceremony being conducted by the Rev William Moore MA. Douglas had trouble getting a best man as he knew no bachelors, but fortunately Harry P Watson stepped in and saved the day. The bride wore a gown of ivory georgette, trimmed with silver sequins. On the train of satin was a true lovers' knot and a spray of white heather. Her tulle veil was held in place by a wreath of orange blossoms and her bouquet was made up of Regale lilies. Edna, {Catherine's sister, was bridesmaid and wore a frock of blue georgette with scalloped hem, trimmed with silver beads, and a coronet of blue flowers. She carried a bouquet of mauve sweet-pea. There were over 100 guests and the reception was held at Belmont House, the bride and groom spending their honeymoon in Scotland.

Sometime later the Directors and employees of 'Wm Smyth & Co Ltd' presented Douglas and Katherine with an antique dining table on the occasion of their marriage, the presentation being made by Mr J E Kennedy. Douglas appreciated their good wishes and considered that he was not worthy of the many kind things they had said of him. He stated that he felt he had in the Milltown works a band of loyal workers, some of whom were in the sendee of the firm from before he was born.

When Brice (8) started working in 'William Ewart & Sons Ltd', a job he acquired through Douglas, he was living in 'digs' on the Lisburn Road in Belfast. Douglas and Katherine were living in Milltown House at this time. Brice (8) recalling how he would spend his weekends with them at Milltown House and related the story that every Sunday the same thing would happen; Douglas sat at one end of the long dining room table, Katherine at the other and Brice (8) sat in the middle. Douglas would mutter something to which Katherine would reply: "Speak up dear." She would then say: "What would you like to do today?" Douglas would reply: "Oh you choose dear," to which Katherine would answer: "Oh no dear you choose, you have been working hard all week." The conversation continued back and forth in this manner until Brice would suggest: "Why don't we all go and play golf at Royal County Down?" which they invariably did every Sunday!

Before he married Katherine, Douglas had lived in New York from 1904 until 1916, working for 'William Ewart & Sons Ltd' and it was there that he gained his early experience in the export trade. Douglas eventually became a Director of that company, a post he held from 1939 until 1958. As well as being a Director of 'William Ewart & Sons Ltd' he was head of the family firm 'William Smyth & Co Ltd.' The day to day running of the Milltown bleachworks was left to Crosfield Davies. Douglas would visit the Milltown bleachworks at the weekends to attend to duties.

Roy Martin stated that Crosfield always wore spats on his shoes and remembered that it was normal practice for anyone calling at the Davies' house to be invited in for a cup of tea!

Douglas did his part in serving the community, sitting on the Rural School Attendance Committee in the 1920s and acting as a Lay Secretary of the Church of Ireland General Synod, a position he also held in the Diocese of Down. He was also the President of the West Down Harriers Running Club for a while in the 1930s. He was a member of the Ulster Club, Belfast. Serving as Chairman of the Lenaderg polling district for the West Down Unionist Association, he represented the townlands of Lenaderg, Ballykeel, Seapatrick and Lower Lisnafiffy.

On 2nd July 1953 Douglas and Katherine were invited to attend a Garden Party in the grounds of Stormont given in honour of the Coronation visit of the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, something which Katherine would no doubt have enjoyed.

Like Katherine. another of Douglas's favourite pastimes was golf and he was a member of Banbridge Golf Club, where he served for many years as its President, also serving as a Committee member in 1929, 1930 and 1931. He was a Life Member of Royal County Down Golf Club. He was also very interested in shooting and fishing.

Some years after the death of his mother Charlotte, Douglas found the key for the wine cellar of Milltown House which Charlotte had hid due to her non-belief in alcohol consumption. On opening it, he found hundreds of bottles of wine that had been stored and on sampling one of them, found that its contents were now off, resulting in them having to be destroyed. They were taken from the cellars, put into wheelbarrows and dumped in the Millrace.

Douglas and Katherine were the last of the Smyths to live in Milltown House, indeed Douglas was the last in the male line of the Milltown Branch. The house and land were sold about 1954, after which he and Katherine moved to 38 Malone Park, Belfast. Douglas died suddenly aged 75 years on 20th January 1960 in a nursing home in Belfast. After the funeral service, his remains were conveyed to Banbridge and interred in the Municipal Cemetery.

Katherine led a very active life. During the Second World War she went to London where she served as an ambulance driver. She was a leader in charge of a YMCA canteen. She also, under the auspices of the 'Banbridge Air Raids Precautions Group Committee', completed a course of Anti-Gas training in May 1939. She was an ambulance driver in the British Volunteer Ambulance Corps in the South of England.

After the Second World War she served in the Banbridge Branch of the Unionist Party and was the first female Chairperson of the West Down Unionist Association, a post she held for the years 1952 and 1953. In her role as Chairperson she presented the pipes and drums of the newly-formed Banbridge Pipe Band at the General Market Yard in 1952. As a token of appreciation she was presented with a gift of handkerchiefs by Miss Lily Magill.

In December 1953 she was presented with a solid silver salver for her tenure as Chairperson of the West Down Unionist Association. It was stated that she had been the first Chairperson to visit nearly all the branches in the constituency. She was the only female Chairperson of a divisional Unionist Association, and she took a great compliment in that fact.

She also served as a Justice of the Peace in 1953.

Katherine later became involved with the Protestant Orphan Society and as such, in 1953, placed an article in a newspaper concerning the adoption of children. In reply to her newspaper article, a lady in Toronto sent $30 and wrote: "It will give me great pleasure to be able to help a child in this small way and thus help the Society that means so much to these children." At the AGM of the Society Katherine appealed for "more adopters, people who would not only help to pay for the maintenance of a child but would take a personal interest in his or her progress, with perhaps an occasional present such as every child loves to receive."

As mentioned previously, Katherine's favourite hobby was golf. Brice (8) recalled that she was a wonderful golfer with a handicap of two. She was Ladies' Captain of both Banbridge Golf Club and Royal County Down, Club House, Newcastle and was Secretary of Banbridge Golf Club for many years. She played in many competitions, at Royal County Down Golf Club and throughout Ireland.

Shortly before Douglas's death they sold the house in Malone Park and bought, in 1959, Ballagh Lodge near Newcastle, a one-storey house with attic rooms. She was the third owner of the property. According to the present owner, it was Katherine who transformed Ballagh Lodge into the house it is today with its large, mature gardens and wonderful views of the Mourne Mountains and the sea. Unfortunately Douglas never lived at Ballagh Lodge, as by this time he was in the previously mentioned nursing home in Belfast. When Katherine went to live in Newcastle she transferred from the Banbridge Branch to the Newcastle Branch of the Unionist Association where she served as Treasurer in the late 1960s.

Katherine died on 12* June 1985 aged 82 years at the Downe Hospital, Downpatrick. By this time she had left Ballagh Lodge and was living in a house in Shimna Park in the centre of Newcastle. She was cremated at Roselawn Crematorium where Canon Dr F Noel Warren, Rector of Newcastle Church of Ireland, conducted the service.

Douglas and Katherine had one child, Georgina Katherine, who was born on 21st July 1928 at Milltown House. Georgina was educated, like her cousin Mary Coey, at Banbridge Academy Preparatory School, or 'The Wee Academy' as it was affectionately known, and which was housed in the Dunbar Memorial School on the Downshire Road. Afterwards she went to Cheltenham Ladies College in England. She married James Justin Harvey-Kelly of Clonhugh, Multyfamham, County Westmeath, a son of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Harvey-Kelly DSO who had been the Military Attache at Kabul, 1924-1925. The ceremony took place in Holy Trinity Church of Ireland, Banbridge on 14th March 1951. The groom's best man was Peter Vivian Verney and the bridesmaid was Edith Mary Dickson Ferguson (daughter of Dorothy Sinton and Thomas Dickson Ferguson) whilst Georgina's cousins Vivien McMullan (daughter of Jean McMullan) and Vera May Sinton (daughter of Vera Smyth and Arthur Sinton) acted as flowergirls.

Georgina and Justin Harvey-Kelly had three children - Susan Elizabeth, born in 1953 in London; Charles, born in 1956 at Cape Town, South Africa and Clare, born in 1959 at Cape Province, South Africa. Susan is married to Terry Nichol and they have two children - Kirsty May, born in 1980 and Max Edward, born in 1982. Charles is married to Marleen and they have three children, interestingly two of which (James Edward and Katherine Frances) are twins born in 1987, the third set of twins in four generations. The third child is called Isabel Georgina, born in 1990. Clare is married to Toby Dodwell and they have four children - Justin, born in 1982; Stephanie, born in 1985; Frances, born in 1992 and Abigail, born in 1995.

Georgina is the last in the immediate line of the Smyths of Milltown.

SON OF JOHN (SNR) AND ANNA

Dr Brice (6) Smyth MB TCD, the sixth son of John (Snr), was born on 23rd February 1838 and baptised on 23rd March 1838. Following his early education he went to Trinity College Dublin, where he obtained his Mastership then the Primary Degree in Surgery, after which opened a practice at 20 University Square, Belfast, where he pursued a distinguished medical career.

Brice (6), along with Dr John Pagan, operated a dispensary in King Street, Belfast. They took a deep interest in the welfare of children and established circa 1873 the Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. As well as this, Brice (6) served as Medical Officer of the Union Infirmary, a position he held for over 30 years. He also held a similar position in connection with the Maternity Hospital and was Attending Physician (Obstetrician) in the Lying-in Hospital of which he became Master. Coupled with this, he gave formal clinical teaching, lecturing twice a week from the summer of 1875.

In 1883 he retired from the active staff of the Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and was elected an Honorary Consulting Physician, a post he held until his death on 2nd January 1922 aged 83 years. His wife Elizabeth Parkinson Smyth died on 22nd April 1905, her husband being buried alongside her in Belfast City Cemetery.
Brice (6) is commemorated on a mural tablet displayed in the Falls Road entrance to the children's hospital, close to the door of the Medical Ward, which reads:

TO THE MEMORY OF BRICE SMYTH
BA MB MCH TCD
JOINT-FOUNDER AND LIFE-LONG FRIEND
OF THIS HOSPITAL
PHYSICIAN AND TEACHER HERE UNTIL 1883
CONSULTING PHYSICIAN UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1922.

The annual report of the hospital for that year stated: "The interest of Dr Brice Smyth as Acting Physician and later as Consulting Physician, and at all times our most kindly friend, never ceased."

He was a staunch Unionist and a very skilful angler.

Brice (6) and Elizabeth had four children - Alice Kinsman, who died as an infant on 1st May 1876; Robert Henderson Brice, who died on 27th February 1917; Malcolm Brice, and Sydney Brice.

Both Malcolm and Sidney became doctors; Dr Sidney Brice Smyth was the Assisting Attending Physician in 1892 in the Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, being made Attending Physician in 1899. However, his career as a surgeon was cut short when he died on 4th June 1908, being buried in Belfast City Cemetery. Dr Sidney Brice Smyth died whilst still a bachelor, his medical career having lasted only 15 years. His friends contributed over £1,000 to a memorial fund, the money being used to purchase a cot for the hospital.

His brother, Dr Malcolm Brice Smyth, was born on 11th May 1877 and was the Attending Physician at the Maternity Hospital and at Queen Street Hospital, Belfast. A highly regarded doctor, he counted a number of celebrated people amongst his private patients, including the Marquess of Londonderry.

Malcolm married Ina Orr Reid on 6th March 1912. Ina was born on 19th May 1884 in Belfast to a Canadian mother from Montreal. Together Malcolm and Ina had three daughters - Elizabeth Brice, born on 8th December 1912 and married Richard Frederick Maguire (an American) on 11th October 1938; Sidney Brice, and Jean, who married a gentleman by the name of McMullan. Jean McMullan and Miss Sidney Brice Smyth still live in Belfast.

Malcolm died on 21st December 1937, aged 60 years. His death was reported to the Hospital Board at the beginning of 1938. The Smyth name had been associated with the Belfast Hospital for Sick Children for nearly 65 years. Ina died on 13th January 1968 aged 83 years and was buried with her husband in the Belfast City Cemetery. Her name is recorded on the headstone as Ina Orr Brice Smyth.

CHILDREN OF JOHN (SNR) AND ANNA

Albert, the seventh son of John (Snr), was born on 25th January 1840, baptised on 18th February 1840 and died on 5th July 1843 aged three years.

George, the eighth and youngest son of John (Snr), was born on 7th September 1841 at Milltown House. He married Helen Ferguson on 29th December 1881. Helen was born on 15th April 1855, the second daughter of Thomas Ferguson JP of Edenderry House. This was the first of the marriages to take place between the two families - the other being Evelyn Smyth of Brookfield House to Thomas Spencer Ferguson, who was Helen's brother. The best man at George and Helen's wedding was Percy H Druitt and the bridesmaid was Florence Ferguson, Helen's sister. The wedding took place in Tullylish Presbyterian Church where the Rev John Morrison MA performed the ceremony. The present Norman Ferguson CBE, who lives at Clonaslee, Banbridge and the present Stanley Fergusonof Warrain. Banbridge are both great-nephews of Helen Ferguson and George Smyth and of Eva Smyth and Thomas Ferguson!

George had a very distinguished career in the Indian (Bengal) Civil Service (BCS). He joined the Civil Service after graduating from Trinity College Dublin with a BSc, rising to the position of British High Commissioner in the Punjab. He once had the pleasure of welcoming His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, to Delhi. The Duke, Queen Victoria's youngest son and a frequent visitor to Ireland, arrived at Delhi by special train to a 21-gun salute. George was at this time a Deputy Commissioner. He made a presentation to His Royal Highness and a section of the dignitaries were entertained to tiffin before the Duke of Connaught and his party departed.

Upon retirement George returned to Ireland where he died on 18th December 1895 aged 54 years at 'Ashleigh', Newcastle, a late-Regency stuccoed two-storey house (similar in appearance to that of Milltown House), which was owned by the Annesley Estate. They also lived for a period of time at Annesley Terrace which is situated on King Street just above the Harbour in Newcastle. George was buried in Banbridge Municipal Cemetery. On 20th March 1877 No: 1 and No: 2 Annesley Terrace were sold and it may well have been then that George purchased one of them. Helen died on 15th November 1937 in London.

George and Helen had two children - Gerald Brice Ferguson Smyth (born in 1885) and George Osbert Stirling Smyth (born in 1890), both of whom are mentioned more fully in Appendix C.

Anna, the second daughter of John (Snr), was born on 19th June 1843 and baptised on 16th July 1843. She was born with a deformed spine that left her with a hunched back. She never married and died at Milltown House on 5th May 1921 aged 77 years. She was buried in the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing graveyard, Banbridge in the grave of her brother John (Jnr).

Maria, the third daughter of John (Snr), was born on 25th August 1845 and died three days later. The last and 12th child was delivered stillborn on 23rd November 1848.

MILLTOWN BLEACHWORKS

As was stated previously, the Milltown bleachworks were founded by John Smyth (Snr), brother of Brice (4).
The following list contains Indentures (signed agreements) for money and purchases made by John Smyth (Snr) in the setting up of what was to become the largest bleachworks on the River Bann.

On 28th December 1832 John bought from the Rev Simon Foote of Seagoe, son of James Foote, Bannville House, a parcel of land totalling 13 acres for the sum of £125, the rent for the land being payable to Alexander J Robert Stewart, the landlord.

An article of agreement made on 4th October 1833 between James Foote Esq Bannville of the one part and John Smyth Esq, of Milltown on the other part. Whereas an agreement has been made by the said James Foote Esq on the part of his son Henry D'Olier Foote Esq by a bargain regarding his right, title and interest in the lands, house and mills of Lenaderg and likewise that part of Lisnafiffy enclosed by the road on the left hand to the said John Smyth Esq for the consideration of the sum of £1,125 sterling which said agreement be immediately carried into effect under a penalty of £500 sterling.

Signed John Smyth, Henry D'Olier Foote and James Foote (the witness was Thomas Weir). On 19th October 1833 John borrowed £1,600 from Henry D'Olier Foote of Bannville House.

On 3rd May 1850 he obtained £12,000 from John Stuart of Manchester and a further £12,000 on 27th August 1852 from James Thompson of Botanic View, Belfast.

In 1857 John became the owner of the Bannville Beetling Mill purchasing it, possibly, from a James McClelland. The mill had two breast wheels, the first measuring 15ft in diameter and driving two double beetling engines, the other 13½ft in diameter driving a double beetling engine, 2ft of wash mills and three runners of running boards. The beetling process was eventually transferred to the Milltown works. There was also a Beetling Mill at Lenaderg in 1875 that was driven by two undershot wheels, one of them a Poncelet wheel. (The Poncelet wheel was invented by a French man; Jean-Victor Poncelet and was basically an undershot wheel with curved blades rather than flat blades, the curved blades doubling the efficiency of the undershot water-wheel by ensuring uniform flow and reducing impact and energy loss. Poncelet wheels played a major role in the emergence of the modern turbine). The power for running the mill was obtained from the river by six iron water wheels, steam and water (water as the auxiliary) being used into the latter years of the 19th Century.

In 1839 Milltown bleachworks was the greatest on the Bann and the largest in County Down with an output of 40,000 pieces of cloth per year.

In 1858 they had 93 major customers on their books from all over the world, including Glasgow, Dublin, Carrick on Suir, Athlone, Kilrush, Cork, Mullingar, Tralee, Lismore, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Hull, Bradford, Philadelphia, St Louis, New York, Louisville, Hamburg, Venice and Warsaw.

The company had a siding from the Great Northern Railway for the shipment of goods and there was a regular stop at various times of the day for passengers.

By the early 1860s the Milltown works was capable of producing 120,000 pieces of 30-yard lengths of cloth per year. In the 1880s they owned or leased 220 acres of land, which gave them scope to change the bleachgreen when needed, 10 acres at a time being used for a bleachgreen. At this time the factory employed 250 people. The firm had offices in Belfast, Manchester and America.

In 1874 John (Jnr) gave a talk on the Bann Reservoir Company, quoting from Sir Robert John Kane's book 'The Industrial Resources of Ireland' that "the Upper Bann was the most fully economised river in Ireland, from its source at the Deer's Meadow in the Mournes to Moyallon Flour Mill, 31 miles away." He stated that in "1774 there were 26 bleachmills on the river obtaining their power by wooden undershot water wheels, although these only utilised a quarter of the water-power provided by the falls." By this time the system had been changed to iron breast wheels, which were introduced in 1833. Some of these were huge, measuring 15ft in diameter and 22ft in width! Mr Law of Hazelbank was the first to use iron wheels on the River Bann, employing the famous engineer Sir William Fairbairn FRS to design such a wheel for his Hazelbank factory and thus starting a revolution in the industry, the iron wheels providing twice the power of the undershot wheels.

In 1876 John Smyth (Snr) owned 63 acres of land, John Smyth (Jnr) owned nine acres and William Smyth son of John (Snr) owned 50 acres.

In later years during the management of Douglas Smyth, the Porters of Roe's Hall, Laurencetown, grazed their sheep on the bleachgreen.

Below is a list of some of the workers involved in various roles within the Milltown concern. As the Milltown works have been closed for so long, very few of the past workers are contactable and the majority of those recorded here are no longer alive:

Beetling Mill - Robert Martin and James Morton.

Bleachworks - James Hale (Foreman Millwright), James Dawson, Victor Dawson, George Dawson and Samuel Dawson (all Carpenters, one of whom was an expert Saw Doctor).

Ordinary Factory Workers were Davy Clarke, Tom Forsythe, Paddy McCartan, Stewarty Wilson, Fred Morrow, Billy Jardine, Robert Baker, Jack Geddis, Sam Lyness, William Cull, David Kerr, James Glenn, Bob Moles, William Kerr, David Wilson, John Anthony, John Clydesdale and Jack Spratt (Fireman).

Blacksmith's Shop - James Forsythe, William Coulter, Joe Mitchell (Striker).

Farm Workers were Sam Cardwell (Landsteward), Sammy John Gamble, James Alexander, Billy Walker, Billy McCreedy, Moses Alexander, William Smyth, Sam Cairns, John Brown, Steven Gamble, Ned Burns, Joe Rodgers, Peter Convery, Billy Lowry, Isaac Gilkinson and James Henry Wilson. These men also carted the linen to the greens, coal from the station to the works and performed all hauling duties, for which they had 12 carthorses.

While reading through newspapers from the time, it is interesting to find reports connected to most of the linen firms, including the Smyths, the following being an example: A report appeared in the 'Banbridge Chronicle' concerning a lady called Margaret Wylie - "On 14th June 1875, Margaret Wylie was indicted of having stolen five pieces of linen, the property of William and John Smyth (Jnr), Milltown. She pleaded not guilty but was found to be so. This was her third conviction, having been convicted on one of her previous appearances at Belfast in January 1866 of stealing linen from a bleachgreen for which she was sentenced to five years' penal servitude. On this case she was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude."

Another interesting report, which appeared in the 'Banbridge Chronicle' of 20th June 1906, was that of a strike by the beetlers at the mill. The paper reported the following - "The ill feeling caused by the strike at Messrs 'William Smyth & Co Ltd', Lenaderg, is becoming more intense. On Friday night one of the new men who ventured to go out for 'refreshments' got the length of the public house all right and was coming back with a bottle, when he was set upon, deprived of his whiskey and returned sadder but wiser to his temporary abode. The constabulary are still patrolling the disturbed area. The workmen propose holding a meeting on Saturday at which their grievance will be ventilated."

THE LAST YEARS OF A GREAT CONCERN

During the Second World War Milltown House and works was occupied by the Army. The first troops billeted there were the Royal Army Service Corps, Ammunition Company followed by the Supply Company.

On 5th August 1941, the firm's Managing Director Crosfield Davies died.

On 31st August 1941, at 8:30pm, a fire was discovered in the bleaching and finishing works. Due to the quantity of chemicals and inflammable material present, the fire soon engulfed the two largest parts of the firm. Fire-fighters from Banbridge, the auxiliary fire service and the Brookfield unit tackled the fire, eventually getting the flames under control. Soldiers and civilians worked tirelessly and helped pull cloth outside.

The following are the final minutes of the Milltown works (for further extracts from the minute books see Appendix B):

"Meeting of Directors held at the offices of Johnston, Graham & Co Auditors and Accountants, 11 Donegal Square South, Belfast on 1st December 1942 at 4pm. Present were the Chairman, James Douglas Smyth; Director, Jack Balfour McGown; Secretary, William Bothwell Johnston, and R R Green.

Douglas Smyth stated that the meeting was called to discuss the company's financial position; he stated that the bank had refused further accommodation. William Johnston reported on his meeting with the Directors of the bank on the 30th November at which they had advised liquidation.

After some further discussion, it was unanimously agreed that the company be wound up voluntarily and that necessary meetings be summoned for 16th December 1942 from 12:15pm, all arrangements being left to William Johnston. It was agreed that William Johnston and Mr Green be appointed as joint liquidators, subject to confirmation at the meetings."

Many years prior to its closure the 'Irish Bleachers' Association' took over the entire works under their redundancy scheme. Milltown House itself remained in the ownership of Douglas and Katherine until 1954.

The extensive factory buildings were eventually demolished in the 1950s, bringing to an end over 118 years' existence of the great Milltown bleachworks.