Drive to London ? 9 hours 27 minutes (includes Ferry)
Drive to Belfast on the M1 ? 28 minutes
Our Byrne and Toman ancestors came from Lurgan and it’s surrounding area. Lurgan was notable at the time for it’s linen industry and many of our ancestors worked in that industry as weavers or winders. Weavers were typically men and winders were typically women. Ellen Byrne, (Gramma Toman), was a winder until she emigrated to the US in 1914. Almost exactly 1 year before Ellen emigrated to the US there was a general strike in all of the Lurgan linen factories. They were shut down for almost a month. It was the first, but not the last, labor action in Lurgan. Mary Rose Byrne, Ellen’s younger sister and our Carville cousin’s grandmother, was a winder as well. Both Ellen and her sister Mary Rose likely starting working in one of the 4 linen factories in Lurgan at the age of 12. Children worked in the factories every other day. On the alternate days children would attend school. Samuel Toman, (Grandpa Toman), was a weaver before he emigrated to the US in 1911.
This is John Elliott, (Mary Rose Byrne’s husband), in a Lurgan linen factory around 1930. His suit strongly implies that John had a managerial job as the note written on the back of the photo says “John with 2 of his workers”. The official record of John’s marriage to Mary Rose Byrne in 1922 lists his occupation as “Winding Master”. It is highly likely that John and Mary Rose met at work.