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Grice Smyth

1762–1816

Born
1762, Ballynatray Commons
Country of birth
Ireland
Died
18 Jan 1816
facts
5
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth1762, Ballynatray CommonsProbable1 source
  • Death18 Jan 1816Probable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Ballynatray Commons

    Birth, Ballynatray Commons

  2. Child born: Penelope Smyth

    Birth

  3. Died

    Death

What was it like?

The world around Ballynatray Commons, 1762: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Grice was born around the same time as Emma, Lady Hamilton, Valentino Fioravanti, and Gregory XVI.

Born around the same time

  • Emma, Lady Hamilton

    1765 · Mistress of Lord Nelson (1765-1815)

  • Valentino Fioravanti

    1764 · Italian composer (1764-1837)

  • Gregory XVI

    1765 · Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846 (1765–1846)

  • William IV

    1765 · King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 1830 to 1837

  • Robert Fulton

    1765 · American engineer and inventor (1765–1815)

  • Nicéphore Niépce

    1765 · French inventor and photographer (1765-1833)

Fashion

Community work feasts called Mihill meetings

Farmers often held communal events called Mihill meetings for tasks like cutting turf or haymaking, where neighbors would work for four or five hours without wages. The labor was rewarded with a feast and music provided by a piper.

Saving footwear for special occasions

Peasants frequently walked barefoot for long journeys to save wear on their footwear, carrying their shoes and stockings tied together over their arms. They wore shoes and stockings mainly on the Sabbath and other holidays.

Music

Dancing at Wakes

At Irish wakes during this period, young people often gathered in barns or sheds to dance to the sound of flutes or bagpipes.

Popular Instruments in Cork

In Cork, popular instruments among the wealthier classes included the violin, flute, guitar, and French horn.

Getting around

Common travel by two-wheeled car

Ordinary people frequently traveled on two-wheeled cars, sometimes sitting in groups of six with their legs hanging near the ground while being dragged at a foot-pace.

Three-day coach journey to Belfast

Traveling from Dublin to Belfast, a distance of just over 100 miles, typically required three days by stagecoach during this period.

Daily life

Indoor lighting sources

People used rush lights, dip candles, or burning splinters to see indoors as they lacked regular lamps or candles.

Outdoor schooling for peasant children

Children of the peasantry were often taught by a master in a humble hut, or if the weather permitted, in the open air under a tree or hedge.

Food

Meat as an occasional treat

While common families hoped for fish or bacon, meat was a rare treat for most, often separated by weeks or months. When available, it was frequently salted and served alongside potatoes, sometimes flavored with onion or lard.

Simple diet of the common people

Most ordinary Irish people relied on a simple, monotonous diet consisting largely of potatoes, milk, oatmeal, and pulses. A grown man often ate over two kilos of potatoes in a single meal to sustain himself.

News and letters

Slow travel by horse-drawn coach

By the mid-18th century, stage-coach travel between Dublin and Belfast was difficult, with the 100-mile journey taking three days using a coach drawn by six horses.

Around 1755–1755

Express delivery on foot from Cork

In 1755, a professional runner named David Sullivan offered an express service from Cork to Dublin on foot, guaranteeing a round trip in five days during summer and six days in winter.

During their lifetime

  1. 1762

    Rise of Whiteboys agrarian protests

    Secret agrarian societies like the Whiteboys emerged to protest issues such as enclosure of common land and tithes.

  2. 1778

    Formation of the Volunteers militia

    Following the removal of English troops to fight in the American War of Independence, a volunteer militia force of 40,000 men was formed.

  3. 1782

    Ireland gains legislative independence

    The Irish parliament gained formal legislative independence from England, leading to a period known as Grattan's Parliament.

  4. 1791

    Founding of the United Irishmen

    The Society of United Irishmen was established in Belfast, inspired by the French Revolution to seek parliamentary reform.

  5. 1798

    The United Irishman Rebellion

    A major rebellion by the United Irishmen took place, significantly impacting the country.

Family

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.