This letter was sent to be by Suzanne Quine Maltin in Austin TX. It was given to her by an aunt in Ohio.
Tullynacross,
Magheralin,
Lurgan,
Sunday, July 18, 1909
Miss Marion Quine
Dear Relative—
A few days ago I dropped you a card indicating that I had
been a
That promise I am now happy to fulfill and while what I discovered may be disappointing, I trust it will be interesting, nevertheless.
First, I am unable to find anyone connected with the church,
the ancient edifice now known as
But the old church is still in repair and is open, so that
visitors may freely enter and contemplate or rest upon the plain wooden benches
where the simple people of Ballaugh have worshipped for centuries. Its floor is Mother Earth. Its origin is shrouded in the mysteries of
the past and while its records are said to date back to the twelfth century,
there is evidence that there was a place of worship on the same site many
centuries before that. As a matter of
fact nearly all of the old parish churches in the Isle of Man were founded by
co-workers of St. Patrick who evangelized
One of the interesting exhibits at Ballaugh church is an ancient tunic tombstone set up in the twelfth century to mark the burial place of the Viking conquerors of the island some years ago. It was taken out of the church yard and set up in the church to preserve it and protect it from the weather. Its pictures and ... on the faces and its inscriptions on the edges are still legible and have been fully translated.
The churchyard of burying ground is not so well kept. Sheep find pasture among the tombstones and many of the memorials have fallen or been trampled down.
Still we were able to decipher many ancient inscriptions and to learn that several Quines and many Corlets are buried at Ballaugh and of them doubtless relatives, near or distant of your ancestors. The Corlets, especially were numerous, the following inscription is on a tablet in front of the church.
“To the Memory of Thomas Corlet, Mariner Son of William Corlet and Ellen Cry of Balla Cry in this Parish, who dyed in Jamaica in the year 1755 and out of his love for the poor of his parish where he was born willed to them the interest of the sum of 360 English forever and the rest of his good to his nearest relations. This Monument of him is by them set up in this Place.”
Another quaint headstone went as follows!
My Glass is raised
My grave you see, in
time prepare to follow me
Go home my friends and
shed no tears!
I must stay here till
Christ appears.
We saw also other old an interesting headstones, dating back as far as the Seventeenth Century but the sheep have done considerable damage and unless they are pastured elsewhere it will not be long until one can read very little in Ballaugh churchyard.
Our own branch of the Quines we
find came from another parish Malew several miles
from Ballaugh which by the way is pronounced Balaff”. In Malew the old
church is still used and its vicar very kindly went through the old records
with me. I found the baptism of my
grandfather Robert Quine and also his burial place. The marriage record of his
parents and so on back to records previous to 1650. The search will shortly be carried back
further. An Antiquarian is also looking
up the origin of the name Quine, which we are inclined to believe is French. I will communicate with you again in that
particular after I return home, if you will write me addressing “
The Isle of Man is a quaint old place as beautiful as can be
found in
Yours very truly,
Harry S. Quine