Riverside Farm Enniskillen
When we were here 6 years ago we stayed in the self-contained cottage on Riversidd Farm, 2 miles out of Enniskillen the main town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
I had been told about it by Vi Wiggins the very active lady on the Fermanagh Gold (genealogy) Interest List I belonged to. Molly & son Mark Fawcett who own the farm, B&B, caravan park, marina & are the most wonderfully warm & welcoming people.
We stayed for 2 months on the farm in 2015 so coming back was like coming home! MOST of my Irish families lived within 15 miles of Enniskillen.
We arrived on a Saturday afternoon just before my 'newly found' American (Boston) family! Carol is my 2nd cousin. She & husband Arthur & 3 adult children Paul, Cheryl & David were spending a week in Ireland seeing all they could!
Carol's great-grandfather Patrick was my g-g-grandfather, Robert Collum's younger brother. When 8 of Robert's siblings went to America they changed their name to COLEMAN, so Carol & I had had great difficulty finding each other until I was told about the name change 6 years ago.
Anyway, the 7 of us had a lovely evening over dinner getting to know each other.
The next day we spent 'following' the McCollum trail. We started at the Presbyterian Church in Tempo where parents Eliza BAXTER & John (Mc)Collum were married in 1862. Then to the townland of Largandoy just outside Tempo where the original stone cottage (early 1800s) is now a tumbled down cow 'shed'. Their next house is no longer there but both are on a high ridge overlooking a quarry & the beautiful farmlands of Letterbailey & Imeroo.
We continued on to the Colebrooke Demense/Estate where John (a stone mason) & Eliza lived, near her father Johnston BAXTER, a tennant farmer on Lord Brooke's Estate. We visited John & Eliza's grave in the Colebrooke Church of Ireland cemetery before driving around Colebrooke House nearby.
We had a lovely afternoon with another 2nd cousin, Ethel, Roy & Amanda who still live on Johnston BAXTER's land. He was our g-g-g-grandfather (1809-1893).
Ethel took us around to the house Robert & Patrick grew up in! Then, 1860-70-80's It was a stone/brick, thatched cottage. 92 year old Florence has lived there for 41 years. Her father bought it 25 years before that.
6 YEARS AGO SHE TOLD ME her Aunt Jennie married Willie COLLUM, went to America & CHANGED THEIR NAME TO COLEMAN!!
After a great family history day together - & dinner - they left to return to Boston the next day!
I WISH I COULD FIND HOW TO ADD PHOTOS TO THE BLOG!
I did it for the Abu Dhabi blog but can't now!
SO FRUSTRATING!
I'll keep trying.........
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