Mohill 150 years ago: a thriving town

150 years ago, Ireland had emerged from the Great Famine. County Leitrim, despite losing 40% of its population, was transformed and a new middle class was emerging. Confidence amongst tenant farmers and landholders was growing, and Mohill town was lined with shops and traders.

Local newspapers carried advertisements for local shops and trades, and for goods like coffee, medicine, Irish whiskey, dentistry, coats, clocks and watches. Benson’s of London had a regular ad for watches in gold and silver that ranged in price from £2 to £52; most were priced above £25, at a time when a schoolmaster’s salary was £22, and a schoolmistress earned £15 a year.

Employment in shops

William F. Croghan ran what appears to be a successful drapery in Mohill. As early as 1859, he was selling shirts, and ‘London and Paris Fashions’ and was employing milliners, saleswomen and apprentices. In 1872, Croghan advertised in Freeman’s Journal for a saleswoman with a ‘clever pushing hand’ and two apprentice positions. While sales and assistant applicants were invited to state their salary, the apprentices were expected to pay a fee of around £20. This considerable sum was usually paid by parents looking to secure a future for their sons and daughters. In return, the apprentice got a number of years of training, and in the case of indoor apprentices like milliners, received food and lodging.

Putting things on account

Shops also acted as informal credit institutions, with people putting things on account until they had cash. The account book for Thomas Ward’s draper shop on Main Street Mohill has been kept safely by Jim Rogers and provides a rare and invaluable insight into shopkeeping in the 1870s. The account book shows that most people paid their bills, even if it took months, or in some cases years. But some people built up significant debts. In one case Mr Ward was so frustrated with a well-off customer running up a bill of over £11, that charged interest and billed them for £15. In another, a woman’s bill of nearly £3 was left unpaid after she emigrated: one can feel the proprietor’s frustration as he writes ‘Gone to America’ in large, heavy writing at the bottom of the page.

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An appeal for old shop records

There has been little research on towns like Mohill and little is known about how they turned into thriving towns in the latter half of the 19^th century. In September 2021, I began a PhD degree at University College Dublin to research the development of Mohill between 1850 and 1870. I am searching for original records that relate to shops, trades and professions from the period, especially ledgers, sales and order books, letters, photos, etc. I am hugely indebted to Jim and Karl Rogers in Mohill for providing access to the Ward account book. If anyone as any other similar records, I would deeply appreciate the opportunity to see them.

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