Family history brought to life in a new exhibition opening at Larne Museum

‘Maggie’ tells the story of Margaret (Maggie) Scott and four generations of her descendants beginning with Maggie’s birth in Drumgavlin, County Down, during the Great Famine, and leading to the present day and a local Larne family.

Maggie, born in 1844, was, according to Mid and East Antrim Council, left behind as an infant when, at the height of the Great Famine in 1849, her parents emigrated to America with six other children. Maggie never joined her parents but later married Samuel Dawson who ran a timber and builder’s supply yard in Newtownards.

Maggie’s daughter, Margaret, married Allan Dorman who worked for a timber merchant in Belfast. They set up their first home in Larne where Allan bought a timber yard. Allan Jnr, is still trading in hardware and builder supplies.

On display from Friday, July 5, until Saturday, August 24, the exhibition includes clothing, furniture and letters.