Mary Ann (Corbett) Short (abt. 1834 - 1895)

Born about 1834 in Ballylintagh, Annahilt, County Down, Ireland

Wife of John (Short) Shortt — married 6 Jun 1853 in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland

Descendants

Died 13 Feb 1895 at about age 61 in Cabragh, Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland

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Biography

Mary (Corbett) Short was born in Ireland.

Birth
Mary Ann Corbett was born about 1834, likely in Ballylintagh Townland in the Parish of Annahilt in County Down, Ireland (as she was living there when she married). She was the daughter of John Corbett, a weaver.

The Famine Years (1845-1852)
Mary Ann would have been a teenager when the Great Irish Potato Famine began. The years both during and after the famine were ones of terrible hardship. We cannot know for sure how she and her family were affected by the famine.

Marriage
On 6 June 1853, 19-year-old Mary Ann Corbett, from Ballylintagh in the Parish of Annahilt, married John Short, a 25-year-old weaver from Cabragh in the Parish of Hillsborough. They were married in the Hillsborough Parish Church by the Reverend James G. Pooler, according to the rites and ceremonies of the United Church of England and Ireland. John's father was listed as James Short, a weaver. Mary Ann's father was listed as John Corbett, also a weaver. Their witnesses were Thomas Brown and Thomas Hill. Their marriage was registered in the Lisburn registration district. ^[1]

John and Mary Ann would have at least eight children together over the next 20 years:

1. Eliza Jane Shortt (~1854–1912)
2. Margaret Shortt (~1858–1900)
3. William John Shortt (1863–1953)
4. James Shortt (1865–1954) ^[2]
5. Agnes Shortt (1868–1953) ^{[3] [4]}
6. Robert Shortt (1869–1943) ^{[5] [6]}
7. David Shortt (1871–1877) ^{[7] [8]}
8. Hugh Shortt (1875–1965) ^[9]

As births prior to 1865 were not yet registered in Ireland, it is possible that they had more children during their first ten years of marriage. Seven children would survive to adulthood. Sadly, their 5-year-old son David Shortt died from bronchitis in 1877. Their son Robert Shortt appears to have had a cognitive disability and would spend the last decades of his life at the Down Mental Hospital.

Cabragh Townland
John and Mary Ann lived in Cabragh Townland (Cabra) in the Parish of Hillsborough where John became a farmer (according to birth records for their children born 1865 to 1875, the 1864 Griffith’s valuation, Mary Ann’s death record and the 1901 Ireland Census).

The "Ireland, Griffith's Valuation" land survey in 1863-64 shows a James Short renting land (house, offices and land) from a William Mussenden in Cabragh, Hillsborough. This was John’s father. The survey shows that James Short leased parcel 53a (with parcel 53b, a house, being sublet to John Short), a total of about 6 acres, valued at £6, 10s. annual rent.

The next generation
In 1876, John and Mary Ann's daughter Margaret Shortt married Joseph McCandless, a blacksmith and operator of the Railway Tavern in the Town of Hillsborough. They would have six children.

In 1883, their daughter Eliza Jane Shortt married William Rush, a labourer. Sometime after the birth of a daughter, Mary Eliza Rush, the following year, Eliza returned home with her daughter to live with her parents.

On 25 July 1890, John and Mary Ann's son William John Shortt, age 27, married 23-year-old Jane "Jeannie" Eddie, a farmer's daughter from Ballycrune Townland in the Parish of Annahilt. They were married in Anahilt Presbyterian Church. They would live on a farm in Ballyworfy townland where William worked as a farmer. William and Jeannie had 10 children.

Death
Mary Ann passed away at "Cabra" in 1895 from cardiac disease (one year), renal disease and dropsy (three months). Her husband John was present at her death and was the informant for her death record. Her death was registered in the Lisburn registration district. ^[10]

Research Notes

Married name
John Short’s last name appears as SHORT in all his records except his 1910 probate record when SHORTT is used. Their son David's 1871 birth record shows the father and mother's last name as SHORTT, although David's 1877 death record uses the last name SHORT. In the 1911 Ireland Census, all of John and Mary Ann Short’s children are recorded as SHORTT rather than Short (in separate census records). The family name SHORTT is used by descendants afterwards.

The Famine Years (1845-1852)
The Great Famine or the Irish Potato Famine began in 1845 and was caused by a blight which attacked and destroyed the potato crop, the main staple of Ireland's peasantry. The potatoes rotted in the fields, leaving millions with nothing to eat and unable to pay their yearly rents to the landlords. Relief measures were introduced, but when the crop failed the following year, the crises became a catastrophe. Between 1845-1850 the population of Ireland fell from around eight million to about five million. As many as one million died from hunger and disease. Another two million were forced to emigrate.

The north of Ireland didn't suffer as badly from the Great Famine as did the south and south west of Ireland because they were sheltered by the textile industry. But they still suffered. The effect of the famine in County Down can be seen from census records. Between 1841 and 1851 County Down's population declined by almost 44,000. Ulster’s population declined by 15%, all of Ireland’s by 20%. ^{[11] [12]}

See also
Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852)

• YouTube video by Geographics (24 min), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKh71EHGXwI
• Great Famine (Ireland), Wikipedia - Extensive reading - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)
• The Great Famine - https://www.newrymournedown.org/the-great-famine
• Irish Famine: How Ulster was devastated by its impact - BBC News, presents an Ulster perspective - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-34369080
• The Irish Famine - BBC article - Ideology helped the ruling class avoid grappling with the problem of mass starvation. - https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/famine_01.shtml

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage Registration: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 3229652; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 6 January 2024)
   John Short marriage to Mary Corbett on 6 Jun 1853 in the Lisburn registration area.
2. ↑ Birth of son James Short: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 7624214; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 7 October 2023)
   Mary Ann Corbett, mother in entry for James Short birth 1865 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
3. ↑ Birth of daughter Agnes Short: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 7607229; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 7 October 2023)
   Mary Ann Corbett, mother in entry for Agnes Short birth 1868 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
4. ↑ Baptism of daughter Agnes Short: "Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881", database
   citing FHL microfilm: 101165; Record number: 7456438;
   FamilySearch Record: F5H8-6M5 (accessed 25 May 2023)
   Mary Ann Corbett's daughter Agnes Short baptism in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland.
5. ↑ Birth of son Robert Short: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 7408527; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 8 January 2024)
   Mary Ann Corbett, mother in entry for Robert Short birth 1869 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
6. ↑ Baptism of son Robert Short: "Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881", database
   citing FHL microfilm: 101195; Record number: 11174160;
   FamilySearch Record: F5ZR-MZF (accessed 25 May 2023)
   Mary Anne Corbett's son Robert Short baptism in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland.
7. ↑ Birth of son David Shortt: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 10375528; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 7 October 2023)
   Mary Ann Corbett, mother in entry for David Shortt birth 1871 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
8. ↑ Baptism of son David Shortt: "Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881", database
   citing FHL microfilm: 255832; Record number: 10832013;
   FamilySearch Record: FP11-LNP (accessed 25 May 2023)
   Mary Ann Corbett's son David Shortt baptism in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland.
9. ↑ Birth of son Hugh Short: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages", database
   General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 9109985; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
   IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 6 October 2023)
   Mary Ann Corbett, mother in entry for Hugh Short birth 1875 in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
10. ↑ Death Registration: "Civil Records of Irish Births, Deaths and Marriages"
    General Register Office, Ireland; Group Registration ID: 3566632; SR District/Reg Area: Lisburn
    IrishGenealogy.ie Image - IrishGenealogy.ie Record (accessed 11 July 2024)
    Mary Short death 1895 (age 62) in the Lisburn Superintendent Registrar's District.
11. ↑ ”The Famine in Co. Down, Ireland 1845-1850”, Rootsweb, Ros Davies' Co. Down, Northern Ireland Family History Research Site, https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/WORDS/Famine.htm
12. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Great Famine (Ireland)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Famine_(Ireland)&oldid=1097436696 (accessed July 11, 2022).