The Irish music played on this website has been downloaded from http://www.fionasplace.net/Irishmusic.html

THE FOLLOWING NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL FLAGS REPRESENT JUST SOME OF THE COUNTRIES WHERE TYRONE FRASER OFFSPRING HAVE WANDERED TOO

The Home Farm at Ballinasollus This photograph shows a view across the farm yard with a two story building, a former hay loft with byre and stables  underneath, the lower dwellings included bedroom accommodation, parlour, sitting room and dining/kitchen areas. It is believed that the dwelling housed only one brother with his family and another brother  was living in a dwelling about where the photographer stood. To the right of the two beasties there used to stand a barn and cowshed. Notice the tree at the far end of the dwellings, this appears in the all photographs and gives a perspective of the farm layout. The above map is a photocopy of an Ordinance Survey Map showing a section of Cookstown and the surrounding area. The  red/pink mark is the location of the Fraser Home Farm at Ballinasollus. The townland of Ballinasollus stradles the two parishes of Derryloran and Kildress. The OS map `along with the phographs can be saved as a jpeg or bit map on your computer and veiwed in large scale with a suitable viewer such as Microsft Photo Editor or Adode Photoshop. In this photograph the dwellings are viewed from the rear and show how access was gained to the hay loft by means of a ramp running up alongside the back wall. Note no windows are evident along the back wall of the whole dwelling. This is due to the fact that frequent storms would blow down from the mountain and the first  line of defense was the house wall. The wall is nearly 18" thick and does not have any damp proofing. A hardy race of people without a doubt, having to etch a living in a harsh environment The last photograph is taken showing the gable end of the low section of the dwellings. A small bedroom window can be  seen close to the roof in the end wall which confirms that these lower parts of the house where also two stories. The height of the ceilings in this part of the house were low, this seems strange as all  Fraser males (and some females) usually reach a height of over 6ft (with back problems apparent). The Fraser family offspring also have a tendency to inherit large ears or a prominent nose or both together. It also does not seem to matter whether you are male or female! All photograhs on this webpage taken by Alexander Fraser, Belfast

We're not stayin here - since the last Fraser left there's not even enough food for a house mouse!!

As mentioned elsewhere on this site the Griffith Valuation records show three brothers resident at Ballinasollus - while the earlier 1766  Religious Census shows only one Fraser resident, which leaves a time gap of 70 years or so which has yet to be investigated. Questions at the monemt which have yet to be answered - did only one brother arrive in  Ireland? and then was followed by another one or even two brothers? One big question is why did they come? - was it due to the persecution of Presbyterians (Scottish Covenanters) on the Scottish mainland in and around Galloway, Dumfries and Ayrshire?. It was in this area of Scotland that the name 'Blackmouths' originated. This was due to fact that our Presbyterian forefathers fleeing and hiding in the hills from government soldiers had to eat blackberries and sloe berries to keep alive during this difficult period in their history.