GRANT HOMESTEAD – NORTHERN IRELAND
American President’s County Tyrone Heritage Site
“Who’s buried in Grant's Tomb?” It’s an old joke, a seemingly
obvious trick riddle which can be incorrectly answered in a few different
ways, popularized by Groucho Marx. The correct answer - the two term
American President who gained his fame as victorious Union Army General of the
Civil War, Ulysses. S. Grant - and his wife Julia. But what does the
"S" stand for? His
first name
was
really
Hiram,
which
he
didn’t
particularly
like, and
while in West Point took to the Ulysses S. Grant moniker. His fellow cadets called
him "Sam" for "Uncle Sam" Grant, but the
S
actually stands
for Simpson, taking his mother’s maiden name for the middle initial and
discarding the dreaded Hiram forever. Grant was born in the wooded farmlands
of
Ohio
where
his
parents
had moved after his "Scots-Irish" grandparents originally settled
in colonial Pennsylvania. If following your out Irish heritage (see Searching
Irish Ancestry) and
visiting
the
countryside
of
the
north
of
Ireland, looking for a bit of familiar Americana, take a look off the beaten
track for the Grant Homestead in County Tyrone.
Ulysses
S. Grant only set foot in Ireland once, when he visited his ancestral
homeland after his presidency
had ended. The Grant Homestead is actually
the farmhouse and homestead of the Simpsons, the American president’s
maternal ancestors from what was referred to as Ulster, the northern
counties of Ireland settled by Scotch and English protestants, now
Northern Ireland (see St Columbs Cathedral Londonderry).
The modest farmhouse was the birthplace off Grant's great-grandfather
John
Simpson.
The
Grant Homestead consists of the 19th Century farmhouse two room cottage
of whitewashed mud brick walls typical
of the area where the Simpson family tended their animals and crops.
A half-door to the yard allowed fresh air in while keeping the animals
out. A Jamb Wall protected the room from the open fireplace. The
house is furnished much as it would have been with Settle Bed and a
Half-Loft.
Next to the house is the Turf Shed where dried bog turf was stored
for fire fuel and a Cart Shed for farm equipment. The sheds have
a modest
American Civil War history exhibit, related to General Grant, while
the yard surrounding the cottage displays farm implements. Also at
the site
is an outdoor garden picnic area and children’s play yard.
The
Grant Homestead is a bit out of the way, down a narrow road through
the farms off the A4 highway, 13 miles west
of Dungannon in County Tyrone (UK), about an hour south of Derry and
30 minutes from Enniskillen. For those seeking Ulster Irish roots
ancestry, it can be combined
with a visit to the Irish American Folk Park in Omagh (see Ulster-American
Folk Park) built around the ancestral homestead of Judge
Thomas Mellon (endower of Carnegie-Mellon). The Grant Homestead is
open daily and
only costs 1£ for adults and 50p for children, but when the
visitor’s
center is closed, you can still look around. A caretaker who lives
on the property keeps the cottage open.
During
the visitor center hours
there is an audio-visual presentation on Grant, the Simpsons and
Ulster farm life. The visitor’s center at the Grant Homestead
also rents bicycles to explore a hiking and cycling route trail around
Branny Hill
between Killymaddy and Ballygawley. Bike hire should be reserved
ahead. And should the question arise "Where is Ulysses Simpson Grant
buried?", the correct answer is, he's not buried, but "entombed"
in Grant's Tomb in upper westside Manhatten, New York. © Bargain
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SEE
ALSO
DRIVING
SCENIC IRELAND WITH A RENTAL CAR
BELLE ISLE COOKING SCHOOL & LODGINGS
ENNISKILLEN CASTLE - FERMANAGH
CASTLE COOLE & FLORENCE COURT MANOR
