You enquire about weaving. In rural areas most weaving was done at home using hand loom weaving machines, such as are still used in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland to make Harris Tweed. These machines were collapsible, so as to be stored out of the way when not needed and for ease of transport should the weaver move home, as they often did, to follow the available work.
Most weavers in Ulster were labourers who earned a bit of extra money by weaving in the winter months when there wasn’t much labouring work required on farms. This meant that labourers in Ulster had a slightly better standard of living than elsewhere in Ireland. It also gave them some ready cash (in a society that mostly operated by barter) for the things that could not be bought by barter, eg a ticket to America.
At one time weavers wove a lot of cotton but the interruption of supplies from the southern US states during the American War of Independence in the 1770s meant they focused on other materials, notably flax (which linen is made from) and which grows well in Ireland in contrast to cotton which won’t grow at all. They did weave other products eg calico and wool as required, but by the 1800s it was mainly linen. Linen made at home was taken to the local linen market and sold there.
As the 19th century progressed, water powered linen mills were introduced all over Ulster. These were faster than home weavers and often made better quality material and so gradually made the home weaver redundant. In addition, the factories also mostly employed women and children (being nimbler and cheaper) so this impacted on male employment too. At a time when farms were starting to mechanise and so needed fewer labourers, the average labourer/weaver therefore faced a bleak future and so these combined changes were a major factor in many a labourer’s decision to leave Ireland during the 1800s.
A little more information on this link: https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/flax-plant.html
You say that George was a weaver. I wonder about that. I can see that in 1901 he described himself as a farmer, and that he lived in Killey townland:
https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Tyrone/Pomeroy/Killey/1731191/
According to the Valuation Revision records (on the PRONI website), he lived on plot 5 which was 13 and three quarter acres.
Griffiths Valuation in 1859 shows him on that same plot of land, so he had been a farmer for well over 40 years. The only change was that in 1859 he had just over 15 acres. A farmer was very different to a weaver. With 13 acres, whilst not rich, he would have been able to support himself and his sisters without too much trouble (and would have fared better in the famine too as compared with a weaver).
In 1829, according to the tithe applotment records, a Rosey Fletcher was farming in the townland. Was that George’s widowed mother? These records suggest to me that George was a farmer most of his life, rather than a weaver.
https://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/tyrone/tithe-applotment-books/parish-of-pomeroy.php
The Killey property today is on the modern Lurganeden Rd. Still farmland.
You might find: “Researching farming Ancestors in Ireland” by William Roulston a useful source.
In addition, I have attached the Ordnance Survey memoirs for Pomeroy in 1824. Written in a slightly condescending tone by an English military officer who wasn’t very impressed by the “bleak and miserable” appearance of Pomeroy. Nevertheless it is a contemporaneous description from 1834 and contains information about the town and surrounding parish you might find helpful.
Next, a word of caution about George’s claimed age. When he died in 1906 the informant (his grandson according to the certificate) said he was 118. However in the 1901 census he was a mere stripling of 109. The two obviously don’t reconcile. An additional 4 years had been acquired by 1906. The reality, in my experience, is that most Irish people didn’t celebrate birthdays and often had little idea of their exact age. He undoubtedly lived a very long time but it wouldn’t be surprising to find that the age on the death certificate is out by a margin of anything up to 10 or 15 years. There are no baptism records for Pomeroy in the 1700s and it’s unlikely anyone will be able to show for certain exactly when he was born. But maybe I am wrong. (You may have noticed that his daughters' ages between the 1901 & 1911 censuses don’t reconcile either, though there may be a reason for that as they were approaching pension age - 70).
I have attached a letter which I found in parish records in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast from someone in Pettigoe, Co. Donegal in 1908 writing to his Minister, asking for proof of age (ie a baptismal certificate). All he knew was that he was between “70 and 78 years of age.” He clearly had only the vaguest idea and couldn’t narrow it down to within 9 years. (The likely reason for the letter was that the old age pension was being introduced in 1909 for people aged 70 and over. Documentary proof of age was required. Thus, probably for the first time in his life, establishing his age accurately became relevant to him). For me, that letter summarises many people’s knowledge of their age in Ireland in the 1800s.
The Dungannon News of 26th April 1906 reported George’s death, that he was 118 and had been presented with a gold snuff box by the King for being the oldest British subject alive. That said, the newspaper also wondered what proof there was of his age and invited those who knew him to let them know.
Finally, I have attached a document describing rural life in Tyrone in the 1800s. It is from PRONI’s collection and was taken down by James Brown’s daughter in about 1906. He lived near Pomeroy and so you might find elements helpful.
