ABSTRACT
Samuel Haughton came from a very industrious and prosperous Quaker family involved in malting and milling in Carlow. The Haughtons had large commercial properties alongside both banks of the rivers in the town. Samuel was born on 21 December 1821 to Sarah Handcock, whose father was a successful linen merchant in Lisburn. His family background was consequently one of some considerable local celebrity. Samuel was from the earliest age trained as a naturalist, with the benefit of long nature walks on the side of the River Barrow and the adjacent bog lands, in the company of his schoolmaster. The pair also apparently ventured into the neighbouring hills, where the boy acquired a lifetime’s interest in geology.
