Yahoo Lifestyle Letters from 1930s 'lonely hearts' asked mayor for romantic help
Two "lonely heart" letters from the 1930s have been uncovered which give an insight into the search for long-distance romance before dating apps were invented.
The letters were sent by post to the lord mayor of Belfast from Seattle in America and Kent in England in 1935.
One was from a 35-year-old man seeking an "Irish colleen" who "must be Protestant".
The other was a handwritten letter from a 29-year-old woman looking for a "farmer, minister of religion or clerk" in Northern Ireland.
In both letters, the then Lord Mayor of Belfast Sir Crawford McCullagh was asked to assist with the romantic search.
The letters were uncovered by archivists at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) ahead of an event to mark Valentine's Day.
Correspondence to and from lord mayors are kept in large files, going back more than a century.
So why would a lonely American, or anyone else, expect a mayor to help them find love in Belfast?
'Tinder didn't exist'
Rebecca O'Neill, an archivist at PRONI, said: "Tinder didn't exist in the 1930s so what better option did people have other than to write to the lord mayor?"
The letter from America arrived in Belfast 90 years ago, from a businessman called Michael A Davis who lived on Westlake Avenue in Seattle, Washington state, USA.
He described himself as being of "Scotch and Irish decent" with family ties to County Monaghan.
He wrote: "I am desirous of corresponding with an Irish colleen, somewhere between the ages of 25 to 30 years of age, with the ultimate object of matrimony."
In the typed letter to the unionist mayor, he added: "I hardly need to mention that the colleen must be Protestant, but, better it should be so stated.
"Financially, I am well enough fixed that I can absolutely assure the right Irish girl of financial security.
"I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you may be able to give me."
It is unclear how the Lord Mayor responded, as no record was kept.
However, the likelihood is that no assistance was offered.
The archives do include a response to a similar letter received 10 years later, in 1945.
Coincidentally, Sir Crawford McCullagh was mayor again that year.
His secretary responded: "I am directed by the Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor to acknowledge your letter of 7th October in which you ask him to find you 'a nice Irish girl for a friend, and later, if agreeable, to marry'.
"The Lord Mayor regrets that he is not in a position to help you."
Back in June 1935, the woman from Kent who sent a letter to Belfast City Hall seeking "a husband in Northern Ireland" was Rosella Patricia Bryan, from Ashford.
She wrote: "I am an Irish girl aged 29, farmer's daughter, wonder if you could find me a husband in Northern Ireland. One about 30 or 35 years, farmer, minister of religion, or clerk, any one with a fair position."
She added: "I would prefer a Methodist with a reference. I can supply same & also am a Methodist."
Again, there is no record of a response from the mayor.
Miss Bryan asked him to advertise her request in the Belfast News Letter.
Letters 'unsuccessful'
The archivist Rebecca O'Neill has tried to trace the woman.
"I had a look at the British newspaper archive for June 1935, July 1935, searching her name and 'woman seeking man in marriage' essentially. There were no requests," she said.
Ninety years on, it appears that the two letters sent to Belfast in 1935 looking for romance were unsuccessful.
This is a long-distance love story which, as far as can be determined, does not have a happy ending.
