Dublin City Census 1851 - Dr. D.A. Chart - A Biographical Note

David Alfred Chart was a historian who had a distinguished academic and professional career. He was born in Lucknow, India, on 13^th Aug. 1878, and educated at Kilkenny College and at Queens College, Cork, where he was awarded a BA in Ancient Classics (1899) and an MA in History and Political Science (1904). He was also awarded a BA at Trinity College, Dublin in 1910. He sat the higher grade Civil Service exam and was appointed to the Public Records Office (PRO) in Nov. 1902.

He married Lily McCotter, daughter of William McCotter, an English soldier, and 14 years his senior, in St. Joseph’s RC Chapel in Cork on 15^th July 1903. He is described in his marriage certificate, as a clerk, son of David Chart, a hotel keeper of 8 Annadale Park, Clontarf, Dublin. The 1911 census shows the couple resident at 37 Belgrave Sq.

Between 1906 and 1912 Chart was in charge of the State Paper Office in Dublin Castle and during that time he calendared the late 18^th Century State Papers. Between 1912 and 1915, and again from 1918 to 1921, he was in charge of the Public Search Room in the Four Courts. He compiled the Heads of Household index now published, ca. 1912-15 to assist claimants for Old Age Pensions (PRO DK Report 47).

Chart’s preparation of the Index probably also reflects his proven interest in social conditions, and economic and social history. He contributed a number of articles including, A study of living conditions of the unskilled labourers in Dublin to the Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland,¹ and published history books, including An Economic History of Ireland. He was also interested in the history of Dublin, and contributed to the Mediaeval Town Series published by Dent in 1907. The Index, was not his only contribution to preparing a genealogical source for publication. In 1913 he edited a volume for the Parish Register Society -Marriage entries from the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Anne, St. Audeon, & St. Bride 1632-1800.² Chart was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy in the same year, and was also appointed an inspector of the Historical Manuscript Commission. He was prominent in the cultural life of the city and belonged to many philanthropic organisations. In 1922, Trinity College recognised his contribution to Irish History, and conferred him with a D.Litt. in 1922.

The political changes of the time, however, were not to his liking. With partition he made application for transfer to the new Northern Ireland administration in Nov. 1921. According to the PRO DK Report 55, On the application of Sir E. Clarke, Mr. D.A. Chart, an administrative officer who had been allowed to go to Belfast on loan in March, was transferred to the Ministry of Finance, Northern Ireland, as from 1^st April 1922. Chart initially served as Principal in the Ministry of Finance, and in 1924 he was appointed Deputy Keeper of the newly established Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).

The destruction of the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922 must have been a particularly hard blow for Chart having worked for the previous 20 years caring for the records. As Deputy Keeper in PRONI, he did his best to build up the collections, with particular regard for the six northern counties under his remit. In the absence of census material, and much Church of Ireland records, he was forced to rely on estate, family, and legal papers from law firms, which under other circumstances would have been considered supplementary sources. Chart’s pioneering work in this field set the groundwork towards establishing the extensive collections held in PRONI today.

He continued to publish in Belfast, most notably Londonderry and the London Companies (1928), The Kelsey Papers (1929), The Drennan Letters (1931), and The Register of Primate Swayne, Armagh (1935). He also contributed to the history of the Church of Ireland to which he had a strong attachment.

Chart had been appointed an inspector of the Historical Manuscript Commission in 1913. Between 1929 and 1959 he was a member of the commission, and also served on the Irish Manuscript Commission between 1944 and 1959. By all accounts, Chart was very proud that there was a link between the two Commissions through him in Belfast.

As Deputy Keeper in Northern Ireland, he had the additional responsibility for the care of Ancient Monuments in the early years. Among his many initiatives, two stick out- Chart supported the early use of aerial photography for in archaeological research, and was editor of A Preliminary Survey of the Ancient Monuments of Northern Ireland, in 1941. Between 1925 and 1948, he served as vice-chair of the Ancient Monuments Advisory Committee.

He was married twice. His first wife, Lily McCotter, died in 1935. He married Florence Blair in 1946 in Belfast. He retired in 1948 and died on 9^th Dec. 1960 at the age of 82 years having made, even on the evidence of this brief sketch, a major contribution to the cultural and intellectual life of the whole island of Ireland.

I would like to acknowledge the use of Kenneth Darwin’s tribute to Chart in Archives, Journal of the British Records Association, Vol. V, No. 25 (1961) in compiling this brief summary.

Footnotes

^{1. Recently cited by
Padraig Yeates in his book Lockour Dublin 1913, (Gill &
McMillan, 2000).}

^{2. Parish Register
Society of Dublin, 1913}

Seán Magee, August 2001

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