Following the passing of the Irish Poor Law Act on 31 July 1838, plans were put in place for the establishment of 130 poor law unions across Ireland. This number would later be increased to 153 during the Great Famine and after. The Magherafelt PLU was created in 25th November 1839 and included only twenty-four divisions (the Swatragh Division being added later). The first election of guardians took place on 20 December 1839 and in many ways the beginnings of local politics across Ireland can be traced to these elections. These were often heated elections, and canvassing took place in advance. In the days before the Secret Ballot Act (1870) people had to publicly declare for a candidate. The first officials elected for the Magherafelt Poor Law Union (PLU) in 1839 were:
- Magherafelt: John Duncan & John Walker
- Ballymoghan: John Caldwell
- The Loup: John Archer
- Salterstown: James Gaussen
- Castledawson: John Graves & James Shiels
- Bellaghy: Andrew Lecky & Thomas Ekin
- Moneymore: John Scott
- Maghera: David Thompson & Matthew Lyttle.
- Gulladuff: John Downing
- Rocktown: James Henry
- Carnamoney: Alexander Patterson
- Tullykeeran: James McKenna
- Bancran: Hugh Hagan
- Springhill: Henry Thompson
- Clady: Richard Hunter
- Inniscarn: David Kenning
- Moneyhaw: James Stanton
- Brackaghslievegallion: John Mears
- The Six Towns: Neal McKelvey
- Ballyronan: David Gaussen
- Tobermore: Samuel M’Kane
- Draperstown: James Getty
- Desertmartin: William Patterson
- Lissan Upper: James Conlan
** Swatragh ** At the first meeting of the PLU Guardians it was proposed to add Swatragh to the union and Jacob Moore and Neal Collins were elected.
These men were then styled as Poor Law Guardians and in mid-19th century Ireland this was a prestigious position and one they fought hard to retain.
The first meeting of the Magherafelt PLU was held on 2 January 1840 in the Town Hall, Magherafelt and in addition to the elected guardians a number of other people were present and who would form the PLU board. They included:
Rowley Millar, J.P.; Andrew Spotswood, J.P. ; John Stevenson, J. P.; John R. Miller, J.P. Robert L. Mauleverer, JP. ; John Hill, J.P. , and John G. Lapentier, J. P.
These men were elected as ex-officio guardians and would play an important role in the weekly meeting of the Board of Guardians going forward.
By law the Guardians had to meet weekly, usually on a Saturday and their meetings were often attended by a reporter or the information sent to them so that it could be published in the local newspapers.
At the first meeting of the Magherafelt Guardians in 1840 the following were elected to Rowley Millar, J. P., was elected chairman, Mr. Andrew Spotswood, as vice-chairman, and Mr. John Stevenson, as deputy vice-chairman.
