Cove, Great Island - Collins, Captain John

[collinscanada88]

I am researching a Captain John Collins who lived at Cove, the Great Island approx 1750 to 1790's. He owned and sailed a schooner the 'Hannah and Lydia' approx 1760's to 1780's to Newfoundland - pursuing the Cod Fishing industry.  John may have had a spouse Ann (based upon Newfoundland sources).  Captain John had at least several daughters based upon newspaper articles in the Hibernian Chronicle.  John may have died Sept 1794 - gravestone inscription has been received from Luke Cassidy of the Great Island.  Found birth notices from Passage West area (approx 1790) of two ladies (maiden name Collins) having children - possible daughters of John Collins. John also sailed other craft for Shea family of Cork City.  John lived on Great Island but had contacts in Cork City. Typical sailing routes included Cork Harbour, Newfoundland, Portugal. An old manuscript of Cove talks also about a 'farm house owned by John Collins' on the Great Island. 
My interest is to determine whether my gggggg grandfather Timothy Collins may have been the son of Captain John. Timothy was in the same community in Newfoundland as Captain John - population of the day was approx 300 to 400 persons.  Timothy married a lady Jane Warford in Sept 1783 and stayed in Harbour Grace NL for a period of time and then resettled nearby in the community of Spaniards Bay, NL.
thanks,

Paul
ps - regardless of whether there is a connection between Timothy and John, all of my research of Captain John Collins is free for the asking.

[amazon510]

Hi,

This is a difficult period in Newfoundland history to research, as perhaps you have discovered.  I checked Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by Seary, there is one reference to a Timothy under the entry for Collins, as follows, which could be your man.

Timonthy, of Mint Cove (Spaniard's B.), 1796

Reference is the colonial office records, CO 199.18

You could check there and see if there is any more detail.  I would also recommend contacting the Maritime History Archive and ask for a copy of the Matthews name files for Timothy and John Collins.  They will charge you but at a fairly reasonable rate.  The name files are an invaluable source of early references for Newfoundland.

Finally, check familysearch.org for Newfoundland, they have a lot of the Records of Vital Statistics images on line.  Note however that these records are not complete in the original - they are copies made in the 1930s of parish records, and in some cases (including I think Spaniard's Bay), the parish records go back further than the RSV copies.  Check the Newfoundland Provincial Archives web page to be sure.  I think however that the Harbour Grace records (which is probably what you would want to look at for such an early time period) are complete.

Good luck.

J.

[jcbhydro]

For your info., The correct spelling of the town you refer to is Cobh.

Prior to Independence it was known as Queenstown. You should probably use the latter name for pre-1921 event searches.

Regards,

John Bennett

[Billyblue]

For your info., The correct spelling of the town you refer to is Cobh.

Prior to Independence it was known as Queenstown. You should probably use the latter name for pre-1921 event searches.
Regards,
John Bennett

Cobh was the original name for Cork harbour. It was only called Queenstown when the British took over (or tried to).  So you need to look under both names for most years.  I understood from a guy I was talking to in Cobh about 20 years ago, that the Irish always called it Cobh irrespective of what the Brits called it      

Dawn M

[jcbhydro]

To my knowledge the harbour has always been Cork Harbour. Cobh is the port town.

I was born across the harbour at Crosshaven and have a house about 30 km away, and about 75 years knowledge of the area.

I was trying to be helpful and a 'thank you' might have been appropriate!

Regards,

John Bennett

[Billyblue]

And I'm sure Paul will thank us all, when he reads our contributions, Mr Bennett.

Dawn M

[shanew147]

just a quick note about the spelling - old records (e.g. 1820s and 1840s) list the town as Cove, or 'The Cove of Cork'.  e.g. see Cove, Co. Cork  (Slater's 1846)

The official name was Queenstown from 1849 to 1922


Shane

[collinscanada88]

Hi all,

not sure if you know what a Deed of Settlement is - this one is concerning land,  it was dated 1758 and made the following statement:

Reciting the very Honourable Richard Barry, Esq., by his Lease bearing date [   ] about the twenty-eighth day of July last past did demise unto the said John Collins, his executors, administrators, and assigns all and those the houses and garden situate on the Hill about the Town of Cove in the County of Corke aforesaid as then held by the said John Collins (referring to property on Great Island).

An ad in the Corke Journal April 1765 re passages to Newfoundland:

Application to be made to Captain Collins, at his House in Cove, or to Mr. Timothy Hurly , on the Coal-quay [Cork]

An ad in the Hibernian Chronicle in 1791 states:

TO be let, a commodious house at West Passage, in the Great Island, pleasantly situated for Sea Bathers during the Season, for a long term of years as may be agreed upon, with some Lands.  Application to be made to Captain Collins at Cove.

Good reading about Cove, later named Queenstown and then Cobh are two publications as follows:

History of Cobh - by Mary Broderick.

History of Great Island - by Rev Dennehy and James Coleman (this book documents a Lecture given in 1872 by Rev Dennehy at the Cove National School - town by then was renamed Queenstown).

My thanks to Shane and Ken who have confirmed further how Cove was later renamed Queenstown and then later as Cobh ( I do recall reading somewhere that the name Cobh was chosen because it is pronounced 'cove').

Paul