CORCORAN, Carrabrown, Castlegar

[francoso]

Hi Tara, thanks for taking the time to look for our Bridget. It can't be her in the 1901 Census. Bridget, as a widow with 7 children, Maria Josephine, Julia Eillen, Martin (Francis ?), Catherine, Bridget Mary, Denis, and John, sailed on the 'Corona' from Gravesend, London on 2 Nov 1875 and arrived at Port Otago (Port Chalmers) at Dunedin, New Zealand on 6 Feb 1876. Their ages on the passenger list were given as 48, 19, 17, 16, 14, 9, 7, 4. There is a possibilty Bridget had another child, John, born 1862 but if so, he must have died young as he was not on board the 'Corona'. There may have been other children who also died young as there is a large gap between Martin b. 01 Nov 1858 and Catherine b. 09 Sep 1863. The baptism that I have noted is only a possible, just that, nothing proven (Bridget bap. 18 Jan 1833, father John Conolly, mother Bridget MacManus).
Regards
francoso

[taramcdsmall]

Hi There,

Sorry Francoso

The Bridget on the Census was a Bridget Flynn married to a Thomas Corcoran.

So, the children of Walter and Bridget that I have are:

Mary 1856
Judy 1857
Martin 1858
Kate 1860 (Father wrongly named as Martin)
John 1862 (Father wrongly named as William)
Honor 1863
Bridget 1865
Dennis 1866
John 1871 (John 1862 obviously passed away)

The Bridget baptism that you got - was it from IFHF - did it give you a church name as I think it's possible that you may have a wrong one.

Mcmanus in not a name from the Castlegar area

There is a Bridget Connelly baptised 2 June 1831 to a John Connelly and Mary Walsh in Castlegar Church -

this couple also had :

John 1838
Honor 1836
Michael 1833

So, Mary Corcoran , Judy Corcoran, Honor Corcoran & Dennis Corcoran ALL had Walsh's as their Godparents

Some of the children also had Michael Connolly as their Godfather whom I would imagine is the Michael listed above as born 1833.

This is what makes me feel that the Bridget that I have mentioned is the correct one !

Tara

[francoso]

Thanks heaps for that Tara. It's a bit confusing for me: how can they have the father of Kate wrongly named as Martin, and father of John wrongly named as William ? What records are these from which you quote ? Also, it appears that Kate must have died young alsoas well as John (1862).

I have the following for births and baptisms, all at Castlegar, Carrabrown
Maria (Mary) Josephine Corcoran b. 18 Mar 1856, c. 20 Mar 1856 (known as Mary)
Julia (Judy) Eileen Corcoran b. 11 May 1857, c. 17 May 1857 (known as Judy)
Martin Francis ? Corcoran b. 01 Nov 1858, c. 03 Nov 1858
John Corcoran b. 16 Feb 1862, c. 16 Feb 1862
Catherine (Honor) Corcoran b. 09 Sep 1863, c. 09 Sep 1863 (she was always known as 'Honor')
Bridget Mary Corcoran b. 06 Jan 1865, c. 07 Jan 1865
Denis Corcoran b. 01 Jul 1866, c. 13 Jul 1866
John Corcoran b. 29 Jun 1871, c. 02 Jul 1871

On the passenger list of the 'Corona' in Nov 1875, Bridget's age is given as 48 so that would mean born about 1827. On her death in Feb 1898, the Death Notice stated her age as 74 so born 1823 (though it is probable that her children wouldn't have know her age accurately. Was it possible, or unusual, to have a baptism so long after birth ? I agree that the baptism of A Bridget in 1833 is not the one I am looking for.

The baptism record I have is as follows, though I agree this is not the one I am looking for:
Genealogical Records of Ireland: (the baptism is only possibly the record of Bridget who married Water Corcoran).
Church Baptism Record: Name: Bridget Conolly; Date of Birth: --; Date of Baptism: 18-Jan-1833; Address:--; Parish/District: Tuam; Gender: Female; County: Co. Galway; Denomination: R.C.; Father: John Conolly; Mother: Bridget MacManus; Sponsor 1 / Informant 1: Michael Fahy; Sponsor 2 / Informant 2: Catherine Egan

Again, thank for your time, effort and info; it is really appreciated.
Best
francoso

[francoso]

Sorry, Tara, I forgot to include the farriage record that I have:
Church Marriage Record: Date of Marriage: 27-Feb-1854; Parish / District: CASTLEGAR; County: Co. Galway; Husband/Wife: Name: Walter Corcoran/ Bridget Conolly; Address: Castlegar/ Not Recorded; Denomination: Roman Catholic/ Roman Catholic; Occupation: -- ; Age: -- Status: Husband's Father/ Wife's Father; Name: Corcoran/ Conolly; Address: --; Denomination: --; Occupation: --; Husband's Mother/ Wife's Mother: --; Name: --; Address: --; Denomination: Occupation: --; Witness 1/ Witness 2: Name: Patrick Tonry/ Mary Mulloy

Rgds
francoso

[taramcdsmall]

Hi Francoso,

The records that I have are some that a friend of mine transcribed of the actual Castlegar Church records.

We are talking about records that are over 150 years old so of course there are bound to be mistakes. My husband's great grandfather was baptised in the same church and he and each of his siblings had an incorrect Christian name in against their father - it was only through the mother's Christian and maiden name being correct that we were able to work it all out.

I don't know whether you have ever seen the actual church records but they are in a tiny scrawl that you would go blind looking at but for the two that you query (Kate & John) their mother's name has been transcribed correctly as Bridget Connelly.

Re Bridget and her age on various documents ..... We are talking about someone whom was born about 20 years before the Great Famine. This was a time when there wasn't any emphasis on people's birthdays, which meant that in later years if and when they had to fill in paperwork they had to make guesses. Also, I would well imagine that Bridget was illiterate, as were a lot of the woman at the time, this would also have led to a lot of errors.

So, the next thing is the possible baptism that you have for Bridget is defo incorrect. She would not have been from Tuam which is a totally different part of Galway.

She was defo a Castlegar woman. This is backed up by the church that she got married in ie Castlegar (it was tradition to get married in the woman's parish). She has family as Godparents whom would have been local and I note that Tonry was the best man a REAL Castlegar surname.

Look, I'll leave it with you but I'd be pretty sure that John Connelly and Mary Walsh were her parents.

Tara

[taramcdsmall]

Sorry me again,

Castlegar Church put the woman's address against their marriages and you will note that Bridget Connelly has Castlegar given as her address !

Tara

[francoso]

Thanks again, Tara, that's a lot of info and I will digest it. I understand about ages and dates that long ago as I have been researching family from England and other places: dates of events do change vary a lot, and I undertand about deciphering old written documents as I have had to do this for some back to 1600s. And on the baptism records, I know the difficulty in deciding which names go with whom as some of the records I have read have writing wandering all over the place and lines of writing actually crossing each other.

What you have provided me is fiercely satisfying after trying for several years to find out about Bridget, Walter and their ancestors. With the backup of the family names on the baptism entries, I am sure you are correct and that she was Bridget Walsh married to John Connelly. And it is good that Bridget Connelly's name is written as the mothr of John 1862 and Kate 1860.

I will review all of this with what I have as I am doing a bit of a write up for the Corcoran families descended from the migrants to NZ.

I may contact you again in the future, if you don't mind, in case I would like someother info or clarification.

All the best
francoso

[taramcdsmall]

Hi there,

Just to clarify as I think you have a typo in your last message

She was Bridget CONNELLY baptised 1831 - DAUGHTER of John Connelly and Mary WALSH

Last bit of info for you before your head melts ......

John Connelly and Mary Walsh married 10th June 1830 in Castlegar Church witness' Patrick Walsh and Sally Fahy

Address given is Castlegar !

No probs, get back in touch when you have digested it all.

Tara

[taramcdsmall]

Hi

Sorry, a few more bits of info for you .....

Walter's father was obviously called Martin Corcoran.

At the time of the Griffiths Valuation Walter must still have been on his father's land as there is no seperate listing for Walter .....

http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/galway/rahoon.htm

Also, in an earlier message I mentioned the census with a Bridget Flynn that was married to a Thomas Corcoran - well, that Thomas Corcoran I'm pretty sure was the brother of Walter - Thomas also named his first son Martin !!

Tara