Advice needed - HUGHES/COLLINS

[lyla]

Hi there

My Collins family first appeared in Glasgow in 1854 when the father Thomas Collins remarried. In 1861 he was listed as a Chelsea pensioner born Ireland.  I have been through lots of war records at Kew and the likeliest Thomas Collins was born in Monaghan. (No helpful information given in his papers). I know from his death certificate that his parents were Thomas Collins, Farmer and Mary Balfour and that he was born c1805

His first wife was Sarah Hughes and there is an IGI entry of a baptism for a Sarah in 1804 Clones, Monaghan.

I'm just working on a hunch that this Sarah is the one that married Thomas Collins but I have no idea how to prove or disprove it.  Their son Henry c1842 always states his birthplace as Glasgow although there is no record of it, however the 1861 census suggests he was born in Ireland.

I'm new to Irish research and would welcome any tips at all that you can give me. Many thanks.

Lyla

[Christopher]

Hello Lyla,

What information did you get about the Thomas Collins of Monaghan who was the Chelsea Pensioner? Although you say that it was not helpful it might help.

Tip 1. Give as much information as possible to people in Ireiand. Don't tell Irish searchers there's no helpful information. They are very good at ferreting out information that you and others may think is useless.

Chris

[lyla]

Thanks for you advice Chris. I am still no closer to finding the right Thomas Collins - there are so many with that name originating in Ireland.  I have looked at only a handful of the Thomas Collins war records but unfortunately none of them gave any information about next of kin etc and I still don't know where in Ireland he came from so the reference to Chelsea pensioner on the 1861 census hasn't really helped.

All I know for certain is that he was born in Ireland (from census 1861 onwards) some time between 1805 and 1816 and (according to death cert) his parents were Thomas Collins, farmer and Mary Balfour. He was married first to Sarah Hughes (mother of Henry Collins born c1841 as per Henrys wedding cert) and that his wife Sarah must have died before 1854 when he remarried to Rebecca Boyd.

The family seem to have a strong connection to the shipping industry. Thomas was a shoemaker in Glasgow up until 1871 but by his wifes death in 1875 he was a "sometime marine engineer" and when he died in 1879 he was a mechanical engineer (master). His son Henry and grandson Thomas were boilermakers on the ships and in 1861 another son William c1840 was a steward on a steamboat (after that I can't find him). His son Thomas c1847's obituary mentioned that he spent his early years in the offices of his brother at Elliot Street Engine Works.  Both Henry and Thomas always gave their birthplace as Glasgow in 1871 onwards so I guess they may have arrived there as young boys although I cannot find them in Scotland in 1851.

So, basically I am still no further forward than I was when I posted this 2 years ago. In fact I am more confused than ever now because the son Thomas gave his parents as Thomas Collins, farmer and Mary Crawford when he married aged 66 after being the minister of Bonhill most of his life. He was the son who registered his fathers death's citing only the two aforementioned wives. In a letter to poor law authorities about Henry's widow he wasnt able to tell them where brother Henry was born but thought it might have been in America so is this a clue that they might have travelled before settling in Scotland. On Thomas the minister's college papers his father Thomas was still a shoemaker.

I have run out of ideas on where to look next but will be sure to ask if anything new comes to light.

Thanks again

Lyla