John Colligan

 John Colligan, born circa 1804, was my gggrandfather.

When he was 21 he enlisted in the British army in Athlone.

  In 1844 he was medically retired from the army in Dublin. His discharge papers give his place of birth as Cloghan, Gallen parish.

I have not been able to find a baptismal record for John. However I suspect his father may have been a Thomas Colligan and have found a Gallen parish record for two Thomas Cologans who married in 1801, one married a Brigid Kenny and the other married an Elizabeth Clemons.

The reason for this suspicion is that British Army records show the birth of a Thomas Colligan, son of  John Colligan and Honora Cox in Lancashire, England in 1830. This Thomas must have died before 1835 as there is another British Army record for the birth of another Thomas Colligan, son of John and Honora in Cork, in 1835. It seems John may have been keen to have a son named after his father!

My great grandfather, also named John Colligan, was born in Bermuda in 1841 according to army records.

In 1847 John Colligan senior obtained a position as a guard on a convict ship, Bangalore, which took convicts from Cork to Bermuda and picked up ticket-of-leave prisoners and transported them to Van Diemen’s Land, now Tasmania.

Based on NSW records it would appear that John brought two of his children with him on that voyage, his 9 year old daughter, Hannah Honora, who had been born in Hull when John’s regiment was posted there in 1839 and my great grandfather, John.

It was not uncommon for the families of British Army pensioners to accompany them on these convict ships.

There are no Australian records for John’s wife, Honora, or son, Thomas. Did they stay in Ireland or die in Ireland before John migrated?

Through ancestry DNA I have located distant cousins in the USA. They are descendants of an Irish born Kieran Colgan born circa 1816. It  seems that the Irish pronunciation of Colgan inserts a vowel between the “l” and the “g”.

Any assistance in finding out more about Colligans/Cologans/Colgan in Gallen Parish, Kings’ County much appreciated.

Helen - Sydney, Australia