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Thomas Collins (b. circa 1835), possible relationship to Mary O'Brien Downing

I'm still trying to find my great grandfather Patrick Downing's origin in County Cork. His parents are James Downing and Mary O'Brien. I've found no information on James Downing in the US or Ireland. Mary O'Brien's parents are Mathew O'Brien and Catherine (no surname); her sister, Catherine, islisted as being from Cooleogooda in Tallow parish (RC), County Waterford on her marriage record. Mary is listed in the 1850 US Census living in Boston with Patrick's siblings Mathew, Richard, John, Catherine and Ann plus a young man name Thomas Collins. Thomas appears as witness at Mathew'swedding and Matthew and Richard appear as baptismal sponsors for children born in Boston after Thomas' marriage to Catherine Cooney, so I'm wondering if he is somehow related to either the Downings or O'Briens.I found a baptismal record for Thomas' brotherDavid from Imogeela parish (RC), County Cork for Oct 2, 1836 (parents Maurice Collins and Margaret Barry, sponsors Henry Walsh and Bridget Bellamy); address given was Castlemartyr. I've started to look to see if this might be the area in Cork where my Downings are from but haven't found anything yet. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Beverley Downing Penzien

bevpenzien

4 replies

Beverley:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

The 1852 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing for Mogeely civil parish shows a Mary Downing in Lisnabrin Low townland. Possibly, this is the Mary O'Brien Downing who was married to James Downing. https://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/cork/mogeely.htm

The Imogeela RC baptismal records start in February 1835 so likely Thomas Collins and the Downing children were all born prior to 1835.

The Tallow records go back to 1797 but there is a gap with baptismal records from 1842-1856 but I presume Mary O'Brien and Catherine O'Brien were born well before 1842 yet when I search on the subscription site Roots Ireland using the parents names provided, no record comes up.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you very much for the information, Roger. 

My Mary (O'Brien) Downing was already in the  US in 1850, though I will keep the Mary Downing you found in Lisnabrin Low townland in mind as a possible relative.

The Downing children were born between ciraca 1817 and 1835 and Thomas Collins around 1825, so yes, they preceed the Imogeela baptismal records. 

From my calculations using information of age at death, Mary O'Brien was born around 1790 and Catherine O'Brien around 1805.  I also have a subscription to Roots Ireland and likewise have been unable to locate them there or on irishgenealogy.ie.

Thanks again, I will now have the name of the civil parish for further research.

Best regards,

Beverley

 

bevpenzien

Thank you so much for providing all the information about Mary (O'Brien) Downing and her family. It's fascinating to piece together the puzzle of our ancestors' lives.

angelacameron570

Keeping the Mary Downing you found in Lisnabrin Low townland in mind as a potential relative is a great idea. It's always worth exploring different avenues and connections.

It seems like the baptismal records may not cover the exact timeframe you're looking for, but it's wonderful that you have additional clues such as the estimated birth years for Mary O'Brien and Catherine O'Brien based on their ages at death. Sometimes, those little details can lead us to breakthroughs in our genealogical research.

On another note, since you mentioned dating, are you interested in learning more about how to date an Aquarius woman? If so, I'd be happy to share some insights and tips with you! Let me know if you're interested.

abigailparsons272

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