Seeking about Edward O’Roarke b1836 or 1837 ‘Killcrown’ Ballymal Country Galway - gunner with Royal Artillery 1859-1879

Hi,

I have recently found out one of my 4x Great grandmothers, Mary Susan Moore b1831 Thurlestone Devon married Edward O’Roarke in 1860 in Plymouth, Devon.

I think Mary Susan Moore was previously married to Samuel Beer, who died in Plymouth in 1855. Mary therefore married Edward O’Roarke under the name Mary Beer. At the time of the marriage Edward O’Roarke was aged 25, a gunner with the Royal Artillery, a bachelor and gave his father’s name as Daniel O’Roarke, an accountant.

I’ve found Edward O’Roarke’s military discharge papers in Findmypast, which said he was born in Killcrown, Ballymal, County Galway in 1836, but enlisted in the 3rd Brigade, Royal Artillery in Westminster in 1859. Edward was transferred from Plymouth to Woolwich in 1861 and then to Malta later that same year. He stayed in Malta until 1873, when he returned to the UK, and then Ireland (Athlone and then Dublin), serving with the Coast Guard Brigade and being discharged in March 1879 due to being medically unfit. His intended place of residence after discharge was stated as being Galway.

I am trying to find out what happened to Edward O’Roarke and his wife Mary after his discharge. An application for assisted passage for Mary O’Roarke was made in Jan 1879 for her to migrate to NSW, joining her daughter Sarah Ann Jennings (nee Beer/Moore). But it is unclear if she ever made it. There is an intriguing notice in a NSW newspaper in 1879 asking for a Mrs O’Roarke of upper Drangan, Galway to contact M.O.D., care of the newspaper’s office.

Any advice on how to track down Edward O’Roarke and his wife Mary after 1879 (possibly in Galway or Dublin) would be greatly appreciated! I am also unsure if they had any children.

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