Thomas Cosgrove, b abt 1812, d. 29 Dec 1871 married 19 May 1844 Isabella Geelan, b. abt 1820, d. 20 May 1890. He was RIC Constable at Granard, Co. Longford - according to RIC records his father was a James Cosgrove of Henryville, Co. Armagh.
They had 2 sons, John and Robert, both becoming senior officers in the RIC, and 6 daughters who seemed to marry RIC constables:
Martha m (1) Luke Hickey, (2) George Dobson
Maria m Richard King
Frances m Isaac Foster
Isabella m Daniel Carroll
Letitia m Thomas Kennedy
Lizzie m Francis Brownlee
I am descended from John Cosgrove who seemed to be cut off from the rest of the family. Can anyone make any connection with these names?
Isabel

Isabel

I've now found your earlier message. John Cosgrove was my great grandfather's brother. I know nothing of him, but would like to. I know quite a lot about the family though.

Do you have any information about where your Cosgroves might have lived in Granard, any photos or any other information? I might be related but am not sure.

Margaret

My great great grandfather was Head Constable in Granard so I guess he lived in the Police House but I don't know where that was (is?) exactly.

Isabel

Did they marry and have families in Granard? Do you know of any relatives still living in Granard?

Have you any details of the son who became estranged from the family ie when he lived and if there was a reason for this?

Margaret

Hi Margaret

All the girls married in Granard and seemed to have at least their first child in Granard.

John, the eldest son married in Haynestown - I think that's Co Louth. He was in the RIC too and served in Tipperary, Cork and Galway. There may have been a drink problem or anger management issue - not sure which or if it was both. But he was close to his sister Martha who m1 Luke Hickey; m2 George Dobson and m3 William Mortom.

Robert the younger son, also in the RIC, married in Sligo and lived in Balbriggan later in life.


Isabel (in Scotland)

Do you have any photographs of any these people or of Granard?


Where are you in Scotland, if it is OK to ask?

Margaret

I have pics of some of the people in later life but not of Granard.

I wonder, you haven't mentioned how you might be connected - are your Cosgroves still in Granard? If any of mine are there, they are unlikely still to be called Cosgrove.

My Cosgroves were not originally from Granard, it was just a posting for Thomas Cosgrove, native of Co Down, but he spent all his professional life there.

I'm in Glasgow - where are you?

Isabel

It is actually a bit of a long shot that we are related. I have been told that my great grandfather was an RIC officer and I know that my great grandmother's family were in Granard. The dates of this match the dates of your ancestors' time there. I was never told the name of my great grandfather - it's shrouded in mystery - and my grandmother seems to have taken her mother's family name.

Also I was going through some documents recently and found a Mrs Cosgrove or Cosgrave apparently living with or lodging with a relative in the family house - until 1945- so I thought that might be a connection too.

You seem not to have done much investigation into any possible Granard relatives. I am interested in the town itself as well as doing genealogy there.

Is it OK to ask what your RIC ancestors looked like to see if there is any resemblance? It's a long shot I know but might be quite interesting.

I am in the Glasgow area too.

Margaret

Wow

I have done loads of research into RIC officers in my family.

The thing is that the RIC rules said that an officer could not marry until he had been in the service for 7 years and then he had to be a posted to a county in which neither he nor his wife had any connection.

My 2 x great grandfather, Thomas Cosgrove, had 2 sons and a raft of daughters. These daughters mostly married his sub-constables - some of them because they had to. Consequently, marriage dates are obscured as the 7 year rule was not always obeyed, plus I think my 2 x great grandmother wanted her grand children around her!

My 2 x great grandmother's name was Isabella Geelan and they were from Mohill - quite well documented on the internet.

The daughters that married sub-constables had their first 2 or 3 children in Granard and were then posted away so their families went with them. The sub-constables were also from other counties as they could not be posted to Longford if they came from there.

The only family that I know of staying in the Granard area was the eldest daughter Martha. She married sub-constable Luke Hickey in 1869 but he died in 1871. She had a son William Hickey with Luke. William joined the army and is in Belfast in the 1911 census.

She re-married a local farmer, George Dobson from Rosharry, Mohill. She had a son with him, John James Dobson and lived at Rosharry until about 1905 when her son JJ bought her a house in Belfast. It was at this house that my great grandfather died in 1921 and she died in 1922. Both were taken back to Granard for burial by JJ.

I'll send you pics if I can get them sorted out - if you guys have big ears - you are our family!!

Can we email directly - it will be easier for photos. Perhaps we can meet up if there is a likeness!

Thanks

Isabel