John McCormack : Short Biography

John McCormack was born in Carrowkeel, Elphin, Roscommon circa 1855 to John McCormack Sr and Catherine (maiden name was possibly Lynch). He was born shortly after the famine came to a close. They lived in a small two room house on a seven acre farm with a cow house and piggery attached. They shared sixteen acres of bogland with relatives James and Robert Lynch. He had at least three siblings, James, Thomas and Ellen. 

John inherited the farm after his father died sometime after 1858. He bought the land from Sir Charles H Coote, the landlord, under the Land Commission Act 1888. He registered the death of his widowed mother in 1887. 

A year after the death of his mother, John married Mary Jane McDermott of Clooneybrennan on 22 March 1888 in Elphin Church, witnessed by her sister Annie McDermott and John Lynch(cousin). 

Children of John and Mary Jane:

Thomas 15 Apr 1889   

Julia 28 Apr 1890     Godparents-John and Anne McDermott

John 14 Apr 1891

James 25 Jul 1892     Godparents-Patrick and Mary Lynch

Edward 12 Oct 1893     Godparents-Peter Lynch and Brigid Conlon

Catherine 8 Feb 1895     Godparents-Edward Donaghy and Catherine Lynch

Annie Jane 24 May 1896     Godparents-Charles Cox and Brigid Beirne

John godparented for his neighbour's daughter Mary Anne Gormley in 1884, and Jerome Kennedy (1888), Edward Hanly (1891) and John Joseph Hanly (1891), all the children of his wife's sisters. For the first few years of their marraige, John and Mary Jane lived with his elderly and widowed great aunt, Catherine Dockery. She died in 1893. A year later, Mary Jane's father also came to live with them until his death in 1895.

John's wife Mary Jane contracted TB of the lungs around September 1896, shortly after the death of her father and the birth of her seventh child. She lived only ten months later and passed away 6 June 1897. She left him with seven young children.

On 13 July 1902, John died. His cause of death is described as decline for one year but this is confusing as if he was aware he was gonig to die, you would presume he would have made arrangements for his children and even possibly a will(most people made wills then and he had enough money to do so). Instead most of the arrangements for his children were made by other adults and the lack of a will caused other problems in the next few years as to the ownership of the land. Decline was sometimes listed then if no one could determine a cause of death. He is said to have been buried in Shankhill Graveyard.