My great great grandfather Thomas Cosgrove joined the RIC on 12 May 1842, giving his occupation as shoemaker, his age as 24 (so born 1818) and his native place as Co Down. He was recommended by a Mr G Henry. Apart from a transcription of his marriage in Mohill, Co Leitrim on 19 May 1844, where his address was Inchdown (sic), we have no clues as to his origin. His age at death in 1871 was given as 59 so he was possibly older than his RIC service history suggests and perhaps born 1812/3.
His children married in Presbyterian churches in Co Longford, where he was stationed, so we assume he was Presbyterian too.
Hunting for the recommending person, I found a Mr George Henry was a schoolteacher at Hollymount, Co Down. Hollymount is a townland beside Downpatrick.
I also found a Thomas Cosgrove mentioned in a Deed of Mortgage raised around 1833 when David Ker bought the Southwell estate of Downpatrick. Thomas was a tenant of about 5 acres in Demesne of Down and is also mentioned as such in Griffith’s Valuation. This sounds as if he could be my Thomas’ father.
All the little clues seem to suggest the area around Down/Downpatrick/Demesne of Down/Inch as a possible place of origin.
A male cousin has done their Y DNA and we have found a strong connection 2 generations further back to a Thomas Cosgrave (1796 - 1854), a Presbyterian, from Upper Malone, Co Antrim
It’s all a puzzle with little concrete evidence to go on!
