Collins Drogheda

Children's names:

James 1866 -

Philip 1868 -

John Joseph 1871-1908,

Rose 1875 -

Mary Jane 1877 -

Thomas 1880-1953,

Anne 1883-1960,

Christopher 1887-1890.

Hello, I see the registry entry in St Peters but no other information, unfortunately the marriage was not registered in the civil registry that I can see. With no fathers name there are about 6 James Collins that fill your period of 1840 to 1845. I included Meath as the area of the later births is in St Marys parish which is in the diocese of Meath and in both Louth and Meath geographically.

I could find no birth to suit for Mary Jane McGeogh (one Mary Jane Geough in Cavan but Church of Irleand) however there were a number of Mary McGeogh in Louth if you wish to look in the parish registers here https://registers.nli.ie/ I searched Roots Ireland a subscription site for dates, a certain amount of information can be gleaned but no certs viewed. It is possible that a Mary was transcribed instead of Mary Jane.

I did find a Jane McGough born in Mellifont parish, mother Saragh Parlin, father Peter but those names do not turn up in your Mary Jane’s family that I noticed. The date is 12th June 1841, Mellifont parish is Mell, the parish is just on the west edge of Drogheda town. In this case the witness is Alice Coyle, I also noted the early witness to the births were a Maguire and it could be useful to see if there is a marriage of either a McGeogh or a Collins to those names which might have more information, you can search the Irish Genealogy site here but early marriages are not fully transcribed yet to see who married who. https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/  Click on Civil Records, church records are not there for Louth.

There is a site about Louth here but while detailed will probably not have definite information. There is a Jane Collins died in 1930 from North Road, daughter Anne Collins present at death, her detailed address appears to be in Surrey. Assume the death year for James indicates he may be buried in Cord Cemetery, now long closed. Headstones have been published and if you find the names here on the site as buried in Cord I could look them up. There is a James Collins in the Cord Cemetery and I see two Janes in St Peters cemetery, this is online but I think it is a subscription site now. http://www.jbhall.clahs.ie/index.html and https://www.discovereverafter.com/ however on this site the Jane Collins death listed is in 1932.

There are two Drogheda Facebook pages dealing with family, Drogheda Down Memory Lane – Lost Family and Drogheda family Finder I think but not sure only came across it recently, there is also a Louth genealogy FB page, all private but apply. If interested there is a You Tube film of still photos of old Drogheda Called “Ghosts of Drogheda” about 9 minutes and worth a look.

Good Luck

I wonder if his oldest son is My Greatgrandfather James Collins who married Mary Anne Duffy in 1878 and they had a daughter Ellen Louisa b. 9Feb1879 in Drogheda. But (from memory) Mary Anne Collins died (1879 I think) and widower James married Mary Grimes in Dublin a few years later. 

Marriage certificate for James Collins and Mary Grimes shows James is a widower, so I presume this James is the widowed husband of Mary Anne Duffy. However, be I reckon that my James Collins (b. Drogheda, m1.Drogheda 1878, m2.Dublin)would more likely have been born about 1860 (not 1866) in order to be married in Drogheda in 1878. So based on the incongruity of birth dates of my James (likely c.1860) with the 1866 birth date of your James herein, I am doubtful that your James herein (b.1866) is indeed my Great Grandfather. However, I have listed herein the research I have found (if my assumptions about his widowed relationship to Mary Anne Duffy is correct) just in case it helps to clarify matters for other researchers, especially in the future.