Cosgrove/Cosgrave

Belleek,

Thomas jnrs birth is well before the start of statutory birth registration in 1864 so you would need to find baptism records to confirm it. If he lived in Demesne of Down then the 2 nearest Presbyterian churches are Downpatrick (baptisms start 1827) and the Non Subscribing Presbyterian church in Downpatrick (records from 1834).  Presbyterians in Ireland don’t use the parish system and which church you attend is a matter of personal preference, and not always the closest to where you live but if either of those churches was his family church then, sadly there are no records for the years you need.

I searched the Downpatrick marriage records 1845 – 1860 for Cosgrove marriages, looking for possible siblings. There were only 3 (all Church of Ireland). None lived in Demesne of Down or Downpatrick. Fathers were Adam (twice) of Crossgar and John of Castlenavan.

I notice that the land in Demesne of Down that Thomas rented did not have a house on it. So he presumably had somewhere to live within the town itself, since he’s not appearing anywhere else in the parish. The Valuation Revision records show his name against that plot until 1871. So perhaps he died or moved around that time.

Thanks Elwyn for your swift reply.  I had guessed there would be no records but, like you, was thinking of siblings.

I hadn't realised there was no house on the land Thomas snr leased so it's possible he lived in Inch and that is why Thomas jnr gave his address as Inchdown in 1844 (although I would have thought he'd say RIC barracks, Granard).

A presumed death in 1871 is the same date as Thomas jnr’s death. That will need some looking into as Thomas jnr died at age 59, his father wouldn’t be in his 80s would he? Anyway, thanks for your research

I've looked up civil death records on Irish Genealogy and there is only one Thomas Cosgrove death registered in 1871/2 of a suitable age.  That is my great great grandfather Thomas in Granard, Co Longford who died at the end of December 1871, death registered early 1872.

Could he possibly have kept his name on the plot all the while he was living in Granard?  Perhaps for a sibling?  It would explain why he doesn't show up anywhere else in the parish.

Belleek,

Yes Thomas could have been in Granard and still have had land in Downpatrick.  He would have had to pay the rent. It was simply agricultural land. Obviously if he was in Granard, he wasn’t working it himself so perhaps a relative was working it, or perhaps he sublet it?  I have come across people who went to America for a year or two but whose name still appears in Griffiths and the Valuation revision records. As long as there was a system for paying the rent, no landlord would normally object to that.

Be aware that not every person is in Griffiths. It’s not a census.  There are lots of properties that weren’t listed because they were of too low a value to be worth assessing (less than £5 per annum). Plus anyone lodging in someone else’s house isn’t going to appear, nor are servants and other employees.  Police officers in their barracks, beggars, prisoners and folk in asylums, nunneries and monasteries etc are also not going to be listed. So a percentage of the population were not identified.

 Elwyn

Thank you for that. It’s something to bear in mind. Belleek