Mary Coakley Churchtown

Mary,

I see from the 1890 marriage certificate that Mary was a servant in Churchtown. So that’s a clue that she might not necessarily have come from Churchtown itself. She may have gone there for work.

I can’t find a death for Mary either. However if you look at the 1902 marriage certificate, Henry declared himself to be a bachelor. Whereas if Mary was dead he’d have put widower. So if you ask me, assuming it’s the same man, then the second marriage was possibly bigamous. Mary was probably still alive, which explains why you can’t find a death certificate for her.

Regarding Mary’s origins, you could try going through the births from 1864 to say 1874 to see if there is one in that general area whose father was William, a labourer. (Mary said she was full age in 1890, ie over 21, so born before 1869 but she might have been a little younger. You never know). 

Hi Elwyn,

Thank you so much for responding.  

I think you are right about Mary Coakley being alive when he married Margaret Glavin.  Henry appears to be a bit of a 'chappie'.....on his Marriage record to Mary Coakley, his father is Jesse Knowland, occupation Sailor and on the Marriage record to Margaret, his father is Jesse James and his occupation is a plasterer.  

I previously checked the Birth Civil records, but to no avail.  I also checked the Baptismal reords.  I found a few, down west Cork side, but there is no way of knowing.  

Margaret Glavin is a relation of mine.  I traced her and Henry to Cork city and then to Dublin.

Thank you so much for responding and your suggestions Elwyn,

Mary