Finding George Cottom and Family

Hi

Thank you for your message. 

Do you know much about their emigration? The dates, the reason why they left, who they may have travelled with?..etc..Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at (e.g. Liverpool, New York, etc.), this could be a good place to find more information. -And perhaps even find out an exact place of origin.

To look for relatives of this family who may have stayed in Ireland you might try any of the following:

Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm Valuations office in Dublin (http://www.valoff.ie) will have a record of the land registry from 1855 to modern times. 

You can check for information about the frequency of the name in the mid-19th century and any other variant spellings of the name here: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/

There is lots of useful information to be found in the 1901 and 1911 census records. You can find this here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

Kind regards,                    

Genealogy Support 

Hi,

I found your query after a Google search for George Cottom and Mary Sutton.  I am descended from their daughter Sarah (my great, great grandmother).  Along with another Cottom descendant in the UK (I am in Canada) I have been researching the family history for many years and have been to Wexford several times.  Are you descended from William?

George and Mary emigrated to Canada in 1848 from the Parish of Newbawn, where they leased land from the Leigh family of Rosegarland.  Several of their children were baptized at the Church of Ireland, Adamstown (including William, baptized Sep 1, 1833, born Jan 23, 1829).

George's ancestry can be traced back another 2 generations in the Newbawn/New Ross area.  Mary is connected via an illegitimate birth to the Suttons of Longraigue (not far from Newbawn), a gentry family that can be traced back a long way.  Sarah's youngest brother Caesar likely got his his name from Caesar Sutton (1727-1793) of Longraigue, his great grandfather.

I am currently updating a detailed account of the discovery of the ancestry of Sarah Cottom, that I wrote a few years ago.  It will fill in for you all the details I have of that ancestry, of which there is quite a bit, including the two farms the Cottoms left behind.  You are certainly welcome to a copy once it is ready - probably in the next few weeks.

Best regards,

John Patterson

John,

I too am descended from a Cottom from Wexford county born about 1779.  Her name was Margaret.  Given this Newbawn/New Ross family are the only Cottoms in Wexford county in that time frame that I can find, it seems logical that she is connected to this family.  She did have a son Richard, which makes me suspect she is a daughter of Richard Cottom and Sarah Sealy.  I would be very interested in seeing the information you have put together about this family in Ireland.

Regards,

Is that the Margaret who married Robert Griffith in 1802?  It is possible that she is the daughter of Richard and Sarah, which would make her a sister to my ancestor George, but I don't have any information that would prove it.  The family of Samuel Cottom and Hannah Sealy is very well defined and there is no Margaret there, which makes the family of Richard and Sarah Sealy more likely by default.  What else do you know about Margaret?

Another descendant of George Cottom and I jointly published an article on the Cottoms of Newbawn earlier this month in the just released 25th issue of the Journal of the Wexford Historical Society.  It has a detailed family tree showing what we know of the Wexford Cottoms, descended from William Cottom of Newbawn (father of Richard, Samuel and William).  You can contact whsjournal@gmail.com about getting the current issue.

A lot of new information has come to light recently, which has delayed my update of the ancestry of Sarah Cottom, but you are welcome to a copy when it is ready.

John

Hi John,

Thank you for your quick response.  I will definitely look up the article in the journal.  

Yes, this is the Margaret that married Robert in 1802 in Wexford county.  I have quite a bit of evidence that leads to her being a part of this Newbawn family, based on the fact that they lived in the same places as others from that family in Canada (Beckwith and Kitley, Ontario) and that a grandson was named Richard Cotton Griffith.  There are no Samuels or Williams for children's names in this Griffith family, just Richard.  Evidence suggests that Margaret and Robert lived in Wexford county for a time, and that several of their children were born there, but that their last residence was in Carlow county in the parish of Myshall due to a recommendation from the Rev. Wingfield, the Vicar of Myshall parish at the time of their emigration.  This evidence comes from the Upper Canada land grant papers, Beckwith township papers, Canada census returns, Robert's will, and his son Richard's obituary.  

Alyssa

Hi Alyssa,

You no doubt have seen George Cottom and family at Kitley in the 1851 census.  They emigrated in 1848 after the lease to the Newbawn farm was sold in April of that year.  This farm was originally held in the mid-1700s by William Cottom, George's grandfather. Several of the children ended up in Augusta Township including my great, great grandmother Sarah (Cottom) Reynolds.  I'm interested in the evidence you have collected and seeing how it relates to what is known about the rest of the family.

You can contact me directly at jrpatterson@gmail.com and we can begin comparing notes and perhaps make the link between our ancestors.

Merry Christmas,

John

Alyssa,

I see that I gave the wrong email address.  So sorry.  I will reply in detail directly to you.

John

Hi all,

Just wondering if there is a connection between these Cottoms and George Cottom of Waterford County. He was from the Ballymaclode / Blenhiem Hill area in the late 1700's to early 1800's. George was an alderman of Waterford Corporation. He married Mary Bates in Waterford City in 1792.

Batesy,

The Wexford and Waterford Cottoms are related, but I don't know the specific connection.

In the Virginia Chancery Court records there is an 1847 letter from Michael Walsh of Ballyverogue, Co. Wexford (descended from the Cottom family of Brownstown) to his uncle Peter Cottom in Richmond, Virginia. Walsh writes, "I am the only person in the family that has a little impediment in my speech. I believe it's from old Mr. Cottom of Waterford who was very much affected in that way."

That's as close as I have come to connecting the Wexford and Waterford lines.

John

Thanks John, much appreciated. Interesting about the speech impediment!!