Patrick Stephen Corvan was the third of four sons born to Patrick and Ann Corvan. English Census returns from 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 have Patrick's year of birth as 1821, 1813, 1812 and 1817 respectively,and his age at death in 1873 was stated as 63 years, giving a different birth year again of 1810.
Similarly, his birthplace was given as both Ireland and London...the former in the census returns of 1851 and 1871, and the latter location in 1841 and 1861.The 1861 census specifies St.Giles, London, as Patrick's birthplace, and the 1871 states Longford, Ireland. I favour Ireland as his true birth place...the London Irish had such a terrible reputation in the 19th century that it would be feasible for a man to contemplate saying he was a Londoner born and bred, but seemingly no advantage to be London born and declare that he was Irish.
Patrick was probably still a young boy when his parents and siblings crossed the sea to England.His next sibling in age was Ann, and she was born in London c. 1820-21.The Corvan family established themselves in Buckeridge Street, right in the heart of London's most infamous area, the "Rookery" of St. Giles, where the population was predominantly Irish and the most common occupations thievery and prostitution.
Buckeridge Street consisted mainly of lodging houses, many of which crammed dozens of desperate lodgers into small filthy rooms and cellars. The Corvan house, Number 15 Buckeridge Street, known by one and all as "Paddy Corvan's", was different in that it contained only the Corvan family...Patrick Senior was a coal merchant, although I dare say he had his fingers in several more pies being a moderately wealthy man living in such a street.
Patrick Corvan Snr died in 1834 and his wife Ann in 1839, and the Corvan siblings remained at 15 Buckeridge Street as elder brother John Corvan took over the coal business from his father.
The 1841 census records no occupation for Patrick, although John his brother was stated as being a coal merchant, and Anthony his younger brother was a baker.When Patrick married in 1846, his occupation was 'Gentleman", and in the 1851 census he was a coal merchant. In the last two census returns he completed, those of 1861 and 1871, it is revealed that Patrick Stephen Corvan's occupation in later life was a builder.
Patrick Stephen Corvan married Celilia Burn at the Sardinian Chapel in St. Giles in the Fields on February 11, 1846. The full details provided on the marriage certificate were as follows:
“1846: Marriage solemnized in the Sardinian Chapel in the District of St. Giles In The Fields and St. George Bloomsbury in the county of Middlesex.
February 11, 1846: Patrick Stephen Corvan/ full age/ bachelor/ profession gentleman/ residence at time of marriage: 21 Church St, Soho/ Father’s name: Patrick Corvan, coal merchant
Married to
Cecilia Burn/ minor/ spinster/ residence: 28 Maynard Street/ father: Thomas Burn, painter and glazier.
Married in the Sardinian Chapel according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church by me, John Kyne.
Witnesses: E.J. Cotter
X the mark of Emily Glover.”
The Catholic Marriages and Baptisms Index has the following entry for this marriage, incorrectly transcribed as 'Cowan':-
11/02/1846 Parish: LIF Priest: JK
G: Patrick Stephen COWAN - 21 Church St., Soho
GF: Patrick (15 Bucheridge St., St. Giles) GM: Ann
B: Cecilia BURN - 8 Lawrence St., St. Giles
BF: Thomas BM: Catherine
Note that the two addresses given for the bride differ..the marriage certificate states that she resided in Maynard Street, and the parish register that she lived at Lawrence Street.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
3. John Corvan
Above: Advertisement from the 'Catholic Advertiser' of 1838. The name of the business changed to "John Corvan" after the death of his father Patrick.
John Corvan was one of four sons who were born to coal merchant Patrick Corvan and his wife Ann. He was born in County Longford, Ireland, in c. 1808-09, and must have been one of the more favoured sons – he was made executor of his father’s will, and received a healthy bequest, as opposed to his brothers Phillip and Patrick who were left one shilling each!
Up until 1844 he was still living at the family residence at 15 Buckridge Street where both his parents had died in 1834 (his father) and 1839 (his mother Ann).
John took over his father’s coal business, as his occupation on his 1844 marriage certificate was ‘coal merchant’. He married a widow, Mary Roche, whose maiden name was Ginivan, the daughter of deceased fishmonger William Ginivan. Mary had been living at 178 Oxford Street.
The London Times newspaper recorded the event as follows:
“ On the 8th last, at the Catholic Chapel, Somer-town, by the Rev. Dr. Piquot, of Spanish Place, John Corvan,Esq, of Ehrenburg-terrace, Camden –town, to Mary, widow of the late Lawrence Roach, Esq, of Oxford Street.
- Wednesday, July 10, 1844.”
John’s address was given as 11 Ehrenberg Terrace, Mornington road. His sister, Rosa Corvan, was a witness at the wedding, and she too was living at this address.
Other witnesses were Christina Hennessy, of 31 Hyde Street, Bloomsbury, and Charles Innis, of Euston Square.
John and Mary were married at St. Aloysius Chapel, St. Pancras, by Julius Picquot, on Monday, July 8, 1844.
The following article was published in the London Times newspaper in 1846 as part of a news item describing a tremendous thunderstorm which swept through London:
“THE THUNDERSTORM ON SATURDAY.
CAMDEN TOWN- During the violence of the storm, the electric fluid struck the house of Mr. Corvan, No. 17 Mornington road, Camden Town. This took place at about 4 o’clock, the shock causing the utmost alarm to the neighbourhood. The fluid entered the chimney, which it shattered to pieces, and these passed down the chimney and into the kitchen, in which was the female servant, who at the time was cleaning some plate. She became senseless, and was immediately attended to by Mrs. Corvan, who had her removed, as it was not possible, in the consequence of the strong smell of sulphur, to remain there.
In the meanwhile, members of the inhabitants hastened to the house, as it was reported that it had caught fire, and there was a strong smell of wood burning. Upon examination of the roof, the timber under the slating was found extensively charred; but as it was raining in torrents at the time, the progress of the fire was soon extinguished. A quantity of lead was also melted. The houses on each side were also slightly damaged.
- Monday, August 3, 1846.”
In the 1851 census on Ancestry.com, John and Mary are found indexed as ‘Carran’ rather than ‘Corvan’. They were living at Lisson Grove South.
John Corvan/ head/ married/ 42 years/ coal merchant/ b Ireland
Mary Corvan/ wife/ 42/ coal merchant’s wife/ b Middlesex
Margaret Dunley/ servant/ 26/ house servant/ b Ireland.
A London Directory from 1860 reveals the following entry:'" Marylebone Road- North Side-even numbers. 258: Coles, Lewis. Corvan, John. Lisson Grove South".
John and his wife Mary remained childless, as did Mary in her first marriage to victualler Laurence Roche.
Because the parties in both marriages were Catholic, and thus not covered in the IGI, I had to rely on the wills of Mary’s husband, Laurence, and her mother, Eleanor Ginivan, to provide some clues as to any children that Mary may have born in either of her marriages.
The will of Laurence Roche was written in 1823, and was very simplistic…he simply left everything to ‘my beloved wife Mary Roche’. One of the witnesses was Charles Innis, of 10 Tottenham Court, who also witnessed Mary Roche’s second marriage in 1844.It was signed on July 30, 1823, which surprised me as Laurence didn’t die until 1840. The will stated that he was from the ??? Arms, Oxford Street, St. Marylebone, suggesting that he was a hotel owner.
Sure enough, the following year in the 1841 census, we find his wife Mary Roche living in Oxford Street, with her occupation listed as ‘victualler’. Living with her was an assistant, Christina Newy(sp??) and two servants, Charles Murrell and Ellen Ward.
The will of Mary’s mother, Eleanor Ginivan, of St. Mary Abbots, Kensington, widow, made fascinating reading, as well as being full of genealogical information. I won’t include the will in its entirety, as it consists of four closely-written pages, but the basic details it reveals were as follows:
Her burial requests…to be buried in the vault under the Catholic Chapel of St. Mary’s Moorfields, as near as possible to the resting place of her late ‘dear husband and my son William’. She also requests that her funeral procession be accompanied by ‘the usual and necessary number of attendants’, and expressively desires and requests ‘that the following persons attend the funeral as mourners. Namely my daughter, MARY CORVAN, and her husband JOHN CORVAN, my two granddaughters ELLEN ELIZABETH GINIVAN and MARY ANN GINIVAN and my daughter-in-law, ELIZABETH GINIVAN, the
Reverend WILLIAM BUGDEN and my two other executors hereinafter named.’
She then appoints several men as trustees (I think, if I correctly deciphered the awful handwriting and legal-speak!), including the said
Rev William Bugden of Kensington, John Somebody from London, gentleman, and Ambrose Robert Williamson of Crawford Street, St. Mary, Middlesex.
Her grandchildren are named as ELIZABETH ELLEN GINIVAN & MARY ANN GINIVAN, who must be the daughters of her deceased son William Ginivan, and the children of her son James Ginivan- WILLIAM JAMES, ELLEN ELIZABETH, EMMA, EDWARD, FRANCIS AND JOHN.
Other smaller bequests are made, including those to her nephew, her God daughter, Rev. Bugden, Margaret Someone ‘for her kindness and attention to me’ and her daughter in law Elizabeth Ginivan, widow of her son William.
Eleanor also included her son-in-law, John Corvan….
“ Unto my son-in-law, the said JOHN CORVAN, the sum of fifty pounds in consideration of his kindness to me’. She also seemed to pay John back for expenses that he had met on behalf of her son James.
Eleanor made several specific bequests to her only daughter, Mary Corvan….’four tablespoons, 12 teaspoons, 1 _______ jug, 1 pair of sugar tongs, 2 salt spoons, 1 corkscrew, 1 _____ spoon, my gold watch and gold watch chain, 3 gold _____, a gold _____ ring, 2 gold ___ rings, the portrait of my late husband set in gold and all other plate and jewellery whatsoever’. Mary is also given for her separate use all the furniture, goods, linen, wearing apparel and household effects I may be possessed of at the time of my death’.
She signed her will and last testament on June 3, 1851. There were two codicils attached- the first made on August 24, 1851, and dealing with the death of Rev. Bugden and subsequent bequest to Rev. Phillips in his stead, and the second added on September 19, 1851.
This latter codicil left ten pounds to ‘Eleanor Ginivan, the widow of my late son James Ginivan’, and appointed Thomas Read, surgeon, of Kensington, as an executor of her will.
There was another big blurb attached after the two codicils and the statement that the will was proven in London on October 28, 1851. This ‘blurb’ stated that on the 19th of September, Eleanor was in a weak and feeble state, and after scribing her name to the said codicil and having written the letter ‘E’, she observed that she would endeavour to write it
better. The witnesses to the will and codicils, Mary and John Donohue, stated that the testatrix had no Christian name besides ELEANOR and that her proper name is ELEANOR GINIVAN. Mary and
John signed this last attachment to the will on October 18, 1851.
Absolutely fascinating stuff, even though Eleanor is of no actual relevance to the Corvan family tree. It proved that her daughter Mary Ginivan Roche Corvan bore no children, either to her first husband Laurence Roche or to her second, John Corvan.
The 1861 census shows John and Mary Corvan living at 253 Marylebone Rd, Marylebone:
John Corvan/ head/ 50/ coal merchant/ b Longford, Ireland.
Mary Corvan/ wife/ 49/b Cork, Ireland
Mary Ann West/ servant/ unmarr/ 18/ house servant/ b Not known.
John and his wife passed away only months after the census was taken, with the Times newspaper publishing news of John’s death in 1861:
“DEATHS: On the 7th inst, at 253 Marylebone Rd, Mr. John Corvan, aged 53, very sincerely regretted. R.I.P.
Wednesday, December 11, 1861.” – London Times.
Mary Corvan’s death was registered in the September ¼ of 1861, at Marylebone.
There are two entries for John Corvan and Mary Corvan in the Index to Death Duty Registers, although the entry for John has been crossed out with a black line running through the given details:
1862 Wills.
John Corvan/ Marylebone Rd/ executor Edward Corish/ P.R. 801
This was crossed out, and directly underneath was written:
Mary Corvan/ 258 Marylebone Rd/ executor Edward Corish/ P.R 817.
The London Times newspaper carried several advertisements for the disposal of land owned by Mary Corvan after her death. An example of them follows:
“ Leasehold Property, St. Marylebone, Pancras, Pimlico, Kennington, producing a rental of 600 pounds per annum.
Messrs Elgood and Son are instructed by the executors of Mrs. Corvan, deceased, to SELL at the Mart, on Friday March__, the Following PROPERTY held for various terms at ground rents:
No 5 Lyon-terrace, Maida-hill
67 Clarendon Street and 12 Upper Grenville St, Clarendon Square
12 Hertford St, Fitzroy Square
10,11 and 12 Palace Street, near Buckingham Palace, Pimlico
3 & 4 Grosvenor Place, Camberwell New-road, near Kennington-park ( with early possession; a valuable and profitable estate, forming John’s Yard, Lisson Grove, producing a large rental & C, of which printed particulars are preparing, and further announcements will be made, 18 Wimpole Street, February 1862.
- Monday, March 17, 1862.”
This advertisement was also published on March 24,26 and 28, and on April 4 and 7, 1862.
Further details about individual properties appeared as follows:
“ Small lease holds, by Clarendon Square, Somers Town. Messrs Elgood and Son will sell at the Mart, on Thursday April 17, in one lot, by order of the executors of Mrs Corvan, deceased, TWO small houses with yards in the rear adjoining, being No. 67 Clarendon Street and 12 Upper Grenville St, held for about 23 years at ground rents and let at 55 pounds per annum.
- Monday, March 24, 1862.”
“ Business premises, 12 Hertford St, Fitzroy Square. Messrs Elgood and Son will SELL at the order of the executors of Mrs Corvan, deceased, a convenient HOUSE, shop and premises, situate one door from Grafton Street, held of Lord Southampton for 25 years, at a ground rent of 5 pounds and let at 45 pounds per annum.
- Friday, March 28,1862.”
“ Messrs Elgood and Son beg to inform the public that the whole of the property of the late Mrs. Corvan, deceased, put up for sale at the Mart on Wednesday, 17th last, was SOLD, excepting the John’s Yard premises in Lisson Grove, an eligible property for profitable investment, which they are authorized to sell at a moderate price, to complete the sale.
- Wednesday, April 30, 1862.”
“ Messrs Elgood and Son beg to inform the public that the whole of the property of the late Mrs. Corvan, deceased, put up for sale at the Mart on Wednesday 17th was SOLD, excepting for the Johns Yard premises in Lisson Grove which have since been sold by private contract.
-Friday, May 16, 1862.”
2. Philip Corvan
Together with his sister, Catherine Corvan, Philip presents as a ‘mystery sibling’ of the Corvan clan. Apart from a mention in his father’s will, I have not been able to find mention in any record about Philip Corvan.
A Philip Corvan of around the correct age emigrated from Ireland to the USA with his small children after he was widowed at a young age, but records have him coming from Armagh rather than the County Longford that was noted as Patrick Stephen Corvan’s birthplace in the 1871 census.Of course, Longford may not have been correct...it is the only time that a place nominated on a census as a Corvan birthplace is any more specific than 'Ireland'.
Still, the U.S. Philip is not out of the question just yet…I’ll keep him on file just in case!
Post script: August 21, 2009.
I have just realised that there were in fact TWO Philip Corvans in New York in the mid-1800s. The first to emigrate from Ireland arrived in New York in 1837 was named Philip James Corvan. He was born about 1815, and applied for Naturalization in the Court of Common Pleas on April 13,1837.
A Philip Corvan of around the correct age emigrated from Ireland to the USA with his small children after he was widowed at a young age, but records have him coming from Armagh rather than the County Longford that was noted as Patrick Stephen Corvan’s birthplace in the 1871 census.Of course, Longford may not have been correct...it is the only time that a place nominated on a census as a Corvan birthplace is any more specific than 'Ireland'.
Still, the U.S. Philip is not out of the question just yet…I’ll keep him on file just in case!
Post script: August 21, 2009.
I have just realised that there were in fact TWO Philip Corvans in New York in the mid-1800s. The first to emigrate from Ireland arrived in New York in 1837 was named Philip James Corvan. He was born about 1815, and applied for Naturalization in the Court of Common Pleas on April 13,1837.
Issue of Patrick & Ann Corvan: 1. Catherine Margaret Corvan
Catherine Corvan was one of four daughters born to Patrick and Ann, and most likely the eldest girl as she was named first amongst her sisters in her father’s will (children are generally named in order of age in these documents).
The eldest daughter was often named after her maternal grandmother in Irish and Scots families, so it is a good possibility that Ann Corvan’s mother was named ‘Catherine’.
Catherine was born in c. 1814-15, which was around the time that I estimate her family emigrated from Ireland to London, so she may have been born in either place.
The eldest daughter was often named after her maternal grandmother in Irish and Scots families, so it is a good possibility that Ann Corvan’s mother was named ‘Catherine’.
Catherine was born in c. 1814-15, which was around the time that I estimate her family emigrated from Ireland to London, so she may have been born in either place.
For years I have not been able to discover what became of Catherine Corvan, but this morning I located the following entry in an online copy of "Catholic Record Society Obituaries- Laity's Directory, Printed London 1913":
" 1837: January 20: Miss Catherine Corvan, aged 22."
" 1837: January 20: Miss Catherine Corvan, aged 22."
Above: Catherine Corvan's burial as appearing in the burial registers of St. Giles In The Fields. This entry reveals that her middle name was 'Margaret'.
ANN CORVAN
Ann Corvan was my great-great-great-great Grandmother, the wife of coal merchant Patrick Corvan.
She was born in c. 1782, place unknown, parents unknown! Her maiden name is even a mystery…the only references I have to her at all are in her husband’s will – where she is referred to only as ‘my dear wife’ – and her death certificate, which at least provides me with a Christian name!
Ann was the mother of four sons – John, Patrick, Phillip and Anthony – and four daughters- Ann, Mary Louise, Catherine and Rosa. She survived her husband by five years, living with her children at 15 Buckeridge Street, St. Giles, Bloomsbury, Middlesex. It was from this address that her daughter, Ann Corvan, left to be married in 1841. In 1844, son John was still living there prior to his marriage, so 15 Buckeridge Street remained the Corvan residence for some years after Ann’s death.The family in fact most likley remained in their Buckeridge Street house until the entire street was demolished in 1847 to make way for New Oxford Street.
Ann Corvan died at the age of 57 years, on December 14, 1839, and her cause of death was given as ‘decline’. Her son John was present at the time of her death, and was the informant on her death certificate.
She was born in c. 1782, place unknown, parents unknown! Her maiden name is even a mystery…the only references I have to her at all are in her husband’s will – where she is referred to only as ‘my dear wife’ – and her death certificate, which at least provides me with a Christian name!
Ann was the mother of four sons – John, Patrick, Phillip and Anthony – and four daughters- Ann, Mary Louise, Catherine and Rosa. She survived her husband by five years, living with her children at 15 Buckeridge Street, St. Giles, Bloomsbury, Middlesex. It was from this address that her daughter, Ann Corvan, left to be married in 1841. In 1844, son John was still living there prior to his marriage, so 15 Buckeridge Street remained the Corvan residence for some years after Ann’s death.The family in fact most likley remained in their Buckeridge Street house until the entire street was demolished in 1847 to make way for New Oxford Street.
Ann Corvan died at the age of 57 years, on December 14, 1839, and her cause of death was given as ‘decline’. Her son John was present at the time of her death, and was the informant on her death certificate.
Above: Page from the burial registers of the parish of St. Giles In The Fields showing Ann Corvan's burial at the very bottom of the page.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
PATRICK CORVAN,MY G-G-G-G GRANDFATHER
Patrick Corvan was my great-great-great-great grandfather, and the father of Anthony Edward Corvan, my Corvan ancestor who left England for Australia in the 1850’s. Very little is known about him at this stage, beyond the fact that he was born in Ireland in c. 1775 and that he earned a living as a coal merchant in London prior to his death in 1834.
He was a Roman Catholic, and since there is not an over-abundance of Corvans in England and several large families in Ireland, he was certainly born in Ireland. The most likely county of his birth is Longford, or perhaps Armagh, where most Corvan families originated. His wife Ann’s surname name is unknown, and they were married in Ireland as at least two of their older children were born there.
I was becoming very frustrated by the fact that I could not find a will belonging to Patrick Corvan, when I finally landed myself this most precious of documents. I was trawling the U.K. National Archives will index for Corvan wills, thinking that by some miracle some would have magically appeared since the last time I looked, and in frustration decided to look for the wills of any coal merchants who had died in Middlesex. There were over 400 of them, but for some reason I was sure that Patrick Corvan would have left a will when he died. He seemed to have been a business man, and generally ‘money equals will’. So there I was, scrolling down the list of London’s coal merchants from the 1700’s and 1800’s, and about half way through my heart literally leapt in my chest…there was my man – Patrick COWAN, coal merchant of St. Giles, London, Middlesex, dated 1834.
He was a Roman Catholic, and since there is not an over-abundance of Corvans in England and several large families in Ireland, he was certainly born in Ireland. The most likely county of his birth is Longford, or perhaps Armagh, where most Corvan families originated. His wife Ann’s surname name is unknown, and they were married in Ireland as at least two of their older children were born there.
I was becoming very frustrated by the fact that I could not find a will belonging to Patrick Corvan, when I finally landed myself this most precious of documents. I was trawling the U.K. National Archives will index for Corvan wills, thinking that by some miracle some would have magically appeared since the last time I looked, and in frustration decided to look for the wills of any coal merchants who had died in Middlesex. There were over 400 of them, but for some reason I was sure that Patrick Corvan would have left a will when he died. He seemed to have been a business man, and generally ‘money equals will’. So there I was, scrolling down the list of London’s coal merchants from the 1700’s and 1800’s, and about half way through my heart literally leapt in my chest…there was my man – Patrick COWAN, coal merchant of St. Giles, London, Middlesex, dated 1834.
I was immediately certain – the date fell within my estimated period of death, and 'Cowan' was one of the most common misreadings of the name ‘Corvan’ due to the 'rv' in the middle of the name appearing indistinguishable to a 'w'. Add to this the occupation of ‘coal merchant’ and the location, and I knew I had found my great-great-great-great grandfather’s last will and testament.
And whilst it contained many treasures, it threw up new mysteries, mainly concerning Patrick’s two sons, Philip and Patrick.
First of all, Patrick made mention of the executors of his will, namely his son, John Corvan, and the Reverend Richard Chumley, of Saint Patrick’s Chapel, Sutton Street, Soho. He referred to ‘ my dear wife’ numerous times, without once ever calling her by name!
He left four hundred pounds to be distributed between his four daughters, Catherine, Ann, Mary and Rosa upon their achieving their majority. He again mentioned his son John, including once in association with my g-g-g grandfather, who he refers to as ‘ my son Anthony’.
I was getting worried as to the lack of mention of a son named Patrick, who I knew definitely was the brother of my Anthony Corvan, but was rewarded at the very end of the will….. ‘ and lastly I give to both of my sons Phillip and Patrick one shilling only’.
MYSTERY!!! Why those two sons were bequeathed the absolute minimum amount allowable I will never know, but it will be interesting trying to speculate the reason. Perhaps it was clear-cut, such as Patrick Snr having financially helped Phillip and Patrick Jnr prior to his death, thus negating their claim on any of his estate upon his death. Or perhaps it was a rip-roaring fight, resulting in the father writing them out of the will (although I favour the former scenario).
Patrick Corvan Snr put his signature to his last will and testament on March 5, 1834. One of his witnesses was Charles Hird, solicitor, of 3 Little Argyll Street – the other I can’t decipher.
The will was proven at London on October 31,1834, by the oaths of John Corvan, the son, one of the executors , and the Rev. Richard Chumley.
Patrick 'Paddy' Corvan died at his Buckeridge Street home on July 16, 1834, at the age of 59 years.He was survived by his wife Ann, who died five years later. His son John took over the coal business, later assisted by his brother Patrick Stephen Corvan.
Above: Page from the burial register of St. Giles In The Fields showing the entry for our Patrick Corvan of Buckridge Street
Corvan genealogy-the start of the journey
What a tough lot this family have been to crack!! And while finally, after many years, I am at last making in-roads with my Corvan research, there are double the mysteries now as when I first started in the mid- 1980’s.
Back then I remember writing an introduction to my maternal grandmother’s family history….something along the lines of ‘ Ivy Ellen Brown hails from a family that is 100% English in its heritage’, written almost apologetically that there were no Irish or Scots ancestors to spice things up.
There was the tantalizing family story that mentioned a ‘bad-tempered, red-haired Spanish gypsy g-g grandmother’ (not too sure about how many ‘g-g’s in the prefix!) lurking somewhere in the Brown family’s past, but apart from that titbit, I was on my own with only my grandmother’s parents’ names to start with….John George ‘Jack’ Brown and Charlotte Willett.
The Willetts have spread far and wide throughout Australia since the arrival of James Willett and his wife Isabella Standen in 1841, and the family had been well documented before I even started my research. The Brown family also thrived, although by the time I became interested in the family story, my grandmother and all of her siblings had passed away. I have since found some relations that descend from siblings of Jack Brown, but I have been pretty much on my own whilst chipping away at the Brown story.
Jack Brown’s birth certificate told me that he had been born on October 24, 1873, at Bagshot, a small town in the goldmining region of Victoria. His parents were a 37 year old miner, Robert Brown, who originated from County Durham, and 22 year old Rosa Corvan, from London. At the time of his birth, he had a sister, Penelope, who was 2 years & 8 months old.
I very quickly found all of Jack Brown’s siblings, and fleshed out their family stories by writing to Beryl Barnett, the daughter of Jack’s sister, Margaret Brown.
I found that Jack’s father Robert had died at the age of 59 on 29 October, 1894, at Kamarooka, of heart disease. He left his wife Rosa with nine children ranging in age from 24 years to 1½ years. Further information on his death certificate stated that he had been in Victoria for 34 years, and that his parents were John W. Brown and Penelope Gray. This surname ‘GRAY’ caught my attention, as on Robert’s 1869 marriage certificate, I had interpreted his mother’s name as Penelope ‘GEORGE’ due to a poor quality copy making it very difficult to read.
The IGI index was duly consulted with no luck at all, and the Brown family consigned forever into the ‘too-hard’ basket until a ramble through the internet one day located some indexes for Durham. Half-heartedly, I ventured into the site, and soon was shouting ‘WOO HOO!!!!’ as an entry leapt out at me….
‘ March 19, 1836, marriage of John Brown to Penelope Gray’, from the Pittington Marriage Registers, 1575-1837.
Their son Robert was born at Haswell, Durham, according to his marriage certificate, which was near Pittington. John was a miner like his son, and apparently miners moved from town to town for work very frequently. Between 1831 and 1841, the population of Pittington rose from 1632 to 2295, the rapid increase being due to the progress of the collieries in the district.
Consulting the IGI again, there was no Penelope Gray in Pittington, but records only extended to 1813. There was a John Brown, born June 4, 1809, baptised Nov 19, 1809, at Pittington, to John Brown and Mary Tiplady. Other siblings were Ann 1796; Thomas 1798; Mary 1799; Eleanor 1801; Elizabeth 1805 and Robert 1811.
John Brown and Mary Tiplady were married at Kelloe on March 19, 1796. I have no proof at all that this couple and their family are mine – all I can do is keep them on file and hope to verify ‘ownership’ or otherwise in the future.
I think I have located a possible entry for my Robert Brown’s emigration details….in October 1861, the ship ‘Prince Of The Seas’ arrived in Victoria, and on board was 25 year old Robert Brown. Also on board were 21 year old James Brown and 27 year old Mary Brown – related? Who knows?! This Robert was born in c. 1836, the same year as mine. His year of arrival also exactly coincides with the year of arrival stated on my Robert’s death certificate.
Back to the IGI, there at last emerged an entry for Robert Brown, born August 3, 1836, Moorsley, Durham, to John Brown and Penelope. It wasn’t an actual church index record, but an entry submitted by a member of the LSD church, and so cannot be taken as ‘gospel’.
On the Corvan side, I have the unusual situation of being stuck on research in Australia, whilst making progress overseas. The marriage certificate of Rosa Corvan to Robert Brown supplied the initial information…. on September 27,1869, at Bridgewater, Victoria, Rosa Corvan, an eighteen year old Londoner, was married to Robert Brown, 15 years her senior. Her parents were Anthony Edward Corvan, a commercial traveller, and Mary Healy. They were not around at the time of the wedding, as Rosa was living with her elder sister Ellen Matthewson, at Bridgewater, and her brother-in-law, Thomas J. Mathewson gave written consent for the wedding to go ahead as he was legal guardian of the bride, and she was a minor. Prior to the marriage her usual address was Huntly, as was Robert’s.
The last actual record I could find for Anthony and Mary Corvan in Australia was the death certificate of their infant son who was born in Victoria after their immigration. Anthony James Corvan had been born at New Chum Gully in 1856, to 36 year old store keeper Anthony Edward Corvan and 30 year old Mary Healy.
Sixteen days later, poor little Anthony was dead, the victim of a 10 hour bout of convulsions. His father registered the burial at Sandhurst the next day, describing himself as ‘storekeeper, New Chums Gully’. From this point, I have found no record of Anthony, his wife Mary or their daughter Mary. Daughters Ellen and Rosa married and raised families in central Victoria. First child, Catherine Mary, had died in London prior to their leaving the city, as had a son John at three months.
Just what happened to Anthony, Mary and young Mary after 1856 was anyone’s guess. Their deaths were not to be found in the Victorian indexes, or those from NSW. The South Australian and Queensland indexes were checked with no result. I thought that perhaps they ended up in another Australian state, or even returned to England, although their deaths were not to be found there, either.
The IGI has never been helpful with the Corvan family- in fact, details on the Corvan family world-wide are very thin on the ground. Anthony Edward Corvan had stated on his son Anthony’s birth certificate that he and Mary had married on June 4, 1844, at Lincolns Inn Fields, London, England. I had this piece of information for years before finally, in June of 2003, I finally acted on it. The English BDM indexes came on line for a small price, and at last I had the index number needed to order the marriage certificate of Anthony Corvan and Mary Healy.
Well, euphoria erupted 3 weeks later when the certificate arrived ….. on June 4, 1844, in the Sardinian Catholic Chapel in the districts of St. Giles In The Fields and St. George, Bloomsbury, Anthony Edward Corvan, full age, a bachelor of 16 Adam’s Row, Hampstead Road, occupation baker, was married to Mary Healy, a minor, of 184 High Holborn. Best of all, their fathers were named as Patrick Corvan, a coal merchant, and David Healy, an undertaker!!!!!! Witnesses to the ceremony were Rosa Corvan and John Corvan.
They were Catholics!!! My Corvans were Catholics!!! I was absolutely gobsmacked…. my Nan Oakley (Ivy Ellen Brown), who initially refused to go to my mother’s wedding because it was in a Catholic Church, had a strong Catholic heritage starting as recently as her grandmother!! I have no idea as to why the Corvans didn’t retain their Catholicism when they immigrated to Australia…perhaps the parents did, but the daughters Ellen and Rosa married into the Wesleyan and Presbyterian faiths respectively, and none of their children were raised as Catholics.
Prior to obtaining Anthony Corvan’s marriage certificate, I had purchased the marriage certificate of a Rosa Corvan, who had married in the St. Pancras district of London in 1848. The name ‘Rosa Corvan’ was too much of a coincidence for her not to be mine, I thought, but when it arrived and showed that the marriage to Edward Corish took place at St. Aloysius Chapel according to the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church, I lost some of my certainty…my Corvans certainly weren’t Catholic, or so I thought!
Once I received Anthony’s certificate, I had another good look at Rosa’s, and bingo! She was the daughter of Patrick Corvan, a merchant who at the time of the marriage was deceased. Her age was given as 23 years, and she lived at Stanhope Terrace, St. Pancras, London. Witness to the event was John Corvan, also of Stanhope Terrace.
So now I had two siblings, Anthony Edward Corvan, born in London c. 1819-20, and Rosa Corvan, born c. 1825, whose father Patrick was a coal merchant who had died prior to Rosa’s marriage in 1848.
Chances were that John Corvan, who was a witness at both Anthony’s and Rosa’s weddings, was also a brother, so it was back to the internet to do a search on the Free BDM site for all London Corvans. This site was terrific, but still very incomplete at that early stage. It was, however, a handier tool for me to search for my Corvans than the usual IGI, as Catholic records are not very well covered by the IGI site.
A Mary Louisa Corvan was married in the St. Pancras district in the June Quarter of 1844 – the same time and area as Anthony Corvan. John Corvan was married in the June quarter of 1840, in the Bloomsbury district; Ann Corvan in December quarter 1841, Bloomsbury; John Corvan in September quarter 1844, St. Pancras; and Patrick Stephen in March quarter 1846, St. Giles.
I ordered the marriage certificates of Mary, Ann, Patrick, and the two Johns , and they were all siblings of my Anthony Edward Corvan, with the exception of one of the two John Corvans. Early deaths possibly connected to my Corvans were Ann Corvan died Bloomsbury 1839; Anthony Corvan died September quarter 1856, Strand; and Catherine Mary Corvan , who died in December quarter, 1845, St. Pancras district. The latter is definitely mine – she was the first born child of Anthony Corvan and Mary Healy who died in infancy. The Ann Corvan proved to be my Anthony's mother.
On the Healy side, once I recovered from the shock of having an undertaker ancestor, I hunted on the U.K. Public Record Office site for a will for a David Healy (a search for any Corvans at all drew a blank). I couldn’t believe it when the search returned a positive hit for David Healy, undertaker, of Bloomsbury, dated 22 March, 1844.
Amongst other things, David mentioned his wife, Ellen Healy, a son James and a daughter, Mary. The latter is my great-great-great grandmother who married Anthony Corvan and found herself half way across the other side of the earth with a young family. David Healy also mentioned two granddaughters in his will, Ellen and Sarah Healy.
The U.K death index has an entry for David Healy in the March ¼ of 1844, registered at Bloomsbury (Vol:1 page 46 ).
The chase is still in full flight….these words are just a preface to the beginning of the documentation – after all these years – of my Corvan Story.
Back then I remember writing an introduction to my maternal grandmother’s family history….something along the lines of ‘ Ivy Ellen Brown hails from a family that is 100% English in its heritage’, written almost apologetically that there were no Irish or Scots ancestors to spice things up.
There was the tantalizing family story that mentioned a ‘bad-tempered, red-haired Spanish gypsy g-g grandmother’ (not too sure about how many ‘g-g’s in the prefix!) lurking somewhere in the Brown family’s past, but apart from that titbit, I was on my own with only my grandmother’s parents’ names to start with….John George ‘Jack’ Brown and Charlotte Willett.
The Willetts have spread far and wide throughout Australia since the arrival of James Willett and his wife Isabella Standen in 1841, and the family had been well documented before I even started my research. The Brown family also thrived, although by the time I became interested in the family story, my grandmother and all of her siblings had passed away. I have since found some relations that descend from siblings of Jack Brown, but I have been pretty much on my own whilst chipping away at the Brown story.
Jack Brown’s birth certificate told me that he had been born on October 24, 1873, at Bagshot, a small town in the goldmining region of Victoria. His parents were a 37 year old miner, Robert Brown, who originated from County Durham, and 22 year old Rosa Corvan, from London. At the time of his birth, he had a sister, Penelope, who was 2 years & 8 months old.
I very quickly found all of Jack Brown’s siblings, and fleshed out their family stories by writing to Beryl Barnett, the daughter of Jack’s sister, Margaret Brown.
I found that Jack’s father Robert had died at the age of 59 on 29 October, 1894, at Kamarooka, of heart disease. He left his wife Rosa with nine children ranging in age from 24 years to 1½ years. Further information on his death certificate stated that he had been in Victoria for 34 years, and that his parents were John W. Brown and Penelope Gray. This surname ‘GRAY’ caught my attention, as on Robert’s 1869 marriage certificate, I had interpreted his mother’s name as Penelope ‘GEORGE’ due to a poor quality copy making it very difficult to read.
The IGI index was duly consulted with no luck at all, and the Brown family consigned forever into the ‘too-hard’ basket until a ramble through the internet one day located some indexes for Durham. Half-heartedly, I ventured into the site, and soon was shouting ‘WOO HOO!!!!’ as an entry leapt out at me….
‘ March 19, 1836, marriage of John Brown to Penelope Gray’, from the Pittington Marriage Registers, 1575-1837.
Their son Robert was born at Haswell, Durham, according to his marriage certificate, which was near Pittington. John was a miner like his son, and apparently miners moved from town to town for work very frequently. Between 1831 and 1841, the population of Pittington rose from 1632 to 2295, the rapid increase being due to the progress of the collieries in the district.
Consulting the IGI again, there was no Penelope Gray in Pittington, but records only extended to 1813. There was a John Brown, born June 4, 1809, baptised Nov 19, 1809, at Pittington, to John Brown and Mary Tiplady. Other siblings were Ann 1796; Thomas 1798; Mary 1799; Eleanor 1801; Elizabeth 1805 and Robert 1811.
John Brown and Mary Tiplady were married at Kelloe on March 19, 1796. I have no proof at all that this couple and their family are mine – all I can do is keep them on file and hope to verify ‘ownership’ or otherwise in the future.
I think I have located a possible entry for my Robert Brown’s emigration details….in October 1861, the ship ‘Prince Of The Seas’ arrived in Victoria, and on board was 25 year old Robert Brown. Also on board were 21 year old James Brown and 27 year old Mary Brown – related? Who knows?! This Robert was born in c. 1836, the same year as mine. His year of arrival also exactly coincides with the year of arrival stated on my Robert’s death certificate.
Back to the IGI, there at last emerged an entry for Robert Brown, born August 3, 1836, Moorsley, Durham, to John Brown and Penelope. It wasn’t an actual church index record, but an entry submitted by a member of the LSD church, and so cannot be taken as ‘gospel’.
On the Corvan side, I have the unusual situation of being stuck on research in Australia, whilst making progress overseas. The marriage certificate of Rosa Corvan to Robert Brown supplied the initial information…. on September 27,1869, at Bridgewater, Victoria, Rosa Corvan, an eighteen year old Londoner, was married to Robert Brown, 15 years her senior. Her parents were Anthony Edward Corvan, a commercial traveller, and Mary Healy. They were not around at the time of the wedding, as Rosa was living with her elder sister Ellen Matthewson, at Bridgewater, and her brother-in-law, Thomas J. Mathewson gave written consent for the wedding to go ahead as he was legal guardian of the bride, and she was a minor. Prior to the marriage her usual address was Huntly, as was Robert’s.
The last actual record I could find for Anthony and Mary Corvan in Australia was the death certificate of their infant son who was born in Victoria after their immigration. Anthony James Corvan had been born at New Chum Gully in 1856, to 36 year old store keeper Anthony Edward Corvan and 30 year old Mary Healy.
Sixteen days later, poor little Anthony was dead, the victim of a 10 hour bout of convulsions. His father registered the burial at Sandhurst the next day, describing himself as ‘storekeeper, New Chums Gully’. From this point, I have found no record of Anthony, his wife Mary or their daughter Mary. Daughters Ellen and Rosa married and raised families in central Victoria. First child, Catherine Mary, had died in London prior to their leaving the city, as had a son John at three months.
Just what happened to Anthony, Mary and young Mary after 1856 was anyone’s guess. Their deaths were not to be found in the Victorian indexes, or those from NSW. The South Australian and Queensland indexes were checked with no result. I thought that perhaps they ended up in another Australian state, or even returned to England, although their deaths were not to be found there, either.
The IGI has never been helpful with the Corvan family- in fact, details on the Corvan family world-wide are very thin on the ground. Anthony Edward Corvan had stated on his son Anthony’s birth certificate that he and Mary had married on June 4, 1844, at Lincolns Inn Fields, London, England. I had this piece of information for years before finally, in June of 2003, I finally acted on it. The English BDM indexes came on line for a small price, and at last I had the index number needed to order the marriage certificate of Anthony Corvan and Mary Healy.
Well, euphoria erupted 3 weeks later when the certificate arrived ….. on June 4, 1844, in the Sardinian Catholic Chapel in the districts of St. Giles In The Fields and St. George, Bloomsbury, Anthony Edward Corvan, full age, a bachelor of 16 Adam’s Row, Hampstead Road, occupation baker, was married to Mary Healy, a minor, of 184 High Holborn. Best of all, their fathers were named as Patrick Corvan, a coal merchant, and David Healy, an undertaker!!!!!! Witnesses to the ceremony were Rosa Corvan and John Corvan.
They were Catholics!!! My Corvans were Catholics!!! I was absolutely gobsmacked…. my Nan Oakley (Ivy Ellen Brown), who initially refused to go to my mother’s wedding because it was in a Catholic Church, had a strong Catholic heritage starting as recently as her grandmother!! I have no idea as to why the Corvans didn’t retain their Catholicism when they immigrated to Australia…perhaps the parents did, but the daughters Ellen and Rosa married into the Wesleyan and Presbyterian faiths respectively, and none of their children were raised as Catholics.
Prior to obtaining Anthony Corvan’s marriage certificate, I had purchased the marriage certificate of a Rosa Corvan, who had married in the St. Pancras district of London in 1848. The name ‘Rosa Corvan’ was too much of a coincidence for her not to be mine, I thought, but when it arrived and showed that the marriage to Edward Corish took place at St. Aloysius Chapel according to the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church, I lost some of my certainty…my Corvans certainly weren’t Catholic, or so I thought!
Once I received Anthony’s certificate, I had another good look at Rosa’s, and bingo! She was the daughter of Patrick Corvan, a merchant who at the time of the marriage was deceased. Her age was given as 23 years, and she lived at Stanhope Terrace, St. Pancras, London. Witness to the event was John Corvan, also of Stanhope Terrace.
So now I had two siblings, Anthony Edward Corvan, born in London c. 1819-20, and Rosa Corvan, born c. 1825, whose father Patrick was a coal merchant who had died prior to Rosa’s marriage in 1848.
Chances were that John Corvan, who was a witness at both Anthony’s and Rosa’s weddings, was also a brother, so it was back to the internet to do a search on the Free BDM site for all London Corvans. This site was terrific, but still very incomplete at that early stage. It was, however, a handier tool for me to search for my Corvans than the usual IGI, as Catholic records are not very well covered by the IGI site.
A Mary Louisa Corvan was married in the St. Pancras district in the June Quarter of 1844 – the same time and area as Anthony Corvan. John Corvan was married in the June quarter of 1840, in the Bloomsbury district; Ann Corvan in December quarter 1841, Bloomsbury; John Corvan in September quarter 1844, St. Pancras; and Patrick Stephen in March quarter 1846, St. Giles.
I ordered the marriage certificates of Mary, Ann, Patrick, and the two Johns , and they were all siblings of my Anthony Edward Corvan, with the exception of one of the two John Corvans. Early deaths possibly connected to my Corvans were Ann Corvan died Bloomsbury 1839; Anthony Corvan died September quarter 1856, Strand; and Catherine Mary Corvan , who died in December quarter, 1845, St. Pancras district. The latter is definitely mine – she was the first born child of Anthony Corvan and Mary Healy who died in infancy. The Ann Corvan proved to be my Anthony's mother.
On the Healy side, once I recovered from the shock of having an undertaker ancestor, I hunted on the U.K. Public Record Office site for a will for a David Healy (a search for any Corvans at all drew a blank). I couldn’t believe it when the search returned a positive hit for David Healy, undertaker, of Bloomsbury, dated 22 March, 1844.
Amongst other things, David mentioned his wife, Ellen Healy, a son James and a daughter, Mary. The latter is my great-great-great grandmother who married Anthony Corvan and found herself half way across the other side of the earth with a young family. David Healy also mentioned two granddaughters in his will, Ellen and Sarah Healy.
The U.K death index has an entry for David Healy in the March ¼ of 1844, registered at Bloomsbury (Vol:1 page 46 ).
The chase is still in full flight….these words are just a preface to the beginning of the documentation – after all these years – of my Corvan Story.
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