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
A very interesting read. I am Corvan living in Armagh, and my father is called Patrick Corvan. His father also Patrick Corvan was born here, his mother from England. They spent some time living in London. We are a small family, so it was nice to learn a little more our history.
ReplyDeleteHello Caroline,
ReplyDeleteI have only just this moment found your comment! I wonder why I wasn't notified by email by Blogspot when you posted it? Oh well...great to meet you!
I am besotted by the Corvan history-it is fascinating that Patrick and Ann Corvan lived with their family in Buckeridge Street, in the midst of the squalid poverty of the St. Giles Rookery, and yet remained quite well-off financially themselves. They were well respected in the Catholic community, and had various marriages reported in the London Times-hardly typical of Irish Catholic families of the area.
There are some very sad stories amongst the London Corvans, but on the whole I think they were a determined family who did very well for themselves(with the exception of my Anthony Corvan who ended up a drunkard rogue and vagabond in New Zealand!)
It's wonderful to find another Corvan-thank you so much for leaving a comment here.All the very best, Jen