Marriage Certificate of Patrick Stephen Corvan

4. Patrick Stephen Corvan

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.

John Corvan's Marriage & Death Certificates

Corvan family in the 1841 census

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.

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.

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."

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'.