My great grandmother was Mary or Maria Coyne. She may have been born in 1858 … or 1864 … or sometime between 1853 and 1867. What is known is that she died, Mrs Mary Egan of Herberton St, Mareeba, North Queensland on 22 August 1942, and is buried in the Mareeba Pioneer Cemetery in Costin St, Mareeba.
Her death certificate gives an age of 84 for her, making the year of her birth about 1858. The informant was my grandmother, Mrs Margaret Molloy (“Nanna”). Mary was married in 1883 in Philadelphia to Patrick Egan. Family lore says she was “sent for from Ireland as a bride” and was married at the age of 19 – that would make her year of birth about 1864. When she arrived in Australia in Townsville in February 1900, her age on the passenger list was given as 30. This was most likely incorrect, as it would have made her year of birth about 1870, clearly a very young child bride in 1883!
Her only child born in Australia (of eight children in total) was Agnes. When Agnes was born in April 1902, Mary’s age on the birth certificate was given as 37, making her year of birth about 1865. The informant was husband Patrick who gave his age as 49 – implying approximately a ten year age difference between them. This squares with his reported age of 76 years at his death in 1929, or a year of birth of 1853.
Various documents state that she came from Multyfarnham, or Mullingar, in County Westmeath.
On the Irish Family History Foundation website (http://www.rootsireland.ie/index.php?id=home) of Catholic baptismal records , there are a number of Mary Coynes born in Westmeath, the county she originated from, in the years 1850 to 1867. Which one is our Mary? She had (I believe) a sister, Anne [Anna or Anney May], who was also living in Philadelphia in the 1880s, married to Thomas J. Cavanaugh.
Looking for births of Anne Coyne and Mary Coyne in Co. Westmeath to the same parents, there is one match: Ann Coyne born 31 March 1850 and Mary Coyne born 21 April 1853, to parents John Coyne and Eliza or Elizabeth Kelly. But this early date of 1853 would mean that Mary was 30 when married and 88 when she died which doesn’t fit well with the other known facts. On the other hand, the family bible recorded the death of a John Coyne on 23 March 1898. It is possible that Mary’s father was a John Coyne (or if not, then this was a close relative) but this needs to be confirmed.
There are nine other possibilites for Mary Coyne, ranging from births in 1855 to 1867. There is only one Mary Elizabeth Coyne, her full name, born on 27 September 1863, to father Patrick Coyne and mother Elizabeth Gowran. Maybe this is her? There is no record for a Mary Coyne for Multyfarnham parish or Mullingar parish, although there is one for Ann Coyne for Mullingar, born 1855 with parents Patrick Coyne and mother Bridget Slavin.
Without definitive names for Mary’s parents, it will be difficult to identify exactly what her date of birth is. More research to do!
Mary Egan nee Coyne with her daughters, from left, Mary Lucy, Margaret, Agnes
black2buchanan 