The Thomas Corcoran and Alice Middleton Family of Leeds and Wortley, Yorkshire, England: An Analysis of Thomas Corcorans Journey from County Mayo Ireland to Yorkshire, England

Thomas Corcoran, son of Edward and Catherine Corcoran appears to have been born in County Mayo, Ireland (as was his siblings Michael and John according to census records). He was present with his parents in the 1851 and 1861 Leeds, North Leeds Census, married Alice Middleton in the Quarter ending December 1866 and I have traced him through the 1901 Yorkshire, Wortley census at this point.

The amazing research compiled on the Irish in England by great authors like Donald Macraid, Roger Swift, Donald E Jordan Junior, Sheridan Gilley, Kevin O'Connor, John Belchem, Frank Boyce and L. W. Brady among others seems to support repeated migration trails from certain counties in Ireland to certain places in England.

There are numerous other Corcoran families hailing from Ireland in the Leeds area in the late 19th, early 20th century and I am determined to find out if the others are related to Edward and Catherine Corcoran and their descendents and if they hail from County Mayo as well.

I believe there is a significant probability of a migration trail being followed by many Mayo and Roscommon families from their roots in Ireland to their new homes (temporary or permanent) in places like Huddersfield, Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, Halifax and Yorkshire, England . This will be a work in progress to search for the origins of these families.

This page was inspired by Jackie, Genealogist from England who is a descendent of Thomas Corcorans brother James. Her contributions on James, and his wife Ellen Corcoran helped link his family to another Corcoran family page I created with Ann Marie on John Corcoran and Mary Redde, (the parents of Ellen Corcoran who was the wife of James). I will be creating other pages on her ancestor James, possibly other siblings of this family as well as their parents Edward and Catherine Corcoran. Kudos to Jackie for her great contribution on bringing this all together!

Research Observations: There were three different possible birth records for son James: March 1868, December 1868 and June 1870 (the quarters ending with these months). Two different census records indicated his birth as 1869 so the quarter ending December 1868 may be most likely. There were no births listed for a Mary Agnes in Leeds in the 1870's only a Mary Ann quarter ending September 1870. I also was unable to find a birth record for Alice who should have been born in 1885. I searched the Leeds BMD from 1865-1887 for these records. There were no Corcoran births listed in the Wortley records for the same time frame. Mother Catherine was listed as a widow in the 1871 North Leeds Census, so father Edward died sometime between 1861-1871. There were three Edward Corcorans that died in Leeds (2 in 1869 and 1 in 1870, but no ages were given for the other two. Based on the 1851 census age, Edward would have been 58 in 1869 (born in 1811) so I believe quarter ending June 1869 is the most likely record of his death. There were three Catherine Corcorans that died in Leeds in the 20 years following the 1861 census: quarter ending September 1870, March 1874 and the most likely September 1873, a 53 yrs old. Based on the ages of the 1851 and 1861 census she would have been born between 1815-1821. This death date would make her birth in 1820 in the target range. There is a Thomas Corcoran age 72 that died in Leeds quarter ending June 1916 which would I thought could be this Thomas Corcoran; however, an online family tree suggests he may have died earlier, elsewhere (Bramley, Leeds) so this needs further research.

I would love to hear from other researchers who feel they are descendents of the Mayo and Roscommon Corcoran families who settled in Yorkshire West Riding Parishes like Huddersfield, Leeds, Halifax, Bradford and Wakefield so that we might work together to discover how these families are connected and their specific origins in Ireland! This will most definitely be a work in progress and all findings I speculate on would have to be proven for accuracy with GRO of England marriage records, church baptismal records and death records among other genealogical records. Please use this information with that caveat in mind so that nothing is assumed and no stones are left unturned to assure it's your family and the connection is accurate.

Census Year District or other Record Address Name Age Born Occupation; Misc Info Marital Status
1851 England Census, Yorkshire Leeds, North Leeds District 2p 4 Randall's yard Corcoran, Edward, Head 40 Ireland Laborer Ag; (there is a John Corcoran age 59 family living next door) M
1851 England Census Yorkshire, Leeds District 2p 4 Randall's Yard Corcoran, Catherine, Wife 36 Ireland   M
1851 England Census Yorkshire, Leeds, District 2p 4 Randall's Yard Corcoran, Patrick, Son 13 Ireland Weaver of Cloth  
1851 England Census Yorkshire, Leeds, District 2p 4 Randall's Yard Corcoran, James, Son 11 Ireland School Boy  
1851 England Census Yorkshire, Leeds, District 2p 4 Randall's Yard Corcoran, Thomas, Son 9 Ireland School Boy  
1851 England Census Yorkshire Leeds, District 2p 4 Randall's Yard Corcoran, Michael, Son 7 Ireland    
1861 England Census Leeds, North Leeds, District 40 (Possibly the same family?) 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, Edward, Head 43 Ireland Railway Lab M
1861 England Census Leeds, District 40 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, Catherine, Wife 40 Ireland Wife M
1861 England Census Leeds, District 40 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, Patrick, Son 19 Ireland Cloth Finisher U
1861 England Census Leeds, District 40 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, James, Son 18? Ireland Cloth Finisher U
1861 England Census Leeds, District 40 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, Thomas, Son 15 Ireland Cloth Finisher U
1861 England Census Leeds District 40 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, Michael, Son 13 Ireland Cloth Finisher U
1861 England Census Leeds District 40 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, John, Son 9 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Scholar  
1861 England Census Leeds District 40 148 Quarry Hill Corcoran, Edward, Son 4 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Scholar (he appears to be in North Leeds in 1871 -District 41 with his mother and 1881- District 31 living with the Rider family, a 25 yr old Cloth Dresser)  
Free BMD Marriages England - Leeds (possible marriage record for Thomas)   Corcoran, Thomas married Alice Middleton in Leeds quarter ending December 1866     Volume 9b, Page 758  
Free BMD England Death Index- Leeds (Possible Death Record for Edward?)   Corcoran, Edward died at age 58 quarter ending June 1869 Leeds     Volume 9b; Page 274;  
1871 England Census Leeds, North Leeds District 43 4 Tunstall Fold Corcoran, Thomas, Head 26 Ireland Cloth Finisher M
1871 England Census Leeds, North Leeds, District 43 4 Tunstall Fold Corcoran, Alice, Wife 26 Yorkshire, Leeds, England   M
1871 England Census Leeds, District 43 4 Tunstall Fold Corcoran, James, Son 2 Yorkshire, Leeds, England    
1871 England Census Leeds, District 43 4 Tunstall Fold Corcoran, Mary A, Daughter 4 mos Yorkshire, Leeds, England    
Free BMD England Death Index- Leeds (Possible death record for Catherine)   Corcoran, Catherine died quarter ending September 1873 Leeds     Volume 9b, Page 311;  
Free BMD Birth Index- England; Leeds (Probable Birth record for Joseph)   Corcoran, Joseph was born quarter ending June 1875 - Leeds     Volume 9b; Page 487  
Free BMD Birth Index- England; Leeds (Probable birth record for John P)   Corcoran, John Patrick was born quarter ending March 1880     Volume 9b; Page 451; There was also a John born June 1880 (9b, page 503).  
1881 England Census Leeds, North Leeds, District 33 5 Allison's Yard Corcoran, Thomas, Head 36 County Mayo, Ireland Cloth Finisher; the John Corcoran Family lives next door to them M
1881 England Census Leeds, District 33 5 Allison's Yard Corcoran, Alice, Wife 36 Yorkshire, Leeds, England   M
1881 England Census Leeds, District 33 5 Allison's Yard Corcoran, James, Son 12 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Cloth Finisher  
1881 England Census Leeds, District 33 5 Allison's Yard Corcoran, Mary Agnes, Daughter 10 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Scholar  
1881 England Census Leeds, District 33 5 Allison's Yard Corcoran, Joseph, Son 6 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Scholar  
1881 England Census Leeds, District 33 5 Allison's Yard Corcoran, John P, Son 1 Yorkshire, Leeds, England    
Free BMD England Birth Index- Leeds (Possible birth record for Michael)   Corcoran, Michael born quarter ending June 1882 Leeds     Volume 9b; Page 451  
1891 England Census Yorkshire, Wortley, Wortley Sub reg (near Leeds) District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, Thomas, Head 45 Ireland Foreman, Cloth Finisher M
1891 England Census Yorkshire, Wortley, District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, Alice, Wife 46 Yorkshire, Leeds, England   M
1891 England Census Yorkshire, Wortley, District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, James, Son 22 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Cloth Finisher U
1891 England Census Yorkshire, Wortley, District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, Mary A, Daughter 20 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Linen Weaver U
1891 England Census Yorkshire, Wortley, District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, Joseph, Son 15 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Cloth Finisher U
1891 England Census Yorkshire, Wortley, District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, John P, Son 11 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Scholar U
1891 England Census Yorkshire, Wortley, District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, Michael, Son 9 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Scholar U
1891 England Census Yorkshire Wortley, District 23 15 Danube Grove Corcoran, Alice, Daughter 6 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Scholar U
1901 England Census Wortley, Wortley Sub Reg Dist (near Leeds), District 23 38 Danube Place Corcoran, Thomas, Head 55 Mayo, Ireland Foreman Woolen Cloth Finisher M
1901 England Census Wortley, District 23 38 Danube Place Corcoran, Alice, Wife 55 Yorkshire, Leeds, England   M
1901 England Census Wortley District 23 38 Danube Place Corcoran, John P, Son 21 Yorkshire, Leeds, England Cloth R ? Engine Starter U
1901 England Census Wortley District 23 38 Danube Place Corcoran, Michael, Son 18 Yorkshire, Leeds, England   U
1901 England Census Wortley District 23 38 Danube Place Corcoran, Alice, Daughter 6 (I think this should have been 16) Yorkshire, Leeds, England   U