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Florence McCarthy
Petercr
Hi to all



I've only recently discovered that my g-g-g-grandfather was a Florence McCarthy who was a Coast Guard. I never thought that we had much of a connection with the sea, but it turns out that his great grandson was in the Royal Navy and died in the devastating Halifax NS disaster of 6th Dec 1917, and of course his g-g-g-grandson (my cousin) is a member of the Arklow Lifeboat for over 20 years.



Anyway, thanks to the contributors on this site for all the pointers for research.

Between here, the NA ADM files and the GENUKI site

I have gleaned the following


Page 132 of ADM 175 / 98 it says Florence was appointed to Beaulieu River (Folio 164)

...but I can't find a date of joining

Then I can see from http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/Coastguards/M-O.html



McCarthy, Florence

Born IRL c1806

1841 census based in Fraserburgh ABD (I presume Aberdeenshire)



Family: Wife Catharine, born c1816, IRL; Charles, 1834, ENG; Helena & Mary & Catharine, 1837 & 1839 & 1841, all ABD.


So presumably Charles (my gg grandfather) was born in 1834 when he was based at Beaulieu River but by 1837 he was in Fraserburgh since Helena was born there in 1837.

I can see from Page 316 for ADM 175/19 that he was removed to Rutland Island, Co. Donegal on 14 Oct 1844 (ref R1807)

Then removed to Crookhaven, Co. Cork on 13 Aug 1846 (ref R4190) as a Boatman.

Oddly, for the same record, ADM 175/18 it give the refs R1807 as R334 and R4190 as R312 Request.


ADM175/19 Page 136 Florence McCarthy is mentioned on 28 Nov 1846 as being promoted ref R3 26/12 1846.

Finally on page 135 he's a Commissioned Boatman, a position he holds until 23rd April 1852 where there is a D.D. with something written that I cannot make out (can someone help ?) and 46/11 /52


Questions :

If ADM175/98 says he was "appointed" to Beaulieu River, does that mean he joined the Coast Guard at that point ?

What is Folio 164 ?

Are there any records for Fraserburgh ?

Are the Refs available to be seen i.e. R1807 or R334 etc ?

I presume D.D. means died. Is there any way of finding out how he died and if his wife was paid anything ?

Are there any other places I should be checking ?

Since he requested to be transferred from Rutland to Crookhaven, it looks like he was from Cork. McCarthy is a West Cork name anyway. I would like to fill in the gaps of how he came to go from (I presume) West Cork, to Beaulieu, when he joined, how long he stayed in Beaulieu River and when he moved to Fraserburgh. My g-g grandfather Charles, joined the Royal Irish Constabulary and was based in Liscannor, Co. Clare when he married in 1864, at the age of 30.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Merged on 21/04/2012 22:55:00:
I have an update, having downloaded ADM 175/6. I found the following

Page 90 of ADM 175/6
N5369 22-Sep-1835 RMS Prince Regent McCarthy Florence Boatman Removed 11-Apr-1836 Abbotsbury R1224

Page 384 of ADM 175/6
R1224 11-Apr-1836 Epple Bay McCarthy Florence Boatman Removed 6-Feb-1837 Barton Cliffe R2388

Page 334 of ADM 175/6
R2388 6-Feb-1837 Abbotsbury 167 McCarthy Florence Boatman Removed 31-Oct-1839 Beaulieu River 164 R954

Page 325 of ADM 175/6
R954 31-Oct-1839 Barton Cliffe 167 McCarthy Florence Boatman Removed 2-June-1842 Lepe 164 R3505

Page 329 of ADM 175/6
R3505 2-June-1842 Beaulieu River McCarthy Florence Boatman dischd (?) 14-May-1844 Pen'd by Admiralty (?) £9 4s Ref 2 222 5/44

I know he went onto Fraserburgh, but that penalty of £9 4s seems excessive ?

Also Can someone point me in the direction of finding out about his career in the Navy and HMS Prince Regent ? Thanks
Edited by Petercr on 21/04/2012 22:55
 
crimea1854
Hi Peter, and welcome to the Forum.

First the bad news, I'm afraid the Florence McCathy at Beaulieu River is not your Florence. The ref to 'Pen'd by Admiralty' is not 'Penalty' but rather 'Pensioned'. The £9 4s is how much this man was to receive each year.

Your man came from the Castletown area of Ireland with a first posting to St Osyth Tower in Essex (ADM 175/6 pdf 661), you will also find him in the Nomination Book Ref. 2937 (ADM 175/97 pdf 119). He subsequently moved to Bovisand (ADM 175/6 pdf 455), then Elie in Scotland (ADM 175/22 pdf 23), Fraserburgh (ADM 175/22 pdf 63), Rutland then Crookhaven.

The DD does, as you say, mean 'Discharged Dead', and the note you were unable to read is 'Drowned on Duty'. It is possible that a local paper may have carried the story of his death.

The 'R' numbers relate to Admiralty correspondence, which I suspect no longer exist. The Folio number is the page in the Establishment Book, normally found at the top of the ADM 175 documents.

Hope this helps.

Martin
Edited by crimea1854 on 22/04/2012 06:59
 
Petercr
Hi Martin,

Thank you so much for your wonderful help, I would have been puzzled for years ! I wouldn't have expected 2 Florence McCarthys.

Can I ask if it was it normal for a first assignment to have been sent so far away ?

Thanks again

Peter
Edited by Petercr on 22/04/2012 16:45
 
crimea1854
Peter

It is over a year since your last post, but I've recently revisited Florence and have found he was issued with a Merchant Seamen's Ticket (No.153,147). According to this he was born in Kilcarkin (?), County Cork, on 4 August 1801, first going to sea as a fisherman in 1820.

Martin
 
Petercr
crimea1854 wrote:

Peter

It is over a year since your last post, but I've recently revisited Florence and have found he was issued with a Merchant Seamen's Ticket (No.153,147). According to this he was born in Kilcarkin (?), County Cork, on 4 August 1801, first going to sea as a fisherman in 1820.

Martin


Hi Martin

I can't believe that I've only seen your reply now ! This is fantastic !

Thank you for your added help, this might be Kilcaskan ? Where could I see that record ?

I've added a google maps printscreen which shows how close Kilcaskan is to Castletownbere.
Petercr attached the following image:
kilcaskan_county_cork.jpg
 
crimea1854
The record is on the pay to view site Find my Past, unfortunately I no longer have a subscription, as I could have taken a copy for you.

Martin
 
Petercr
crimea1854 wrote:

The record is on the pay to view site Find my Past, unfortunately I no longer have a subscription, as I could have taken a copy for you.

Martin


That's no problem, Martin, I'm due to sign up for that, for a month, anyway. Thanks again. At an 1801 birth, that would put him at about 27 when he joined the Coast Guard, and 51 when he drowned on duty in 1852.
 
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