My Mother's Side

On my mother's side of the family are her Dad's side, the Cosgraves. We knew they were Irish. My grandfather is what was called Black Irish. That means that he had black hair and blue eyes. His mother was a Nichols and we are now learning that part of her family was Irish too. We have the naturalization paper of Daniel Cosgrave who was the first Irish to come to America. He was born in 1798 and he came here by way of Philadelphia where he remained until 1850 when his wife died in Philadelphia. He then went to Newark, New Jersey where he died and was buried. He had married Elizabeth Ruth and had three children, a daughter Elizabeth and two sons, John and Joseph William Cosgrave who fought in the Civil War. I am descended from Joseph William Cosgrave. Someday I hope to find his grave, if it is still there.

All this information was provided to me, those are the gems you are lucky enough to find once in awhile. When you are doing all the research yourself, it can be time consuming and frustrating. When you find the information you are looking for it's so rewarding. My grandfather, Robert Leslie Cosgrave was a police officer in Montgomery County, Maryland. It's a huge county with a large force. He was one of the original motorcycle policeman and somewhere I have a picture of them with him in it but it's not a good picture with so many people in it. My grandfather was a wonderful man. He was quiet and loved his family so much. This is a picture of him.

He had to retire young as he had several heart attacks. In later years he had a few strokes. He died in his tiny home he loved so much with my grandmother there. Thank you Grandaddy for giving me my love for all things Irish and for always making me feel so loved. I treasure your memory.