McCosker Family

Hi! I've been searching exhaustively to get past this brick wall, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. It is especially hard to search for my ancestor because there are so many different spelling variations and misspellings, such as McCusker, McCasker and McOsker and sometimes it beings with 'Mac' or none at all (e.g. Cusker).

The person I am searching for is named Daniel McCosker (my 6th great-grandfather) and he was born about 1794 in Anna (or Annagh), Cavan, Ireland. I cannot find any baptism record that fits this description.

In 1830, he was a Spectacle Maker. Later, he was a Working Cutler & Umbrella Maker. At the time of his death in 1868, he was a Grinder. He has (Romani) traveller relations, including his children and son-in-law. The records I have are only from when he was living in Bedfordshire. I don't know when he left Ireland, but based on my research, Daniel and his family seem to be the only McCoskers living in Bedfordshire around this time, so I am guessing that his relatives didn't emigrate with him.

He married a woman called Harriet (maiden name potentially Cass, born in Bressingham, Diss, Norfolk in about 1793), likely between 1811 and 1830, but I cannot find any marriage record for them. I'm not sure if they married before he moved to England.

He had children named Matthew, Hugh, Joseph, and Mary, all born in England.

Any help would be appreciated. Also, would be interested if anyone here has any McCosker (or similar variation) ancestors who could be related to Daniel :) I looked for other McCoskers baptised in specifically Anna, Cavan within a few years of Daniel's birth, but I couldn't find any.

Hi Emily, thanks for posting about your ancestors! It certainly looks like you have found out some lovely information so far.
As you are probably aware, before 1864, records were kept in the form of church and parish records, so this may be a place to look. The National Library of Ireland (NLI) has a family history section with details on how to search for records and a list of researchers who can undertake research on your behalf.
As you mentioned, there are some variations in the spelling of the surnames for McCosker, but they all seem to be around the Ulster province. Annagh, County Cavan, is a small townland in Cavan, as you have found, the NLI has some records online, but these wouldn't be as far back as you are looking for, unfortunately. The Diocese of Kilmore, County Cavan maybe a place you need to focus on for church records.
Hopefully, some of our fellow members can add to the information you already have. 💚