The
Coghlans
Henry Coghlan
+
Christina Esther ???
We would love to know more about
Henry & Christiana Esther. i.e. their parents and where they came
from.
From the marriage certificate of Maude Isabella we know they they were
British but little else. The first child was born in 1886 (in Coonor) so we
assume they married around 1885 (probably in Coonor).
As children
we were told that Henry Coghlan was an engineer and played a big part on
the Nilgiris
Railway and Egmore
Station. The history of the railway and places of the birth of his children
proves this. The headquarters of the railway at his time was in Trichy. A line
had to be built to the port cities of Madras & Negapatam and a
holiday/military line to Ooty, hence his movements.
Children of HC +
CE
Maude Isabella born in Trichinopoly on 28th February 1888. Christened 25th
March 1888. Married Winfred Pears 1907 Madras.
Maude's Siblings
(other children of Henry & Christiana).
(1)Mary Adelaide b
29/10/1886; C 27/11/1886 Coonor:
(2)Charles
John Henry b 19/9/1892 c23/10 1892 Negapatam:
(3) George Herbert b 2/08/1894 c
7/09/1894 Madras
ps:
Next to the magnificent task of laying the road to Ooty, the
British took up, around 1880, the stupendous task of connecting Mettupalayam to
Ooty by rail. A Swiss engineer, M.
Riggenback and Major Morant of Kotagiri road fame prepared an estimate of
1,32,000 pounds (currency) for laying the rack railway and floated a company
called The Rigi Railway & Co Ltd.
Since capital was not forthcoming, Mr. Richard Wolley of Coonoor came
forward to advance money on the condition that the contract would be entrusted
to Mr. Wolley by the Government of Madras.
The agreement between the 2 was signed in 1886, and the
company called The Nilgri Railway & Company came into being with a capital
of Rs 25 lakh. The work on the line
was started in August 1891 by Lord Wenlock, Governor or Madras, but the company
was liquidated in 1894. Later, a
new company was formed in 1894, and the work was completed in
1899. The line was worked by
Madras Railway, to start with.