I received a lovely email from
Chuck Corden who sent me a copy of his Family Tree – dating back to
Thomas Corridon , born 1708 in
Ballyheigue. This Thomas had a Grandson,
Edmund Corridon (1780-1830) who married Elizabeth Sears. They had two Children Mary (1821-1909) and
Henry (1822-1899). Elizabeth Corridon married a second time to Pierce Rice from
Kerry and had four children.
Mary and Henry Corden and Pierce Rice were known to be in
America in September 1850. By 1853, perhaps earlier, they made their way to
Waterbury, Connecticut . In that year Mary married Patrick Bunce and Henry
married Bridget Mitchell of Ballinasloe. Chuck’s Great Grandfather was Pierce
Corden (1891- 1951), a son of Henry Corden and in 1919 he started a store in
Waterbury called CORDEN’S MARKET . Pierce’s son, Mitchell P Corridan (Mitch) ran the store for a while before buying a
second ( COOKSON’S MARKET)which he had
until his death in the early sixties,
before he passed them to his son James W Corden (02/091935- - 18/03/1993) who kept them going
until 1978. James W (Jimmy) unfortunately died in a horrific auto accident. James had 3 daughters- Anne , Irene & Mary and two sons –
Charles (Chuck) and James.
At a Corden reunion in 2002 , a book entitled “ An American
Family; The History of The Corden Family in Waterbury” was launched by Charles Mitchell Corden. It would be nice to
see a copy of it sometime.
The above information was supplied to me by Chuck Corden and his wife Kathy who along with their
cousins Charlie Corden
and Genealogist Mary Katherine
Conlan Hall.
