Currans of Brockagh

Jim,

The 1831 census for Brockagh lists a Patt Corrins or Currins whose household consisted of 4 males and 6 females, all RC. So that’s presumably Patrick married to Jean Tracey.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Tirkeeran/Cumber_Lower/Brockagh_Lower/19/

You mention Jean or Jane Tracey. The names Jean and Jane are interchangeable in Ireland (like Ann and Agnes for example) and so both are likely to be correct.

I searched for the marriage between John Murray and Mary Ann Curran but could not find it. Birth registration started in 1864. I searched 1864 to 1868 but could not find any children born to parents of those 2 surnames. Presumably the children were born before 1864.

I do see a Richard Curran in Brockagh in the 1901 census:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Tamnaherin/Brockagh/1528127/

There was a William working nearby too who is presumably related:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Tamnaherin/Brockagh/1528126/

1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Londonderry/Tamnaherin/Brockagh/599057/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Londonderry/Tamnaherin/Brockagh/599058/

Looking at the Valuation revision books, I see that Patrick Curran ceased to be a tenant in Brockagh c 1880.  So he possibly died around then. Nearest likely death is for Patrick Curran on 30.12.1876 aged 86, registered in Londonderry.  You can view the original certificate on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate. 

Elwyn - that was very helpful.  Thank you so much!  That was indeed my great great grandfather's death record.  It indicates that he was married.  In the U.S., this would mean his spouse was still alive at the time of his death (he would be listed as a widower if she was already dead).  Is this also the convention there?  If he lived to 86 and was having children in his

I had forgotten about that 1831 census record.  I actually found that a couple of years ago.   I have not worked on this branch of my family since 2014 as I was working on other parts of the tree.  I decided to take a look again after being contacted by a Malky Curran (actually by his wife Shona) who is a descendant of a Richard Curran who was born in Tamnaherin, Cumber Lower in 1872.  That Richard was the son of William Curran and Ann Cook.   William Curran was the son of another Richard Curran.   I found a Catherine Curran in the valuation ledgers from Tamnaherin (property #17), her name was supplanted by a John Curran in 1872 and then a James Curran in 1876.  They are replaced by a David Quigley in 1883.

According to Shona, the Richard Curran born in 1872 immigrated to Scottland in 1893 with his mother (Ann Cook Curran) and three siblings - Kate, John and James.   Those names neatly match those on the valuation and its revisions, but I have no idea why they would have been rotating through the names associated with the lease if nobody had died. 

The William Curran ("Corin") in the 1831 census living in Brockagh might be the father of Richard and husband of Ann Cook.  However, these same names (Richard, William, Charles etc) have been used over and over in our family.  

FYI - my mother Loretta and I have a large public tree up on Ancestry.com if you or any other interested parties want to check it out.    tree = O'Reilly Family Tree  username = chasloretta    It included branches of both sides of my family and has become a large collaborative project with input from many cousins over the years.   We also have a page on Facebook  - the Pittsburgh Currans Bulletin Board https://www.facebook.com/groups/531832406850800/   We set it up to help organize a reunion we had a couple of years ago in Pittsburgh.  There are some nice photographs and stories there from various members of the Currans.  - Jim

Yes, if the  death certificate said married , that would mean his wife was still alive. I looked for female deaths in the Londonderry registration area 1876 to 1890, of women likely to be married to a man of 86. Bear in mind that it might have ben a 2nd marriage and the wife a good bit younger. Also that ages on death certificates were just the informant’s best guess and for someone in their 70s or 80s could be out by anything up to 10 years.

Possibles are Sarah died 16.10.1881 aged 76 & Marry (sic) 20.11.1885 aged 82. Both were registered in the Eglinton sub-district which includes Brockagh, so I suspect one of those is Patrick’s wife.

Elwyn

The Sarah Curran who died in 1881 lived just north of Brochagh in Derryarkin - but she was married, not widowed, when she died.

The Mary Curran who died in 1885 was apparently living with her son William in either Cumber Upper or Cumber Lower.  I cannot figure out the townland name.  What do you make of it?  William is a name that appears twice in the next generation (but is also found on the other side of those families)

- Jim

Ah - it says Killennan.   This is probably the widow of the Paul Curran who died 2 Feb 1873 and appears in Griffith's Valuation.

I would expect Patrick’s wife to be described as widow of a farmer, rather than widow of a labourer. I suppose all you might do is go through every adult female Curran/Currin/Curren death in the Eglinton sub district, after Patrick’s own death, till you find hers. (There’s always the outside chance she died somewhere else, but you’ll probably have to take the risk). There’s no-one in the 1901 census who looks likely to fit, so she must have been dead by then.

Hi Jim, I am related to the Currans of Killennan. Mary Curran, who died in 1885, was my great great great grandmother. Her son William, who registered her death, was my great great grandfather. 

Mary was the wife of Paul Curran. A 'Mary Curran' registered Paul's death in 1873. No relationship was recorded on the death certificate, but she was presumably his wife. Paul "Corrin" is recorded as residing at Lettershendony, Cumber Lower, in the 1831 Census. Paul Curran's daughter, Anne, married Henry Duddy in 1866; one of the witnesses at the wedding was a Patrick Curran. Henry Duddy, a son of Anne Curran and Henry Duddy, was baptised in 1869 and his godparents were Richard Curran and Jane Curran.

I believe that my Currans and the Currans of Brockagh are related in some way but I have not as yet found a concrete connection or relationship.

Best wishes,

Brendan

Greetings Brendan!

This does sound like a promising connection. We are very blessed to have those early census records from Lower Cumber to get us this far back (absent from every other place my ancestors came from in Ireland) but I think that we have likely gone as far with that as we can go.   I am not an expert on records in Ireland but I did talk to a professional geneaologist from there a couple of years ago who suggested looking into the records from the Grocer's Company who owned the land farmed by Patrick Curran.  Minimally, we would expect to find records of rent payment and changes regarding who was the lease holder. He said there is also sometimes extensive correpsondence between local agents and the owners (who would have been in London) that describe the lives of tenants in detail.   If such correspondence exists regarding Cumber Lower, it would likely include some genealogical information because the leases were passed down familial lines and the status of the families (e.g., how many healthy working age people lived on and worked the farm) would have a direct bearing on the liklihood of rent being paid etc.   That research would involve my traveling to Ireland and London and is not going to happen anytime soon.

In the short term, an easier way to establish whether or not there was a blood relationship between our respective ancestors would be a DNA test.  This would not settle exact relationships, but would let us know if we are barking up the right tree (so to speak).   I have not had a DNA test done yet, but several of my Curran cousins (all confirmed descendants of Patrick Curran of Brockagh) have done so through Ancestry.com.    Have you or any of your relatives done the DNA thing?

- Jim

Hi Jim,

I see You guys have hit upon my Grand Parents and Great Grand Parents. There is still quite a few of us Currans still remaining. We all live within a 15 mile radius of Brockagh. From the 1911 Census, Elwyn posted above,  William Curran he is my Great Grandad, His Son Joseph Leo Curran, who is 8 years old at the time of the 1911 Census is my Grandad. Not sure how far removed each of us are, But a DNA test would be great to discover relivatives all over the world.  

Paul and Brendan,

My niece is getting married in Bath in mid-August and I am planning to visit Ireland before I return to the US.   Any chance I could meet up with some Currans if I make the trek up to Derry?  I would also love to get a peak at what I think are the ruins of the house of Patrick Curran (my great great grandfather) - I have indicated where they are located on the attached map.  This was the only dwelling indicated on his farm in Griffith's Valuation.   I am not sure which of the surrounding modern houses owns that field.    

- Jim O'Reilly      Lakewood, Ohio U.S.A. 

Hi Jim,

Are you still active on this site? I am helping my wife, Denise Provost, trace her ancestors, and she is descended from John Murray and Mary Ann Curren. I would love to compare notes with you on the Currens who moved to Pittsburgh. It's a pity Denise didn't know about the reunion of Pittsburgh Currens! I am especially interested in the oral history you referrred to. I have also heard/read the information you mentioned, but have no idea where it originated. Do you have an information on who wrote down the history and when?

Look forward to hearing back from you

Geoff in Boston, MA

Hi Paul,

Nice to cyber-meet you. Jim posted his contact with you on a family reunion facebook page and I couldn't help but to reach out. You and I are 3rd cousins once removed and you and Jim are 2nd cousins once removed, if my research is correct. To confirm, was the William Curran mentioned above married to a Jean Murphy? My research is based off of everything that was mentioned previously in this thread and using a few ancestory.com family trees. It looks like William was brother to my great great grandmother Catherine (Jim's grandmother, no greats). Anyway, I wanted to reach out and say hello. I've actually planned a trip to Ireland for September. I know this website isn't for meeting up, but I'd be delighted to cross paths. Jim shared some great history from Ireland and I plan to take a trip to the old family house (which now looks like a delapitated shed in someone's backyard but I'm extremely excited to see it.) Hope all is well and hope to hear back. Thanks for reaching out to Jim in the first place.

- Joey D

Hi Paul,

Nice to cyber-meet you. Jim posted his contact with you on a family reunion facebook page and I couldn't help but to reach out. You and I are 3rd cousins once removed and you and Jim are 2nd cousins once removed, if my research is correct. To confirm, was the William Curran mentioned above married to a Jean Murphy? My research is based off of everything that was mentioned previously in this thread and using a few ancestory.com family trees. It looks like William was brother to my great great grandmother Catherine (Jim's grandmother, no greats). Anyway, I wanted to reach out and say hello. I've actually planned a trip to Ireland for September. I know this website isn't for meeting up, but I'd be delighted to cross paths. Jim shared some great history from Ireland and I plan to take a trip to the old family house (which now looks like a delapitated shed in someone's backyard but I'm extremely excited to see it.) Hope all is well and hope to hear back. Thanks for reaching out to Jim in the first place.

- Joey D

Good evening everybody,

My grandfather was Robert Joseph O'Toole. His mother was Mary Jane Curran and her father was Charles Curran. I am Jim O'Reilly's 2nd cousin once removed and I have been, like Jim, researching my family trees. I hope that this site will aid in my research.

Eric Ritter, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Good morning everyone,

This may or may not apply to the family links that we are discussing but I came across a Curran who played a part in the colonial history of the Virginia Colony and Penn's Colony (Pennsylvania). 

In Major George Washington's mission to what is now western Pennsylvania (Ohio Country) in 1753-54 to determine what the French disposition and intentions were in the region he hired men with knowledge of the country.

At Wills Creek (the north branch of the Potomac River) in the area of present day Cumberland, Maryland Washington hired two Indian traders: Barney Curran and John McGuire. Barney Curran is the name given in the History of Butler County (Pennsylvania). Old George spelled the gentleman's name somewhat differently in his journal recounting the expedition. In his journal the name is given as Barnaby Currin. I have to research where this Barney (Barnaby) Curran came from. Suggestions and assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Eric Ritter