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Any info re: James CURRY, wife Catherine, possibly Greaghrahan

CavanDrumgoon (Cavan)

I may be on a wild goose chase - wouldn't be the first time - in searching for the origins of my 2x great-grandfather John CURRY. He was born in either 1826 or 1829, depending on the source document. Family lore said he was the son of Patrick CURRY of Derrylin, Fermanagh, but that has been disproven. John emigrated to Canada sometime prior to 1870, and appears with his wife Elizabeth Byrne and infant daughter Catherine on the 1871 census living in Admaston township, Ontario. The entry immediately below their family on this census is for James CURRY, age 67; Catherine CURRY, age 60; Catherine CURRY, age 16 and Patrick CURRY, age 12. All but the infant were born in Ireland.

It seems less likely to be a coincidence that two families with the same surname lived side-by-side in a small farming community and more possible that they were related. With the family lore in mind, I searched for a connection to the CURRYs from Derrylin and found none. But I did find an 1833 tithe applotment record for a James CURRY in Greaghrahan, which is only 14 km from Derrylin. And so, here I am, looking under rocks in Drumgoon parish. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Jan in Kelowna

2 replies

Hi Jan,

I understand your frustration, the only hope you would have would be to track down through the line of James and hope that you can find a living relative that would assist you either by DNA testing or confirm/disprove your suspicions.  This may be strange but I have a very distant relative married to a Laughlin Curry (1885 Co. Fermanagh & died in  New Rochelle, Westchester, New York, United States in 1947), I looked up Roots Ireland and his father was Patrick. RootsIreland does take you pre civil registration and it may hold some clues, it is a subscription site but you can take out it out for a short length of time, but check and see are your parishes transcribed.  Greaghrahan is in the parish of Drumlane not Drumgoon and indeed it is close to Derrylin.  Do you know if these men were married in Canada, I dont know a lot about Canadian records but you may find your answer there through marriage or death records.  

Look up Griffiths Valuation it is available for free at askaboutireland just put in Curry as the surname and Co. Fermanagh, there are lots of Currys there and it takes you closer in the time line to when your relatives emigration.  Also look at the Wills at https://genealogy.nationalarchives.ie and the deaths registered, admittedly you have only a short window from when they left until 1871 and you would be looking for who was present when the relative died.  I hope I have given you some direction.  

Regards Carmel

 

 

Bailieborough CavanIrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you for your parish correction, Carmel. It could be why I'm spinning my wheels! 

I've seen records for Laughlin CURRY from New York but am confident he's not related to me; all of my direct CURRY ancestors (two different branches that intermarried!) were in Canada before 1885 and the Patrick CURRY who settled in Fitzroy township in Ontario is not a direct ancestor, if he even connects at all. There are nearly as many Patrick CURRYs in the world as there are fish in the sea. 

I have no direct marriage or death records for my 2x GGF John CURRY; I've gone page by page through so many records from the area where they lived without finding anything. I do know that his oldest child, Catherine, was born in Admaston township, Renfrew County on August 17, 1870; her death record states August 17, 1871, but that is impossible - she was enumerated on the 1871 census (April 2, 1871) as an 8 month old infant. (This is the same census that has James CURRY's family immediately after.) So unless they jumped the gun, John CURRY married Elizabeth BYRNE in Canada around December 1869. Elizabeth was born on the Coollattin estate in Wicklow in 1846; the family was assisted to Canada in the spring of 1847 so the marriage would have HAD to happen in Canada. Since the children listed with James CURRY on the 1871 census were both born in Ireland and Patrick being 12 on census day suggests a date of birth in 1858-9, they would have emigrated in or after 1859. Now that I'm putting all this into print, it's starting to suggest some avenues of inquiry I could follow up! Back to Griffith's...

Jan

Jan in Kelowna

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