The ancestors here in the US of Michael Curran are looking for family connections to Michael in Ireland.
It is unknown where he came from or his family before he emigrated. There are stories he came from Kerry but no proof.
He married Mary Robinson here approx 1798 and had 13 children.
Please help those of us looking for our irish connection.
Thank you
Kevin Curan
Danville, CA
Kevin:
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
Likely Michael was born 1780 or earlier, however, very few RC parishes in Ireland (I'm assuming Michael was RC) have records back that far. Co. Kerry RC parishes are on the free site www.irishgenealogy.ie and there are a couple parishes with records back to the 18th century but I did not see a Michael Curran record.
I think your best bet would be DNA testing. I would not recommend the Y-DNA test but rather an autosomal test and there are four or more companies that offer the test.
Roger McDonnell
Thanks for the reply, Roger who and where are you? (This is my first shot at this site so new to it's people involved)
There's a whole line of Currans here in the US who don't know where we came from in Ireland. I guess he could have been the last of his family when he came over so no trace there. But I'm optimistic.
I don't know what Parish to look at.
I've started some research at irishgenealogy.ie too. Nothing there yet.
I've gotten DNA tests done through Ancestry and 23 and me. I'll look into the Y DNA test. Is your experience that this test narrows down the search and is more infrmative as to where to look?
With an Irish emigrant ancestor like Michael, who we have sources shows up in Pennsylvania between 18783 and 1819, I realize there is little to go on. But would that be enough for a Curran still in Ireland to connect to?
Thank you so much for the reply.
Kevin Curran
Kevin:
I'm a volunteer on the site and a parish liaison for a couple of parishes in Co. Roscommon and one in Co. Mayo. I live in the States.
Regarding DNA testing, there is a volunteer run site called Genesis Gedmatch where you can upload your Ancestry or 23 and Me raw data and see if you match someone who tested with Family Tree DNA or My Heritage (and who also uploaded their data to Genesis Gedmatch). The site also has good analytical tools some free and some at a cost.
The odds of matching someone in Ireland are not that great but it is possible. You are likely looking at a fifth cousin or greater. More than likely you will find closer cousins in the States, Canada or Australia. Maybe one of your matches will have a better sense of where in Ireland the family originated.
To my knowledge, the Y-DNA test is only offered by Family Tree DNA and there are many levels you can pursue depending on how much you want to spend. I have taken the test and your matches tend to be 200-300 years back.
The surname Curran was fairly common in Ireland in the mid-19th century. In addition to Co. Kerry, there were good numbers of Currans in Galway, Donegal, Waterford and Down and smaller numbers in other counties.
Roger
Hi Kevin,
I don't know if you are still monitoring this years later but I found your post interesting. Your post caught my attention because we have traced our ancestry back to a Micheal Curran who was born around 1780 and shows up in Pennsylvania around 1819. He married Mary Robinson and had 13 children; their first son was born in 1819. It looks like they then moved to Ohio. But what a coincidence! I do have a list of the names of the 13 children. How crazy if we had a matching list.
Nikki
Hi Nikki thanks for the reply could you tell me a bit about yourself and maybe we can figure out how were related
Your Michael story is familiar and thats where the trail goes cold. I'd very much like to find famility in Ireland
I'm in Northern california SF bay area to be precise. and my fathers family is mostly Abilene KS based
Thanks
Kevin Curran
650-847-8382
Hi Nikki thanks for the reply could you tell me a bit about yourself and maybe we can figure out how were related
Your Michael story is familiar and thats where the trail goes cold. I'd very much like to find famility in Ireland
I'm in Northern california SF bay area to be precise. and my fathers family is mostly Abilene KS based
Thanks
Kevin Curran
650-847-8382
Hi Nikki thanks for the reply could you tell me a bit about yourself and maybe we can figure out how were related
Your Michael story is familiar and thats where the trail goes cold. I'd very much like to find famility in Ireland
I'm in Northern california SF bay area to be precise. and my fathers family is mostly Abilene KS based
Thanks
Kevin Curran
650-847-8382
Hi Nikki thanks for the reply could you tell me a bit about yourself and maybe we can figure out how were related
Your Michael story is familiar and thats where the trail goes cold. I'd very much like to find famility in Ireland
I'm in Northern california SF bay area to be precise. and my fathers family is mostly Abilene KS based
Thanks
Kevin Curran
650-847-8382
Hello I am John Joseph Curran III, official Decendant Of Michael, living in Lapeer Michigan USA, Great Grandson of John Parnell Curran and Great Great Grandson of Michael James Curran. I have a sister Rachael, one neice and two nephews, as well as a wife and three sons, We are interested in Contacting Family here in the USA and abroad, we are interested in the dual US/Irish citizenship pathway for Great Grandchildren of Irish Immigrants as well. Feal free to talk text or email.
Thank You
John Joseph Curran III
+1 8103587357
309 N. Main St. Lapeer Michigan 48446.
John:
Can you clarify, are you a descendant of the Michael Curran listed by Kevin in the original message?
FYI. Great-grandchildren are not eligible for dual Irish citizenship.
Roger McDonnell