Family of
Denis Curran and
Sarah McKinley

Part One:In Ulster and Scotland

 

Sarah McKinley

Sarah McKinley [S] was born in Ireland according to the U. S. census of 1860 and 1880 and in Scotland according to her burial record and oral history among her descendants in Chicago. Her given name was uncertain among the Currans in St. Louis during my visit in 1980. "Mary" and "Sarah" had both been used in oral family histories.1 The census of 1860 and 1880, however, both list her name as Sarah. The 1860 census recorded her date of birth as the year ending 31 May 1816. The following documented information was obtained by James Craig Curran, Jr. [DS.8.3.1.4.2] from the foreman of the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis circa July 2001.
 

Name:  Sarah Curran
Burial:  19 Mar 1888
Lot:  01-832
Block:  205
Born:  Scotland
Died:  18 Mar 1888
Female  Unmarried
Late Residence:  1415 N. Broadway
Age:  63

Although born in Ireland, Sarah McKinley [S] was said to have been raised in Edinburgh. She spoke English with a strong Scottish accent. Her grandson, George William Curran [DS.8.3] (6 Apr 1895 — 12 Jun 1981), told me that he remembered her characterizing him with a Gaelic phrase that had something to do with "a fair-haired boy". This could not be so if his grandmother died before he was born.

The explanation may be that the story from George William Curran [DS.8.3] referred to his Aunt Sarah rather than to his Grandmother Sarah. Alternatively, it may be that Sarah [S] died circa 1898 but that the record was copied incorrectly when her coffin and contents were moved from one of the old cemeteries along the Mississippi River to Bellefontaine Cemetery to make room for urban development.

The age given in the cemetery record is not of much help. It was customary in that era to understate the age of a mature woman. There is no monument at the grave site.

 

Denis Curran

A composite of various official records indicates that Denis Curran [D] was born in Ireland (probably in Donegal1) sometime between 7 Aug 1808 and 31 May 1809.

The following information about his death and burial was obtained through the research of James Craig Curran, Jr. [DS.8.3.1.4.2].

Death Records
1  SNDX        : C650
2  SURNAME     : Curran
3  GIVEN_NAME  : Dennis
4  DEATH_DAY   : 07
5  DEATH MONTH : Aug
6  DEATH_YEAR  : 1883
7  VOLUME      : 14
8  PAGE        : 512
9  AGE_YEARS   : 74
10 BIRTHPLACE  : Ireland
11 CEMETERY    : Holy Trinity Catholic
12 ADDRESS     : 314 Howard St.
13 COUNTY_LIB  : RDSL23
14 MO_ARCHIVE  : C10380
15 SLGS_ROLL   : VM5
18 DEATH_MO    : 08
19 ANSIDATE    : 18830807

VIEW                Record : 203704

 

In Ulster, it was customary for a Catholic to write the name as "Dennis" while a Protestant would write it as "Denis". Although the census takers always wrote his name as "Dennis", I write "Denis" since that is how he [D] signed a letter to his son Daniel [DS.4]. Since Denis was a Catholic during some part of his life in Ulster, I presume that his mother was a Catholic while his father was a Protestant (hence the spelling "Denis"). According to the oral history in Chicago, Denis moved to Scotland because of a dispute with Catholics in Ulster.2 The story as told to me in Saint Louis circa 1980 was that, after having been a Catholic for some part of his life, Denis Curran [D] had a disagreement with a priest and then wrote a book attacking the Catholic Church1. Nevertheless, his grandson, George William Curran [DS.8.3], described Denis [D] as a Catholic. Considering the writing skill exhibited in his letter to Daniel [DS.4], I doubt that Denis ever wrote a book; he may have written a long letter. My guess is that there was a dispute when Denis (then a Catholic) married (or revealed his intention to marry) Sarah [S] (a Presbyterian) since Sarah intended to raise their children as Presbyterians. If my guess is correct, then Denis and Sarah probably relocated from Donegal to Scotland at about the time of their marriage. It seems that the children of Denis were all raised as Presbyterians. The grandchildren in St. Louis were also raised as Presbyterians. In Chicago, Daniel [DS.4] married a devout Catholic woman, Elizabeth Payne. Their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were all raised as Catholics although some drifted away.

Denis may have spoken some Gaelic although there is no oral history of it. Some of his misspellings of English words such as "yearis", "heair", and "worield" have a mild Celtic flavor.

Denis [D] was proud1 of the fact that he was related to John Philpot Curran although Denis [D] was a Catholic1 and John Philpot Curran was an "Angelican".1

 

Children

Denis Curran [D] and Sarah McKinley (Curran) [S] had at least ten children, of whom only eight were remembered by the Curran family in Saint Louis in 1981.1 Six of the children were born in Scotland:

DS.1 George Curran: Born in Glasgow, Scotland, circa Oct 1837. While serving in Company B of the 23rd Illinois Infantry Volunteers, Private George Curran died of wounds received in the 2nd Battle of Kernstown, Virginia on 24 July 1864.
DS.2 Sarah Curran (Drennan): Born in Scotland circa Nov 1839. Married John Drennan in St. Louis on 26 June 1876. Died in 1930's.
DS.3 Ellen Curran: Born in Scotland, probably late in 1841. I have found no memory or record of Ellen except in the census of 1860.
DS.4 Daniel Curran: Born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 31 Oct 1843. Married Elizabeth Payne in Chicago circa 1861. Died in Chicago on 29 Apr 1935.
DS.5 Dennis/Douglas Curran (called Dennis in the census of 1860 and Dennis Jr. in the City Directory of St. Louis in 1866 but known only as Douglas in our oral histories): Born in Scotland in Nov 1847. Married Josephine in St. Louis circa 1877. Died after 1 Jun 1900.
DS.6 William Curran: Born in Scotland in Sept 1849. Married Ellen Doyle in St. Louis circa 1879. Died after 1 June 1900.

Since George [DS.1] and Daniel [DS.4] were both born in Glasgow, it seems likely that the family was living in Glasgow at the time of the census of 1841. However, there is not yet a name-index for that census and I do not have their street address or the name of their parish. Thus, this appears to be a dead-end for the present.

With their six children, Denis [D] and Sarah [S] emigrated from Scotland to the United States circa 1851 (after the birth of William [DS.6] who was born in Scotland in 1849).

According to the oral history in the Chicago area, Daniel Curran [DS.4], a child of Denis, was born in Glasgow on 31 October 1843 and emigrated to the United States at one or two years of age. That story is consistent with the fact that Robert James Curran [DS.4.7.2.3], a great grandson of Daniel, told his children that his Curran ancestor had come to the United States in 1846 at the time of the potato blight in Ireland and nearby islands.25 In addition, somebody told the census enumerator in 1900 that Daniel had immigrated into the United States in 1845.

However, contrary information was given to the census enumerators by Daniel's siblings, Sarah [DS.2] and William [DS.6]. Sarah gave the immigration year as 1850; William gave it as 1851. These latter dates seem more probable in view of the consistent statement in the census records that William was born in Scotland in September 1849. I can easily picture a day when Sarah McKinley Curran was asked by her children when they had come to the United States. In my imagination, she replied, "When you were one or two years old." Young Daniel thought his mother was referring to him when, in fact, she was referring to his brother William.

Another fact that makes me inclined to doubt the dates of 1845 or 1846 is that I have been unable to find any trace of Denis Curran and family in the census records of 1 June 1850. I shall try to learn the exact immigration date from naturalization papers and the passenger manifest of the ship on which they arrived.

Part Two: Denis and Sarah in Chicago

Part Three: Denis and Sarah in St. Louis

Descendants of Denis and Sarah

Curran Table of Contents