New member looking for advice re. brick wall.....

[Muggins]

Thanks so much, Sarah. I appreciate the time you took to send this info. It looks promising that little John B. Currie might very well be my great grandfather. I hope Fergie sees this info as well, as it may be helpful to her. It looks like the son James Currie (John B.'s eldest brother), who's listed in your info as having been 16 in 1851, was indeed the one Fergie mentions as having been a sculptor in London in the 1881 census, as his household at 240 Oxford St. includes his widowed mother Sarah and his sister Mariane, both of whom are about the correct age.
You may be right about it being the brother Hamilton that attended the wedding in Hfx. I'll try to find the record of the wedding write-up. I don't have any info on what ship they came over on, or for how long they stayed, etc.
As an extra tidbit, I found a record of a Hamilton Currie applying to the 'poorhouse' in 1901 (his parents were listed as having been Hamilton and Sarah, and two of his siblings in London are named - James and Marianne.....

Muggins

[SarahND]

As an extra tidbit, I found a record of a Hamilton Currie applying to the 'poorhouse' in 1901 (his parents were listed as having been Hamilton and Sarah, and two of his siblings in London are named - James and Marianne.....

That sounds very convincing! I see him in St Joseph's Home in 1901. I don't suppose he mentioned his little brother in Canada?

All the best,
Sarah

[Muggins]

That would be pretty remarkable....but no, no mention of little John B.

Thanks again.

[Muggins]

Sarah, what you said "There were a Hamilton and John Currie traveling together who arrived in Quebec in 1903... that is all I can find." got me searching. I found a record of a Felix Currie (which I doubt was a common name) who could have been John Bernard's older brother Felix. Anyway, to get to the point, this Felix married a Susan Healey and they had a son "Hamilton Joseph Currie" in 1861 (Felix would have been about 21 or 22). There is a later record (1905) of a Hamilton Currie (possibly their son Hamilton Joseph Currie?? - who would have been ~44 by then) marrying a Catherine Witherspoon (b. Scotland) in New York. Perhaps this was the Hamilton Currie that travelled to Québec in 1903? All conjecture, of course....

[Muggins]

Hi Fergie -

I guess you're not checking into this site anymore?
Just trying to contact you to let you know that Hamilton Currie and Sarah Begley were my great-great grandparents.
John Bernard Currie (my great-grandfather) was the youngest of the nine children (his older siblings included James the sculptor, Marianne, Hamilton Jr., Felix etc.....

I tried to send you a PM but it looks as though the email address is defunct...

I have some info - mostly gleaned from censuses, so perhaps it won't be news to you, but if your're descended from one of the children, I suppose that makes us distant relations!

If you should ever check in here - please feel free to get in touch!

Muggins

[Ancestors]

Hi again - I'm now registered here as 'Ancestors' but was previously 'Muggins'. Fergie - if you ever check back here, please contact me as we are likely related!

[conniefer]

Hi Muggins!

Fergies here after a long break!
Was doing a bit of googling in the hope of a chance posting to break the brick wall that is Hamilton Currie born 1815 Ayr........saw your last post. Hope you are still on here.
For many years I couldn't find the marriage even on the digitised Catholic records
Well, I finally found it........it was in Latin
He was recorded as Hamilton is Correy which I suppose was verbally how Currie would sound in an Irish accent ti a most likely Irish priest! The marriage took place in Newton Stewart in Wigtonshire, which would I believe at that time be the nearest Catholic parish to Isle of Whithorn where the Irish boat came in!
I am not at home just now to hive you all the details but you would find it on Scotlands people. I will be home on 27th December and can give you details then. As the bride was only 16 at the time I think that corroborates my Mums family story.....told to her by her grandfather....that Hamilton Currie was run out of Ireland at the point of a gun! In all possibility they were runaways but as soon as they got off the boat they married)?
I am now retired and looking at genealogy again....I moved to Arran recently.....my cousin did too a few years ago. Another cousin gave us a postcard addressed to my grandmother from a cousin who holidayed Arran in early 20th century. Arran isn't a million miles away from Ayr and there are a lot of Currie families still on Arran. My great uncle used to say the Curries came from a west coast island so we would love to make a connection..
..my next brick wall but you never know! If they were on Arran they would be involved in illicit whisky distilling on the south end. If you read about the early days of Arran whisky Curries are mentioned back in the day!
Great fun.
Looks like we are distant cousins. I also made contact with a London cousin descended from James the sculptor. Mellis Currie

Cheers
Connie Ferguson.......Fergie