Fromelles missing - CURRAN (b NSW, enlisted Brisbane)

[Ruskie]

We are looking for living relatives of the following soldier, but there is also a need to combine the family tree to do DNA testing if it proves viable. Any help is most welcome.

NAME   Curran, Joseph James   
SN   494         
RANK   Private         
UNIT   31 Bn         
HONOUR   Standard entitlements   
BORN   Maitland NSW      
OCCUPATION   Labourer         
RELIGION   Roman Catholic      
            
DOE   10.07.1915 Brisbane Qld   
AGE   30         
            
            
STATUS   KIA         
DATE   20.07.1916      
AGE   30         
BURIED   Unknown         
MEMORIAL   VC Corner Cemetery memorial panel 3
   AWM 18         
            
DESCRIPTION   5' 9 with brown hair      
            
NOTES   AWM Honour Roll record compiled by Historian's staff
            
   Identity disk returned by German authorities
            
   Letter in file from Base Records to Pensions 1924 trying to locate blood relatives as
   Mrs Curran no longer contactable.
            
   Letter in file from Mrs J Johnson Brisbane Road Bundama 1920 she received Curran's
   effects.  She was previously his fiance Miss M Kitching.
            
   Death plaque to Untraceables.   
            
NOK   Kate Curran      
   Coonamble Dubbo NSW   

[deeiluka]

Joseph Curran's birth registration has Catherine Curran listed as his mother, but no father listed.
1887 Maitland.
Ref = 26209


Dee

[deeiluka]

A Catherine Curran has another son in 1888, Thomas S J Curran, again no father's name, this time in Sydney.

And a Catherine A. Curran has a daughter, Laura T. Curran, in Sydney but not till 1896. Again she seems to be a single mother.

Whether this is one and the same Catherine Curran is very debatable.

[deeiluka]

I can't see marriages or deaths for either Thomas S J Curran or Laura T Curran in NSW or in Queensland.

[majm]

Bit More

Curran at Maitland – not sure about these, although Joseph James Curran was born Maitland
NSW Electoral Roll 1930, Fed Seat Hunter, State Seat Maitland, Polling Place Maitland
Lines 1411 to 1415, listed under to show households rather than as per lines on roll
Alice Ann at Roxburgh St Lorn, West Maitland, home duties
Ignatius at Roxburgh St Lorn, West Maitland, bridge carpenter
Alma Veronica at Olive St Telarah, West Maitland, home duties
John Henry at Olive St Telarah, West Maitland, miner
James Vincent at The Avenue, Lorn, West Maitland, chemist’s assistant (not sure if that would be a retail chemist or perhaps as an assistant– say mining R & D lab)

Just Moi

[majm]

Bit More,

Fairly confident of Catherine Curran being Kate Curran NOK

NAME   Curran, Joseph James    NOK   Kate Curran Coonamble Dubbo NSW   

Catherine Curran home duties at Gilgandra on NSW Electoral Roll 1930 This is in the State seat of Dubbo, Fed seat of Gwyir, Polling place Gilgandra. (no street address, suggesting this voter had been on the roll for a considerable time, other entries for Curran at Gilgandra as under (listed as by possible households- all same surname)
Annie, Miller St, home duties
Honora, Miller St, home duties
Mary Evelyn (no street, perhaps Catherine’s sis?) home duties
Ethel May, Bundah (presume house/farm name would be typ of that era), Collie Rd, home duties
Patrick Michael Gilbert, Collie Rd, sheep owner (no name for farm, we suggest “Bundah”)
John Gratton, Eriban St, a butcher

[mum mum]

Hi,
In Josepj Curran records there is a note saying that the fiance thought that his mother was in Victoria working as a cook in a Hotel. I cant find her on the rolls as such, she most likely married anyway, presuming that she was a single Mum. Or she had died by the time the army were looking for her.
Can someone have a look for marriages and deaths in Victoria around this time, we may be  looking for the wrong name.
Really the only thing that is going to show for sure who she was are the actual birth and death certs and none of us can afford to buy them to find the family. Though I always get tempted when I find a likely suspect.
mum mum
Just a thought, local historical societies are often good value on this sort of thing, perhaps if someone finds the society closest to where he was born or mum was living they may be able to find something in the way of newspaper articles etc.

[Ruskie]

This is looking very hopeful - fantastic detective work. Sandra was not at all hopeful about finding any relatives of this soldier. 

[majm]

Bit More

Really the only thing that is going to show for sure who she was are the actual birth and death certs ........ local historical societies are often good value on this sort of thing, perhaps if someone finds the society closest to where he was born or mum was living they may be able to find something in the way of newspaper articles etc.

In Dec 2007 my OH and I were in Dubbo.  We visited their local FHS, and were delighted to find they had vast archives in a former classroom in the HS, near their Tourist Info Centre (from memory).  We found bdm index there for far western places to Broken Hill, Ivanhoe, Louth, etc.  newspaper cuttings from 19thc indexed by surname !  We were not looking for forebears from "Gil" but we suspect the holdings at Dubbo have such. 

Perhaps Sandra or Tim can make contact with the Dubbo FHS and ask for a look up, not just on this Fromelles missing lad, but on any who had at any time - "western districts" of NSW connections - Western Districts - west of Blue Mountains west of (but including) Forbes, Wellington, etc.  The volunteer members in that classroom when we visited were most welcoming, very helpful and knew their archive material holdings were precious. 


JM