? Corr?in, Corran, Curren, Currans, Currane, Curreen, Kirrane, O? Corrin, O?Currane, O?Corren, Corrin

The Curran name, and its variations, are popular throughout Ireland, most particularly in county Donegal in the northern province of Ulster. The name comes from the Gaelic word ?corradh? meaning ?spear? The surname Curran appears to be patronymical in origin, and is believed to be associated with the Irish, meaning,"Grandson of Corran", a diminutive of "Coiradh (spear). Different spellings of the same name original surname are a common occurrence. Dictionaries of surnames indicate probable spelling variations of Curran to be Corran, Currane, Kirrane, Curreen, O'Currin, Curren, and Coiradh. Although bearers of the old and distinguished Curran name comprise a small fraction of the population, there are a number who have established for it a significant place in history. They include: One of the most famous Irish Curran?s was John Philpot Curran, a barrister and a nationalist, whose daughter was engaged to Robert Emmett.
Simon Curran (O'Currin) (d.1302), Bishop of Kiljenora, Ireland. Charles Courtney Curran 1861-1942) American painter of "perfume of the Rose", still hanging in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., "The Breezy Day"' in Philadelphia, and "Mountain Laurel." John Philpot Curran (1750-1817) Irish orator and Judge who was a member of the Irish Parliament in 1783. John Joseph Curran (1859-1936) ordained a priest in 1887, he spent the rest of his life as Curate and Pastor in the coal-mining area of Pennsylvania. He became famous for his support of miners and their unions. Amelia Curran (d.1847) She practiced painting only as an amateur, and her portrait of Percy Bysshe Shelly was exhibited in the National Portrait Exhibition in 1868. Pearl Gildessleeve Curran (1875-1941) American composer who published about forty songs, many of them to her own texts. Her most successful works include," Dawn".

The Name Curran begins in Australia in 1826 with The Arrival of John Bury Curran to Botany Bay NSW.

Australia 1826
There is no family bible or ancestors with an extensive knowledge of the Curran family history. The descendants of the Curran family in Victoria, NSW and Queensland has been pieced together from birth, marriage and death certificates and probate records. John Bury Curran is the earliest known descendant.
John Bury Curran was a soldier who was posted in India from at least 1819 to 1821. He served in the Dublin 17th Dragoons (Light) he was discharged aged 38 (covering 1806-1825). He arrived in Australia, Sydney in September 1826 on the sailing ship ?Orpheus? The New South Wales Calendar and General Post Office Directory of 1833, lists a ?Curran, John Bury, who was the Principal Clerk at Brigade Office Sydney he held the rank of Sergeant Major? The Brigade Office was the military office in Sydney under the command of Lt-Col. Snodgrass who was the ?Major of Brigade?. His service record in Australia, served in the New South Wales Veterans; 17th Dragoons (Light) he was discharged aged 43yrs covering dates gives the year of discharge as 1832. In Britain during 1826 three companies of veterans were raised to serve in New South Wales and Tasmania. At the completion of two years service the soldiers were allowed to take land grants and settle. One advantage of the Veterans Battalions had over other Regiments was that were able to take heir families with them. Life was made a lot easier for the Veterans then that of Regiment soldier?s. The Veterans duties were made easier to accommodate their age and physical conditions. Never less the Veterans helped mould the country into what it is today. N.S.W Veterans Company was formed in 1825 and they arrived in the Colony on board the ?Orpheus? in September 1826. Accompanied by wives and children. On board the sailing ship Barry Hall.
On John Bury Curran?s discharge notice the following is stated: to prevent any improper use being made of this discharge, by it?s falling into other hands the following is a description of the said Sergeant Major John Bury Curran?s he is about forty three years of age, is 5ft 91/2 inches in height, sandy hair, black eyes, fair complexion, and by trade or occupation a labourer. It is noted that he served 331/2 years in the army 14 of these years he spent in the India. According to his army records he was born in the Parish of St Mary?s near the town of Dublin. He rejoined at Chatham Kent, 1st of December 1825 at the age of 37 years for unlimited service in NSW. On John Bury Curran?s discharge papers dated 22/11/1825 it states that JB Curran is very respectfully connected being the nephew of the late Mr JP Curran, Master of the Rolls Ireland??
According to his will. John Bury Curran owned property in Smithfield Dublin, which was leased to a Charles Tarrant. He was also granted land at Botany Bay, which he bequeathed in his will as a freehold farm to his eldest son John William Curran. John Bury Curran married Mary Ann Hatton. They had five children (1). John William b.1819 (2.) Mary Anne b.1817 (3.) Maria Theresa b.1821 (4) Matilda Jane b.1826 (5.) Charles b.1825. Mary Ann Hatton died in 1833, John Bury Curran later married Leticia Baxter in Sydney 1835. John Bury died in October 1838. His will, (on which he signed his name) is dated only days before his death. His son, John William Curran, signed the probate records but Leticia had to sign with her mark. John Bury Curran died at Garden Cottage, Hyde Park Sydney. He is buried at Bunnerong Cemetery Sydney.
John Bury Curran?s father was a James Curran (Lawyer) younger brother to the famous lawyer, judge orator John Philpot Curran. His Grandfather was James Curran Seneschal of Newmarket, Dublin and Grandmother was Sarah Philpot.

Mary Ann Curran, b.about 1820

At the time of the birth of her first son Ernest Augustus Slade in 1834, Mary Ann Curran lived in Castlereagh Street/Macquarie Street Sydney Town which is the site of the old convict barracks in Sydney also know as the Hyde Park Barracks. By the birth certificate of her son Ernest Augustus, Mary appears not to be married at the time of his birth. Although she named her son after the father, Ernest Augustus Slade. No marriage seems to have taken place. It is believed that the family had a name change but it looks like that some family members just used Mary?s maiden name from this time hence, this would be the Victorian?s family surname Curran. But some members of the family stayed in NSW and Queensland using the name of Slade! Mary Ann?s mother Mary Ann Curran (n?e Hatton) died in 1833 before the birth of her daughter?s son Ernest Augustus Slade 11. There fore it is most likely she did not have the support of her mother at the time of his birth and it is most likely that she had no idea that her daughter was with child. It is known that Mary Ann lived with Ernest Augustus Slade until he left the colony in 1836.
In 1841 Mary Ann marries a William Brady. First child to this marriage was born
(1) 1841 Mary A (2) 1842 Elizabeth J (3) 1844 Matilda J (4) 1845 William (5) 1848 Charles T (6) Mary Ann dies in 1885 65 years.

The Name "Slade" form 1327 to 1749

As far back as 1290 there was a "Slade Hall" in the Parish of Cornwood, Devonshire.
The "Crest" of "Ostrich feathers" and the arms of "Three Horses Heads" is believed to have been granted to "Slade of Slade Hall" in the reign of Edward 1, the "Motto" the being "Facta non Verba."
"Maunsel, now the seat of John Slade, Esq; newly built, was the hereditary possession of a family of the same name for twenty generations. In the time of Henry II, William of Erleigh granted it to Philip Arbalistarius, in free marriage with his daughter, to be held by the payment of two young pigs every Whitsuntide at his court of Durston; which granted Ancilia, widow of the same William of Erleigh, confirmed to Philip de Maunsel, son of the above mentioned Philip, who married a daughter of Sir Hugh de Auberville, and was the first of this family that assumed the name of Maunsel, or Mansel. In this family the manor and ancient mansions continued till the time of Charles I, when it was purchased of their heirs by the family of Bacon, who resided here in the commencement of the present century (early 18th century). Robert de Mansel bore on his seal a hand clenched, but William, son of the said Robert, took the present arms, viz. Sable, three jambs argent."
Excerpt from North Petherton - taken from Collinson's History of Somerset.

Slade, Ernest Augustus (1805 - 1878)


SLADE, ERNEST AUGUSTUS (1805-1878), Superintendent of Convict Barracks and Police Magistrate, was born on 30 June 1805, the son of General Sir John Slade (1762-1859), Baronet, and his first wife Anna Eliza, n?e Dawson. His father distinguished himself during the peninsular war at the battles of Busaco and Fuentes de Onoro and received the thanks of parliament and a gold medal for his services. Slade was an unruly and extravagant youth and his father hastened to get him into the army so that he would be under discipline and preferably out of England. A commission was bought for him for ?450 and he joined the 54th Regiment as an ensign on 1 August 1822 and was promoted lieutenant in May 1825; in 1828 he transferred to the 40th Regiment and saw service in the Australian Colonies and India. He retired from the army in 1831 and returned
To New South Wales in 1832 with a letter of introduction from the Colonial Office to Governor Bourke expressing the wish that he be placed in any office, which happened to be vacant when he arrived. In February 1833 Bourke appointed Slade Superintendent of the Convict Barracks at Hyde Park with a residence within the barracks and a salary of ?150; the following October he was appointed also to the part- time office of third Police Magistrate for Sydney for which he received an additional ?100 a year. He held these appointments until 1 November 1834 when he became involved in court proceedings, which received wide publicity. Because of the scandal to which these proceedings gave rise, Bourke told him that he could no longer hold his appointments; he was allowed to resign. Slade complained to the Colonial Office that he had been summarily and unjustly dismissed from his appointments; he admitted the irregularity of his own domestic establishment, but alleged in extenuation that many of the most respectable and useful justices of the peace of the colony were living in a state of concubinage with female servants.
The convicts hated Slade. Even Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales stated in a dispatch to lord Glenelg; Mr. Slade?s service to the Government in the punishment of Convicts have exposed him to the hatred of that class of persons in such a manner to interfere with the security of his life or property? The reason behind this dispatch to lord Glenelg was not to praise Slade? it was to make sure he didn?t come back to Australia. It seems that everyone wanted to get rid of Slade, even his own father. . It looks like he tried to get back at Bourke as on his return to England he alleged that Bourke had used the disclosures on his moral conduct merely as a pretext to deprive him of office, and that the real reason was that his severe treatment of convicts ran counter to the governor's own policy of leniency. He was re-examined by Sir George Grey on another part of his evidence in which he made allegations damaging to the character of the governor's son, Richard Bourke; the allegations were shown to be false and were expunged from the records. Under these circumstances it would of made life for Mary Ann Curran very difficult, it is not know if he made provisions for Mary Ann and her son, on his dismissal from the country. Most likely because of the character of the man he did not, therefore it would have been left to her father John Bury Curran to support his grandson.

Ernest Augustus Slade returned to England and in July 1836 applied to the Colonial Office for another appointment; he was told that it was unlikely that one could be offered to him in the foreseeable future. As a witness before the select committee on transportation in 1837 he gave a lurid picture of the moral depravity of the convict population in New South Wales; he also claimed that he had devised the cat then in general use in the colony and boasted that, if punishment were administered with it under his own supervision, it never failed to break the skin in four lashes. In his statement to select committee he was asked the following: How long did you keep the position of police magistrate? Will you state to the committee about your domestic situation, Slade stated the following: I was living with a free girl, the daughter of a respectable man, holding office under the Government, and the girl was of irreproachable character before I became acquainted with her, her father and mother being both free as well as the daughter. By this girl I had a child (this girl was only the age of thirteen years!!!) and this child being dangerously ill, and the difficulty of procuring servants in Sydney being so great, she recommended to me to apply for a free girl out of the emigrant ship, David Scott. I wrote to Mr.Nicholson, a Magistrate of the territory, and the master attendant at Sydney, requesting him to send to Mr. Marshall, the superintendent of that vessel, to know if he could furnish me with a servant girl that girls name was Lavinia Winter...
Slade was twice married and had one daughter. He died at Boulogne, France, on 5 March 1878.
He is the Ernest Augustus Slade Superintendent of Convict Barracks and Police Magistrate who had the reputation of living with in a state of concubinage with his female convict servants.. Sir Benjamin Slade the current Baronet of Ernest Augustus Slade?s ancestral home ?Maunsel House? writes the following after I contacted him: His Grandson Herbert Grant Watson became ambassador to Finland and his sister married into the Dunlop family of Scotland. Indeed Ernest Slade was in Australia and got into a lot of trouble, there are still descendants over there! I do have photos and a portrait of him and there are good records here. He died in France because he was broke and escaping his debts.

Ernest Augustus Slade 11.

He was born 18th September 1834 in the County of Cumberland, NSW which was Sydney.

He was baptised on the 2nd of November 1843 at the Parish of Saint James, in the County of Cumberland. Fathers name was Ernest Augustus Slade and Mothers name was Mary Ann Curran their abode at the time of birth was stated as Castlereagh Street & Macquarie Street Sydney.. His Mothers surname was to be used from here on as his Family name. A Minister of the Church of England named Richard Hill in 1834 christened Ernest. In the year of 1859, which was the year of his marriage to Lavinia Brooker, he had been living in Parramatta NSW for 34 years, six children to this marriage have been found so far. Ernest died of heart disease after being sick for 4 months. Informant of his death was his son Mark David Curran his second eldest son of 133 North Road Newport Victoria.

Lavinia Brooker

Lavinia?s Father was an original colonist of Tasmania he was a convict who was sent to Tasmania for steeling. Lavinia was the eldest child of Mark and Matilda Brooker of Tasmania she was born in Campbelltown Tasmania in 1842. She turns up in Sydney town where she meets and married Ernest Augustus Slade Curran 11 in Albury NSW 1859 at the age of 16yrs. At the Presteryian Church.

Mark Brooker

Arrived in Tasmania on 13 Aug 1826, on the convict ship (18yrs of age on arrival)
Earl St. Vincent, it left London on 25 April 1826.
Old Bailey Records
MARK BROOKER, theft: specified place, 8th December 1825.
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey Ref: t18251208-40

Trial Summary:
? Crime(s): theft: specified place,
? Punishment Type: death,
(Punishment details may be provided at the end of the trial.)
? Verdict: Guilty: with recommendation,
? Other trials on 08 Dec 1825
? Name search for: MARK BROOKER,
? Associated Records...

Original Text:
FOURTH DAY. MONDAY, DECEMBER 12.
Middlesex Cases, Second Jury,
Before Mr. Serjeant Arabin.
40. MARK BROOKER was indicted for stealing, on the 6th of December, at St. Andrew, Holborn, 1 piece of silk, containing, in length, 35 yards, value 5l., the goods of William Britten and John Jackson , his masters, in their dwelling-house .
JAMES HULME . I am a pawnbroker, and live in Museum-street, Bloomsbury. On the 6th of December, in the evening, the prisoner brought some silk to pawn, in the name of George Burling , No. 16, Hart-street, Bloomsbury; I asked how much there was of it; he said about six or seven yards - I asked how much he gave for it - he said 2s. 6d. a yard - that it was his own, and he had bought it at East Grinstead, about a month ago - that he had been there three months. He said, "Why don't you think it is mine?" - I said, "No; I will send my boy to Hart-street;" he said he would go with him: I told him to wait there; he went to the door - I followed, and brought him back - he then said he lived at No. 16, Holborn, which I found was true. The silk measures thirty-five yards.
WILLIAM BRITTEN. I am in partnership with Mr. John Jackson - we are linen-drapers and silk-mercers, and live in the parish of St. Andrew's, Holborn; we both rent the house, and live there. The prisoner has been nearly six months in our service, as porter, and had access to the property. Hulme sent to me on the 6th of December - I saw this silk, and know it to be ours - it measures about thirty-five yards, and is worth between 5l. and 6l.
Prisoner. Q. Did you see me take it? A. No; it was in the warehouse, on a pile of brown paper.
Prisoner's Defence. I found it down in the dirt, among the rubbish.
One witness gave the prisoner an excellent character.
GUILTY - DEATH . Aged 18.
Recommended to Mercy by the Prosecutor and Jury, on account of his character .
Transportated to Tasmania instead!

Mark married Matilda Martha Simmons who was a free settler permission was given for her to wed by the Tasmanian Colony in LAUNCESTON, Tasmania 26 Nov 1836.They had 7 children. One of these married Ernest Augustus Slade 11.