On 2 Jan 1867, at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Chapel (Diocese of Down & Connor) my 2nd great-grandfather, Capt. Robert Curran, Jr., a Ship Captain, originally from Portaferry, Co. Down, married my 2nd great-grandma Mary McSherry, who was the 2nd eldest daughter of Ship Captain/Master Mariner, Spirit Merchant, and Pub, Tavern and Hotel/Inn Owner, Captain Richard McSherry originally from Killough and Ardglass areas of eastern Co. Down, and wife, Mary Adair (my 3x great-grandparents).
Mary McSherry's father, Capt. Richard McSherry, was born in, and was associated with, a residence at Fisherman’s Row in Killough, County Down, before he moved his family to Short Strand area of Ballymacarrett (about 1851), then by 1859 they lived at 58 Tomb Street/20 Gamble Street, and operated Pub “Killough Tavern” next door at 60 Tomb Street, located in Belfast’s Dock Ward/Old Sailortown neighborhood of Belfast. Capt. Richard McSherry and wife Mary Adair, ultimately ended up owning and operating a 3-story Pub/Tavern and Inn at 15 Corporation Square, Belfast from 1867-1890’s, purchased at auction following death of widow Mary Ann Potter (late Robert Potter), called either "The Harbour Arms" or the "Harbour Hotel". They all lived out if the 3rd floor with their children, their children’s spouses and kids (up to 16-18 in total at one point), renting out the rooms on the 2nd floor as the Inn/Hotel portion of their family business, and the 1st floor was the Tavern/Public House level. Presumably it allowed the family to earn money during the off-season for the McSherry, Curran and Quin Seafaring men of the family, and gave Captain Richard McSherry the ability to support his large, extended family, after retiring from the Seafaring trade.
Immediately prior to his purchase of the Pub/Tavern and Hotel/Inn at 15 Corporation Square, Belfast in the Fall of 1867, Capt. Richard McSherry and his wife Mary Adair, owned/operated a Pub/Tavern at 20 Gamble Street and 58 Tomb Street in Belfast, which he called "The Killough Tavern". Capt. Richard Mc Sherry did this in addition to being a Ship Captain/Seafarer, which I can only presume is how his daughter, Mary McSherry, ultimately met Capt. Robert Curran, Jr. of Portaferry, Co. Down.
For most of Capt. Robert Curran , Jr. and Mary McSherry’s marriage, they lived and raised their 7-8 children in the "Old Sailortown: area of Belfast, and assisted Mary McSherry’s father, Captain Richard McSherry, with the operation of his Pub & Hotel at 15 Corporation Square, located directly across the street from the Belfast Harbour Office.
However, after Capt. Robert Curran Jr.'s sudden and untimely death (from what is now known as "Secondary Drowning") on 7 Jun 1890, aboard his vessel “The Lorena” which was moored at the time in Sligo Quay, his widow, Mary McSherry Curran, following the burial of her beloved husband in Portaferry Catholic Graveyard on 10 Jun 1890, moved out of Belfast with their 7-8 minor children to Liverpool, England. Mary McSherry Curran sadly died 3 years later in August of 1894, in the West Derby neighborhood of Liverpool, leaving the eldest daughter of Capt. Robert Curran, Jr. and Mary McSherry Curran- Jane Elizabeth Curran (my great-grandma), to raise her younger siblings on her own in Liverpool.
I am told that my paternal great-grandmother, Jane Elizabeth Curran (married name Oxton), every summer (at least up until she emigrated from Liverpool to Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, John F. Oxton, Jr., and their 2 sons in May of 1924, would return to the Killough and Portaferry areas of County Down to visit her extended family, and to ensure that her sons, Jack & Charlie Oxton (Charlie is my paternal grandfather), knew their Irish roots and their Irish relatives, and were able to spend extended periods of time every year in the beautiful part of Northern Ireland where their mother and their maternal family all grew up.
I would love to connect with any remaining Curran and/or McSherry relatives (or anyone who happened to know of the Curran or McSherry relatives I speak about and describe above), regardless of where in the world they may live today. It would be an added bonus to connect with any Curran or McSherry Cousins who may still remain in or around the areas of Belfast, Portaferry or Killough in County Down, Ireland.
Both my McSherry and my Curran relatives from the Co. Down area of Ireland (at least the ones I’m specifically aware of) were all Seafarers/Mariners/Fisherman throughout the 1800's. Another clue I have is that approximately 6 months before my 3rd great-grandpa, Capt. Richard McSherry died in 3 Sep 1887 at 15 Corporation Square, Belfast, his wife died at the same location, with her name listed as Mary Adair McSherry., presumably her maiden name being ADAIR. Mary Adair McSherry died on 10 Feb 1887.
I would love to connect with any Curran and/or McSherry relatives, anyone with a connection to any of these Curran or McSherry relatives, or anyone who happens to know of the Curran or McSherry relatives I describe above. It would be an added bonus to connect with any Curran or McSherry Distant Cousins that may still remain in or around the areas of Belfast, Portaferry, or Killough in County Down, Ireland.
-J'Aimèe L. Oxton
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