I have only speculated as to the names of his parents based on the firm belief that Kean Curry was not an immigrant. I believe, based on the fact that Kean told the Census taker in 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 that he had been born in Maryland -- that he was. I also take note that in 22 additional instances, from 1880 to 1920, that a grown child of Kean’s, married (typically) and living on their own, also told the Census taker that their father had been born in America.

I do not know where in Maryland he was born, but if he was not the immigrant of his line, someone else was and I find the coincidence of the names and date of the marriage of Arthur Curry to Sarah Cain a year before Kean was born to make them my top candidates to be Kean’s parents.

Here are the 26 instances of hard facts that support my skepticism as to Kean’s Irish birth. The question about where a person was born was first asked in the 1850 Census. Then, starting in 1880, each person was asked not only where they had been born but where their father and mother had been too.

The 1850 Census listing for “Keene” and his family says he was born in Maryland, his wife in PA, one child (Adam, the oldest) in PA and his other nine children all MD.

I think this 1850 listing is quite significant. To be sure, I have seen errors in this “birthplace” question from time to time; it is not an especially reliable question. It was too easy for the Census taker to just enter a column of ditto marks. I don’t think the Census taker always bothered with this question and I don’t think that respondents, whoever answered for the household, always thought things through carefully when answering. But in this case, the head of household immediately above Kean was listed as born in Ireland and Kean’s family had the variation mentioned above. I think it is evidence that everyone was paying attention and that therefore Kean was not of Irish birth.

The 1860 Census listing for Kean and his family says he was born in Maryland, his wife in Pennsylvania and all listed children in Maryland.

The 1870 Census listing for “Keene” and his wife says both were born in Maryland.

The 1880 Census listing for Kean not only says that he was born in Maryland but his father and mother were too. Eliza, it says, was born in Pennsylvania as were her father and mother.

Now let’s consider their children. Kean and Eliza had nine children who survived to 1880 or later. I did not find all of them in every Census where they should have been listed but I didn’t miss many. I didn’t go past 1920 since most of them had died by then.

And again, I’ll say, this has not always proved to be the most reliable of Census questions for the reasons mentioned above.

In the case of the Curry children, confusion was possible because their mother had been born in Pennsylvania and father in Maryland. Sometimes they reversed it or placed them both in the same state. But in every case, 22 separate and different answers, Kean’s children said Maryland (or in three cases Pennsylvania) as to where their father had been born. Not once did anyone say Ireland. I consider this real hard evidence disputing the Irish birth theory.

Start with Alfred and James Thomas -- I have found both of them in every Census 1880-1920; both died before the 1930 Census. And both, remember independently from the other -- they lived different places -- said they and their father had been born in Maryland. They were a little inconsistent as to whether their mother was born in Maryland or Pennsylvania, so this is an example of how the answers to that question cannot be taken as totally reliable (I think Eliza was born in Pennsylvania). But neither ever once thought Kean was born in Ireland.

I could only find William in 1900, not 1880. He died in 1903. His answer was that both his parents had been born in Maryland.

I think I found Isaac, though it’s hard to be certain, in 1900 and 1910 living in a boarding house in California. The reason I think it may be him is that he answered the way he should have in 1900 as to birthplaces and simply reversed the birthplace of his father and mother in 1910. He died in 1912, I don’t know where he was in 1880.

I have found Ruth Ann (wife of David Gemmill) in only 1880 and 1900. She lived until 1930, so I suspect if I tried harder I could find in her in those additional Censuses. But in any event, though she was inconsistent as to whether she herself was born in MD or PA, and similarly inconsistent for her mother, she was steadfast in reporting that her father had been born in Maryland.

I have also failed to find Maggie (wife of John A J Koller) in later Censuses -- she died in 1933 -- but in the 1880 Census where I did find her, she answered the birthplace question the way I would have expected.

Three of Kean’s daughters moved to Ohio some years after their older brother Adam moved to Columbus.. Adam died before any Census in which he could have said where his father was born. Elizabeth, the oldest daughter, married William Krout; the Krouts moved to Morrow County, north of Columbus, and I suspect they came to Ohio a little later and somewhat independently from Adam. Elizabeth died there in 1917, giving her a chance to answer the 1880-1910 Census. She thought everyone was born in Pennsylvania, including her father.

Jennie (aka Eliza J or Jane) must have followed her sister to Morrow County for there, on 15 Jun 1873, she married Frank Brodbeck. By 1880, the Brodbecks moved on to Shelby County, IL and she then, after he died, returned to Baltimore by 1900, dying there in 1948. In the three Censuses where I was sure it was her, she answered consistently Maryland for her father though was inconsistent for her mother.

And finally daughter Sarah found her way, with her husband, to Morrow County in about 1876. I didn’t find her in 1900, her husband had died, but in the other three Censuses where I did find her she answered consistently -- her father always Maryland.

We have death certificates for these three daughters too. Elizabeth Krout died 30 Jul 1917 and her death certificate said she was born in Pennsylvania, her father Kane Curry in Maryland and her mother Elizabeth Koller in Pennsylvania. So despite her confusion in Census, this finally got it right, I believe.

Now Sarah Swaney is a different story. She died 3 Feb 1938 at age 92. Her death certificate said she was born in Baltimore, her father Kane Curry in Ireland and her mother Elizabeth Hendricks in Pennsylvania. The “informant” on Sarah's death certificate was Fannie (?) Copeland, probably a relative of Rose Copeland who had married Sarah’s son Roy Swaney. So Fannie got the name wrong of Sarah’s mother -- she was off a generation you might say since Eliza Koller’s mother was named Hendricks, maybe she was off a generation on Kane as well and was reflecting that Kean’s father had been born in Ireland. Getting the generations wrong is one of the common errors with “family tradition.”

Lastly, Eliza J Brodbeck died in Baltimore 9 Feb 1948 -- at age 94. Her death certificate on which Katherine Wimmer (no idea who she was) was the informant got everything “right” in my opinion. Her father Kean Curry was born in Maryland, her mother Eliza Koller in Pennsylvania.

Patrick Kean Curry was most definitely our ancestor. The key question about his life is whether he was our immigrant Curry ancestor -- the view held by a cousin of ours William Hirst Curry, III. If he was, then he immigrated in the early 1820’s and was our only ancestor to come to America after the Revolutionary War, all others came before.

I believe, but cannot yet prove, that he was not the immigrant and that there were at least two and perhaps more generations separating him from the immigrant. I believe he was born in Harford County, Maryland.

In any event, whichever version of events is correct, Kean moved to and settled in Baltimore County by the 1830’s.

Kean first appears as head of household in 1840 and he is consistently present in Baltimore County with wife Eliza through 1880. The 1850, 1860 and 1870 Censuses all show James living with his parents Kean and Eliza, proof that James was their son.

1850. The birthplaces as given for everyone in this family is instructive. Keene MD, Eliza PA, Adam PA and all the rest of the children MD. The head of household above Kean was born in Ireland so clearly the Census taker was paying attention to that question. And whoever answered for the Curry’s was paying attention too.

1860-1880. Kean always is said to have been born in MD. The 1870 Census had a question whether one’s parents were foreign-born, but there is no one on Kean’s page in 1870 with a yes checkmark for that question, leading to the question of whether the Census taker who visited Keene’s didn’t bother with that question or whether it is yet more proof. Note, Ruth Gemmil is on the same page in a different household and she doesn’t have the box checked.

WH Curry is firmly convinced that Kean was born in Ireland and came to US about 1825, at about age 19 apparently. His research is published as an Internet Family Tree and Becky Curry obtained a narrative detailing his findings, conclusions and theories. The main basis for his work is letters and conversations he had with older relatives and so he is reporting the "Family Tradition" -- the legend about a person passed down from earlier generations. He has tried to supplement that with hard document-based research but has found nothing to prove (or disprove either) his assertions about Kean’s Irish birth

Becky Curry believes Kean was too involved in too many things to be the immigrant. For example, she sent me an email describing a 22 Nov 1837 indenture wherein Charles Yost for $250 sells to Cane Curry three lots being part of a tract of land called Sparks Folly Resurveyed. A witness curiously was William Matthews. Kean sold this land back the next year for the same price.

His early life probably fits one or the other of two scenarios.

He emigrated from Ireland in about 1825. Now when our father’s German immigrants came to America, they came through the port of Philadelphia and their names were recorded for posterity almost from the beginning of that mass migration. But the recording of arriving immigrants at other ports in later years was not so well tabulated so there is no record of Kean’s arrival -- but its absence proves nothing.

He eventually found his way to Shrewsbury Township, York County, Pennsylvania where he met and married Eliza Koller. Kean came then to be a resident of Baltimore County, Maryland only because Eliza’s grandfather, Adam Hendrix, left her land there. The point is that it is totally unclear where I should look for Kean in this scenario in the years prior to his marriage -- he could have been anywhere.

Or, he was the son of Arthur Curry or perhaps some other Curry of which there were several in Harford County, Maryland in the year Kean was born -- though Arthur is the best candidate by far. A question in this case is how it was he came to meet and marry a woman from Shrewsbury Township. It doesn’t fit my “rule” that a man typically married “the girl next door” back then. On the other hand, John T Wright of Harford County, Maryland met and married Maacha Low of Shrewsbury Township in 1791 -- so the geographic unlikelihood of Kean’s marriage cannot be ruled out.

In this case, you would think there would be a Harford County record of some kind from those early years naming Kean Curry in some capacity. Maybe he witnessed someone’s will or property deed. Maybe he was a baptismal sponsor for a friend or relative. Maybe a tax record. Maybe he owed someone money and was listed as a debtor in some estate file. There are any number of ways he might have showed up -- and, believe me, I have kept my eyes open in the hundreds of Harford County documents I have searched no matter who was the main subject of interest when I was examining those documents. Kean was a total no show.

Lands of Kean Curry -- Is There a Rutledge Connection? I have also studied Kean’s land holdings to see what light that might shed on the matter. There were three different tracts of land associated with Kean Curry during his lifetime. In order:

Bucks Outlet. This 213 acre tract was patented 17 Nov 1772 by Benjamin Buck (son-in-law of Christopher Sutton) as Buck Point Lott. When Benjamin Buck died in 1808, his widow and children then conveyed the land to Isaac Hendrix. Then, over the next twenty or so years, it passed to his sons and later grandsons and then half of the original tract was first mortgaged and later conveyed to Adam Hendricks. So, Adam then had possession of 107 acres by 23 Jan 1833.

Adam died in 1836 and left Bucks Outlet to his grandchildren Isaac and Eliza Koller jointly and then in 1839, Isaac conveyed his share of Bucks Outlet to Eliza and Kean Curry.

Also in 1839, Kean and Eliza sold the whole tract in two pieces: 64 acres to Joshua Hendrix (who had originally conveyed it to Adam Hendrix in 1833) and 41 acres to Samuel Garrett.

Rutledges Wisdom. This 242 acre tract in Baltimore County was patented 23 Aug 1791 to Jacob Rockhold. (Jacob’s wife was apparently Eleanor Rutledge.) Then in 1835 and 1836, Samuel and Susanna Barshan of Ohio conveyed parts of Rutledges Wisdom (and parts of several other tracts in three pieces): 55 acres on 2 Dec 1835 to Kean Curry for $10, 50 acres in 1836 to Clement Standiford for $250 and another 50 acres also in 1836 to John and George Freeland for $5. Susanna, I assume, was a Rockhold.

The curious thing is the vastly different prices for three similar sized lots. And then on 1 Apr 1836, Kane and Eliza Curry conveyed their 55 acres to John Fitzpatrick for $464. Kean seems to have flipped the land for a tidy profit. But how did he manage such a good deal in the first place? Was he related somehow to the Rockhold or Rutledge family?

There are three other Curry-Rutledge connections of note, as well. In Harford County, in 1802, John Cary (Curry?) conveyed to Patrick Kean land and livestock purchased of John Rutledge late of Harford County. In 1825 Joshua Rutledge son of John named Israel Curry in his will. Eliza, wife of Israel, died young (1791-1824) and was buried in the Rutledge Family Cemetery.

And finally, a Thomas Wilson died seized of a tract called Rutledges Labour. One seventh of it went to his daughter Delilah who had married Adam Curry (Kean’s son). After both Delilah and Adam died, their only child Margaret J on 6 Sep 1873 sold the land to Eli Wilson. Kean Curry and Thomas G Rutledge witnessed the deed.

Andersons Hills and Dales. On 9 Jun 1842, Jacob Lanius of York County conveyed this 108 acre tract to Kean Curry for $1000, the bulk of the payment covered by a loan from Jacob to Kean.

Kean and Eliza held onto this land until 28 Feb 1874 when they deeded it to D Wiley Gemmill -- their son-in-law -- of York County.

In the meantime, in 1873, Kean and Eliza had deeded a very small portion of the land to Alfred W Curry. (Kean’s brief obituary in the Maryland Journal said he died at his son Alfred’s house.)

So I’m not sure Eliza and Kean ever lived on or farmed Bucks Outlet, or lived on or farmed Rutledges Wisdom. Perhaps it was not until 1842 when they finally settled on their own farm -- the one “whose well never ran dry” -- and they no doubt lived there until they retired in 1874.

That 2 Dec 1835 Rutledges Wisdom deed, by the way, is the earliest mention of Kean I have ever found (though Becky says there was an 1832 tax record in Shrewsbury Township). I really wonder what the Rutledge and/or Rockhold connection was, but I have no idea. It could be a hint to either John Curry or Patrick Kean’s wife’s name -- but that is just a wild guess.

William H Curry reported these stories about Kean and Eliza’s sons:

”Their oldest son, Adam, was killed in the Civil War when a heavy artillery wagon ran over him. Their second oldest son, Isaac, became a farmer in California. The third oldest son, John, died of TB the same day that a government man arrived to draft him into the army. The fourth oldest son died of typhoid fever at about age 22. The fifth oldest son, William Henry Harrison Curry, was the oldest son to have survived the Civil War in MD. He became a doctor in Baltimore. The sixth son, Alfred, and seventh and last son, James, both became farmers in the West Liberty area, so there were probably three separate Curry farms there at one time”.

So far as I know, all of that is true.

In addition to the sons, W H Curry listed these daughters: Elizabeth born 1831, Ruth born 1836, Sarah born 1846 later moved to Cleveland and Eliza born 1851. He said further about Isaac that ”he struck gold in CA”. I was never sure if that meant he literally did or just had a very successful farm there. I’m not sure it was either. Becky Curry found a death notice in the April 1912 Baltimore Sun that said that he had gone west at the age of 20 and owned a ranch there, suggesting, if anything, he was a farmer rather than a gold miner. But then his residence circumstance in the 1900 and 1910 Census -- living in a boarding house -- doesn’t sound like a rich farmer’s lifestyle.

The Curry research says that Eliza was the daughter of Peter Koller and Ruth Hendrix. That is proven by the estate papers associated with the death of her grandfather Adam Hendrix. Adam did not mention his daughter Ruth by name but he did refer to her two children Eliza and Isaac Koller in his 1835 will proven in 1836. Then in 1847, a release was signed by several of Adam’s heirs including Kean and Eliza Curry and Isaac Koller stating that Adam’s Executors -- Joseph M and Isaac Hendrix -- had met their obligations.

She can be accounted for in her father’s household in 1820 but not 1830, by which time she has supposedly married. I cannot find her husband in 1830. But she is with him from 1840 through 1880.

An article in the Maryland Journal dated 18 Dec 1880 notes her death 12 Dec 1880 age 69y 3m 8d.

But that brings us to her parentage. There is an Internet file that says that Peter Koller (Eliza’s father) remarried after Ruth Hendrix died (in 1815) and with his second wife (Eve Klinefelter) had more children and named one of them Elizabeth, born 1822. It is the 1822 Elizabeth who married ”Kane” Curry, according to this tree, but it has no dates of that marriage nor names of any descendants.

Eliza’s will was apparently probated 29 May 1889 in Towson, MD and the names of her children given including James T Curry. A William H Koller was also named. I believe her daughter Maggie R married John A J Koller who was the son of William H Koller, but I don’t know how William H may or may not be related to Eliza otherwise.