The Blair Family
The Blairs are another relatively new branch of my family
tree. Like the Dunlop family, I discovered them only after finding my
great-great grandparents' death records in Vancouver BC. For many years, I had
three sisters in the Curran family, but had no clue who their parents were.
Then I discovered Elizabeth (Curran) Park's death record, and there were listed
Thomas Curran and Jane Blair. Plugging that into Family search gave me not only
several other children, but also a wedding record which listed both bride and
groom's father.
So at this time, my Blair ancestors number two: Jane or
Jennie Blair, who had at least seven or eight, possibly even more children; and
her father, John Blair. I know little about him except for his name and that he
had one child, but it is far more than I knew before. I continue to look for
more periodically at Family Search and other sites, but I think this is one
branch that will likely require a subscription to the UK BMD site to really get
much further.
Like two of the other three branches in my Irish heritage,
Blair is a very popular Scottish name, so I do think it possible that the
family may have come to Antrim from Scotland at some point, though it is known
in Ireland, so it's also possible they did not. I'll definitely keep my options
open with this one. Of all the names in this branch of the tree, I think
Dunlop's the most likely to be Scots-Irish over the others, and Curran the
least likely. But you never know.
My Blair line, for those interested:
* John Blair has one child that I know about. I am uncertain
where or when he was born or died, or the name of his wife, or anything about
any other children.
* His known daughter is Jane or Jennie Blair, who is listed
as having been born in 1838 in Ireland on her wedding record. She married
Thomas Curran in 1860, and they had at least seven children from what I can
find on Family Search: Anna, Sarah, John, Sarah Jane, Joseph, Rhoda, and
Elizabeth. Elizabeth, Rhoda, and Sarah are the three sisters I had before I
found anything on Family Search.
* Jennie and Thomas's children, as I currently have them
listed:
+ Elizabeth Curran was born in Antrim, Ireland in 1862. She
married Robert James Park in 1883, and they emigrated to America about that
same year. The two had nine children, two of whom died in infancy. The two
returned to Ireland soon after their last child was born, and from there to
Canada, where they lived until their deaths. Elizabeth lived long enough to
meet three of her great-grandchildren before her death in 1954.
+ Anna Curran was born in 1865 in Antrim, Ireland. I know
nothing else about her.
+ Sarah Curran was born 1867 in Antrim, Ireland. She married
John Stevenson, and I believe moved to Canada as well. I know nothing else
about her.
+ John Curran was born 1870 in Antrim, Ireland. I know
nothing else about him.
+ Thomas Curran was born in 1872 in Antrim, Ireland. I know
nothing else.
+ Sarah Jane Curran was born 1874, and like her brothers, I
know nothing else about her.
+ Joseph Curran was born 1876.
+ Rhoda Curran was born 1878. She married John Carruth, and
I believe they moved to Canada together and had at least one child, possibly
more, and that there was at least one grandchild, though the person I am aware
of may have been her child. Other than that, I know little else about this
branch.
* Elizabeth and Robert's family can be read in detail on the
Park surname post.
What I don't know:
* Where John Blair was born.
* Anything about the rest of the Blair family, even if that
is only John's wife.
* I assume this branch was protestant, as is most of their
descendants, but as of yet, I have no absolute proof of that.
More on this line:
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