No. 13063 James H. Curran
Photograph contained in an album at the Dorchester Historical Society of about 150 photos kept by Nathaniel R. Perkins, MD, who examined thousands of men who were going into the war, 1914-1918. Given by Mrs N. R. Perkins in accordance with instructions from her late husband, Dr. Nathaniel P. Perkins of 1122 Adams St, Dorchester. Index catalog has entries for the individuals.
James H Curran 19th Co A Batter C 2 Brunswick Street, Dorchester
James T. Curran. Written by Camille Arbogast.
James T. Curran was born on November 4, 1895, in Dorchester. His parents, William and Catherine (Bracken) Curran, were born in England to Irish parents. William immigrated to the United States in 1887 and Catherine in 1892. Married in February 1893, at St. Peter’s Church in Dorchester, they had eight other children: Helen or Ellen born in 1893, William in 1897, Catherine in 1898, Francis in 1900, Richard in 1902, Joseph 1905, John in 1907, and Philip in 1910. At the time of James’s birth, William was a furniture mover.
By 1900, the family resided on Pierce Street in Milton. William worked as an express man. In 1909, James graduated from the Belcher School in Milton. By the next year, the family had returned to Dorchester and were living at 1661 Washington Street. William was working as a foreman at a chocolate mill, probably the Walter Baker Chocolate Company.
When James registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, his family was living at 1066 Washington Street. James was a riding instructor at the Milton Riding School in Milton. By the next year, they had moved to 2 Brunswick Street in Dorchester. On June 13, 1917, James entered the Army and was assigned to Company 1 of the 151st Depot Brigade, a training battalion based at Camp Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. As of this time, nothing further is known about his military service. James was discharged on December 18, 1918.
On June 16, 1918, James wed Anna Walsh, an Irish immigrant who was working as a waitress. They were married in Dorchester by Reverend Richard F. Howard of St. Gregory’s Church in Lower Mills. James and Anna would go on to have four children: Helen, James, Mary, and Joseph.
In 1920, James, Anna, and Anna’s brother Stephen, lived at 14 New Heath Street in the Fort Hill section of Roxbury. That year, the census reported James was working in a shoe factory, while the Boston directory listed his occupation as chauffeur. By 1922, James and Anna had moved a couple of blocks to 4 Bromley Street. James was a chauffeur, his occupation for the rest of the decade. By 1925, they lived at 60 Chestnut Street in Jamaica Plain. Two years later, they were back in Roxbury at 1 Fenner Street. It is possible he was the James T. Curran of Roxbury who, in August 1930, was arrested in Wrentham when his car was found to contain “10 sacks of champagne, each sack containing 24 bottles; 24 loose bottles of champagne, three sacks of gin, each containing 36 bottles, and 12 loose bottles of gin.” For this violation of the Volstead Act he was fined $200.
In April 1930, the census taker reported James and his family were living at 20 Lafayette Street in Waltham and James was a clerk in the post office. It is possible that he was the James T. Curran of Waltham who, in 1932, was given a suspended sentence of two years in the House of Corrections and placed on two years’ probation for transporting liquor. In 1933, the Currans resided at 49 Gibson Street in Dorchester and James was a mechanic.
The next year, they moved to 224 Hyde Park Avenue in Jamaica Plain, where James lived for the remainder of his life. He worked as a chauffeur for over twenty years; in 1942 his employer was the Golden Arrow Motor Lines of 69 Bridge Street, Cambridge. In 1959, the Boston directory listed him as a civil engineer with the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. James died in Jamaica Plain on August 30, 1961. His wife survived him, dying at age 99 in 1986.
Sources
Birth Record, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Ancestry.com
Family Tree; Ancestry.com
U.S. Federal Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; Ancestry.com
73rd Annual Town Report of Milton Mass for the Year Ending December 31, 1909, Compiled by the Auditors. Boston: Poole Print Co; 40; Archive.org
World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com
“United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940,” St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985; FamilySearch.org
Marriage Record for James T Curran and Anna R Walsh, 16 Jun 1918; citing Marriage, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, certificate number 3199, page 247, State Archives, Boston; FamilySearch.org
Boston Directories, Various Years, Ancestry.com
“Roxbury Man Fined $200 in Wrentham,” Boston Globe, 26 Aug 1930: 54; Newspapers.com
“Inflict Sentences in Federal Court,” Boston Globe, 14 June 1932: 9; Newspapers.com
Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. National Archives and Records Administration: Ancestry.com
Deaths, Boston Globe, 31 August 1961: 26; Newspapers.com