James Donnel McCurdy 
      Sex: M
Individual Information 
     Birth Date: 2 Nov 1831 - Tennessee
    Christening: 
          Death: 21 Sep 1875 - Washington Co., Ar 2
         Burial: in Mt. Comfort Cem., Fayetteville, Washington Co., Arkansas
 Cause of Death:
Parents 
         Father: Allen McCurdy (Abt 1808-1837)
         Mother: Elizabeth Herrin (      -      )
Spouses and Children 
1. *Judah Ann Kifer (19 Jun 1834 - 2 Aug 1927) 3 
       Marriage: 22 Nov 1854 - Fayetteville, Washington Co., Arkansas 4 5
       Children:
                1. Mary Jane McCurdy (1855-1942)
                2. Martin Allen McCurdy (1857-1930)
                3. David Albert McCurdy (1859-1936)
                4. William Thomas McCurdy (1861-1933)
                5. Lee Anna "Annie" McCurdy (1863-1920)
                6. Charles Samuel McCurdy (1866-1928)
                7. Jacob Rufus "Rufe" McCurdy (1869-1946)
                8. James Donald McCurdy (1875-1947)
Notes
General:
CENSUS:

In 1840 James Donnel is probably in the household of his uncle Wilson McCurdy. In 1850 he is not findable.

<pre>1860 Washington Co., Ar, Prairie Tsp., p.o. Fayetteville; Aug 2; pg 209
1458/372
James McCurdy 28 MW Tn $600/$400 Farmer
Ann " 26 FW Tn
Mary " 4 FW Ar
Allen " 3 MW Ar
David " 1 MW Ar </pre>

He is not in the Slave Schedule. His uncle James McCurdy lives at 1432/347. His cousin John McCurdy lives at 1433/348, and another cousin William McCurdy lives at 1460/374. Hezekiah Appleby lives at 1456/370 and two of his sons live next to him.

<pre>1880 Denton Co., Texas, Precinct No. 6, ED 108; June 1; pg 2
14/14
Juda McCurdy 46 W Tn Tn Tn Keeping house
Mary Collins 25 dau W Ar Tn Tn
Martin McCurdy 23 son W Ar Tn Tn Farmer
Thomas " 19 son S Ar Tn Tn Farm labor
Charles " 13 son S Ar Ar Tn At school
Rufus " 11 son S Ar Ar Tn At school
James " 4 son Ar Ar Tn
George Collins 7 gr-son Ar Va Ar At school
Neal " 4 gr-son Ar Tn Ar
Thomas " 2 gr-son Ar Ky Ar </pre>

Her son David McCurdy lives at 11/11. Her daughter Lee Annie and her husband Daniel B. Hamilton live at 2/2.

In 1920 Mrs. J. A. McCurdy (85, Tn Tn Tn, Wd) is living in Haskell Co., Texas in the household of her youngest son James D. McCurdy.

NAME:

His name was probably Donald but 'Jas. Donnel McCurdy' is on his tombstone.

DEATH and MIGRATION:

It is clear from Mary Jane McCurdy's description of her father's death on page 26 in Unbroken Circle that they were still living in Washington Co., Arkansas at the time of his death. She was expecting the birth of her second child. She says,

"By the time Pa died, the boys had grown up and they all thought they could do better in Texas. They had made their plans to go before Pa left us, but they didn't leave Arkansas until they had made one more crop. My oldest brother, Martin, married one day and started with his bride and the rest of my family the next day. They went to Lebanon, Collin Co., Texas where they stayed for two years. They rented a hundred acre farm and put most of it in cotton, although they raised corn and some vegetables."

Martin married in November 1877 and his father died in September 1875, so they stayed in Arkansas longer than Mary Jane indicated. When they did leave for Texas, only Mary Jane and her husband Thomas Columbus Collins remained in Arkansas. His family lived in Washington Co.

By the time of the 1880 census in June, the family had left Collin Co. and had moved to Denton Co., Martin was a widower, Mary Jane was a widow, and both were living at home with their widowed mother and most (all but two) of their siblings. David and Lee Annie had recently married in Denton Co. and were living close to their mother.

CHILDREN:

On page 1 in Unbroken Circle Mary Jane says that she is the eldest of 10 children. The census reveals 8, so one assumes that 2 died in childhood.

MARRIAGE:

On page 1 in Unbroken Circle Mary Jane says "My father James Donald McCurdy, and my mother was married November 22, 1854 in Fayetteville." A footnote says that marriage records indicate 12 November 1854. A book of transcribed marriage records and the original record that can be seen at ancestry.com both say 12 October 1854.

Benjamin M. Routh, a regular ordained minister of the gospel of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church states that he married James D. McCurdy, aged 23, and Juda Ann Kifer, aged 21, both of Washington Co., on October 12, 1854.
picture

Sources

1 Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society, "Cemeteries of Washington County, Arkansas," 1980, vol 3.

2 "Find-a-Grave," Memorial # 32435394.

3 State of New Mexico Bureau of Public Health, "Certificate of Death."

4 Lois N. Miller, "Washington County, Arkansas Marriage Books A-C, 1845-71," 1982, Bk A, pg 374. Repository: Clayton Library, Houston, Texas.

5 Arkansas, Washington County Marriage Records, 1845-1941, page 374. Repository: http://www.ancestry.com.

6 Mary Jane Weaver, Unbroken Circle, 1985, pgs 1, 106.

7 Mac McCurdy, "http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com db: mactex."

Home | Table of Contents | Surnames | Name List

This website was created 3 Oct 2022 with Legacy 9.0, a division of MyHeritage.com; content copyrighted and maintained by nparker41@att.net