What I can piece together about the life of Thomas Curley jnr ?

In a previous post I discussed the evidence for the names of my great-great-grandparents, Thomas Curley Snr and Jane Hennigan. This was getting a little bit ahead of myself, as I had not really mentioned very much about my great-grandfather, Thomas Curley jnr. I have not been able to find many pieces of documentary evidence about the life of Thomas - but genealogy is very much a 'work in progress', so in this post I shall put together what I know about him in a timeline (see here for picture).

Thomas Curley jnr Timeline
1884 - birthdate of Thomas working back from the age on his marriage certificate (20 years in 1904). Father is 'Thomas Curley'.

23/4/1887 - birthdate of Thomas according to information gathered from family (Thomas' sons).

March Qtr 1888 - Thomas' father Thomas Curley marries Jane Hennigan (according to GRO indexes). According to family information, Jane Hennigan is Thomas' mother. (update here).

5/4/1891 - 1891 census. I believe that he may be living in a one room tenemant building on St. Martin's St., Immanuel Parish, Birmingham. I need to be satisfied that this is the correct Thomas though.

31/3/1901 - 1901 census. I cannot find any trace of Thomas Curley in this census.

26/12/1904 - Marries Mary Driscoll at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Birmingham. His occupation is brass polisher and he lives at 3 Holliday Street. See marriage certificate above.


20/4/1905 - Birth of eldest son, Cornelius Curley (my grandfather). Occupation - cycle polisher. Abode - 158 Tennant Street. See birth certificate above.

1905-1909 - Birth of a daughter, Mary (died in infancy), and son, John. Unknown where living. Information gained from family members.

8/11/1909 - Birth of daughter, Doris Mary Curley. Occupation - cycle polisher. Abode - Back 88, Bishopgate Street. See birth certificate above.

1910-? - Birth of 9 more children - Michael, Dennis, Thomas, James, Terrence, Leopold, Percy & Sidney (twins who died in infancy), William (Bill). Information gained from family members.

I do not know when Thomas died.


Finding a birth record of Thomas Curley is still a priority. I have not been able to find one indexed in the GRO, so I shall need to consult the Roman Catholic parish registers in the hope that one might be there. Also, baptismal records of Thomas Curley and Mary Driscoll's children will give me more information about where Thomas was living after 1904. As I don't have time to do these myself, I think I shall employ a Birmingham researcher to do them for me. Finally, if I can accurately find Thomas Curley in the 1891 and 1901 censuses, that would give me much more information. Please read this poem for an insight into the life of Thomas Curley and Mary Driscoll.