Descendants of James & Sarah (nee Murrey) Cullen Brendan Cullen

James Cullen was born, 1799, in Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow, near the Carlow and Kildare county bounderies. He was married circa 1827 to Sarah Murrey ( b. 1801 ) also of Kiltegan. The known children are four sons and two daughters; William, Patrick, James, John, Catherine ( Kitty ), and Mary. The family of James & Sarah Cullen is the earliest generation known to the author to date. The name, James, was previously thought to be William (married to a Sarah O’Toole), but recently discovered journals of my great grandfather clearly show that his grandfather was James Cullen, married to Sarah Murrey. Descendants of this family are located mainly in the counties of Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, and Wicklow. There are also some emigrant branches noted, specifically in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, England, and in the States of New York, Michigan, Washington, and Illinois, USA. Some interesting and outstanding personalities are to be found in this family, among them: Una Cullen, late of Astoria, New York, a survivor of the 1934 "Morro Castle" ocean liner fire; and Finian Cullen, of Dublin, Ireland, who was a highly skilled Cabinetmaker. An example of his fine work is occasionally on display in the Civic Museum, William Street, Dublin.

There is a separate page containing information about some of the relatives of William Joseph Cullen (1857-1949). The table gives names, dates, and locations for other relatives and surnames that connect to these Cullens.

The following family information has been provided by Brendan Cullen of Dublin, Ireland, a descendant of the family who has a keen interest in Cullen genealogy. He can be contacted through the Posting Pages of this website. His work continues and I'm sure we'll hear more from him in the future!

Four sons and two daughters from this marriage are recorded:

• William Cullen (1829-Mar 15, 1903): Born in Kiltegan. Resided in Humewood, Beechy Park, and Ballyburn after his marriage to Mary Walshe.
• Patrick Cullen: Born in Kiltegan. Resided later, and died, in Kilkenny.
• Catherine Cullen: Born in Kiltegan. Known as Kitty. Married a Mr. Byrne. Died 1909.
• Mary Cullen: Born in Kiltegan. Married a Mr. O'Brien. Died May, 1913 in Tinahely.
• John Cullen: (1841-Nov 18, 1896): Born in Kiltegan. Died Nov 18, 1896 at Stanley St., Dublin.
• James Cullen (1841-Aug 8, 1906): Born in Kiltegan. Resided later in Ballyburn, where he died.

SECOND GENERATION:
William Cullen (1829-Mar 15, 1903) was married, c. 1853, to Mary Walshe (1831-Jun 24, 1891), both of Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow. They lived in Humewood, Kiltegan until 1864 where the first five children were born. They then moved to Beechy Park, Rathvilly, Co Carlow. The family later moved to Ballyburn, Co Kildare where William took up the job of gardener on the estate of Ballyburn House. Mary died Jun 24, 1891 in Prumplestown, not far from Ballyburn. William died Mar 15, 1903 in Ballyburn.

Six children from this marriage are recorded:

• James A. Cullen (1855-1857): Died young from burns.
• William Joseph Cullen (Jul 16, 1857-Jul 14, 1949): Moved to Dublin about 1874 where he lived in turn at 8, Marlborough St., 26 Fishamble St., and 131 Nth. King St.
• Thomas Cullen (Jan 15, 1860-Jan 27, 1941): Married Mary Nolan, Aug 22, 1885, and his second wife, Anna Rice, Nov 22, 1904. Died at Ballyburn.
• John Cullen (1861-Nov 8, 1920): Married Elizabeth Hennessy (d.1938). Moved to Palatine, Co. Carlow where they both lived and died.
• Patrick Cullen (1862-Nov, 1931): Emigrated to Rockford, Chicago, Illinois, USA and died there November 1931. Was married to Catherine 'Katie' Cleary, originally from Galway.
• Mary Cullen: (Oct 1872-Jan 22, 1972): Born in Beechy Park, Co Carlow. Known as Minnie. Married Christopher Quinn (Nov 17, 1861 - May 6, 1932). Lived in Davidstown and died 1972 in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.

THIRD GENERATION:
William Joseph Cullen (July 16, 1857-Jul 14, 1949) lived at 8, Marlborough St. Dublin until he married Mary Anne Cassidy (Nov 8, 1860-Aug 10, 1907). William and Mary Anne were married Jan 29, 1880 at Sts. Michael & John's Church, Dublin. They lived in her family home at 26, Fishamble St., Dublin. Their first 5 children were born there. Later they all moved to 131, Nth. King St. Dublin where 6 more children were born. William's occupations were: Van Conductor, Commercial Clerk, and then Manager at Bergins Grain Depot (Provisions), Smithfield, Dublin.

Eleven children from this marriage are recorded:

• Mary Elizabeth Cullen (Oct 3, 1880-Dec 5, 1948): Never married. Also known as Lil, she became housekeeper to the family, and remained so for the rest of her days, after her mother ( Mary Anne Cassidy ) died in 1907.
• William Joseph Cullen (Oct 27, 1882-Mar 15, 1933): Married Elizabeth Gilmore of Inchicore, Dublin. Paternal grandparents of author.
• Bridget Christina Cullen (Dec 10, 1884-Dec 1, 1974): Known as Bridie. She was shot in the leg during a raid on the family home by British troops (c.1917). Married Billy Pepper in 1933. They had an adopted son named Liam.
• Thomas Patrick Cullen (Aug 3, 1887-Sep 7, 1940): Thomas emigrated in 1910 and worked for the New York Central Railroad. He lived in Manhattan and later, Long Island. His wife's name was Kathleen McDermott (emigrated 1911). She died Oct, 1939. They had a daughter named Una who, at age 21, survived the September 8, 1934 fire aboard the luxury liner "Morro Castle". She, and a group of others, were rescued by boat after floating for 7 hours in the cold atlantic waters off the New Jersey coast. Una provided important evidence at a federal hearing concerning the incident in New York City. It seems that radio officer George Rogers, a crewmember and a hero of the event, was suspected in the mysterious blaze and was in fact later convicted of arson in a separate incident. Photographs of the ship can be seen at the WARD LINE website. See also TIME magazine report, and another article here.
• John Joseph Cullen (May 3, 1890-Mar 19, 1892): Died at age 1y 10m.
• Brendan Cullen (1891-1891): Died as an infant.
• Ann Frances Cullen (Sept 16, 1892-Jun 12, 1982): Married in 1940 to Patrick Tracey (1884-Jan 21, 1942). Resided at 157 Nth King St, Dublin.
• Catherine Agnes Cullen (1895-Dec 22, 1939): Known as Connie. Married 1917 to Robert Creaner, Dental Surgeon. Their children were: Rose, Kathleen, Pauline, John, William, Joan, James, Don, Kevin and Nuala.
• Michael John Cullen (Nov 11, 1897-1977): Was married 1939 to Susan Burns from Omagh, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland. They had no children.
• Patrick Finian Cullen (May 28, 1900-Oct 31, 1902): Died as an infant at the age of 2y 5m due to contraction of pneumonia after having measles.
• Una Margaret Cullen (Jun 10, 1907-Jan 3, 1980): Was never married.

FOURTH GENERATION:
William Joseph Cullen (Oct 27, 1882-Mar 15, 1933) was married, on Jun 8, 1908 at Goldenbridge Chapel, to Elizabeth Gilmore (Jun 28, 1884-Jan 25, 1960). The family resided at Inchicore, Mount Brown, and lastly, Bulfin Road, all in Dublin. William, also known as Liam and Willie, was highly regarded in the printing profession in Dublin. Was involved in publishing the Irish poet, Padraig O Conaire.

Nine children from this marriage are recorded:

• Cormac Cullen (May 12, 1909-Jun 6, 1942): Cormac never married. He died of tuberculosis Jun 6, 1942 after a long illness.
• Fergus Cullen (Jul 13, 1910-Jul 21, 1984): Known as Frank. 1'st wife was Eileen Malone of Kilmainham, Dublin who died. Fergus spent his life in the British Army. During WWII, he was a Sargeant Major (ultimately, Queen's Messenger). Wounded at Dunkirk, 1940. 2'nd wife was Jennifer from Scotland who died. There were 2 children from this marriage (David & Margaret), both since deceased. 3'rd wife was Deliah Callaghan from Mayo. They lived and died in Leeds, England.
• Kevin Cullen (Jan 15, 1912-Feb 4, 1972): Kevin never married. Spent all his life in the printing profession.
• Brian Cullen (Apr 27, 1913-Feb 23, 1981): Was married to Ethna Cullen (no relation) of Dublin. Remarkably, Ethna's two sisters, Evelyn and Josephine Cullen married Patrick and Michael Cullen, two brothers from Wexford.
• Finian Brendan Cullen (Sep 15, 1914-Jan 19, 1986): Married Kathleen Brennan of Rathmines, Dublin, July 4, 1945. They had four children including the author. Finian was a gifted Cabinetmaker. He made a table from the redeemable wood of Robert Emmet's four poster bed, which is occasionally on display in the Civic Museum, Dublin.
• Owen Francis Cullen (Feb 26, 1916-Jan 24, 2002): Married Ellen Keenan of Fairview, Dublin, Sep 23, 1945. They had four children in Dublin, and emigrated to New York in 1960, where two more children were born. They later moved to Wyandotte, Detroit, where Owen followed a highly successful career in the newsprint profession. Most of them moved to Long Island, New York, after Ellen died Mar 1, 1990.
• Colm Cullen (Oct 13, 1918-Apr 30, 1990): Married Ann (Nan) Lawlor (Sep 29, 1919-May 15, 1990) of Mount Brown, Dublin, Jul 8, 1938. The family emigrated to Nottinghamshire, England, in 1955. They had six children, but there are about sixty descendants of this family now in England.
• Sarah Cullen (Feb 14, 1920-1988): Married Seamus Fallon in 1945 and the the family emigrated to Derbyshire, England. Some now live in Nottinghamshire.
• Aidan Cullen: (May 24, 1925-Apr 14, 2000) Married Alice Emmet from Dublin, Jul 30, 1953. They had two daughters, Joan and Philomena. Aidan was well respected in the printing profession in Dublin.