Thanks to everyone for all the help. I'm researching from Canada using ancestry.ca, family search, and the resources of my local library. James Neil Currie, his wife Julia Hilley Currie, and their children lived in York (Toronto) Ontario. The family home was on Balliol Street, and their youngest daughter Ruby (who never married) lived there until her death in 1997. James was always deserting the family for extended periods of time. He spent a lot of time across the border in the Buffalo/Niagara area of New York state. The 1921 Canada census is now available and it was difficult to track the family down. Apparently they were trying not to be found. James lied about the family name and their last name is given as Neis. They had left their family home on Balliol Street and they were living at 278 George Street. James Neis is listed as head of the house, and his wife Julia was listed along with their children Mary, John, George, Frances, Walter, Robina (Ruby), and Pearl. The way I found them was by searching for their married daughter Julia Saunders. Julia Saunders was back living with her parents and she had her two children with her. I haven't been able to find out what happened to Julia's husband Cecil Saunders. At the time of the 1921 census, their son James was an inmate at the Toronto Industrial Farm for stealing cars, and his home address was given as 278 George Street. On September 28, 1922, the family made headlines in all the Toronto newspapers. The youngest child Pearl was murdered in the family home on Balliol Street. Julia Hilley Currie was charged with murder. A couple of days after her arrest, she was transferred to a mental health facility. She was kept there until April, 1925. She went on trial in May, 1925 and she was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. The judge called this one of the most sordid, tragic cases in Toronto history. Julia's husband James Neil Currie was charged with incest and was sentenced to two years in jail plus lashes. The doctors at the mental health facility said that the shock of finding out about about what James had done had pushed her over the edge, and she had no recollection of the murder. The Toronto Star newspaper has extensive coverage of the case. The story can be found on the front page of the newspaper on September 28, 1922 (evening edition). I had heard about what had happened years ago, but it was still a shock to see the actual newspaper coverage. I'm still trying to find out what happened to James. He crossed the border into the United States in 1946, and then disappeared. I'm also trying to find out why he used an assumed name on the 1921 Canada census. As well as lying about his last name, he lied about the year he immigrated (he said it was in 1904 instead of 1903) and he said that his parents were both born in Ireland. Obviously he was hiding from someone or something. This also makes me wonder if he had been in any trouble in Scotland. There is a lot of mystery surrounding James. My grandmother told me that one of James' sons took the blame for something that the father did, but she didn't tell me what it was. My grandmother had married into the family, and I think she wanted to tell me, but couldn't do it. I know the original post was about finding James Currie's mother, but this tells some of what happened to her son James and his family in Canada. It makes me wonder if there is a criminal history in Scotland of the Currie family.
