James Sheeran (1845-1891) was born in Dublin, Ireland, and died in Bryant Pond, Maine. He immigrated to the United States in 1865 and worked as a boot- and shoemaker in Bryant Pond, a village within the town of Woodstock, Maine. In 1868 he married Amanda M. Sheeran (b. Dudley). She was a domestic servant who later became an in-home nurse and then a boardinghouse keeper. Sheeran became a naturalized citizen in 1874. He was a member and officer of Atlantic Lodge No. 216, International Organization of Good Templars. In 1886 he was healed of longstanding alcohol and tobacco habits through Christian Science treatment. His account of the healing was published in the April 1887 issue of The Christian Science Journal. In March 1887 he was sent a subscription to the Journal by Josephine E. Dudley (b. Child), his wife's sister-in-law.

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