Curtis, Francis
Replies: 1
Curtis, Francis
| Anonymous (View posts) | Posted: 13 May 1999 12:00PM GMT |
Classification: Biography
Surnames: Curtis, Gambrel, Flitcraft, Haines, Almond, Moore, Bayard, Hodges, Lucas, Forester
from reprint of “Clarke County History”, Lewis Pub., Chicago, 1886. p. 194
FRANCIS CURTIS, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1809, a son of Henry and Keziah (Flitcraft) Curtis, natives of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pennsylvania respectively. The father died when our subject was a child, leaving the mother with four young children in limited circumstances. The father was an educated, cultured gentleman, his parents intending him to enter the ministry, but he subsequently chose another calling. The family were as follows--Mary, Francis, Jemima and Wesley. The daughters are living in Philadelphia, and Wesley is deceased.
Francis, being the eldest son, was soon obliged to assist his mother, and she obtained a place for him on a farm. When he was fourteen years old he left the farm, thinking the work was too hard, and went to work for James Gambrel, a tobacconist, with whom he served an apprenticeship of four years. He then was given his freedom, wages for overwork, and a letter of recommendation certifying to his honesty and integrity, which he has always preserved.
After working at his trade for some time his health became impaired, and after consulting his wife they concluded to come West and get a farm. Accordingly, they moved to Illinois and located in Fulton County, where they endured all the privations and trials of pioneer life, and had just got a good home when the war of the Rebellion broke out.
Two of his sons enlisted in the Union army, and being left alone, he concluded to again emigrate West, and in 1862 he moved to Warren County, Iowa, and three years later to Clarke County, and settled on section 33, Liberty Township, where he has since lived, and now has a fine farm of 276 acres. He has always been industrious, and his accumulations are the result of his own energy, never having received any material aid, not even from the Government, as he has bought and paid for all the land he owns. His early educational advantages were limited, and he has been obliged to battle with the world without the benefits of that knowledge to be obtained from books, nature and experience being his text-books.
January 15, 1834, Mr. Curtis was married to Miss Elizabeth Haines, who was born in Wilmington, Delaware, December 13, 1813, a daughter of Joseph Haines. She was a schoolmate of the present Secretary of State, Bayard, their families being neighbors and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis have had six children--James F., Mary V., Thomas Benton, Thomas Jefferson, Jemima and Henry Oscar. James F. was born in Philadelphia November 21, 1834, and March 2, 1865, married Ellen Almond. Mary V. is the widow of Marion Moore, Thomas Benton married Harriet Hodges, who died, and he afterward married Dora Lucas, who is also dead, and he is now living on his fatherÂ’s farm. Jemima died aged four years, and Henry Oscar aged six years. His sons, Benton and Jefferson, were soldiers in the war for the Union. The former was taken prisoner, and from the effects of hardships and exposures his health became impaired, and has never been restored.
Mr. and Mrs. Curtis are members of the Seventh-day Adventist church. In politics he has been a life-long Democrat. His great-grandfather, George William Forester, settled in Maryland prior to the war of the Revolution, and when the army was stationed at Valley Forge he acted as commissary. His grandfather, Francis Curtis, was a judge in Maryland, and at one time attorney-general of the State.
FRANCIS CURTIS, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1809, a son of Henry and Keziah (Flitcraft) Curtis, natives of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pennsylvania respectively. The father died when our subject was a child, leaving the mother with four young children in limited circumstances. The father was an educated, cultured gentleman, his parents intending him to enter the ministry, but he subsequently chose another calling. The family were as follows--Mary, Francis, Jemima and Wesley. The daughters are living in Philadelphia, and Wesley is deceased.
Francis, being the eldest son, was soon obliged to assist his mother, and she obtained a place for him on a farm. When he was fourteen years old he left the farm, thinking the work was too hard, and went to work for James Gambrel, a tobacconist, with whom he served an apprenticeship of four years. He then was given his freedom, wages for overwork, and a letter of recommendation certifying to his honesty and integrity, which he has always preserved.
After working at his trade for some time his health became impaired, and after consulting his wife they concluded to come West and get a farm. Accordingly, they moved to Illinois and located in Fulton County, where they endured all the privations and trials of pioneer life, and had just got a good home when the war of the Rebellion broke out.
Two of his sons enlisted in the Union army, and being left alone, he concluded to again emigrate West, and in 1862 he moved to Warren County, Iowa, and three years later to Clarke County, and settled on section 33, Liberty Township, where he has since lived, and now has a fine farm of 276 acres. He has always been industrious, and his accumulations are the result of his own energy, never having received any material aid, not even from the Government, as he has bought and paid for all the land he owns. His early educational advantages were limited, and he has been obliged to battle with the world without the benefits of that knowledge to be obtained from books, nature and experience being his text-books.
January 15, 1834, Mr. Curtis was married to Miss Elizabeth Haines, who was born in Wilmington, Delaware, December 13, 1813, a daughter of Joseph Haines. She was a schoolmate of the present Secretary of State, Bayard, their families being neighbors and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis have had six children--James F., Mary V., Thomas Benton, Thomas Jefferson, Jemima and Henry Oscar. James F. was born in Philadelphia November 21, 1834, and March 2, 1865, married Ellen Almond. Mary V. is the widow of Marion Moore, Thomas Benton married Harriet Hodges, who died, and he afterward married Dora Lucas, who is also dead, and he is now living on his fatherÂ’s farm. Jemima died aged four years, and Henry Oscar aged six years. His sons, Benton and Jefferson, were soldiers in the war for the Union. The former was taken prisoner, and from the effects of hardships and exposures his health became impaired, and has never been restored.
Mr. and Mrs. Curtis are members of the Seventh-day Adventist church. In politics he has been a life-long Democrat. His great-grandfather, George William Forester, settled in Maryland prior to the war of the Revolution, and when the army was stationed at Valley Forge he acted as commissary. His grandfather, Francis Curtis, was a judge in Maryland, and at one time attorney-general of the State.