Francis Edwin Curtis or "Frank," as all his friends called him, the youngest son of Job and Margery Curtis, was born May, 30, 1845 and died February 6, 1935. He was about 5 feet 10 inches tall with blue eyes and he wore a mustache all his adult life. He was muscular and very agile and a good wrestler. He was an excellent rifle shot and expert marble player. He smoked a pipe until he was about 45 years old. He did not curse and he never drank alcoholic beverages. Frank is described by his son, Walter Curtis, as "a mild and pleasant man, easy going, forgiving, and peaceful. He was charitable and quite often provided meals for various widows, widowers and orphans in the community. In his younger days he always visited the sick, sat up many nights with them and when they died he helped bury them. No one recalls hearing him speak evil of anyone. He was not bigoted in his religious or political beliefs. He could 'fly off the handle' sometimes when sorely provoked. He would 'fight a running saw mill' if necessary but never picked a fight. He was clannish with his own people."
Frank was enrolled as
a
member of
the State Militia, but never served. He 
belonged
to the Knights of Temperance and the National Grange. He was a
member
of
the Nightriders for a short time. He withdrew his membership after
observing
the behavior and learning the character of some of the men in that
organization.
Frank donated the rough lumber used in the construction of the Piqua Christian Church in 1889, and boarded the two carpenters, Mr. Billy Bow and Mr. Herndon. He taught the men's Sunday School class at the Wiggins meeting house and at the Piqua Christian Church until about 1932 except for nearly a year when he withdrew from the congregation. The church had obtained an organ and Frank believed that no mechanical music should be in the church. However he re-entered the church and took an active part until his death.
Frank acquired a good common education and taught school for several terms at the old Wiggins meeting house and at the Christler or Johnson school house. He was exceptionally good at arithmetic and American history. He read the Bible every day and liked to read any book that was enlightening. Alletha Overbey was one of his pupils.
Frank Curtis married Alletha Overbey, daughter of Nathaniel Perry and Elizabeth (Ogle) Overbey, on November 29, 1888, by Reverend Joseph D. McConnell. Witnesses were Salathiel Curtis and William Robertson. They took a short honeymoon trip to the home of "Doc" and Ella Bradley, near Versailles, Kentucky.
Alletha Overbey was a short heavy set woman. She was near sighted and wore glasses most of her life. She joined the Christian Church at the Wiggins Meeting House and was a faithful member, of the Christian Church, until she died in 1939. She is buried in the Piqua Christian Church Cemetery. This cemetery is a part of the old Overbey farm. (Obituary) Alletha's Diary.
After the death of his mother in 1880, Frank continued to live in the old Curtis homestead, then owned by his sister, Melissa. He lived with Melissa and a nephew William Job Curtis, orphaned son of Aris B. Curtis. After he and Alletha Overbey were married they continued to live in this house until the late 1890s. Their sons Seth, Francis Ray, and Dew were born in this house. In the late 1890s Frank and Alletha moved to their own farm, on the hill, where their sons Bernard and Walter were born.
Frank had inherited this 65 acre farm from his father's estate. He built a log house on the farm and rented it to Mr. John Rankins. This house burned and he built a frame house on the same site. This farm, part of the original Seth Curtis farm, was located about a mile south of Piqua. Walter Curtis describes the location of this farm thus: "The only way to reach it, by buggy or wagon, was by the Gale Gorge pike, then through the gate at the hickory tree and up the hill by a dirt road." He describes the house as having "one large room, about 16 x 16, a shed, kitchen and loft. The living room and kitchen were papered, except the living room ceiling which was whitewashed. The loft had nothing but plain rafters and plank floor. It had a small homemade shutter in the south end. On the other end was the chimney against which a short ladder leaned by which we ascended to the loft. The living room was heated by a fireplace until I was 10 years old when we got an Airtight tin heater. There was a front porch with a narrow back porch. The meat house was connected to the back porch, in which we cooked in the summer and used as a corn crib in the winter."
In 1912, several months following the death of Alletha's mother, Elizabeth Overbey, Frank, Alletha and family moved into the Overbey home. They shared the home with Alletha's two 'deaf mute' sisters, Sallie Overbey, who owned the home, and Fannie Overbey. The Overbey house was built in the late 1850s by Nathaniel Perry Overbey, Sr. It had two large rooms about 20 feet by 16 feet and the ceilings were very high. A hall separated the rooms. At the rear on each end were two smaller rooms connected by a porch. There was a log smokehouse. A spring house was constructed on the north hillside about a quarter of a mile east of the house. There was a large yard with fruit trees, a large walnut tree and cedar trees.
Alletha inherited seven acres of Johnson Creek bottom land from her mother's estate. Frank and family farmed this land and the farm on the hill until 1918 when Frank sold the farm on the hill and bought property in Piqua, consisting of a good house, two store buildings, a small house and a blacksmith shop. In the spring of 1918 he rented the store buildings to Thomas Abraham. On July 31, of that year, the residence and best store building burned to the ground. He had no insurance because Mr. Abraham was a foreigner and, during World War I, insurance companies would not insure a building occupied by foreigners. The house and store building were rebuilt about 1919 by Frank and his son, Ray.
(The following article appeared in the Tribune Democrat)
CELEBRATED 79TH BIRTHDAY
Uncle
Frank Curtis celebrated his 79th birthday anniversary Friday May
30th,
1924, at his hospitable home in Piqua. About 10:30 o'clock the
guests
began
to arrive, of whom there were a large number. He received many
nice
presents.
Everything that was good to eat was served.
The
following guests were present: Mr. and Mrs. Omar Kerns and 3
children,
Jewel, Osa Mae and Eliza Pernette; Mrs. E.T. Chamberlin and 2
children
Etha Elmo and Richard; Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Mann, Miss. Marie B.
Mann,
Mr.
and Mrs. Dew Curtis and two little sons, Harold Bryce and Marion
Dudley;
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Swart and 7 children, Edith, Emmit, Everett,
Roger,
Audrey Florence, Donald, and Elizabeth Ione; Mrs. Mary F.
Chamberlin,
Mr.
and Mrs. Clarence Mullikin, Mr. William Barnett and Daughter Miss
Flora;
Mr. and Mrs. George Brumagen, Miss Fannie Overbey, Mrs Grover
Burns
and
three children Omar, Robbie Elizabeth and Geneva Arlington; Miss
Miriam
Wells, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Overbey, Mr. and Mrs. N.P. Overbey,
Mr.
and
Mrs. Sam Whaley and little son Renald Lee; Mr. and Mrs. W.T.
McConnell
Sr.; Mrs. George Thompson and 3 children, Lucy Belle, George
William,
and
Imogene; Mr. and Mrs. Walter E. Martin and 2 children William and
Joanna;
Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Barnett and little granddaughter, Edith Josephine
Wright;
Mrs. Luther Barnett and 6 children Hugh, Virginia, Alma, Jennings,
Myron,
and James Albert.
Mrs.
Frank Overbey, Mrs. Susan Sledd, Mr. and Mrs. D.L. Fryman and
two
daughters,
Mary Golden and Virgie Mae; Mrs. Margaret Carpenter, Mrs
Margaret
Kerns,
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Moore, Miss. Imogene Shepherd and brother
Howard; Mr.
W.J. Curtis, Ruby Lee and Millard Desha Burns, Mr. and Mrs. W.C.
Fryman
and two daughters Rena and Lulu, Master Leolyn Thomas, Mrs
Mollie
Buckner
and two children Hugh and Marie; Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Hinson, Mr.
and
Mrs.
Rufus Buckler and three children, Clella Mae, Robbie, and
Elizabeth; Mr.
Demaree Wright, Mr. and Mrs. F.E. Curtis, Mrs. Flora B. Mann and
three
children, Isabel, Helen Wells, and Jasper Milton. Mssrs. Virgil and
Heber
Fryman; Perry, Bronson, and Harmon Overbey; Walter Curtis and
Gilbert
Overbey.
All
spent a nice day and went home wishing Uncle Frank many more
happy
happy
birthdays.
A Guest (Unknown)
In 1926, Frank, Alletha, and son, Ray, moved to Frank's house in Piqua. Ray moved out in 1927 and son Walter Curtis and family moved in with them until August, 1928. After Walter and family moved out, Frank and Alletha lived alone until his death on February 6, 1935. He died within 200 yards from where he was born and raised on the original tract of land his grandfather bought in 1812. He is buried in the Piqua Cemetery across from the Christian Church (Obituary).
Frank and Alletha had five sons:
Seth Curtis, the first child of Frank and Alletha Curtis, was born April 26, 1890. Seth died April 13, 1891, thirteen days before his first birthday.
Francis Ray Curtis, (B. April 15, 1892, D. May 21, 1973).
Dew Curtis (B. August 18, 1894, D. February 25, 1957).
Bernard Curtis, the fourth child of Frank and Alletha Curtis, was born December 10, 1896. He died November 4, 1902, a few weeks before his sixth birthday.
Walter Curtis (B. June 3, 1900,
D. August
8,
1965).
Dew
Curtis (B. August 18, 1894,
D. February
25, 1957) the third child of Frank and Alletha Curtis, married Mae
Hinson
on July 8, 1917. Mae 
Hinson(B.December
13, 1895, D. February 6, 1979) was the daughter of Jasper and
Sarah
(Wilson)
Hinson. Dew or "Dewey," as he was called by friends and many in
his
family,
was a member of the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church. He
moved,
from
Robertson County, Kentucky, to New Richmond, Ohio in 1927. He
was a
member
of the Odd Fellows Lodge and was Past Grand of his lodge in New
Richmond.
Dew worked for the famous Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati from
1929 to
1957.
He also had the franchise for the Merchant's Creamery from 1931 to
1957.
Dew and Mae are buried in the Greenmound Cemetery in New
Richmond,
Ohio.
Dew and Mae Curtis had two sons:
Harold Bryce Curtis,
the eldest son
of Dew
and Mae Curtis, was born April 22, 1918, in Robertson County
Kentucky.
Harold married Ruby York in February 1942. Ruby York was the
daughter
of
Fennel and Mazey York. Harold joined the US Army in July 1943
and
served
in France and Germany during World War II. He attained the rank
of
Sergeant
in the 275th Regiment of the 70th Division.
Harold returned from the
war in
March 1946,
and moved, with his wife Ruby, to Rush County, Indiana. Harold
opened a
gas station in Rushville, Indiana and later his brother, Dudley, joined
him in a television and furniture partnership. Harold was a member
of the
Trinity United Presbyterian Church and a member of the Masonic
Lodge
and
other affiliated organizations. He was also affiliated with the
American
Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Elks Lodge.
Harold and Ruby Curtis had
one
son:
Gary
Leigh Curtis (B. August 23, 1947) attended Rushville (Indiana) High
School (Class of 1965) and graduated from Ball State University in
1969 with a B.S. degree in Marketing. He served in the United
States Air Force from August 1969 until June 1978.
Gary has been employed by Delta Air
Lines since September 1978 and is currently (2003) flying captain on
the Boeing 767 aircraft. He is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and lives in
Nashville, Tennessee.
Gary L. Curtis married Barbara Jean
Cardwell (Allen) on March 31, 1983 and were divorced in June 1993
with no children.
On September
7, 1996 he married Paula Marie Houston (Marsh) (B. March 5,
1949) daughter of Paul and Marie Marsh. Gary has two step
children--Stephanie Darlene Denton and Larry Eugene Denton, and
one step grandchild Paul Allen Eugene Denton.
Harold and Ruby
Curtis
were divorced
in 1969. Harold married Ida Stafford, daughter of Albert and
Lucinda
Proffitt,
in February 1970. Harold retired from the partnership business,
Curtis
Brothers, in 1980. He moved to Okeechobee, Florida in 1987, where
he
remained
until his death on May 14, 1997.
Harold had one step
daughter,
Sandy Kay
(Stafford) Fuller (B. March 31, 1954), and two step grand daughters,
Holly
Renee Fuller (B. December 2, 1975) and Kelly Anne Fuller (B.
December
20,
1979).
Marion Dudley
Curtis, the second
child of
Dew and Mae Curtis was born July 6, 1923, in Robertson County,
Kentucky.
Dudley graduated from the New Richmond High School in May
1943.
Following
his graduation from high school, he joined the US Army. He served in
France,
Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany during World
War
II.
He was in the 131AA Gun Battalion and attained the rank of
Corporal.
Dudley
returned to the United States in February 1946.
Dudley married Bessie Ruth
Lothrop, the
daughter of Keith and Ruth Lothrop, on February 6, 1947. In 1948,
Dudley
and Bessie moved to Rushville, Indiana, where he joined his brother,
Harold,
in the gas station business. They added a taxicab business in 1948
and
sold televisions. They sold that business in 1950 and they began
another
joint business, Curtis TV. In 1952, they moved to a larger location
and
renamed the store, Curtis Brothers. They began selling televisions
but
later added furniture and appliances.
Dudley Curtis is a member of
the
Trinity
United Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the American
Legion,
Veterans
of Foreign Wars, Elks Lodge and is a member of the Masonic Lodge
and
other
affiliated organizations. He enjoys golf and reading.
Dudley and Bessie Curtis had three children:
* Lynda Kay Curtis (B. October 9, 1951), second
child of Dudley
and
Bessie Curtis, married Stephen P. Solimine on Aug. 19, 1972. They
resided
in New Palestine, Indiana until January 1996, when they moved to
Birmingham,
Alabama. Lynda and Stephen Solimine have two children: Philip
Curtis
Solimine
(B. November 19, 1973) and Gina Marie Solimine (B. July 30,
1976).
*Tara Jean Curtis (B. August 1, 1954), the third
child of Dudley
and Bessie Curtis, married Steven James Smiley on June 26, 1976.
Steven
Smiley is the eldest son of James and Prudence Smiley. Tara and
Steven
Smiley reside in Rushville, Indiana. They have two children:
Nathaniel
Steven Smiley (B. March 22, 1978) and Nicholas Ryan Smiley (B.
March
12,
1981).
Walter Curtis (B. June 3,
1900, D.
August
8, 1965).the fifth son of Frank and Alletha Curtis, married Lemira
Edith
Swart on May 30, 1925. Edith (B. December Walter was a member of the
Disciples of
Christ (Christian) Church. In 1923 he became a member of the
Knights of
Pythias and in 1924 he joined the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. In
1925
Walter became a member of Sardis Lodge No. 196, Free and
Accepted
Masons.
He served Sardis Lodge as Master in 1943 and 1947. When
Sardis
Lodge
surrendered it's charter, Walter became a member of Mt. Olivet
Lodge No.
291, and remained a member until his death.
Walter Curtis served in the US
Army from,
June 29, 1920, to June 30, 1923. He served primarily in the
Philippines
and Hawaii.
After returning home from the
military,
Walter worked with his brother, Ray. He drove one of Ray's trucks
hauling
livestock to markets in Maysville, Paris, and other surrounding
towns.
He worked with Ray until June 1925. During the next few years
Walter
worked
at various jobs. He operated a garage in Piqua from 1930 to 1935.
He also
farmed a little during the late 1930s. On, July 1, 1936, Walter began
carrying
the mail on the Star Route from Mt. Olivet to Milford. Walter and
Edith
carried the mail on that route for the next twenty-nine
years.
In 1940 Walter bought a
garage,
arcade,
and feed mill in Sardis, and in the fall of that year he and his family
moved to Sardis. In 1944 he purchased a bus and a contract, with the
Board
of Education, and began transporting students to Deming School in
Mt.
Olivet.
Walter drove the school bus for eighteen years. Walter served as
Justice
of the Peace, for the Sixth Magisterial District of Mason County,
during
the late '40s. During the process of renovating the large building he
had
bought in Sardis, Walter did his first electrical wiring and plumbing
work.
He later went into the electrical and plumbing business and
continued until
shortly before his death in 1965.
Walter sold his business in
Sardis
and he
and Edith moved to Mt. Olivet in January 1950. In February, of that
year,
they moved for the last time to their home on East Main Street. In
1951
Walter was appointed and later elected to the Mt. Olivet Board of
Trustees
and served for several years. Edith continued to live in this house for
a number of years following Walter's death. She eventually moved
back to
Sardis near her daughter Joella Carpenter's home and remained
there until
shortly before her death on June 28, 1997.
Walter and Edith Curtis had
three
children:
Charlotte Ray Curtis, (B. January 2, 1926, D. September 15,
1999),
the first child of Walter and Edith Curtis, was born on Johnson
Creek.
Charlotte attended school at Piqua, Sardis, and Mayslick. She was a
member
of the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church at Sardis. Charlotte
Curtis
and Joseph Clary "J.C." Middleton were married on July 31, 1943.
J.C.
Middleton
(B. November 9, 1923, D. 1995) was the son of William Ignatius and
Mayme
Jefferson Middleton. J.C. & Charlotte Middleton had two
children:
Joseph
Clary Middleton, Jr. (B. July 31, 1944) and Patricia Ann Middleton
(B.
May, 15, 1946).
Joella Joyce Curtis (B. March 15, 1928, D. August 6, 1995),
the
second
child of Walter and Edith Curtis, was born in Piqua. She attended
school
at Piqua, Sardis, and Mayslick. She was a member of the Disciples of
Christ
(Christian) Church at Sardis. Joella Curtis and Sanford Glen "Buck"
Carpenter
(D. Sept. 1, 1993), were married on December 1, 1945. Sanford was
the
son
of Myrtle (Ross) Carpenter and Amos Kelly Carpenter. Sanford
Glen
&
Joella Carpenter had three children: Glenn Alan Carpenter (B.
October 8,
1946), Sanford Wayne Carpenter (B. May 6, 1952), and Lemira Sue
Carpenter
(B. May 15, 1954).
Wayne Aris Curtis, (B. April 2, 1930, D. April 13, 1979), the
third
child and only son of Walter and Edith Curtis, was born near Piqua.
He
was mechanically inclined from a very early age. He attended school
at
Piqua, Sardis, and Mayslick. Wayne was a member of the Disciples
of
Christ
(Christian) Church in Sardis. In 1947 Wayne Curtis enlisted in the
United
States Air Force and remained in that branch of service for 20
years.
Wayne was married twice. He and his first wife, Ruby
Watson,
had
a daughter Lisa Lynn Curtis. This marriage ended in divorce.
Wayne's
second
wife was Rosalind Linville Curtis. Wayne and Rosalind had no
children.
Rosalind, a widow, had four children by her first marriage to
Wayman
Tilton.
They were Mae Elizabeth Tilton, Sandra Lou Tilton, Anita Carol
Tilton,
and Wayman Tilton, Jr.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---Michael Brady Curtis (B. December
12, 1973), eldest son of Kim and Ann Curtis, graduated from the
University of Notre Dame in 1996. He is currently (2003) a Lt. in the
United States Navy and serves as the Command Systems Officer for
the USS Howard, a destroyer, based out of San Diego, CA. He has
served full-time since his graduation from Notre Dame in 1996.
Michael Brady Curtis is not married.
---Kristina Kate Curtis (B. October 21,
1975), only daughter of Kim and Ann Curtis, married Tony Lee
Fudge on November 27, 1999. Tony L. Fudge (B. July 11, 1969) is
the son of Jerald Lee Fudge and Marlene Sue Hedrick Fudge and is
presently (2003) the Chief of the Rushville Police Department.
Kristina (Curtis) Fudge works at The Trane Company in Rushville,
Indiana, as the Human Resource Generalist. She graduated from
Indiana University in 1998 with a BS in Business
Administration.
Kristina and Tony Fudge have identical twin boys, Jonathan Michael
Fudge and Shaun Alan Fudge (B. October 1, 2002).
--- Shaun Andrew Curtis (B. March 3,
1980), youngest son of Kim and Ann Curtis, works full-time for
Curtis Brothers Furniture & Appliances. Andy graduated from
Purdue University with a BS in Organizational Leadership and
Supervision in 2002. He has worked full time at Curtis Brothers
since his graduation from college. Shaun Andrew Curtis is not
married.
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Curmudgeon
Webmaster
wrocurtis@netscape.net
Copyrighted © 2004, Wendell R. Curtis
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