Edwin Henry Curtiss (Part 1)

For the last 5 years I have been trying to discover the birth and death information for my family tree. This is not always easy for me as most all my elder relations have passed. (I wish I would have begun this genealogy quest in my early 20s) All my grandparents, and most of my aunts and uncles are gone now and the few that remain were too young to remember events in their past with any clarity. But, occasionally I get a fact or hint from someone that leads me to a find.

At my families first ever Family Reunion this last summer I asked my 85 year old father if he remembered anything about his Uncle Edwin. He was only 8 years old when Edwin died and I was having a very hard time finding the facts attached to his life and death. Dad said he remembered his mother receiving a phone call and crying and crying, saying "Uncle Edwin is dead".

Uncle Edwin H. was the oldest brother of Dad's father, Arthur D. Curtiss. Born in Laurel, Maryland 30 June 1879.  He was the first child (to survive) of  Alfred Leroy and Mary Ella (Darby) Curtiss. They moved to St. Joseph, Missouri when he was one 1 yr. old and had the rest of their 6 children there.  He married Norma A. Tisher in 1903, but she passed in 1908 leaving Edwin a childless widower. In 1911 he married his second wife Alice Leota Reeder.  He worked for Richardson D G & Co. first as a trunk-maker and then became a photographer. They moved to Omaha, Nebraska around  1918 and then to Los Angeles about 1921 when his brothers family moved there. He worked as a carpenter, was divorced from Alice L. and had no children. He died at age 52.  My father and Aunt both said that they believed he had committed suicide. I had collected all the facts I could about him searching every possible lead in discovering his death certificate to no avail.

At the Family Reunion I asked my Dad if he could remember anything else about Edwin concerning his death. He remembers he heard Uncle Edwin was in Bakersfield when he shot himself.  Since I had searched every possible option in Los Angeles, his last residence this was a new lead.

Bakersfield is in Kern County so I began to check out the online death indexes for California looking for anything in Kern County between 1930 - 1940. I found one that I thought was possibly his. Recorded May 5, 1932 with the name Ed Curtiss, age 41. Spouse initial listed as "L".  I knew that Alice Leota some times went by A. Loeta , so this was possibly his death certificate. I sent for it.

When the certificate arrived I found that this was a "white man, possibly Ed Curtiss", a suicide victim shot to the head and found in a car on the hwy. Spouse name "Lata" (coincidentally, my grandmothers' name) and divorced. Buried in Delano, CA. No other records stated. I had enough information to conclude that this indeed was Edwin Henry Curtiss' death certificate.

I was very happy with my discovery, but it left me with another question. How did the suppliers of facts on the certificate know that he was "divorced"? Did he leave a suicide note? Did he have his divorce papers with him in the car? Did he write the note to my grandmother, Lata Lavesta stating he was distraught over his divorce from Alice? It did state there was an inquest held. This will be my next search.

CENSUS DETECTIVE

Sometimes it's not easy to determine if the name you are searching is your ancestor. You have to look at all the surrounding facts to make decision. I started to see a pattern about a year ago.

All the family trees I have found for my Curtiss line say that Alfred Hatch Curtiss is my G-G-Grandfather. I followed A. H. Curtiss starting in the 1850 Census. He had a son named Leroy. I had a suspicion that Leroy was a Junior, so I followed his as though he was Alfred Leroy. His siblings names and birth dates continued through the 1870.

Another clue was the other Curtisses on the same Census page. I also noticed the A. H. Curtiss seemed to have another Curtiss always on the Census with him. H. H. Curtiss married to a Verilla /Vanilla / etc. (you can't trust the census for spelling)

Another clue came with the 1880 Census. I knew from living relatives that our Curtiss family migrated from St. Joseph, Missouri to California. In searching the Buchanan Co. Census I found an A.L. Curtiss married to M.E. living with C. Darby. I know this was my A.L. Curtiss because his wife's maiden name was Darby. In following this Curtiss family 1900, 1910 and 1920 Census records I confirmed my relatives by the names I knew as my Grandparents and Aunts.

The final clue came when I found a notation in my very own Baby Book. My Grandmother had supplied the names of my Great Grandparents to my mother for the Curtiss side. There it was - "Leroy". My GGrandfather was called Leroy just as I had suspected. Because of this entry I now knew that my GGGrandfather was Alfred H. Curtiss.

This chart shows the continuous flow of Census records with some notations.

Alfred L. Curtiss Death Notice 1900

I received photocopies from the Public Library in Saint Joseph, Missouri of the Death Notice for Great-Grandfather ALFRED L. CURTISS. They also included the Record of Deaths --- St. Joseph, Mo. for November 1900.

St. Joseph Daily News 5 Nov. 1900 - Page 6

A.L. CURTISS died at his residence, 1806 North Twenty-second Street, this morning at 12:45 o'clock, age forth-eight years. He was a carpenter by trade and had been ill for some time. The time of the funeral has not been announced.

Interesting Note - I went back and looked at the 1900 Census for Buchanan Co, St. Joseph, Missouri and found Alfred L. Curtiss and family. This census had a column entitled: "Length of months out of work". The date was June 13th and his entry was "6". So, he apparently had been ill for almost one year.

Health Office
Curtiss, A L - W(hite) - Nov. 5 1900 - 12:45 am - PA (born) - 1802 N. 22nd - 48 - M(arried) - M(ale) - Catarrh Stomach (cause) - F.O. Reynolds, MD.

Causes of Death in the Late 19th Century mentioned in the Register of Deaths, 1893-1907
Catarrh (Catarah/ Catarrah/ Catarrh of Brain/ Catarrh of Head/ Catarrh of Stomach/ Catarrh on the Breast/ Catarrk/ Catarrk Pneumonia) - An inflammatory affection of any mucous membrane, in which there are congetion, swelling, and an alteration in the quantity and quality of mucous secreted. In America, especially, a chronic inflammation of, and hypersecretion from the membranes of nose or air passages. in England, an acute influenza, resulting from a cold and attended with cough, thirst, lassitude and watery eyes; also, the cold itself. Catarrh Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung tissue associated with catarrh and with marked evidences of inflammation of the bronchial membranes - often chronic.
From a list of archaic medical terms :
Gastric Catarrh — Gastric catarrh is essentially a form of disease due to wrong feeding. Through habitual eating of excessive amounts of food materials, aided by the consumption of equally excessive quantities of liquids, the mucous lining of the stomach becomes affected in tone and its normal action is interfered with. When strong tea, coffee, alcohol, strong condiments, sauces, pickles, etc., etc., form a regular feature of the dietary, the mucous lining begins to become seriously irritated, and to protect itself it throws off excessive quantities of mucous, which interfere yet further with normal digestion, and in this way catarrh of the stomach arises. Although catarrh of the stomach may be allied in the same individual 'with catarrh of the nose and throat, it is not the outcome of the dropping of mucus from the nose and throat into the stomach as many believe. The point is that wrong feeding habits which will set up nasal catarrh can also set up gastric catarrh in the same person .
Treatment — The taking of medicinal drugs for the relief of the condition, whilst at the same time carrying on with the same unwise feeding habits which have set up the trouble in the first place, is obviously not the way to secure a permanent cure. The only real remedy for gastric catarrh lies in a thorough cleansing of the whole digestive tract and the adoption of a scheme of diet which will allow the stomach lining to normalise itself, instead of becoming more and more irritated. For such a scheme of treatment the reader is referred to that for Chronic Indigestion, to be found in the following pages of the present section . If such treatment is followed consistently, not only will the stomach trouble be cured, but the whole general health will be greatly improved.

Unfortunately, Great Grandfather never recovered.

ALFRED LEROY CURTISS (1852 - 1900)

Alfred L. Curtiss was born in Pennsylvania in 1852.

First census he appears in is 1860 in Allegheny Township, Venango Co. Pa. He was 7 years old. He appears as Leroy. This is probably because his father was also Alfred. His mother is listed as S.E. Curtiss. (In the 1870 Census she is listed as Ellen.)

In the 1870 Census the family had moved to Howard County, Maryland. They lived in the 6th Election District. (If someone knows where that is please reply.)

By the 1880 Census they had moved to St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., Missouri.

Leroy was a carpenter for the entire time he lived in St. Joseph, Mo. He co-owned a business in 1898-99 called Carson & Curtiss - 1821 Frederick Ave. The Carson of Carson & Curtiss was S.M.Carson 'contractor'.

Leroy Curtiss was married to Mary Ella Darby in 1875. They had nine children. The first two, born in Maryland, died within the first few months of their little lives. The third child Edwin H. was also born in Maryland just before they moved to St. Joseph, Mo. He was only 11 months old in his first Census in 1880. Then Arthur Darby, child number 4, my grandfather was born. After that Percy W., Floyd R., Frederick (d. 8 mo.), Hellen D., and Ruth L.

When Leroy, Mary Ella and Edwin H. first moved to St. Joseph, they lived with a relatives of Mary Ella. A senior couple listed as C. & M.A. Darby. I discovered their names to be Chauncy and Mary A. Darby. Mr. Darby lists his occupation as Baptist Minister.

Alfred Leroy died before the 1910 Census as Mary Ella is listed as a widow.