What Happened To Arthur?

My Grandfather died a very long time ago. He died when my Dad was only 11 months old, so they never knew each other. Whatever I learned about my Grandfather, I received from my Aunts who were young women when he passed in 1925.
There were many family stories and beliefs about Arthur D Curtiss that I have found not to be true. Over the last 15 years I have dug into my family genealogy and history following the paper trail to where ever it took me. I discovered the true facts about the death of Arthur because I actually contacted the hospital where he passed away and had them photo copy his records for me. What I found dispelled one very mysterious family legend as to the cause of his death.
I have also discovered things that I think my dear deceased Aunties didn't even know. Things that occurred before they were born. It seems that my Grandparents possibly started their marriage on a very shaky foundation.
As per my usual searching routine, I happened upon I newspaper article dated Wed, May 23, 1906 from the St. Joseph News-Press/Gazette. Page 5
"A. D. CURTISS LEAVES
Street Railway Conductor Deserts Wife of Ten Months"
Oh my gosh. This was a shocking article to say the lease. Here it was for all of St Joe, Missouri to read about. After 10 months of marriage something caused Arthur to temporarily bolt from his wife and run away. He was almost 25 years old. He had a good job working as a Streetcar Conductor. Why would he write a note and leave it under the door saying he couldn't live happily with his wife anymore?
The article said the my Grandmother was very sick at the time. I returned to my family tree and found that she wasn't sick in any sense of the word. She was however very pregnant and about to give birth to her first daughter in July. I was beginning to get the picture of what was really going on with Arthur. This was all happening too fast for him to process. A new wife added more responsibility. Now a baby on the way adding even more pressure and responsibility. He must have been feeling somewhat overwhelmed and possibly trapped. He couldn't take the pressure.
But there was a twist to the story. The article also said that his friends thought he had committed suicide! He had told a friend recently he wanted to throw himself into the Missouri River and end it all. Maybe he could go into a state hospital if he acted crazy enough. His friends tried to make light of his talk by teasing that he might not actually be able to stay out of the asylum the way he is!  Running away and committing suicide are two different things! I believed something more than the normal pressures of a new family were at work here. I'm happy to report that he did not commit suicide but returned home at some point as I have census records and photos of them together. There was no follow-up article.
Arthur did in the end die in a State Hospital. His cause of death: Paralysis of the Insane.

Helen Francis "Babe" (Curtiss) Conner

9 May 1912 – 14 May 2014

Helen Frances “Babe” Conner was born May 9, 1912 in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Her father was Arthur Darby Curtiss and mother Lata LaVesta Launder. Her father was a florist who did landscaping work and worked in greenhouses. 

Helen was the third child with two older sisters, Ethelyne N. Drake and Ruby L. Grandfield, both now deceased. 

In the early 1920s the family moved to Los Angeles and lived on Idaho Avenue. In 1924 Helen’s brother Edward H., whom many of you know, was born. Ed would go on to marry Helen Tollefson – and the sisters- in-law were very close friends. Sadly, Arthur Curtiss never knew his son because Arthur was in the hospital from early 1924 to mid 1925, when he died. Helen was 12 years old. 

In 1929 Ethelyne married Elvin “Ducky” Drake who was a beloved figure in UCLA athletics for his entire career – Drake Stadium was later named after him, and the players loved him. 

 

Everyone had a nickname in this family. Ruby was called “Sis”; Lauren, Ruby’s husband, was called “Red”; you heard about “Ducky”; Ed was and is called “Bud”; of course there was “Babe”.

Babe graduated from University High School. She was  in its first graduating class. She was

extremely social and had some wonderful friends. They started a high school philanthropy club called Cosmos. She graduated right around the time of the Great Depression, and after graduation, Helen worked at the Tivoli Theater on Santa Monica Blvd for 25 cents per day. 

She met her husband John Wesley Conner who of course had a nickname – he was called “Wes” - and they were married in 1931. Both ended up working for Tucker McClure, Corporation which was a General Contracting business. Wes was an electrician and Helen was an excellent secretary who was an expert in short hand. During this time, even though World War II had not started yet, Tucker McClure was building military bases, and there was a lot of military activity going on in Ecuador. Helen and Wes transferred to the jungles of Ecuador around 1933 and they would live there for almost a decade.  

Interestingly enough, the doctors had told them they would not be able to have children, and for quite some time they didn’t. But in 1943 they decided to leave Ecuador to have their first child, John, here in the United States.  Helen was VERY pregnant. On the way home from Ecuador, their plane actually crashed in Mexico because of a landing gear failure. Amazingly, no one was hurt, but there was still this little matter of getting to Los Angeles to have their baby. Fortunately, they got here just in time. 

Wes and Helen ended up having two children – John Arthur born in 1943 and David O. born about a year and half later. The doctors were wrong.  John is married to Patricia Johnson and David is married to Jill Fry. 

While back in Los Angeles, Helen continued working for Tucker McClure as executive secretary. She used to ride the red car trolley from Venice Blvd to downtown LA, where she handled the company payroll. She always made sure her kids had their lunches packed before school, and would send the kids to school before she headed off to work.  

In 1960 Tucker McClure the owner of the business, passed away, and his son Allan took over. Allan ended up closing down the business and Helen helped with that process. Allan was also really into astronomy, and Helen helped him get some of his work published. He gave Helen and Wes a telescope, and this became one of her hobbies and interests. 

However, the closing of the business meant Helen needed a new job, and so she became the executive secretary for the California State University Chancellor’s Office, from 1960 to 1974. She worked for the President of the Council.  

She finally retired in 1974, age 62.  

She and Wes’s life in retirement was extremely enjoyable. She had a lot of friends, and she was still friends with some people from Uni High School, in fact the Cosmos philanthropy club kept going up until the 1970s. They met once a month. She and Wes were also involved in a club called the Huff and Puffs which was a square dancing club. They were part of a poker club, and she was a member of the philanthropy club called PEO International.

Helen and Wes traveled all over the world including Germany, England, Australia, Ireland, they even went to China in the 1970s which was pretty much unheard of. Their favorite place was Italy. They were both healthy and able to enjoy clubs, social events and they loved having the family, including their sons, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters Samantha, Cassandra, and Alexandra, and extended family over for family dinners. Babe hosted nearly every wedding shower, baby shower, anniversary party and many birthdays for the family. 

They were blessed with good health and a fun retirement together which they enjoyed until the 1990s, when Wes Conner died in 1994 at age 87. 

Helen was a member of the West LA Methodist Church on Butler Ave, then University Bible Church on Wilshire Blvd. In the few years I knew her, she asked me to call her Helen, I think she thought it wasn’t good for the pastor to call her Babe. 

The biggest spiritual influence in her life was Community Bible Study. Helen Curtiss first invited Babe to join in the late 1970s, and she really enjoyed it. Over time, her understanding of the Bible grew and she began talking more and more about the Lord Jesus as her Savior. She was faithful in doing her lessons and homework. After a while, she was asked to serve in the leadership group, as Dottie Larson’s transcriber in shorthand, which she did even into her 90s. She would type up her notes and send them to Dottie, and those teachings would end up all over the country. Babe loved the women of CBS and it made a huge impact on her life. The other CBS women really loved her, too.

In her last years, Helen was eager to go be with the Lord in heaven. Sometimes she would wake up in the morning and say “Oh darn, I’m still here.” She had no doubts about where she would spend eternity, not because she was a good person but because she had faith in God’s Word, that whoever truly calls upon and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. Well, she’s finally there. 

Her Memorial Celebration was held at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, California May 28, 2014. 

 

Eulogy by Rev. Rob Brooks, University Bible Church

The Arthur D. Curtiss Family

Moves To California (1920 - 2008)

In the 1920's, the Arthur D. Curtiss family moved from Omaha, Nebraska to Los Angeles, California. Arthur's name appears in the 1924 Los Angeles Voter Registration as a Florist living at 1117 Idaho Avenue.

Here they are at the Del Mar shores.

Clockwise Top - Arthur D., Ethelyne Nadine (14), Ruby Lucille (13), Helen Francis (8), Vesta L. Curtiss.

The Death of Arthur D. Curtiss

On July 21, 1924 a son was born to Arthur and LaVesta named Edward Harry Curtiss. He never knew his father because 3 months earlier Arthur became seriously ill and entered the Veterens Hospital in Sawtelle, a military hospital in West Los Angeles. He was transfered to the Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, California where he died on June 27, 1925. His family didn't know he was gone for weeks as the Military was hush about his condition, treatment and demise. They were eventually informed he had died and was burried in San Bernardino, 60 miles from their home in West Los Angeles.

Arthur Darby Curtiss Marries

Upon completion of his service in the US Army Hospital Corp, Arthur D. Curtiss returned to St. Joseph, Missouri and married Lata LaVesta Launder in 1905. They were married in the Westminster Presbyterian Church in St. Joseph, Missouri located at Jule & 21st Street. The Minister who signed their Marriage Certificate was Rev. Henry Nelson Bullard dated August 22, 1905.




By the 1910 US Federal Census they had two childern, Ethelyn N. (1906) and Ruby L. (1907), both daughters were born in St. Joseph, Missouri.

I love this old photo. All these women! Arthur doesn't look very happy. Included in the photo (l to r) dauthter Ruby, mother Mary Ella, in front sitting next to Arthur on the step is sister Hellen, daughter Ethelyne, sister Ruth, behind him is wife Lata LaVesta (Vesta), sister-in-law Alice Leota. (Possibly taking the photo is his brother Edwin H. who was professional photographer.)

Move to Nebraska

Between the 1910 Census and the birth of daughter Helen F. in May 1912, the Curtiss family, including Arthur's mother Mary Ella (Darby), brothers Floyd R. and Edwin H. with their families, all moved to Omaha, Nebraska. Mary Ella was a widow in the 1910 Census. In Omaha, Arthur's occupation was now florist. He worked for Charles Ederer at 308 Bristol St., and he worked in greenhouses and did landscaping.















Arthur is pictured here (at the far left) with his mates at Ederer .


World War I Draft Registration Card (1918)

We find some interesting facts about Arthur Darby Curtiss from his September 12, 1918 draft registration card. We learn that he lived at 3513 N. 30th, Douglas Co., Omaha, Nebraska. He lists his occupation as Florist employed by Chas Ederer at 308 Bristol St. Most interesting is the spelling of his wife's name, which he spells Lata LaVesta Curtiss. (Everyone has always believed her name was Lita LaVesta!) He is a natural born American. He was 5-ft 7 1/2-in tall with brown eyes and black hair.


By the 1920 US Federal Census the Arthur D. Curtiss family is still living in Omaha, Nebraska and now has another daughter, Helen Francis Curtiss born in 1912.



Elmwood Park - The family enjoyed their time together in the beautiful 55 acre park along Leavenworth Street that fit the report’s description as a “wild and romantic place,” containing a wooded ravine that followed the course of a small stream.” “There are all manner of shady nooks in this dell, and some of the largest forest trees in this section of the country are to be seen in it,” the story continued. Most impressive along the trees were the huge elms that prompted the Commissioners to give the park the name Elmwood.

Arthur D. Curtiss Family in Omaha, Nebraska (1910 - 1920)
Lata LaVesta (Launder) - Wife
Ethelyne N. - Daughter
Ruby L. - Daughter
Helen F. - Daughter
Mary Ella (Darby) - Mother
Hellen D. - Sister
Edwin H. - Brother
Alice L.(Reeder) - Sister-in-law
Floyd R. - Brother
Estella L. (Boulware) - Sister-in-law