John Levi Curtis (1873-1922)

At six years old, John Levi Curtis was fatherless and may have also been abandoned by his mother. Thanks to extended family, he didn't have to grow up alone. Tragedy struck again, though, when he died and left his own children orphaned. Thankfully, extended family was there once more  to help. John was my husband's great grandfather. This is his story.

John Levi Curtis was born on May 5, 1873 in Turman, Sullivan, Indiana to William G. Curtis and Sarah E. (Merrill) Curtis. He had two older sisters; Naomi Evaline born about 1869 and Loucretia E. born about 1871. A younger brother, Gilbert W., came along in September of 1878. Just a few months later, in March of 1879, their father,William, died. Gilbert followed his father to the grave in August that year. Losing her husband and infant son must have been devastating for Sarah. Her brother-in-law, Gilbert Curtis, assisted her with settling William's estate. There wasn't much to settle. A horse, a heifer, a milk cow, some chickens and a few pigs for livestock, about 5 acres in wheat, a plow, a shovel, a post auger, and miscellaneous other tools and household goods were the only items to account for. The total value was less than $500. There was some family still in the area, but Sarah's mother and several siblings had moved to Kansas. After her baby son died, she may have felt very alone.

In 1880, little John Levi, at just seven years old, was the only one of the four remaining family members found in the federal census. He was boarding with an older couple, Cyrus and Almira Thomas in Turman, Sullivan, Indiana. This little boy had just experienced the trauma of losing his father and little brother, and then faced living without his mother and sisters. I searched in Indiana and in Kansas for Sarah and the girls, but haven't yet found them on a census listing anywhere.

Sarah reappeared in the records when she married Moses J. Bland on January 19, 1882 in Sullivan County, Indiana. She and Moses had a daughter, Mariah two years later. Then, in 1886, it's believed that Sarah died. It is possible that John was back with his mother between the years of 1880 and her death, but it's not known for certain. The next records found were marriage records for his two older sisters who were both wed in 1890.

By the time the census came out in 1900, John was living with his Aunt Martha, his mother's youngest sister, and her husband, Isaac Robertson, in Joplin, Jasper, Missouri.  He was 27 years old, single, and working as a house carpenter. A few years later, he was back in Kansas, where he fell in love  with Minnie Jane Altum. Minnie and John were married in 1904 and set up housekeeping in Whitewater, Butler, Kansas. Daughter Lucretia was born in 1905, followed close after by a move to Parsons, Labette, Kansas, near where John's older sister Loucretia was living. John was a painter in Parsons, working for the MK&T (an acronym for Missouri, Kansas and Texas) Railroad. This railroad was often called the K-T, or Katy, railroad. A son, Levi Roy, was born in Parsons in 1907.

John and Minnie relocated to Amarillo, Texas after Levi was born, possibly taking the very train system that had employed him in Kansas. Their family continued to grow, with daughter Bessie born about 1908. Also living with them in 1910 were an uncle, a cousin, and his nephew Ray Galvin, the son of John's sister Naomi. John was now his own boss, working as a painting contractor. In 1916, Minnie gave birth to another daughter, Billie. John was busy, working hard and caring for his family. Life was good in Texas. But it was about to change.

Two years later, during another pregnancy, Minnie developed toxemia and suddenly died. The child was pre-term and did not survive. John, now a widower, was left to care for the remaining four children. When he was required to register for the WWI draft in 1918 he was disqualified, not because of a disability, but probably because he was a single parent. In that draft registration he is described as tall and slender, with brown hair and brown eyes. 

John and his children were still in Amarillo, Texas in 1920 where the bad luck for the family continues. About this time, John began to suffer from an illness. Two years later, sadly, he died. The cause of death was Uremia, or kidney failure, caused by Bright's Disease. His children were now orphans. Loucretia was 16, Levi Roy was 15, Bessie was 13, and little Billie just 5 years old. After their father died, the kids were shipped back to Kansas to live with Aunt Loucretia.

Llano Cemetery, Amarillo, Texas.
Photo from FindaGrave.com, Memorial #17652599, Memorial and photo added by Walter Dunn. 

Loucretia and her husband made arrangements to adopt Billie and they raised her as their own. By 1930, they had moved farther west, settling in Los Angeles, California. Roy and Bessie were still with their Aunt and Uncle. Their older sister had recently married, but was living nearby. It appears that these siblings remained in close proximity to each other for the rest of their lives.

Levi Roy, or Roy as he was called, and Vera (Sisson) Armstrong were briefly married and their daughter, Lora, is my mother-in-law.  The pattern of father-less children, for one reason or another, continued into her generation. Because of her parent's nasty split, Lora never knew her father. She's never even seen a photograph of him. And, like her father and grandfather, she spent much of her youth being raised by extended family. I'm currently searching for descendants of Roy and/or his sisters who might be able to fill in some of the missing details. Lora would be interested in learning more about her father and his family.