Hunters of History, photo 2

From Benjamin Kingman Curtis

This is my favorite photo out the four that were taken. Ada and Reed are on the floor, completely engrossed in their family history records and photographs. They are taking time to record their family history and identify people and places in their photographs. It's so much easier to share photographs today - like these that I simple took a picture of with my digital camera. I'm in the process of taking pictures of every page in the 1 scrapbooks that my grandfather Roy Johansen compiled. Today I finished another two albums and noticed a whole page of pictures of the room and the card table that Roy used to compile the scrapbooks. Some of the scrapbooks are complete and displayed nicely on the bed. It is amazing that grandpa took the time to document his actual work, his scrapbooking efforts. He was truly a man ahead of his time! What a blessing and legacy we have today because of the time, effort, and expense he sacrificed to record his history for us, his family.

Hunters of History, photo 1

From Benjamin Kingman Curtis

Ada Curtis and her brother Reed Josiah Curtis studying the family records, photographs, and genealogy. The photo was taken by Ada's husband, Roy Johansen. I sure hope the pictures stacked on the floor are still within the family today. Seeing that stack of pictures makes me wonder if some of them are ones that I've never seen before.

Hunters of History

The title of the scrapbook page that my grandfather created was "Hunters of History." Grandpa is not in any of the pictures, but he completely documented the hunt his wife and her brother were on for their ancestors. Four simple pictures taken about 1960, and 50 years later we can tell the story just by looking at the pictures.

Ada Curtis and Reed Josiah Curtis were brother and sister. Ada was older than Reed by almost two years. Ada was born in 1904 and Reed in 1906. They had 10 other siblings, but in this story it is Reed and Ada that spent their vacation hunting history. First, I'll share the scrapbook page in this post. The following posts will share the four photographs that were taken by my grandfather Roy Johansen.

Roy and Ada were living in California and Reed was living in Oregon. While on vacation, Roy and Ada went to visit Reed. These photos were taken in Reed's home.

William Rushmer Curtis family

From Benjamin Kingman Curtis

William Rushmer Curtis and his wife Ella May Canfield wife five of their children. The original was a postcard photograph. The family is standing on their farm in Big Timber, Sweet Grass county, Montana. The girl in ringlets is Ada. The young boy is Reed Josiah. The young girl on the left of Ada is Ina and on her right is Etta. The youngest girl in front is Orpha.

Ella May [Canfield] Curtis and her daughters

Photo was taken in 1920 at the Long Beach Park. The occasion associated with this photograph is unknown, although it was possibly a small family reunion due to the family's move a couple years prior. This photograph was taken about three years after Ella May had moved to Long Beach due to her health problems. The three youngest daughters, Etta, Ina, and Orpha went with their mother. It is unknown when the father, William Rushmer, and the rest of the family joined Ella May and the girls in Long Beach.

Back row: Ina Curtis (holding Rosemary Clifford Brown), Lovantia Curtis Roth, Florence Albertha Curtis Brown, Ella May Canfield Curtis, Ada Curtis, Julia Gar (a friend), and Etta Curtis.

Front row: Orpha Curtis, Ruth Roth (daughter of Lovantia Curtis Roth), Ella Josephine Brown and Florence Gladys Brown (daughters of Florence Albertha Curtis Brown).

Daughters of Ella May [Canfield] Curtis

This photo was taken in 1946, place unknown. Left to right are sisters: Lou, Ada, Orpha, and Grace. Their full names, including their married names:
Luella Curtis Christensen
Ada Curtis Johansen
Orpha Curtis Sidlitz
Grace Adaline Curtis Dearth (Grace died at age 53, approximately a year after this photograph was taken.)