Research Notes for Sarah Ellenor Curtis' family

I was recently contacted by someone looking for information about George Robert Reynolds and his family. The person contacted me through the records I had uploaded to the Ancestry.com site. To make a long story short, we discovered that the Reynolds family (a collateral line) in my records was the same family in her direct ancestry. Turns out that she has been looking for this George Reynolds family for many years and finding my submission was a break-through for her. As a result of the discovery of our common ancestry, today I reviewed the research notes I have on this Reynolds-Curtis family. I have decided to add a summary of the research I have done on this family to this blog. Hopefully, my notes will be of benefit to others who are searching for the George Robert Reynolds and Sarah Ellenor Curtis family. I probably won't get all my notes into this one message in a single sitting. Therefore, come back often to see updates.

In 1992 when I started the research on this family, I knew next to nothing. In fact, the only thing I knew was that Sarah Curtis had married a man name George Reynolds, but I didn't know where. I also didn't know if they had any children, or where they died and were buried. I mentioned in earlier posts to this blog that a photograph someone shared with me was the key to cracking this research block wall. (Please see my other posts for details about this photograph and how it solved the mystery.)

George Robert Reynolds

• Born 24 Oct 1863 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan
• Married to Sarah Ellenor Curtis on 22 Feb 1883 in Renville Co., Minnesota
• Died 17 Jun 1948 in Calder, Shoshone Co., Idaho
• Buried 23 Jun 1948 at the Sunneyside Mausoleum and Cemetery in Long Beach, California

Sarah Ellenor Curtis

• Born 28 Nov 1856 in Georgetown, Ottawa Co., Michigan
• Died 6 Oct 1933 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California
• Buried at the Sunnyside Mausoleum and Cemetery in Long Beach, California

George and Sarah lived in Preston, Franklin Co., Idaho and later moved to Big Timber, Sweet Grass Co., Montana, where they were enumerated in the 1900 and 1910 census. By the 1920 census, George and Sarah [Curtis] Reynolds had moved to California and were enumerated at San Antonio Township, Monterey Park City, Los Angeles County, California. Just three years prior to Sarah's death, both George and Sarah were listed in the 1930 census living in Montibello, Los Angeles Co., California at 310 North Maple Street. Located at 310 1/2 Maple Street was their daughter and her family, Lelia B. and Thomas P. Muir. (Note that during the early years of research on this family, the census records were more difficult to find. Today, each census record is easily found on Ancestry.com or other websites that have indexed the records.)

I've run out of time ... more details will be added later.

The Reynolds family

This was the 13th page in the Curtis family antique photograph album. All the pages in the album were very similar in design. This picture was already added to this blog, so instead of adding it again, I chose to add the scanned image of the page itself. Neither the front or the back of the picture included a photographer's imprint so the name of the photographer or the place where the picture was taken is unknown. The family is that of George Robert Reynolds, his wife Sarah Ellenor Curtis, and their oldest child Leila Belle Reynolds.

The Reynolds family

The family photo was the 13th photo in Mary Lavantia Curtis' antique album.  The photo of the child standing for her portrait was the 22nd photo in the album. The woman who is standing in the family photo was Mary's sister, Sarah Ellenor Curtis. Sarah married George Robert Reynolds on 22 February 1883 at Bird Island, Renville Co., Minnesota. Why Sarah ended up in Minnesota is a complete mystery. The Curtis family left Michigan sometime around 1883 or 1884, so it's possible that Sarah and George knew each other in Michigan.

Prior to the discovery of Mary's antique photo album, we only knew the name of Sarah's husband. The photographer's imprint on the child's photo was the information we needed to eventually find the marriage record for Sarah and George. The child's name is Leila Belle and she was the oldest of six children: 1) Leila Belle Reynolds, 1887-1981; 2) George Benjamin Reynolds, 1891-1973; 3) Card Lee Reynolds, 1895-1958; 4) Villa Philena Reynolds, 1897-1989; 5) Wiley Bradley Reynolds, 1898-1953; 6) Bennie Reynolds, 1899-unknown.

Villa ended up being the record-keeper in the family. After she passed away, her family records, photographs, old letters, diaries, etc. were given to her daughter Lois Scott. After I found Lois, we corresponded for several years. She let me borrow all her mother's family records and photographs so I could make copies. Lois passed away in 2006.

One of the records kept by Villa was a scrapbook of all the Curtis family reunions held during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Even my grandmother Ada Curtis Johansen was in several of the reunion pictures. The discovery of Curtis family reunions was new information. Villa also kept a list of all the deaths in the family, including names, dates and locations of death. The records kept by Villa helped document several generations of descendants from Benjamin Kingman Curtis. Two of the old letters gave solid clues about Benjamin's extended family and were already posted to this blog.

the Reynolds family children, about 1898

The first four children of George Robert Reynolds and Sarah Ellenor Curtis:

Leila Belle Reynolds (1887-1981) was the oldest. She is seated holding her baby sister, Villa Philena Reynolds (1897-1989).

George Benjamin Reynolds (1891-1973) was the oldest son, and is standing on the left.

Card Lee Reynolds (1895-1958) was the third child born to the Reynolds family and is standing on the right.