Cyrus Jerome Curtis Land Patent

Cyrus J. Curtis received a land patent for a homestead. The information about this land patent, including the original certificate can be found on the BLM website. A transcription of the certificate is as follows:

Homestead Certificate No. 3032
Application 4396

Whereas, There as been deposited in the General Land Office of the United States a Certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Bozeman, Montana, whereby it appears that, pursuant to the Act of Congress approved 20th May 1862, "To secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers on the Public Domain," and the acts supplemental thereto, the claim of

Cyrus J. Curtis

has been established and duly consummated, in conformity to law, for the north half of the southeast quarter and the south half of the northeast quarter of Section thirty-one in Township one north of Range fifteen east of the Montana Meridian, Montana, containing one hundred sixty acres, according to the Official Plat of the Survey of the said Land, returned to the General Land Office by the Surveyor General:

Now Know Ye, That there is, therefore, granted by the United States unto the said

Cyrus J. Curtis

the tract of Land above described: To have and to hold the said tract of Land, with the appurtenances thereof, unto the said Cyrus J. Curtis and to his heirs and assigns forever; subject to any vested and accrued water rights for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes, and rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights, as may be recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and decisions of courts, and also subject to the right of the proprietor of a vein or lode to extract and remove his ore therefrom, should the same be found to penetrate or intersect the premises hereby granted, as provided by law. And there is reserved from the lands thereby granted, a right of way thereon for ditches or canals constructed by the authority of the United States.

In testimony whereof, I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, have caused these letters to be made Patent, and the seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed. Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, the twenty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and thirty-second. By the President: signature Theodore Roosevelt By F. M. M. Kean, Secretary.

Two other records are listed for Cyrus J. Curtis on the BLM index and are in the process of being digitized and added to the website: 30 March 1900, for 80 acres; and 21 Aug 1907 for 160 acres.

Timeline of George and Sarah [Curtis] Reynolds Family

• 1856 Sarah Ellenor Curtis was born in Georgetown, Ottawa Co., Michigan
• 1860 Census -
• 1863 George Robert Reynolds was born in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan
• What happened during this 20 year time span?
• 1870 Census -
• 1880 Census -
• 1883 George Reynolds and Sarah Curtis were married in Renville County, Minnesota
• What happened during this 4 year time span? Other children???
• 1887 Leila Belle Reynolds, daughter of George and Sarah was born at Bird Island, Renville Co., Minnesota
• Another 4 year time span. When did they move to Idaho? Why?
• 1891 George Benjamin Reynolds, son of George and Sarah, was born at Preston, Oneida Co., Idaho
• Another 4 year time span. We are seeing a pattern here with 4 years between major events.
• 1895 Card Lee Reynolds, son of George and Sarah, was born at Preston, Oneida Co., Idaho
• Sometime during this two year time span, the Reynolds family moved to Big Timber, Montana
• 1897 Villa Philena Reynolds, daughter of George and Sarah, was born at Big Timber, Sweet Grass Co., Montana.
• 1898 Wiley Bradley Reynolds, son of George and Sarah, was born at Big Timber, Sweet Grass Co., Montana
• 1900 Census
• 1905 Leila Belle Reynolds married Thomas Penny Muir (1881-1954), place unknown. Sometime after Thomas' death, Leila married Arthur E. Collinge (1883-1974), date and place unknown.
• 1910 Census
• 1917 Villa Philena Reynolds and Harry Raymond Rosevear (1896-1952) were married in Billings, Montana
• 1920 Census
• 1923 George Benjamin Reynolds married Frey, last name unknown.
• 1930 Census
• 1932 Card Lee Reynolds married Ethel Bonnell French (1897-1958) in Los Angeles, California. Previous marriage was to Gladys Whitcher, date unknown.
• 1933 Sarah Ellenor Curtis Reynolds died in Los Angeles, California and was buried at the Forest Lawn Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach, Los Angeles Co., California.
• 1948 George Robert Reynolds died in Calder, Shoshone Co., Idaho and was buried at Bakersfield, Kern Co., California. (Note that the father and mother, George and Sarah, were buried in different cemeteries.)
• 1953 Wiley Bradley Reynolds died at Bakersfield, Kern Co., California
• 1958 George Benjamin Reynolds married June, last name unknown.
• 1958 Card Lee Reynolds died at Los Angeles Co., California and was buried at the Valhalla Cemetery in Burbank, Los Angeles Co., California
• 1981 Leila Belle Reynolds Muir Collinge died in San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California and was buried at the Alta Mesa Cemetery in Palo Alto, Santa Clara Co., California
• 1989 Villa Philena Reynolds Rosevear Redshaw died at Big Pine, Inyo Co., California and was buried at Forest Lawn Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach, Los Angeles Co., California. (When did Villa marry Al Redshaw?)
• Villa kept a diary in a booklet titled, "Progress Order Book." Entries began in 1931 and ended in 1989. The contents of Villa's diary entries included items about her many moves, health problems, and records of birth, marriage, death, and burial for many of her extended family members.

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.

Oscar Benjamin Curtis marriage

Tonight I discovered a new web site that documents the marriage of Oscar Benjamin Curtis:

Engstrom and Lyons Family Histories

"Julien Amelia Andersen was born on 16 Oct 1866 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. She died on 27 Oct 1936 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States from Ajiallizing(?) - Cereboral Hemorhage. She was buried on 30 Oct 1936 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States.

"Julien married Albert Andrew West, son of Chauncy Walker West and Adeline Amanda Wright, on 16 Apr 1887 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. Albert was born on 18 Jun 1862 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. He died on 19 Apr 1894 in Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States. He was buried in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States.

"Julien also married David Cottier Lawson, son of Joseph Lawson and Ruth Margaret Greenway, in Never Married (1900). David was born on 6 Jul 1866 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. He died on 2 Jan 1938.

"Julien also married Oscar Benjamin Curtis, son of Benjamin Kingman Curtis and Sarah Lavantia Card, on 21 Dec 1904 in Big Timber, Sweet Grass, Montana, United States. Oscar was born on 4 Jan 1858 in Tallmadge, Ottawa, Michigan, United States. He died on 22 Jan 1921 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States from Chronic intestinal nephritis. He was buried in Jan 1921 in Big Timber, Sweet Grass, Montana, United States.

"Julien also married Matthew Isaac Dinsdale, son of Jeffery Dinsdale and Alice Rushton, on 6 Jun 1929 in Of Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. The marriage ended in divorce. Matthew was born on 28 May 1865 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States. He died on 7 Aug 1951 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States from Bronchopneumonia & anteriocchistic heart disease. He was buried on 10 Aug 1951 in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States."

The genealogy was also submitted to WorldConnect (see Ancestors of Donald and Carolyn Engstrom.) Documentation for the marriages and the divorce was not included. Death certificates were included in the documentation.

The Antique Photograph Album

While searching for descendants of Benjamin Kingman Curtis, I helped another descendant organize a small family reunion and dedication ceremony to place a new headstone on Benjamin's grave. The new stone was placed in honor of Benjamin's volunteer service in the Civil War. At the reunion/dedication I met several descendants who were new to me. One had brought some photocopies of pages from the antique photograph album. This all happened in June 2000. I ended up borrowing the album to make copies of all the pictures in the album. Posting the images on this blog is a small way to share them with others and preserve them for future generations. Please add comments about the people in the photos and the history behind the pictures as well.

Friend William Curtis 1890-1957

The first photograph in the antique Curtis family album was of Friend William Curtis, 1890-1957, son of Friend Charles Curtis & Mary Catherine Burrell. The photographer was Lewis & Son in Kaysville, Utah

Audeca Etta Brower

The third photograph in the antique album was of Audeca Etta Brower, wife of DeWilton Emory Curtis. The photographer was Frank D. Halsk, artist, place of business is unknown. Written on the back of the photo was "Friend of Mama's," meaning friend of Mary Lavantia Curtis (original owner of the antique album).

While attending a White family reunion in northern Utah, the descendants identified the person in this photo. Some of the descendants had a picture taken at her funeral of the flowers that adorned her casket. Among the flower was another copy of this exact same picture.

"Etta" was buried at the Preston City cemetery in Preston, Idaho. Her headstone is small and only says "Etta"

James Conroy Hobbs

The second photograph in the antique Curtis family album was of James Conroy Hobbs. James married Mary Lavantia Curtis, daughter of Benjamin Kingman Curtis and Sarah Lavantia Card. The photographer was Newcomb, 162 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, Utah.

Hugh Geddes

Hugh Geddes was a friend of Mary Lavantia Curtis, owner of the antique photograph album. This photo was the fourth one in the album. The photographer was H. H. Thomas whose studio was on Washington Ave., in Ogden, Utah.

Although living descendants of Mary, the original album owner, did not know anything more about Hugh, the following information was discovered in the 1900 US Federal Census:

In 1900 Hugh Geddes lived in Preston, Oneida, Idaho with his wife and children. He was born in July 1859 and was 40 years old at the time of the census. He was married in 1884 to Martena, who was listed as 35 years old during the census. They had six children: Estella E., Hugh L., Maud L., Moses P., Grant P., and Elva P. Hugh's parents were both born in Scotland. (See the 1900 US Federal Census, Preston, Oneida, Idaho; National Archives film #T623-234, page 8B)

It's very likely that this is the same person whose photograph ended up in the Curtis album because the Curtis family also lived in Preston, Idaho during the 1880s and 1890s.

Antique Photograph Album, image #5

We don't know anything about this person, other than he was a friend of Mary Lavantia Curtis. The photographer was Kirkland's Studio in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I've added this picture to the blog before, so view the comments on the picture by clicking on the label "family friend"