George M. Curtis

GEORGE MARTIN CURTIS was the last of the founders of a business that probably did more to carry the fame of the City of Clinton abroad in the world than any other one industry. But much more deserves to be said than that. In Clinton and other Mississippi River towns there have been scores of lumber mills and wood working plants during the past half century, but it is doubtful if any organization has done so much to set a standard of perfection, elevate architectural tastes and improve the convenience and comfort of American homes to such a degree as the companies and service represented in general by the Curtis name.

George Martin Curtis was the last survivor of ten sons and daughters born to John S. and Elizabeth (Carpenter) Curtis. His oldest brother was killed while a soldier in the Union army and two of the brothers who were also associated with the business at Clinton were C. F. and C. S. Curtis. George Martin Curtis was born on a farm in Chenango County, New York, April 1, 1844, and died at his home in Clinton February 9, 1921, having attained the age of nearly seventy-seven. He lived a long life of extreme usefulness, but was never physically robust, and in his case it would seem that his strength of will and great intellectual energy had something to do with overcoming and mastering the infirmities of his physique. In 1856, when he was twelve years of age, his family moved to a farm in Ogle County, Illinois, in the vicinity of Rochelle. So far as his physical strength permitted he labored with his brothers on the farm, and during the winter applied himself to his books and diligently took advantage of all the opportunities in the rather backward schools of that locality. In Illinois he attended the Mount Morris Seminary, and for two years he taught country schools and then became a clerk in a grocery store at Rochelle. While clerking it is said that he knew nearly every man, woman and child in the county, and his success as a salesman was the greater because people came to trade at the store through a liking for George Curtis. When he was twenty years of age he entered the coal business for himself at Cortland, Illinois.

His son, George L. Curtis, in a brief tribute written at the time of the death of his father, had told some interesting particulars regarding his father's early life. "In those early years another quality in the young man's character stood forth for all to see, and it remained a dominant characteristic, namely, an indomitable determination to do what he set out to do. So he got his education - not much compared with present standards, but far better than the average of his day. So he got his job as teacher and held it successfully. So he governed his temper and no one who knew him only in full manhood would have suspected that he ever had a temper . So he did his part in business with his brothers and his uncle. So he got himself elected to Congress."

George M. Curtis in 1867 moved to Clinton and purchased an interest in the sash and door business his brother had established there the previous year. To his personal efforts may be attributed much of the success which this business attained in a steady growth from a small industry to a great industrial institution, with offices and factories in many cities. He and his brother built up the business, and in his later years he was chairman of the board of directors of the Curtis Companies Incorporated. For a number of years he was interested in a business venture in California,having founded an olive and citrus growing and manufacturing establishment at Bloomington in that state.

George M. Curtis was an Iowa business man who for many years figured largely in state and national politics. He was a student of government and political economy, and he understood the motives of men in political life and was interested in impressing some of his own broad views and high ideals on the public life of his home state. In 1885 he entered the State Assembly as representative from Clinton County, and during his two terms in teh Legislature formed friendships with such noted Iowans as Albert B. Cummins, Senator Allison, Jonathan P. Dolliver and others. In 1894 the Republican convention nominated him for Congress to represent the Second Iowa District. This second district, as a result of gerrymandering, had been for years a Democratic stronghold. A Republican Legislature had carefully consolidated a group of Democratic counties in the district, in such a way that while the Second District would normally return a Democratic candidate every two years, all the other districts in the state would be safely Republican. Consequently it was as a leader of forlorn hope that George M. Curtis accepted the nomination in 1894. The normal Democratic majority of the district was over nine thousand. His son recalls how his father visited and revisited every city, town and hamlet in the district, made friends and converts wherever he went, and when the vote was finally counted he was elected by a scant four hundred and two years later was reelected by a majority of several thousand. For business reasons he declined a third term. At Washington he gained high rank in the Iowa delegation, serving as a member of the District of Columbia committee and part of the time as chairman pro tem, in which capacity he probably reported more bills than any other member during his term of service. Among other services credited to him while in Congress was his influence in securing an appropriation of $100,000 for the Clinton Government Building, which has always been recognized as a permanent memorial to his loyalty to his home town.

George M. Curtis was a delegate to three Republican national conventions and in 1904 was a member of th Iowa commission at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at Saint Louis. He received the supreme honorary thirty-third degree in Scottish Rite Masonry and was a Presbyterian. Among the business organizations with which he was actively identified during his later years were the Curtis Brothers & Company, Curtis Door & Sash Company, Curtis & Yale Company, Curtis, Towle & Paine Company, the McCloud River Lumber Company of California, and the City National Bank of Clinton.

To quote again the reverent tribute of his son - "His life was a fight against odds from beginning to end, but I do not remember ever hearing him admit that he was discouraged. Surely we may call the fight successful, not alone because he overcame material difficulties and bodily disability, but, most of all, because of the number of those who loved him and called him friend. He is gone, but he will live long in the memory of those who knew him. In life his unfaltering courage was a constant bulwark for associates and friends. In death the memory of that courage will shine for use who remain, a never ending inspiration to make a better fight - to play the game hard to win, but always with friendliness in our hearts."

George Martin Curtis married, September 4, 1872, Miss Ettie Lewis, of Clinton. He was survived by Mrs. Curtis and two sons, G. L. and E. J. Curtis.

The son George L. Curtis, now president of the Curtis Companies, Incorporated, was born at Clinton, August 23, 1878. He attended public school in Clinton and was sent east to a preparatory school at East Hampton, Massachusetts. For one year he was a student in Yale University and then returned to Clinton to enter his father's business in 1899. Mr. Curtis by natural ability and training is well fitted to carry on the great industries originated by his father and uncles. During the past thirty years he has been connected with every department from the counting room to the factories. In 1911 he was made president of the holding company, known as the Curtis Companies, Incorporated, and is an officer in the several other organizations owned by the Curtis Companies, Incorporated. He is also president of the City National Bank of Clinton, is an officer in the Merrill Company of Salt Lake City, director of the McCloud River Lumber Company and other corporations. Mr. Curtis is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, is a member of the Clinton Country Club, the Wapsipinicon Club, the Midway Club of Los Angeles, and the Chicago Club. He is a Presbyterian and, like his father, a staunch Republican.

George L. Curtis married, May 16, 1900, Miss Frances Wilcox, of Clinton, daughter of Fred P. and Ann (Clark) Wilcox. Her father was an early settler in Clinton County and for many years engaged in the real estate and insurance business. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis had three children: Elizabeth W., George M. and Louise. The son George is now learning the business, preparing to represent the third generation of the family. Mrs. George L. Curtis passed away March 20, 1924.