George W. Curtis Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1270-1271 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.


	GEORGE W. CURTIS is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, born on July 
9, 1856, and is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Gibbard) Curtis, who 
were born and reared in England. The father was a farmer in Wisconsin, 
and the son grew to the age of twenty years on the paternal homestead, 
receiving his education in the district schools of Oakfield in his 
native state, and acquiring habits of useful industry and thrift on the 
farm. In 1876 he went to Minnesota, and after passing a few months in 
that state, in the spring of 1877 outfitted at Long Prairie with ox 
teams and came with a party across the country to the Black Hills, where 
he prospected for a year. In 1878 he located at Lead and entered the 
employ of the Homestake Mining Company in the first mill owned and 
operated by it, the old No. 2 mill, which the company renamed the 
Highland mill. This was his first experience in amalgamating and he was 
new to the business. But by continued and studious application he soon 
mastered it, and in this line of activity he has been since steadily 
employed. At the end of nine months he was made night foreman of the 
mill, and he served in this capacity until 1879, when he returned to 
Wisconsin on a visit to his parents. In the following spring he came 
back to Lead and went into the company's new Highland mill as 
amalgamator, and six years later was made head amalgamator of this mill. 
He served in that position until February, 1896, and was then 
transferred to the Homestake mill as head amalgamator. This is a two-
hundred-stamp mill and one of the largest this company has. From that 
time until now he has filled the position acceptably and has risen to a 
high place in the confidence and esteem of both the company and the 
community in which it operates, being now one of the oldest and most 
trusted employee of the establishment. He mingles freely in the social 
life of the town and surrounding country, and is an active participant 
in all phases of their productive enterprises. A valued member of the 
Odd Fellows lodge at Lead, he has been of great service to the 
organization through his intelligence and energy and his breadth of view 
in lodge affairs. On January 6, 1886, he was married at Lead to Mrs. 
Florence G. (Ashton) Nelson, a native of Ohio. They have four children, 
Leo A., Hazel, Gertrude and George W., the latter having died at the age 
of two years and four months.