Hiram Humphrey Curtis Biography


	This biography appears on pages 184-188 in "History of Dakota Territory" 
	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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			HIRAM HUMPHREY CURTIS.  

	The consensus of public opinion is the best standard of judgment 
whereby to measure the worth of an individual, and public opinion names 
Hiram Humphrey Curtis as one of the foremost citizens of Hamlin county. 
Many reasons contribute to this result. He is a leading factor in 
financial affairs, a prominent figure in other business interests and a 
stalwart advocate of the cause of education, of temperance and of all 
those interests which work for the uplift of the individual and the 
betterment of the community. In Castlewood, where he makes his home, he 
is president of the First National Bank, but that is only one of 
several business connections which place him among the leading citizens 
of Hamlin county.  

	His birth occurred at Geneva, now Lake Geneva, in Walworth 
county, Wisconsin, December 6, 1844, his parents being Lewis and Mary 
Elizabeth (Humphrey) Curtis. The father was born in Plymouth, Chenango 
county, New York, November 8, 1813, and in early manhood engaged in 
merchandising at Manhattan, Ohio. In 1839 he became a resident of 
Wisconsin and in January, 1840, established his home at Lake Geneva, 
where he was connected with mercantile pursuits for nearly fifty years. 
For an extended period he was the oldest living pioneer of that 
section, dying in 1904 when over ninety years of age. His wife was born 
at Middlebury, Ohio, May 25, 1822, and passed away March 21, 1868. Both 
had many friends in Geneva and the father was a prominent figure in the 
public life of the community, serving for ten years as postmaster under 
the administrations of Presidents Lincoln, Johnson and Grant. He was a 
stanch abolitionist in the period which preceded the Civil war and 
sheltered many a runaway slave who was attempting to make his way 
northward to freedom on the famous underground railway. In addition to 
his mercantile interests he became extensively interested in farming 
and was the owner of large timber holdings in Wisconsin and the 
thorough reliability of his business methods gained him high esteem.  

	At the usual age Hiram H. Curtis began his education in the 
schools of Lake Geneva and afterward became a student in Beloit College 
at Beloit, Wisconsin, where he pursued a classical course until ill 
health forced him to abandon his studies when in his sophomore year. It 
was his intention to prepare for the ministry of the Presbyterian 
church but his physical condition rendered this plan futile and, 
although keenly disappointed, he resolutely turned to other work, 
resolving to make the best use of the opportunities left to him. He had 
a fondness for good books, enjoyed woodworking and also displayed skill 
in bookkeeping. It was his ability in the latter connection that caused 
his father to make a place for him in his store and office, and thus at 
the age of sixteen years Hiram H. Curtis became bookkeeper for his 
father and also assistant postmaster. In 1862, when but seventeen years 
of age, it was his desire to enter the army but parental authority 
intervened. When in his eighteenth year he resumed his education as a 
student in the Wisconsin University and in the fall of 1863 he 
matriculated in Beloit College, spending four years in the preparatory 
and collegiate departments. He then returned to his home in Geneva and 
in the spring of 1868, with the assistance of his father, he there 
embarked in merchandising as a dealer in drugs, books, etc. For a year 
he had as a partner Pardon McDonald but afterward conducted the 
business alone for ten years. He then undertook the erection of a large 
business block but this brought financial disaster upon him. For five 
years thereafter he assisted his father in the store and in August, 
1882, he made his first visit to Dakota.  

	In the following October Mr. Curtis was accompanied by a party of 
friends, including his brother-in-law, Joseph P. Cheever, and after a 
trip through what is now the central part of South Dakota, along the 
line of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, they proceeded up the 
James river valley to Columbia and Aberdeen, returning thence to 
Wisconsin. During the succeeding winter Dakota was frequently the 
subject of conversation between Messrs. Cheever and Curtis and in 
March, 1883, they returned to the territory, visiting many thriving 
towns. The immigration was so heavy that year that they hardly deemed 
it wise to begin business in any of the places thus far visited, when 
it was suggested that they should go to Hamlin county. Acting on this 
advice, they reached Castlewood, March 28, 1883, and after a careful 
investigation of conditions finally decided to locate.  

	Mr. Curtis and his brother-in-law at once erected a building to 
include office and dwelling and in the same opened a bank, law, 
insurance and real-estate office, Mr. Cheever being a lawyer by 
profession. Patronage came to them from the beginning and though they 
passed through the years of drought and short crops, a period in which 
there was no profit to be made, times eventually changed and Mr. Curtis 
has lived to reap the benefit of his labors. After fifteen months spent 
at Castlewood he was joined by his family in June, 1884. They located 
upon a homestead claim about three miles from Castlewood and after 
securing title to that property in December, 1884, they took up their 
abode in Castlewood, where they have since resided. Mr. Curtis still 
owns the homestead, to which he has added by additional purchase, and 
he and his family are now owners of extensive farm lands in this part 
of the state.  

	He has been actively identified with the banking business since 
his arrival in the state, when he and his brother-in-law, Mr. Cheever, 
started their private banking business. In 1891, on account of the new 
state law, they incorporated as a state bank. In 1894 Mr. Cheever 
removed to Brookings to practice his profession and, although 
continuing his financial interest in the business, Mr. Curtis was left 
in charge. In 1901 the bank was reorganized and incorporated as the 
First National Bank, capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars, and 
Mr. Curtis still remains its president. This has become widely 
recognized as one of the strong financial institutions of the eastern 
part of the state and has for many years done a growing and profitable 
business. Into other fields Mr. Curtis has also extended his efforts, 
being president of the Hamlin County Loan & Trust Company, of which he 
was one of the active organizers, and also the principal organizer of 
the Castlewood Telephone Company, which includes the electric light 
plant of the city.  

Among the notable events in the career of Mr. Curtis was his 
military service at the time of the Civil war. As previously stated, 
his parents refused him permission to enlist in 1862, but in 1864 he 
was a student at Beloit College when the call came for seventy-five 
thousand men. This time Mr. Curtis made sure of carrying out his wishes 
before telling his parents of his determination, and on the 12th of May 
he enlisted for one hundred days, service in a company that was 
assigned to the Fortieth Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 
largely composed of college students from various colleges of the 
state. This command was sent to Memphis, Tennessee, and there remained 
during its term of enlistment, largely engaged in picket duty. On the 
expiration of the term Mr. Curtis and the others of the regiment were 
honorably discharged.  

On the 6th of December, 1870, Mr. Curtis was united in marriage 
to Miss Mary Annette Allen, of Linn, Walworth county, Wisconsin, a 
daughter of George and Harriet Amelia (Buell) Allen, the former being a 
prominent and wealthy farmer of Walworth county and an influential 
factor in business and political circles. Mrs. Curtis was graduated 
with the first chess to complete the course in the normal department of 
the Wisconsin State University in 1865. To Mr. and Mrs. Curtis were 
born the following named: Allen Lewis, born June 26, 1874, was 
graduated from Beloit College with the class of 1901, and is now vice 
president of the First National Bank of Castlewood; Kate Lilly, born 
December 12, 1875, became a student at Beloit but was forced to 
discontinue her education because of ill health and is now at home; 
Amelia Buell, born August 2, 1879, was graduated from Beloit College in 
1902 but passed away March 29, 1904; and Annie Mary, born February 7, 
1883, was graduated from Beloit College in 1908, and is now teaching at 
Antigo, Wisconsin.  

In politics Mr. Curtis was an earnest republican from the time 
age conferred upon him the right of franchise until 1896, when he 
joined the ranks of the prohibition party. In 1902 he was its nominee 
for governor of South Dakota and received a largely increased vote over 
that given to others of the party in previous years. He was afterward a 
member of the prohibition state committee. He and his wife hold 
membership in the Presbyterian church in Castlewood, in which he is 
serving as elder, while for a quarter of a century he has been teacher 
in anti superintendent of tire Sunday school. He is a member of the 
Castlewood Commercial Club, of which his son, Allen L., is the 
president. He has served for several years as a member of the school 
board and is now its president, and through several terms he filled the 
position of town treasurer. He is actuated in all that he does by a 
spirit of public progress and his cooperation can always be counted 
upon to further any public measure which promises to result for the 
benefit of the many. He has won creditable success in business, yet the 
accumulation of wealth has never been the sole end and aim of his life. 
On the contrary, he has ever recognized his duties and obligations to 
his fellows and it is a well known fact that he never fails to respond 
to the call of duty.