By Elizabeth Brinkman
Title: Curtis Family Papers, 1842-1919, undated
ID: RG 30/059
Primary Creator: Curtis Family
Other Creators: Curtis, Ethel Long Metcalf (1900-1999), Curtis, Howard C. (1893-1949)
Extent: 0.6 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence, 1842-1919, undated (4 folders)
This series contains letters received by and sent from Howard C. Curtis regarding his position as a physical education instructor at Oberlin College, 1915-19; letters received by Rena Goldsbury, 1893-94, 1899, undated; correspondence sent to the Goldsbury family by Robert and Will Hutchins, 1890; and assorted correspondence sent to the Goldsbury family relating to familial matters, 1842-1916.
Series 2. Diary, 1884 (1 volume)
This series contains the diary of Mary Long Goldsbury (Mrs. I. M. Channon), 1884. An alumna of Oberlin College, Mrs. Goldsbury graduated in 1886 with a degree in Literature; she later earned her Ph. B. in 1890. The diary contains information and musings about Mrs. Goldsbury’s time spent at Oberlin College. The diary is contained within an archival box, and is in fragile condition.
Series 3. Printed Matter, 1890-1916 (1 folder)
This amalgamation of printed material contains photocopies as well as original documents pertaining to or written by members of the Curtis family. Included is an edition of The Medical Missionary Record featuring a picture of Dr. James Goldsbury (taken in Tai Ku, China), an article about Oberlin College athletics and academics written by I. S. Metcalf, and articles containing congratulatory remarks regarding the hundredth birthday of James Goldsbury .
Series 4. Photo Album and Scrapbook, 1880s-1915 (2 volumes)
This series, entirely contained within box two of the collection, holds the photograph album of Harlan P. Metcalf, 1880s-1890s, as well as the scrapbook of Howard C. Curtis, ca. 1911-15. The photograph album contains pictures of Oberlin College professors and Deans, photographs of members of the Oberlin College class of 1889, and photos of an assortment of College buildings. The scrapbook contains photographs, article clippings, and a variety of printed material pertaining to Oberlin College.
Date Acquired: 10/01/1971. More info below under Accruals.
Forms of Material: diaries, letters (correspondence), manuscripts, photograph albums, photographs - photographic prints, publications, scrapbooks
Languages: English
HOWARD CONE CURTIS (1893-1949)
Howard Cone Curtis was born on October 9, 1893 in Sendai, Japan, where his parents, William Willis and Lydia Virginia Cone (ca. 1880) Curtis, were Presbyterian missionaries of the American Board of Missionaries. He entered Oberlin College in 1911 and became President of the Junior Class in 1913-14. Two sisters, Edith Curtis (ca. 1910) and Ruth Curtis Lewis (ca. 1911) and a brother, Otis F. Curtis (ca. 1911) also attended Oberlin. After graduating in 1915 with both a BA degree and a diploma of the Teachers Course in Physical Education, Mr. Curtis joined the college faculty as an instructor in physical education, 1915-1917.
In 1917, Mr. Curtis enrolled in Columbia University in New York City, earning a BS degree in 1919 and the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1922. During 1917-18 he served in the United States Army Medical Corps. He was assigned to inactive duty in the medical school. During 1922-25, Dr. Curtis completed internships in Mt. McGregor, New York and in New York City before moving to Moorestown, New Jersey where for 25 years he practiced general medicine with a specialty in obstetrics, 1925-49.
During these years, he was a member of the American Medical Association, the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society, the New Jersey State Maternal Welfare Society and Alpha Omega Alpha, the honorary medical fraternity. In 1932-33, he served as president of the Burlington County Medical Society and later as its secretary. He was the chief of obstetrics at the Burlington County Hospital.
Active in church and civic work, Dr. Curtis was an elder of First Presbyterian Church in Moorestown and chairman of its music committee. He was a charter member of the Rotary Club and its president in 1933-34; he was also a member of the Relief Engine Company and the William Snyder Post No. 42 of the American Legion. For several years in the 1930s he was president of the Philadelphia Oberlin Alumni Association.
On August 11, 1925, Howard Cone Curtis married Ethel Long Metcalf. They had four children: Howard Metcalf Curtis (b. 1927; ca. 1950); Virginia Goldsbury Curtis Siddall (b. 1929; ca. 1950); Susan Metcalf Curtis Seaman (b. 1933; ca. 1955) and William Bosworth Curtis (b. 1935; ca. 1957).
Dr. Curtis died on April 7, 1949 in Mount Holly, New Jersey. To honor his memory, grateful citizens of Moorestown and vicinity established the Howard C. Curtis Memorial Fund to benefit the maternity ward at the Burlington County Hospital.
ETHEL LONG METCALF CURTIS (1900-1999)
Ethel Long Metcalf was born on November 10, 1900, the daughter of Harlan Paul, also known as Paul Harlan (Oberlin College class of 1889), and Rena (Czarina) Goldsbury Metcalf. From 1920-23 she attended Oberlin College, where she majored in public school music and art and was active in the Glee Club and choir.
On August 11, 1925, Ethel Metcalf married Howard Cone Curtis, MD, Oberlin College class of 1915. The couple lived in Moorestown, New Jersey, for twenty-five years where Dr. Curtis practiced general medicine with a specialty in obstetrics. They had four children: Howard Metcalf Curtis (b. 1927; ca. 1950); Virginia Goldsbury Curtis Siddall (b. 1929; ca. 1950); Susan Metcalf Curtis Seaman (b. 1933; ca. 1955) and William Bosworth Curtis (b. 1935; ca. 1957).
After her husband’s death in 1949, Ethel Curtis returned to Oberlin where she worked at the college as the director of Shurtleff Cottage, 1952-53, Cranford, 1953-54, and Metcalf House, 1954-55. In 1955 she moved to Massachusetts and later to Medford Leas, New Jersey where she was active in many organizations, especially those concerned with art.
Ethel Curtis died in Medford Leas on November 7, 1999.
SOURCES CONSULTED: HOWARD CONE CURTIS
Curtis, Howard Cone. 1935 Quinquennial Report Blank. 1935
“Dr. Curtis Dies at 56 After Heart Attack.” The Camden, New Jersey Evening Courier. April 8, 1949. n.p.
“Dr. H.C. Curtis of Moorestown.” The Newark New Jersey News. April 8, 1949. n.p.
“Howard C. Curtis, M.D.” Editorial. The Moorestown, New Jersey Chronicle. April 14, 1949. p. 8
“Howard Cone Curtis.” Oberlin College Necrology records. 1949.
“Howard Curtis Passes Suddenly.” The Moorestown, New Jersey News-Chronicle. April, 1949. n.p.
“Obituary – Dr. Howard C. Curtis.” Unidentified newspaper. April 7, 1949
SOURCES CONSULTED: ETHEL LONG METCALF CURTIS
Curtis, Ethel M. Oberlin College Biographical Form. April 26, 1978.
Curtis, Ethel M. Oberlin College Alumni Class Questionnaire. March 28, 1958.
“Ethel Metcalf Curtis.” Unidentified newspaper obituary.“Metcalf-Curtis Marriage Rites.” Oberlin News. August 20, 1925. n.p.
Repository: Oberlin College Archives
Acquisition Method: The bulk of the Curtis Family Papers were received from Mrs. Howard C. Curtis (Ethel Long Metcalf) in 1971 [Acc. 153]. Additional materials were received from the Oberlin College Library Special Collection Department in 2001 as part of the Oberliniana transfer to the College Archives (2001/094).
Related Materials: See also the William Willis Curtis Papers, 30/71.
Finding Aid Revision History: Biographical sketch by Elizabeth Brinkman, July 2002. Processed by Archives staff, February 2003.
