Francis Asbury Curtis (1842 - 1911)

Born 12 Oct 1842 in Searsport, Waldo, Maine, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Amanda Lavantia Babcock — married 17 Jun 1869 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Died 6 Nov 1911 at age 69 in Searsport, Waldo, Maine, United States

Biography

Francis was born in 1842. Son of Lebbeus Curtis.

Per FAG and Searsport Sea Captains (1960); Shortly before the Civil War Francis went west and shipped on the Great Lakes. During the Civil War he enlisted in the 14th Illinois Cavalry in September, 1863 and was in Andersonville and six other Confederate prisons. He escaped by jumping from a train while being transferred from another prison, but was forced to give himself up after wandering the country for days. He was fianlly discharged in August, 1865. After his discharge from the army, Francis returned to the sea until 1892 (with the exception of the years 1878-82) when he opened a grocery store in Searsport. In 1899 he accompanied Clifton Curtis and Alvah Treat to the Klondike in search of gold but they were unsuccessful and returned after about a year.

He married Amanda Lavantia Babcock, w/children, b. Saginaw, Mich.;

Frank E., b.13 Mar 1872

Jane C., b.26 Mar 1882

He passed away in 1911.

Sources

• The Babcock Genealogy, by Stephen Babcock, 1903. p.371
• The Babcock Genealogy, page 371
• Find A Grave: Memorial #63037736