Samuel Curtis The Son of Eunice Flagg and Capt. Samuel Curtis: Documentation Errors

One of the first written histories about Henry Curtis of Sudbury was The Family of Henry Curtis of Sudbury, Ma., written by Henry Earnest Woods in 1907.

My focus is Samuel Curtis III, b. 1792 (the son of Capt. Samuel Curtis), as noted below.

17. Capt. Samuel Curtis {Samuel,^ Ephraim,'^ Ephraim,^ Joseph,"^
Henry^) was baptized in Worcester, Mass., 11 Oct., 1761, and died
there, 29 Jan., 1811. He was a Capt. of Militia.
He married first, in Worcester, 20 Aug., 1785, Eunice, born in
Worcester, 16 July, 1762, died there, 22 Aug., 1802, daughter of
Col. Benjamin and Abigail (Chadwick) Flagg, of Worcester; and
married second, about 1806, Eunice, daughter of Taft and
widow of David Stowell, of Uxbridge, Mass.
Children by first wife, all born in Worcester :
i. Sally,' b. 25 Nov., 1785.
ii. Abigail, b. 23 Feb., 1788.
iii. Aaron, b. 5 May, 1790.
iv. Samuel, b. 17 Apr., 1792. (Subject of this article/Samuel Curtis III)
V. Ephraim, b. 8 Apr., 1794.
vi. Lydia, b. 22 May, 1796.
vii. John B., b. 29 Apr., 1798; d. 29 July, 1823.
viii. Benjamin Franklin, b. 7 Sept., 1800; ra. in Auburn, Mass., 4 Apr.,
1731, Hannah S. Wakefield.
Children by second wife, all born in Worcester :
ix. Albert, bapt. 13 July, 1807.
X. William.
xi. Eunice, bapt. 21 Oct., 1810.

In the 1950s, Harlow D. Curtis compiled research and continued documenting this ancestral line in his book, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Henry Curtis of Sudbury Mass.   He gave the following account of Samuel Curtis III b. 1792, based on a letter written to him by Mrs. George Dean.  “SAMUEL, 132.113.4, b. April 17, 1792, Worcester, Mass., son of Samuel and Eunice (Flagg) Curtis. The following information, in its entirety, has been furnished by Reference [67]. “Reference [67]: (information from Mrs. George Dean, nee Edith Curtis, Gen. no. 132.113.852 to Harlow D. Curtis.)

Samuel migrated to Haldimand township, Northumberland County,
Ontario. He married Sarah Ann ---------' who was born in New York
state in 1800 and died in Fenella, Ontario on Oct. 12, 18?8.
Samuel Curtis died in Haldimand township in 1844.
Children:
132.11).41. Eliza, b. May 27, 1814; m. William George who was born
in 1822 and died on·Feb. 17, 1909. She died Sept.
27, 1872.
132.113.42. Elizabeth, b. ; name appears in the will
of her brother, Ira.
132.11).4). Mary Ann, b. r m. Charles Kelley.
*132.113.44. James, b. __ , 1822.
*132.113.45. Ephraim, b. ______ , 1823, New York state.
1J2.11J.l~6. Ira, b. Jan. 11, 1826; lived on Lot 20, Con. 8, Ha1dimand
township, Northumberland County, Ont.; died
Feb. 4, 1861. Unmarried.
*132.113.4?. John B., b. Sept. 2, 1829.
132.11).48. Nathaniel, b. , 1832; lived near Baltimore L?], Haldimand township; died Sept. 9, 1908. Unmarried.
*132 .llJ. L~9. Samuel, b. Sept. 8, 1833.
*132.113.4(10). Anthony, b. Oct. 12, 1836.
*132.113.4(11). Andrew, b. _, 1837·

Unfortunately, Samuel Curtis III died in 1810 (as evidenced by his gravestone below).  He is one of four children born to Samuel Curtis and Eunice Flagg, who all died at a young age and were buried together in Hope Cemetery in Worchester, Massachusetts.  Therefore, he could not have been the father of the children listed.  The information given to Harlow Curtis was incorrect.  The source of his information was “information from Mrs. George Dean, nee Edith Curtis, Gen. no. 132.113.852 to Harlow D. Curtis.”  Unfortunately, most genealogists researching this line have this misinformation in their records, and perhaps if they read this article, it can be corrected.  DNA evidence suggests this line goes back to Thomas Curtis of Wethersfield, Connecticut, via John (or Samuel John) Curtis and Sarah (Nickerson?).

The death certificates of their children suggest John/Samuel may have gone by either name.  Sarah’s (Ferguson)  grave is in a cemetery in Canada.  Cemetery records reflect she was the wife of Samuel Curtis.  Our research has shown that Sarah married Ira Ferguson after the death of her husband.

Ephraim-Listed Ira as his father(could have been step-father)
James-
John- Listed on Death certificate John and Sarah Nicholson
Samuel-
Nathaniel-Listed John and Sarah Ann Nicholson on his death certificate
Anthony-LIsted John and Sarah Nickerson/Nicholson on the marriage certificate to Mary Ann Williams.
Andrew–Listed John and Sarah Nicholson Death Cert.
Harrison-

My research shows Ira Ferguson’s first marriage was to Catherine Nickerson.  Could Sarah have been her sister?  Andrew listed his mother’s maiden name as Nicholson.