Curtis Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-059

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection is divided into four series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Diary, 3. Printed Matter, 4. Photo Album and Scrapbook.

Dates

Creation: 1842-1919, undated
Other: Date acquired: 10/01/1971

Creator

Curtis, Howard C. (Curtis, Howard Cone) (Person)
Curtis, Ethel Long Metcalf (Person)
Curtis Family (Family)

Biographical Sketch

Howard Cone Curtis (1893-1949)

Howard Cone Curtis was born on October 9, 1893 in Sendai, Japan, where his parents, William Willis (1845-1913) and Lydia Virginia Cone Curtis (1853-1929), 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 (1886-1960) and Ruth Marilla (1890-1961) and a brother, Otis Freeman (1888-1949) 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 (1927-1979); Virginia Goldsbury (1929-2009, OC '50); Susan Metcalf (b. 1933, OC '1955) and William Bosworth (b. 1935, OC '57).

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 (1867-1935), also known as Paul Harlan ('OC 1889), and Rena (Czarina) Goldsbury Metcalf (1871-1949). She had three siblings: Harlan Goldsbury (1899-1985), Esther Williams (1903-1979), and David Putnam (1905-1977). 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.

Extent

0.60 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Curtis family papers document Howard Cone Curtis’s position as a physical education instructor at Oberlin College through correspondence received between the years of 1915-19. Mary Long Goldsbury’s time at Oberlin College is chronicled through her 1884 diary. The collection also contains correspondence as well as printed matter documenting missionary work of members of the Curtis family.

Method of Acquisition

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).