My Genealogy Hound

JOHN A. CURTIS, Vice-President and General Manager of the Seneca Paint and Color Company, was born in the town of Marcellus, Onondaga County, N. Y., March 13, 1832. He traces his ancestry back to his great-grandfather, Eliphalet Curtis, who came from England and located in Connecticut, where his son, Peter Curtis, the grandfather of our subject, was born. John Curtis, son of the latter, was also born in Connecticut, and went with his parents to Marcellus, N. Y., in a very early day. He grew to manhood in Onondaga County, and there married Amanda Carpenter, a native of Pompey, N. Y., born in 1792, and a daughter of Reuben Carpenter. For a number of years John Curtis manufactured the old Clute Land-side Plows. He resided at Marcellus until his death in 1868, his wife dying in 1864, at the same place. They were the parents of three sons. Theodore, who was employed by the Government as interpreter on the Western plains during the late war, now resides in Arizona; William, who is a pattern-maker, resides in Oil City, Pa.

John A. Curtis, our subject, who is the youngest of the three brothers, spent his early life in Marcellus, and received his education in the district schools. He learned the painter’s trade in the latter village, and in 1862 came to Seneca Falls and was employed in the paint department of the Silsby Manufacturing Company, remaining with the company some eight years. He then formed a partnership with George Shandley, under the firm name of Curtis & Shandley, in the paint and oil business, also dealing in artists’ materials. This partnership continued until 1890, when Mr. Curtis sold his interest to Mr. Shandley, having in the mean time organized the Seneca Paint and Color Company, the parties interested being Messrs. Shandley, Knight and Curtis. In 1893 the firm was duly incorporated under the laws of the state, with John Shandley, President; John A. Curtis, Vice-President and General Manager; and W. O. Gatchell Secretary and Treasurer. The company manufactures all kinds of paint, and is recognized as one of the established industries of Seneca Falls. Sales are made in all parts of the country, especially in the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and several traveling salesmen are constantly employed in pushing the products of the works. The plant is a brick structure, 35x90 feet, three stories in height, and the company employs from twelve to sixteen men. The power is furnished by water.

In 1851 Mr. Curtis was married to Miss Martha Stuckey, a daughter of William Stuckey, of Marcellus, N. Y. They have three children: Charles; Alice, wife of Frank Wilcoxen, of Seneca Falls; and Cora, a telegrapher in the Western Union office at Seneca Falls. In politics Mr. Curtis is a pronounced Democrat, and has served two terms as Trustee of the village. Socially he is a member of Pocahontas Lodge No. 211, F. & A. M. Enterprising and progressive, Mr. Curtis pushes his business with commendable zeal, and has added greatly to the business life of Seneca Falls.