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Below is a family biography included in The History of Gibson County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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James T. Curtis, a prominent lawyer of Gibson County, Tenn., is a native of the State, born in 1850. His parents, W. K. and Christian (Simmons) Curtis, were born in North Carolina, and came to Tennessee after their marriage, locating in Gibson County, where they followed the lives of farmers. Their family consisted of sixteen children, and they were worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and both died in Gibson County, in 1870. At the age of fifteen years James T. entered the Gibson Wells Academy, remaining fifteen months. At the expiration of that time he began teaching school and reading law at the same time, W. M. Hall being his instructor in the latter. At the expiration of two years he became traveling salesman for Nashville wholesale houses, continuing in this business three years. In 1874 he was licensed to practice law, locating in Rutherford, where he has lived to the present time. He was mayor of Rutherford ten years, and in April, 1866, announced himself a Democratic candidate to represent Gibson County in the lower house of the State Legislature. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Masonic fraternities, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is agent in Rutherford for the AEtna Insurance Company, and is a nephew of Judge Curtis, of California.

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This family biography is one of 242 biographies included in The History of Gibson County, Tennessee published in 1887.  The History of Gibson County was included within The History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley & Lake Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley, and Lake Counties of Tennessee

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