HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG0869.AM: Charles Curtis, 1836-1917
Patent letters: 1868, 1887
Minden, Kearney County, Nebraska: Blacksmith
Size: Two items
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Born in Sweden on May 10, 1836, Charles Curtis emigrated to the United States in 1863. He took up residence at Galesburg, Illinois, and soon married Mary Caroline Johnson. The family moved to Nebraska in 1880, settling on a farm near Minden. Curtis worked as a blacksmith most of his life. His wife died in 1884. Charles Curtis died on May 6, 1917, and was buried at the Bethany Cemetery at Axtell, Nebraska.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists of two original patent letters for Charles Curtis, who lived in Galesburg, Illinois, and Minden, Nebraska. An 1868 patent (#82,387) was for improvement on a combined seed sower and harrow; the other, 1887 (#361,210), was for a sulky plow. Both patents give designs/plans for the farm machinery. Joseph W. Gilman also received the sulky plow patent.
INVENTORY
Patent letters, 1868, 1887
Subject headings:
Agricultural machinery — Designs and plans
Curtis, Charles, 1836-1917
Farm equipment — Designs and plans
Gilman, Joseph W., 1843-1912
Harrows
Patents
Plows
Revised TMM 03-02-2016
