Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

whence they removed to Stratford,
Connecticut. From the records of Strat-
ford, it appears that the father of these
must have died before the removal of the
family thither, and previous to that a son,
William, was born. The first of the name
that appears on those records are John,
William, and their mother, Elizabeth Cur-
tiss. The coat-of-arms of the Curtis family
is as follows : Azure, a fess. dancettee between
three crowns or. This is according
to Cothren, the historian, and the motto
of the family is : Saepere audc.
(II) William Curtis, the second son of
the Widow Elizabeth Curtiss, was born
June 21, 1618, in England, and came to
Stratford, Connecticut, with his mother
and brother John. His name appears
among the property owners there in 1650.
As well as being an original proprietor of
Stratford, he was active in town affairs
and held the rank of sergeant. William
Curtis was representative to the General
Court, commissioner and assistant. He
was one of the original grantees of Woodbury,
although he never lived there. The
first wife of William Curtis was Mary
. William Curtis died December
21, 1702.
(III) Josiah Curtis, ninth child and
youngest son of William and Mary Curtis,
was born August 30, 1662, in Stratford,
where he died in 1745. He was captain
of the Train Band, and had a saw mill.
He also served as deputy to the General
Court. He married (second) Mary
Beach, daughter of Benjamin Beach, of
Stratford, and granddaughter of John
Beach, immigrant ancestor, born in Eng-
land and settled in Stratford.
(IV) Benjamin Curtis, son of Josiah
and Mary (Beach) Curtis, was bom December
15, 1704, in Stratford, and died
July 28, 1782-83, in Newtown, where he
settled about 1728. He was a leader in
community affairs, and represented his
Conn—8—24
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
town in the General Court. He married
(first) Elizabeth Birdsey, daughter of
Abel and Comfort (Welles) Birdsey, of
Stratford, August 27, 1727-28, and she
died February 24, 1773.
(V) Benjamin (2) Curtis, son of Benjamin
(i) and Elizabeth (Birdsey) Curtis,
was born February 14, 1736, in Newtown,
where he died February 20, 1817. He
served as a private in Captain David
Smith's company, April 21, 1776. He
married (first) Phedina Nichols, daughter
of Nathaniel Nichols, of Newtown,
November 23, 1758, and she died February
15, 1773. Mrs. Curtis was descended
from Sergeant Francis Nichols, ancestor
of the family, who wa:s born in England.
Francis Nichols was in Stratford in 1639,
an original proprietor, and first settler
there. His son, Isaac Nichols, born in
England, died in Stratford, in 1695. He
married Margaret , and their son,
Isaac Nichols, was born March 12, 1654,
and died in 1690. In November, 1686, he
owned a house and land in Stratford. He
married Mary , and their son, Rich-
ard Nichols, was born November 26, 1678,
and died September 20, 1756. Richard
Nichols was one of the most prominent
men of his day. He married, June 3, 1702,
Comfort Sherman, daughter of Theophi-
369
lus Sherman, who died February 11,
1726-27. Nathaniel Nichols, their son,
was born April 8, 1708. He settled at
Newtown, and was the father of Phedina
Nichols, who became the wife of Benjamin
Curtis, as above stated.
(VI) Philo Curtis, son of Benjamin (2)
and Phedina (Nichols) Curtis, was born
June 27, 1760, and died March 7, 1818, in
Newtown. He was selectman of Newtown
for six years, 1802-1807 and 1809.
He married Huldah Hubbard, of Weston,
and she died January 25, 1853, at the age
of ninety-six years.
(VII) Nichols Curtis, eldest son of