Born July 21, 1813, near Fort Adams, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. He was the son of William Curtis and Mary Barfield, his wife. When he was three years old the family removed to a farm near Rodney, Mississippi, and there Israel lived until he attained manhood. He became a member of the Baptist church while residing at Amora, Indiana, on the 8th day of January, 1843, and in the autumn of the same year he was ordained as a Baptist minister. On the death of his father in 1833 he had entered Miami University intending to fit himself for the legal profession, but complications in his father's estate interrupted his college course. He then entered the mercantile business but the financial crisis of 1837 and the years which followed left him scarcely enough property to satisfy his creditors. This misfortune again turned his attention to the law. He pursued his studies vigorously and was admitted to the bar in 1841. In 1844 Mr. Curtis, with his family, removed to Iowa and settled on the Des Moines river near Pella. Here for a time he devoted himself to agriculture, but his great talents as a minister and a lawyer were not be buried in the seclusion of a country home. He soon returned to the work of the ministry, and in a few years resumed the practice of law. He was largely instrumental in securing the founding of Central University at Pella. Mr. Curtis was District Attorney of Marion county and represented the county in the legislature from 1857 to 1860. In 1860 he was a member of the joint legislative committee which revised the laws of Iowa, and whose work culminated in the adoption of the state code. He was conceded by his friends and opponents to have made the most profound constitutional argument of the legislative session.
If you would like to get the permanent link to a url other than the page you are currently viewing you can paste
a url inside of the destination box and hit regenerate
Print
Permanent Link