James F. Curtis

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For the U.S. Treasury official, see James F. Curtis (lawyer).
James Freeman Curtis II
Chief of Police of San Francisco
In office
November 4, 1856 – 1858
Preceded byJohn W. McKenzie
Succeeded byMartin J. Burke
Personal details
Born(1825-12-19)December 19, 1825
Boston, Massachusetts
, US

James Freeman Curtis II (December 19, 1825 – March 1, 1914), participant in the 1849

California state militia and volunteer in the American Civil War
.

Biography

James Freeman Curtis was born December 19, 1825, in

Boston, Massachusetts. His father died in a train accident in 1839. Not much is known about his father, except he was a midshipman on the USS Constitution
in the War of 1812.

Curtis went to sea and in 1849 sailed around Cape Horn, and settled in San Francisco. In the 1850s, he was a leading member of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance and was a member of the Society of California Pioneers.[1]

He was also an active member of the

Chief of Police of San Francisco with his election to the office November 4, 1856, which he held until 1858.[3][4]

During the Civil War, Curtis, joined the

Brigadier General as of May 13, 1865, for meritorious conduct during the war.[5]

After the Civil War he moved to Idaho where he became the secretary of state in 1892. He was also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Curtis died March 1, 1914, in

Boston, Massachusetts.[3]

Legacy

Many workers and guests claim Col. Curtis haunts the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington, California. Unsolved Mysteries featured the story on October 28, 1992.

References

  1. New York Times
    . September 9, 1877.
  2. ^ The California State Military Museum, California Militia and National Guard Unit Histories, First California Guard
  3. ^ a b Massachusetts Historical Society; Curtis-Stevenson Family Papers
  4. ^ San Francisco Police Department, Chiefs of the SFPD
  5. ^ Records of California men in the war of the rebellion 1861 to 1867, California Adjutant General's Office, State Office, J. D. Young, Supt. State Printing, Sacramento, 1890. pg. 595
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