About our CURTIS Branch
My CURTIS ancestry has been well researched and
published by others. According to
information I discovered at the Island
Register website, I am descended from a Thomas Curtis (1568-1614) who was my
ggg ggg ggg grandfather (that’s 9 greats).
Mr. Paul Curtis has submitted his research to this website (www.islandregister.com). However, I have not been able to confirm the
accuracy of all of his findings prior to 1775.
You will find my Curtis family tree by clicking above.
My Curtis line began in England, but it was my gg grandfather,
William Curtis (1775-1853), who came to settle in PEI,
Canada,
along with his wife Anne Woods and family.
The first record of William on the Island
was on September 11, 1820,
when a land transaction of 200 acres was recorded in William’s name. Then on August
23, 1824, William Curtis was granted 400 acres of land
in Township 55, King’s County, in the east of the Island. The soil there was apparently poor and the
family moved to Township 32, Queen’s County.
This area became known as Curtisdale (now renamed Milton). It was a valley about seven miles from Charlottetown, the
capital. William owned a sawmill, a
grist mill and several houses – possibly for workers. He was Assistant Surveyor General of PEI
for many years, and in this capacity he prepared various reports on proposed
roads and improvements, and bridges, during the years 1825-1827. In the Royal Gazette of December 13, 1836, it is noted that
he acted as agent for the Trustees and Executors of the late Earl of Selkirk,
to bring Scottish settlers to Prince
Edward Island.
The Earl held several lots (Townships) on the Island
to which he sent many emigrants of Scottish extraction.
William’s granddaughter, Mary (Elvina) Curtis
(1867-1870) married Thomas Alexander
MacNeill. They lived and raised a family
of eight children in North Tryon, PEI. My
mother, Eva Ruby MacNeill (1906-1990), was their 8th child.
Mary Elvina Curtis (1867-1870)
