In the death of Mrs.
Isabel Gordon Curtis, in Binghamton, N.Y., on December 24, 1914, her mother,
Mrs. E. Gordon, of Vittoria, lost a kind and affectionate daughter, and the
literary world a genius of much merit.
She was born on April
24th, 1862, in Huntly, Scotland, and early developed marked ability for
composition, both prose and verse. As early as eleven years of age she had
the pleasure of seeing one of her poems published in the Huntly Express. She
received her education at the famous Gordon schools of Huntly, and with the
family she came to Port Dover in 1880.
After developing her
talent at water and oil painting under a Hamilton professor, she formed and
successfully taught a class of pupils in Port Dover.
In 1886 Mrs. Curtis
removed to Springfield, Mass., where she opened an artist's studio, and was
very successful. In 1890 she became associated with the Phelps Publishing
Co. of Springfield as Literary editor of the New England Homestead and
Farms
and Home magazine, a position which she held until 1896. In 1895 she was the
dramatic editor of the Homestead and her reviews of plays and stories of
players attracted much favor because of their unusual individuality and
understanding. In 1896 she married Mr. Francis Curtis, of Derby, Conn.
Mrs. Curtis
cooperated with her husband in literary work, and when he was editor of
the Binghamton (N.Y.) Chronicle, she was dramatic editor. In 1900 Mrs.
Curtis returned to Springfield as associate editor of Good
Housekeeping.
It was while an editor of Good Housekeeping that Mrs. Curtis wrote one of
her best stories, which afterward appeared as The Woman From Wolverton, a novel.
In 1903 Mrs. Curtis
resigned from Good Housekeeping to become women's editor of Success, and
made her home in Washington, D.C., her husband being editor of the
Congressional Record. She gave up her position with Success in 1911.
Her most recent works
of fiction were The Making of a Housewife, The
Lapse of Enoch Wentworth, and The Congresswoman.
Mrs. Curtis leaves to
mourn her loss her husband, Mr. Francis Curtis, editor of the Erie (Pa.) Recorder; and daughter Janet; also her mother, Mrs. E. Gordon of Vittoria;
a sister, Mrs. A. Gross of Flushing, New York City; and brothers Peter of
Lynn, Mass.; James of Springfield, Mass.; John of the British Canadian
staff, Simcoe; and William of Port Dover.
