William Eleroy Curtis (1850-1911) was born on November 5, 1850, in Akron, Ohio. He was the second son of Reverend Eleroy Curtis and Harriet (Coe) Curtis*. William graduated from Western Reserve College in 1871. He worked as a journalist at the Chicago Inter-Ocean from 1873 to 1887. In 1887 he became a Washington correspondence for the Chicago Record. He wrote many books and also served as special commissioner from the United States to Central and South American republics, among one of many esteemed positions.
William married Cora Kepler on December 23, 1874. Cora and William had two children: Elroy Curtis (b. 1879) and Elsie Evans Curtis (b. 1881). Elroy attended Princeton University. After graduation, he worked with his father at The Chicago Herald. Elroy married Mary Steele of Chicago on February 28, 1905. Mary and Elroy had one son, William Eleroy Curtis II (born January 25, 1906).
*Harriet (Coe) Curtis, William Eleroy Curtis' mother, was the daughter of Reverend Harvey Coe (1785-1860), the first elected trustee of Western Reserve College.
From the guide to the Curtis family papers, 1886-1964, (Hudson Library & Historical Society)
