Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-09-01
GEORGE WlLLlAM cuRTIs.
Tho Funeral TO BE Held Tomorrow
Sketch OF Hia Career.

Sketch OF Hia Career.
NEW BRIGHTON, s. L, Sep. 1.-The
funeral of the late George William Curtis
will be held tomorrow, at 1:30 p. m. /,
and will be simple and quite private.
The burial will be at the Moravian Gene
terry, New Dorp. The death of the famous
orator and man of letters, which occurred
yesterday morning at $3.50, was very sud-
den.
Mr.. Curtis's death was painless. He
was conscious up to within few minutes
of the end. Then he sank into semi
Inconsistencies, but still showed that he
knew when anyone spoke to him. just
as he died he muttered something unin
telligible and his head fell over upon his
breast.
Mrs. Curtis, his wife, and his only liv-
ing daughter, Elizabeth, were in the
house at the time, but DR.. Curtis did not
summon them to the side of the dying
man. He said he believed his father
knew that he was about to die.
Mr.. Curtis had not been out of the chair
in which he died for the past six weeks.
His illness had all along been a puzzle to
the physicians, and it is not known ex-
actly what was the cause of death.
As the family have decided that no
postmortem shall be held, it will probably
remain u mystery always.
tt SuTblS, Ills SOus btt1u Oudb IL Il1RnU
have been cancer of the stomach, tubercu-
losis or chronic peritonitis. He has main
tanned all along that the disease was not
cancer.
Mr.. Curtis became ill the latter part of
last June. He managed to keep up, how
ever, and did his work for ''Harper's
Weekly" and "Harper's Monthly"
About the middle of July, however, his
sickness became so serious that he had to
stop work.
His friends wanted him to take to his
bed, but he steadfastly refused, and in
sisted on sitting in the easy chair in which
he died.
Although he has written nothing since
he became seriously i'll, he had kept ahead
with his work, and his writings appeared
in the current editions of the "Weekly"
and "Monthly."
He usually spent the warm months at
his summer home in Ashford, Mass, but
his poor health this season prevented him
from going there. His son said this
morning that the family had not doubted
for some time that death was near at
hand.
Mr.. Curtis had lived on Staten Island
for more than thirty years. He married
Miss Anna Shaw, the daughter Of Frank
g. Shaw, who owned at one time the
greater part of the Island. His home is
at the corner OF barO avenue ana denQer-
son.
Mr.. Curtis was thought to be wealthy
by persons living on the island. He is
said to have been worth about 500, 900,
and, besides, his wife inherited one-third
of the large property Of her father when
he died several years ago.
Besides his home, Mr.. Curtis owned a
house on Davis avenue, West Brighton,
his summer home in Ashford, unimproved
land on Staten Island and property in
New YORK city.
The remuneration he received for the
work he did for Harpers is said to have
been $40, 900 a year.
Besides this his other literary produc-
tions brought him in q large sum an
nually.
Mr.. Curtis was the author of severa,
| works of fiction, of which the best known
| Is perhaps "Prue and r." which came out
in 1856. "Trumps" appeared first in
"Harper's Weekly" in 1858, and was
published in book form in 1862. By En-
glish critics, then none too favorable tt
| American writer's, these works were re-
ceived with enthusiasm, and were com
pared in point of humor and finished lit
erary skill to the best productions O.
| Charles Lamb.