Thomas Spicer Curlett (1847 – May 7, 1914) was a Republican farmer, postmaster and state legislator in Lancaster County, Virginia, during Reconstruction.[1]
T. Spicer Curlett | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Curlett, c. 1887 | |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Lancaster and Richmond | |
| In office December 9, 1885 – December 7, 1887 | |
| Preceded by | L.R. Stewart |
| Succeeded by | Eugene S. Phillips |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Lancaster County | |
| In office December 6, 1871 – December 1, 1875 | |
| Preceded by | Armistead S. Nickens |
| Succeeded by | Charles Pitts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Spicer Curlett 1847 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | May 7, 1914 (aged 67) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Susie Chilton (m. 1868) |
| Children | John |
| Education | Loyola College |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | Union Army |
| Unit | 1st Eastern Shore Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Early and family life edit
He was born in Baltimore. His father, John Curlett (died February 17, 1896), was a bank director and philanthropist.[2] He was a student at Loyola College in Baltimore in 1864.[3] On November 4, 1868, he married Susie Spicer (1849-1933) of Lancaster County, who would survive him, as would their son John (1870-1944), who would also serve in the Virginia House of Delegates beginning in 1906 and also act as an oyster inspector.
Career edit
During the American Civil War, Spicer was a private in Company B of the Maryland Volunteers Eastern Shore Infantry.[4] A photograph of him in uniform sold at auction.[5]
On January 6, 1874, he became the postmaster for Litwalton in the Whitechapel district of Lancaster County.[6] Spicer represented Lancaster County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1875 to 1879, until census reorganization combined it with nearby Richmond County. He represented both counties 1885 to 1887.[7] In 1888-1889 he was one of the principal farmers in the Litwalton division of the county.[8] The Chesapeake Watchman lampooned his candidacy and denounced his previous affiliation with Republicans.[9] Henry Straughan Hathaway who owned Enon Hall wrote to him denouncing his political affiliation with blacks.[10]
Curlett may have returned to Baltimore by 1894 and worked as a salesman,[11] though his wife and son remained in Lancaster County, Virginia. He died on May 7, 1914, in Baltimore.[12]
References edit
- ^ "House History".
- ^ Forrest, Clarence H. (1898). "Official History of the Fire Department of the City of Baltimore: Together with Biographies and Portraits of Eminent Citizens of Baltimore".
- ^ Loyola college directory on ancestry.com
- ^ History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, Vols. 1-2 p. 329 of 587 on ancestry.com
- ^ "Products". Archived from the original on 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
- ^ Postmaster appointments on ancestry.com
- ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978, pp. 522, 526, 542
- ^ Carolyn H. Jett, Lancaster County, Virginia: Where the River meets the Bay, (Lancaster County History Book Committee, 2003) p. 389
- ^ "chesapeake watchman 2". The Free Lance. Newspapers.com. 2019-01-28. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
- ^ "Enon Hall - "Henry Straughan Hathaway -- Portrait in Lancaster Court House"".
- ^ Baltimore Maryland city directory on ancestry.com
- ^ "T. Spicer Curlett Dead". Northern Neck News. May 15, 1914. p. 2. Retrieved March 10, 2022 – via Virginia Chronicle.