John Thomas Curtis was born around 1838 in Otter Creek, Illinois, to Hiram and Ann Curtis. He grew up and attended school in Otter Creek, and his father probably died sometime before 1850.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on July 15, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company K of the 97^th Illinois Infantry. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with auburn hair and blue eyes. He became a hospital steward in September 1862. The regiment took part in the Vicksburg campaign, and in July 1864, he was promoted to assistant surgeon in the 99^th Illinois Infantry. He mustered out on July 31, 1865.

 

He married Caroline Clark on May 3, 1864, and they had at least three children: Mabel, born around 1870; Warren, born around 1872; and Sarah, born around 1877. He returned to Otter Creek after the war and earned a living as a physician. By 1870, he owned $5,000 of real estate and $800 of personal property. His wife probably died in the late 1870s, and he married Laura Noble on July 10, 1879. They had at least four children: Caroline, born around 1880; Rachel, born around 1881; Charles, born around 1883; and Eunice, born around 1890.

 

They moved to Abilene, Kansas, in the late 1800s. By the 1910s, he was suffering from chronic pharyngitis and arteriosclerosis. In December 1914, he was admitted to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Leavenworth, Kansas. He died of bronchopneumonia in Leavenworth on January 4, 1917.

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