George Martin Curtis was a two-term Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Iowa's 2nd congressional district

Iowa's 2nd congressional district

Iowa's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that generally covers most of the southeastern part of the state including Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.The district is currently represented by Democrat Dave Loebsack....

.
Born near Oxford, New York

Oxford, New York

Oxford is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The town contains a village named Oxford. Oxford is an interior town in the south-central part of the county, southwest of the City of Norwich. At the 2000 census the town population was 3,992...

, to John S. and Elizabeth (Carpenter) Curtis, Curtis moved to Ogle County, Illinois

Ogle County, Illinois

Ogle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,497, which is an increase of 4.8% from 51,032 in 2000. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle...

, in 1856 with his parents, who settled on a farm near Rochelle, Illinois

Rochelle, Illinois

Rochelle is a city in Ogle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,574 at the 2010 census, up from 9,424 at the 2000 census. Rochelle is about west of Chicago and south of Rockford...

. He attended the common schools and Rock River Seminary, in Mount Morris, Illinois

Mount Morris, Illinois

Mount Morris is a village in Mount Morris Township, Ogle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census, down from 3,013 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mount Morris is located at ....

. Curtis was a clerk in Rochelle from 1863 to 1865, and subsequently for two years in Cortland, Illinois

Cortland, Illinois

Cortland is an incorporated town in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,270 at the 2010 census, up from 2,066 at the 2000 census...

. He moved to Clinton, Iowa

Clinton, Iowa

Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26231as of 2010. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa , was named in honor of the seventh governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton is the principal city of the Clinton Micropolitan Statistical...

, in 1867 and engaged in the manufacture of lumber, founding the Curtis Companies, a conglomerate of associated sash, door, and millwork companies that eventually consolidated into a single corporation based in Clinton, Iowa. He was also one of the incorporators of the City National Bank of Clinton in 1880. After initially serving as one of its directors, Curtis was elected vice president of the bank in 1890 and served in that capacity until his death. He also served as director in a number of lumber companies.

On 30 November, 1886, Curtis was married to Sophie Phillips Mansfield (1864-1949), daughter of Thomas Trowbridge Mansfield and Catharine Robinson Hurlburt. Their only child, Agnes Mansfield Curtis (later Mrs. William Bowen Church), was born September 6, 1887. In 1909, his wife survived the sinking of the White Star Liner RMS Republic

RMS Republic (1903)

RMS Republic was a steam-powered ocean liner built in 1903 by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, and lost at sea in a collision six years later while sailing for the White Star Line. A CQD distress call was issued on the new Marconi radio device, the first recorded, resulting in the saving of around...

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In 1887, he was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives

Iowa House of Representatives

The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 29,750 for each constituency...

, serving in 1888 and 1889. He served as delegate to the 1892 Republican National Convention

1892 Republican National Convention

The 1892 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held at the Industrial Exposition Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota, from June 7 to June 10, 1892. The party nominated Benjamin Harrison from Indiana for re-election as President of the United States on the first ballot...

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In 1894, Curtis was nominated to run as a Republican against incumbent Democratic Congressman Walter I. Hayes

Walter I. Hayes

Walter Ingalls Hayes was a four-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district during the Gilded Age....

 in Iowa's 2nd congressional district. After defeating Hayes, he served in the 54th United States Congress

54th United States Congress

- House of Representatives :-Leadership:- Senate :* President: Adlai E. Stevenson * President pro tempore: William P. Frye - Majority leadership :* Republican Conference Chairman: John Sherman- Minority leadership :...

, then was re-elected two years later and served in the 55th United States Congress

55th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:* Republican: 206 * Democratic: 124* Populist: 22* Silver Republican: 3* Silver: 1* Independent Republican: 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Garret Hobart * President pro tempore: William P...

. He refused requests to be a candidate for renomination in 1898. In all, he served in Congress from March 4, 1895 to March 3, 1899.

He resumed his former business activities in Clinton, and died there on February 9, 1921. He was interred in Springdale Cemetery.