Curtis Harvey Castle (October 4, 1848 – July 12, 1928) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Biography

Castle was born near

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

on October 4, 1848, and attended the public schools and Knox College. In 1872, he graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree, and Northwestern later awarded him a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree. After graduating from college, Castle served as principal of the

Washington, Texas Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence ...

public schools from 1872 to 1876. In 1878, he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

. After becoming a doctor, he practiced in

Fulton County, Illinois Fulton County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 37,069. Its county seat is Lewistown, and the largest city is Canton. Fulton County comprises the Canton, IL Micropolitan Statistic ...

and

Wayland, Iowa Wayland is a village in Jefferson Township, Henry County, Iowa, United States. The population was 964 at the time of the 2020 census. History Wayland was originally known as Crooked Creek. Crooked Creek became a voting precinct on October 5, 1 ...

until 1882. Castle moved to

Point Arena, California Point Arena, formerly known as Punta Arena (Spanish for "Sandy Point") is a small coastal city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Point Arena is located west of Hopland, at an elevation of . The population was 460 at the 2020 cens ...

in 1882, and to

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

in 1888, where he continued the practice of medicine. After moving to California, he was a member of the American Academy of Medicine and several local and county medical societies. Having previously been a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, in the 1890s he became active in politics as a

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

. He served as chairman of the party in

, and a member of its California state executive committee. In 1896, Castle was elected to the Fifty-fifth Congress as a Populist with support from the Democrats, and served one term (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1898, and resumed practicing of medicine in Merced. In 1901, Castle moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where he continued to practice medicine. In 1903, Castle moved to Dinuba, where he practiced medicine in addition to owning and operating a peach orchard, vineyard, and land for growing grapes that were used in producing raisins. Castle also had ownership stakes in companies that developed the

Coalinga Oil Field The Coalinga Oil Field is a large oil field in western Fresno County, California, in the United States. It surrounds the town of Coalinga, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, to the west of Interstate 5, at the foot of the Diabl ...

Retirement and death

Castle retired to

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, where he lived until his death on July 12, 1928. He was cremated and the ashes were deposited in the mausoleum of the Santa Barbara Cemetery and Crematory.

Family

Castle's first wife was Susan Alma Tabor, with whom he had two children, Grace Imogene Castle and Curtis Harvey Castle Jr. After her death, Castle married Virginia Nixon Wills, with whom he had four children, Paul Long Castle, Chandos Barret Castle, Mercedes Castle, and Genevieve Wills Castle. Paul Long Castle died shortly after his birth on the first of February 1892.

References

Sources

Books

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Newspapers

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Curtis Harvey 1848 births 1928 deaths California Populists People from Galesburg, Illinois People's Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Northwestern University alumni People from Point Arena, California Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery Members of the United States House of Representatives from California