Curtis Harvey Castle (October 4, 1848 – July 12, 1928) was a U.S. Representative from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Biography

Castle was born near

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

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. Chart ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, Downtown Chicago, ...

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 yea ...

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. ...

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

and Wayland, Iowa 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 ce ...

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, 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 develope ...

. 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 Dia ...

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 Coa ...

, 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