Joseph Tullis Curry (July 24, 1895 - August 21, 1961) was a

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

planter from

St. Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orth ...

Tensas Parish Tensas Parish () is a parish located in the northeastern section of the State of Louisiana; its eastern border is the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,147. It is the least populated parish in Louisiana. The parish ...

in northeastern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, who served from 1930 to 1944 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

Background

His father, Joseph Curry (1855-1919), is often mistakenly referred to as "Sr." to avoid confusion with the son, whose middle name is derived not from the father but from the maiden name of his mother, the former Dorcea "Dot" Tullis. The senior Curry, a merchant and planter, had been part of the posse in 1878 which apprehended some one thousand

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s in a revolt near

Waterproof Waterproofing is the process of making an object, person or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resists the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet env ...

against then parish judge and later

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Charles C. Cordill. The senior Curry was first a deputy sheriff and then was elected Tensas Parish clerk of court, a position which he retained for many years. Dot Curry's brothers were Robert Lee Tullis (c. 1865–1955), a former secretary to a

mayor of New Orleans The post of Mayor of the City of New Orleans () has been held by the following individuals since New Orleans came under American administration following the Louisiana Purchase — the 1803 acquisition by the U.S. of of the French province '' ...

and thereafter a longtime professor and dean of the

Louisiana State University Law Center The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University. Because Louisiana is a ci ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, and Hugh Tullis (1857-1931), an attorney and district judge in the delta country. Curry's cousin, Garner Hugh Tullis, served for three terms as the president of the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Cotton Exchange. Curry attended

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver Milita ...

in Culver,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Like most of the Tensas Parish planters, Curry was a member of the Episcopal Church. He was also affiliated with the

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

Career

After military service, Curry became the secretary-treasurer of the Panola Company, a large agricultural operation in St. Joseph. He was a member of the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

and a director of the Bank of St. Joseph. He was part of a contingent from Tensas Parish who successfully

lobbied Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to block construction of the proposed Eudora Floodway, named for Eudora,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, the origin of

Bayou Macon Bayou Macon is a bayou in Arkansas and Louisiana. It begins in Desha County, Arkansas, and flows south, between the Boeuf River to its west and the Mississippi River to its east, before joining Joe's Bayou south of Delhi in Richland Parish, Lou ...

. The flood would have run near the boundary of East Carroll and West Carroll parishes and potentially placed vast Louisiana acreage to the south and east in danger in the event of severe flooding like that which had occurred in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

. Curry won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for the House after

Daniel F. Ashford Daniel Fowler Ashford (November 29, 1879 – July 17, 1929) was a cotton planter from St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, who served from 1916 until his death in office as a Democrat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. ...

, another St. Joseph planter, died in office in 1929. Curry was chairman for part of his tenure of the Public Works, Lands, and Levee Committee, a panel of particular importance to the parishes along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Originally anti-

Long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

, like most of the planter class, Curry by his second full term had begun to vote increasingly with the Long faction that he had first opposed. Sheriff Elliot D. Coleman, who served from 1936 to 1960, was also staunchly pro-Long; indeed he had been a bodyguard at the assassination in Baton Rouge in 1935 of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and claimed to have fired two shots at proclaimed assassin

Carl Weiss Carl Austin Weiss Sr. (December 6, 1906 – September 8, 1935) was an American physician who assassinated U.S. Senator Huey Long at the Louisiana State Capitol on September 8, 1935. Career Weiss was born in Baton Rouge to physician Carl Ada ...

. The 1935-1936 state elections, with memory of Huey Long's demise fresh in the minds of voters, proved devastating to many anti-Longites. The

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

and tenant farmers gained the voter majority over the planters and business class. Where planters remained in office they did so through their political flexibility. The particular blot to the planter came with the unseating in 1936 of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Riley J. Wilson, one of Huey Long's unsuccessful gubernatorial primary opponents in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. Curry was married to the former Rita Camors (1901-1944). He was a widower for the last seventeen years of his life. He died some five weeks after the passing of their daughter, Josephine Curry Evans (1935-1961). The Currys, including his parents, are interred at Natchez City Cemetery in

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States ** Natchez slave market, Mississippi * ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Joseph T. 1895 births 1961 deaths Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives People from St. Joseph, Louisiana American planters Culver Academies alumni University of Virginia alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I 20th-century American Episcopalians American cotton plantation owners 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature

Background

Career

See also

References