Sherman Grant Curfman 1871-1949

Sherman Grant Curfman was born on April 7, 1871, in Clay, Pennsylvania, his father, Daniel Jr, was 38 and his mother, Margaret Elizabeth (Rupert) Curfman, was 36.

Sherman Grant, went by Grant, according to most newspapers that mention him and his nephew, Fred Curfman.

Grant had two brothers, Austin (my great grandfather) and Albert, and a sister, Amanda. Grant also had two step brothers, Aaron Walls and Robert Walls, that were born to Grant's mother from an earlier marriage.

Curfman family reunion in 1908. Sherman Grant Curfman is pictured in the back left, with his son Melvin in front of him and his wife Ocie by his side. In the center of the photo is Civil War veteran, Daniel Curfman Jr. Behind Daniel is my great grandfather, Austin Curfman. In the back, far right, is the other brother, Albert Curfman.

Above is a family gathering in 1908 of Daniel Curfman Jr's children and grand children. The boy in the front, second from the left is my grandfather, Walter Leo Curfman. This photo shows three generations of Curfmans dating back to the Civil War.

There are only 2 known photos of Grant, both of which were on the same day.

Grant and his wife and son are in the middle, right side of the photo. This appears to have been taken on the same day as the photo above.

Grant's father, Daniel, was a Civil War veteran. He served in the 51st PA Infantry from 1864 until his discharge at the end of the war. See the blog on Daniel Jr to learn more about him and his service to our country.

Daniel Jr and his wife Margaret Elizabeth Curfman

Another picture of Daniel Jr

Austin Andrew Curfman, brother of Sherman Grant, and son of Daniel Jr.

Sherman Grant has a unique name and demonstrates the patriotism that Daniel Jr. had for his country and the Republican party at the time. Daniel would have fought under U.S. Grant at the battle of Petersburg, VA. It is unknown if he ever saw U.S. Grant in person or Sherman. After the war, both Grant and Sherman would be key members of the Republican party and the Curfman family has remained loyal to the Republican party for generations.

It is unknown why Sherman Grant only went by Grant and not his first name, Sherman.

In 1900, Grant married Ocie Taylor and they had a son, Melvin.

Sherman Grant, son Melvin, and wife Ocie. The girl in the front right is Grant's niece to his sister, Amanda.

The below marriage application provides some information on Sherman Grant's age, 31, at the time of their wedding, and his occupation as a miner.

Ocie, Sherman Grant, and son Melvin at the 1908 Curfman reunion.

Sherman Grant and Ocie lived in Hustontown, PA, which is in Fulton County. This is interesting because I was born and raised in Hustontown, which is a very small town.

While living in Hustontown, Sherman Grant and his wife were involved in a bad car accident, ironically very close to where my childhood home would be some 70 years later. According to the below article, the car rolled over and almost crushed Ocie. It is unknown if she suffered any lifelong injures from this accident.

In another article from the Fulton County news, Sherman Grant and family, along with his brother-in-law, Orville Taylor 'motored' to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1916. This would have been 3 years after the first big Gettysburg reunion in 1913. In addition to Sherman Grant's father, his uncle, Archibald Curfman also served in the Civil War, but neither fought at Gettysburg. At least 3 generations of Curfmans have continued to travel to Gettysburg to enjoy the sights and remember the sacrifice of those Americans.

Ocie was the first to pass in 1940. The below article mentions that her father had been living with them and had passed away only twelve days prior to Ocie. This must have been a very difficult time for Sherman Grant, to lose both his wife and father-in-law in the span of two weeks.

Sherman Grant died on July 7, 1949, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at the age of 78, and was buried in Saltillo, Pennsylvania. According to his death certificate, his death was attributed to a kick from a cow.

1949 was a bad year for Curfmans--all three brothers, Albert, Austin, and Sherman Grant would die that year.

Below, Sherman Grant's obituary mentions that he was both a miner and successful farmer.