Edith Roelker Curtis

Edith Roelker Curtis (1893–1977) was a New England writer, historian, and diarist.

Early life, education, and social activities Edith Goddard Roelker was born on July 29, 1893, to William and Eleanor (Jenckes) Roelker. Her mother's roots in Rhode Island stretched back to the colonial era, and Edith grew up in a privileged environment on an East Greenwich homestead and in a city residence in Providence. With the marriage strained by Eleanor's alcoholism, the Roelkers divorced in 1901. Edith attended school in Providence and lived for a time with an aunt in Cincinnati. She subsequently attended the elite Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, between 1909 and 1912 but left before receiving a degree. She made her society debut in 1912.

Two years later, she married Charles Pelham Curtis Jr., a Harvard Law student and member of a similarly distinguished Boston family. Charles became a partner at the Choate, Hall & Stewart firm, and the couple lived in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood until they moved to Norfolk, Massachusetts, in 1924. They had five children: Sarah (called Sally) (b. 1915), Anita (b. 1917), Charles (b. 1919), William, and Richard. During the First World War, Edith volunteered for the Red Cross. She was active in Boston club life, becoming a member of the Nucleus, Chilton Club, and Boston Sewing Circle (a predecessor to the Junior League), among others. The clubs functioned as hubs of high society, but Edith also participated in the cultural events and volunteer activities sponsored by the groups. She maintained an interest in literary and social organizations throughout her life. As her professional writing career developed, her marriage foundered. Charles's extramarital affairs prompted a divorce in 1936 when Edith discovered in a gossip column that her husband had registered at a New York hotel with his mistress. Given the prominent standing of the family, the divorce caused scandal in Boston social circles. Curtis later assisted greatly in the successful effort to designate the endangered site of Brook Farm in West Roxbury a national historical landmark.

At the same time, Curtis spent many years researching and writing a biography of Josiah Tattnall III, a naval officer who became a commander in the Confederate Navy during the Civil War. Though she was not able to complete this book project, she distributed her research and writings to the National Archives and Records Administration and the Sophia Smith Collection in hopes that the work would be completed.

Edith Roelker Curtis died in Dublin, New Hampshire, on February 1, 1977, at the age of 83.

Additional Information Edith Roelker Curtis Papers, 1893-1977 , Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.