Nannie Webb Curtis

Nannie Webb Curtis (, Austin; after first marriage, Webb; after second marriage, Curtis; June 22, 1861 - March 29, 1920) was an American lecturer and temperance activist, widely-known as a clubwoman. She wrote essays on the topic and edited a magazine. She served as National vice-president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), sat on the National Executive Committee, and was also on the Official Board of the National WCTU, the lawmaking body of organization. Frequently characterized as being "bigger than her state", Curtis was a patriot and a speaker of national fame.

Early life and education Nannie Austin was born in Hardin County, Tennessee, June 22, 1861. Her parents were Rev. D. J. and Julia Ann (Couch) Austin. On her paternal side, her great-grandfather was Benjamin A. Austin, an uncle of Stephen F. Austin.

From her childhood, Curtis was bent on temperance reform. The Rev. Atticus Webb, in The Union Signal for April 8, 1920, related that Curtis' father, a prosperous merchant, included a large number of barrels of liquor in his stock, and that one day, during her father's absence, Curtis turned on the faucets of all the casks in the cellar, and allowed the contents to run to waste. When her father remonstrated with and threatened to whip her, she replied that if he did she would burn the liquor up the next time. She refused many Chautauqua offers for 1917, because she felt that Texas needed her, but her Chautauqua Association succeeded in securing her for 1918.

Nannie Curtis died at the home of her son, Roy, in Dallas, Texas, March 29, 1920, after a lingering illness of three months. Burial was in Oakland Cemetery, Dallas. On June 15, 1920, the Texas Senate, by a rising vote, adopted a resolution giving its "expression of appreciation and loss by reason of the death of this noble woman".