Charles Curtiss served in the Illinois General Assembly and founded the Farmers and Merchant Bank.
Charles was born in Royalton, Vermont on 3 November 1828. He came to Downers Grove in 1836 with his family and parents Samuel and Mary Curtiss. In the 1850s he followed the gold rush to California with his brother Henry, but returned no richer. He was a Village Trustee in 1873 and served in the Illinois General Assembly in 1887-1888. By 1892 he was president of the Farmers and Merchant Bank (located at 5135 Main Street) and was publisher of the Downers Grove Reporter by 1895. He served three terms as village president, for a total of 6 years. It is said Charles installed the first street sign near his home at the corner of Curtiss and Washington Streets.
Charles is buried in Main Street Cemetery with his wife Laura Thatcher Curtiss whom he married in 1856 . Her mother Harriet Thatcher is also buried in the same cemetery, but her father Eldred is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Downers Grove Township with his second wife.
