Curtis Rice or Curtis Bradshaw
by Linda Trent
2018
The 1910 census does list a Curtis Bradshaw age 7 living with Delilah Rice and her family. He was listed as a grandson, but I’ve been unable to follow him in the census. It is my belief that Curtis Bradshaw was somehow a mistake and it was meant to be Rice.
Curtis was also listed as living with his parents Walter H. Rice and Bertha, and listed as age 7, son. Walter Hall Rice was the son of David and Minerva J. Hall. David was Charles’ (as in Charles and Delilah) brother, the son of William Rice and Sarah Lynam.
Now, hold your horses because now you have his father’s name, you might be surprised to find out Bertha was a step mom. Walter was married twice. His first marriage was to Sarah Elizabeth Hill.
Sarah was born November 1866, in Lawrence County, Ohio (date from 1900 census, place from marriage and death certificate).
Walter married Sarah Elizabeth Hill in Putnam County, WV on January 31, 1886. The following is a link to their marriage record at the WV division of Culture and history vital records.
They had a total of 7 children according to the 1900 and 1910 census. The children were: John, Albert, Annie, Lillie, Sadie, Curtis and Walter H (the latter two were ages 7 and 4 in the 1910 census). Notice that Curtis was age 7, meaning he was born in 1902/3 so he was about 6 when his mother passed away.
It appears as though Sarah passed away on March 31, 1909 while living in Meigs County, Ohio. Sadly she was electrocuted by an electric lamp. If you have a FamilySearch.org account (which is I believe free but you have to sign up) you can go here for her death certificate.
Walter then married his first cousin Bertha Rice on February 19, 1910, in Catlettsburg, Kentucky. From what I can see they never had children, but she was busy raising the young family she inherited from Sarah.
By 1920 Walter and his family had moved to Detroit, Michigan. Curtis and Walter (Jr), now ages 17 and 14 were still living at home.
On July 17, 1920 Curtis married Dorothy Harper, in Detroit, Michigan. His father is listed as being Walter H. Rice and mother is on the page fold, but what is shown is rtha Rice, so I’m betting it’s Bertha.
I have not found him in the 1930 census, but he does appear in the 1940, still in Detroit. Now living with Dorothy and their three children: June (14), Glenn (9) and Gary (1). Based on other information like death and marriage info on children; Curtis and Dorothy also had at least one other child Eileen, and June’s middle name was Evelyn.
Curtis died in 1957, according to the Findagrave site Here is his stone located in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit.
But this is, in my opinion, the Curtis Rice that I believe to be the step-son of Bertha Rice, and the son of Walter Hall Rice and Sarah Elizabeth Hill.
I cannot explain why he was listed as Curtis Bradshaw. It seems hard to believe there would be two Curtis’ the same age one a step-grandson and the other a grandson. I’m figuring it was a census taker’s error.
William Rice
David Rice
Walter Hall Rice
Sarah Lynam
Minerva J. Hall
Curtis Rice
Sarah E. Hill
And Curtis’ step-mom moved over to show relationship of David and Charles.
William Rice
Charles W. Rice
Bertha F. Rice
Sarah Lynam 
Delilah Clarkson
Researched October 13-14, 2018
by Linda Trent
linda_trent@att.net
