Mahala was the daughter of Warren and Rebecca Elizabeth (Woodward) Essex.

Mahala and her siblings:
Elizabeth - February 16, 1854
Mahala - December 10, 1857
Mary Jane - March 13, 1861
Nancy - September 21, 1863
Susan - 1866
Rebecca - November 21, 1867
Matilda - September 26, 1869
John Jordan - May 3, 1871

Mahala was truly a pioneer woman of her day. Growing up in Limestone Valley she learned to cope with the hardships of every day living while still a young girl. She was almost six years old when her father left home to serve in the Civil War. Her mother was in her last days of pregnancy, expecting their fourth child, at the time of his enlistment. Almost three weeks later Mahala's baby sister, Nancy, was born.

The time of the Civil War made a great impression on her young mind, and years later she would often speak of the ordeals of that time. She told her grandson, Fayne Curtis, that salt was scarce, so they had to find another way to season their food. They would dig up dirt from their smoke house floor, add water, and stir it up. After the dirt had settled to the bottom, the water was then used as a seasoning. Her mother taught her how to search for wild plants and herbs that could be used for eating and medicine. Even with many hardships she obtained a fairly good education for that time.

Mahala's father came home safely from the war dying on October 9, 1872, when she was almost 15 years old.

Mahala, age 16, and John David Curtis, 19, were married on September 24, 1875, in Newton County, by Thomas C. Bethel, an ordained minister of the Regular United Baptist Church.

They settled in Limestone Valley on a farm where they raised their family & became members of the Church of Christ. They had 13 children:
1. James "Dusty" H.
(Oct. 4, 1874 - 1943)
2. Louisa "Dow" Elizabeth
(Sept. 27, 1876 - Nov. 28, 1962)
3. Annie
(February 1, 1878 - Sept. 17, 1884)
4. William "Bill"
(Sept. 18, 1879 - Sept. 10, 1952)
5. John
(Sept. 28, 1881 - Sept. 13, 1884)
6. Susan "Susie" Edaline
(May 18, 1883 - May 14, 1966)
7. Nancy Alice
(January 25, 1885)
8. Adaline "Addie"
(Jan. 15, 1887 - Jan. 31, 1911)
9. Scott
(Oct. 8, 1889 - April 6, 1891)
10.George Benton
(Aug. 8, 1891 - June 7, 1958)
11.Walter
(Jan. 8, 1894 - Dec. 10, 1962)
12.Infant girl
(born & died February 22, 1896)
13.Grace E.
(Nov. 17, 1898 - March 7, 1963)
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Mahala and John owned a farm down the hill across from where the Curtis Cemetery is now located. Their grandson, Fayne Curtis, described their house, typical of that time; two log cabins with a fireplace one on each end and a dog trot between.

On June 1, 1894, Mahala, age 36, was appointed postmaster of Limestone, which was the date the name of the post office was changed from Limestone Valley to Limestone. It was about two miles from her home. She served until May 13, 1898.

Mahala, a mid-wife, was known as a "roving nurse," who was called upon to help deliver babies in the community. She went to the home of an expectant mother in labor often staying until the baby was born. She was also called upon to help sick neighbors because there weren't any doctors nearby using wild plants for home made medicines.

She was the mid-wife for Cynthia Dodson, the wife of her cousin, George, helping deliver their first two sons, William and James.

On October 21, 1894,
Mahala wrote the following letter to her cousin, George Dodson, & his wife, Cynthia, who lived in TX.
"Dear Cousin and family,
I take the opportunity to drop you a few lines to let you know that we are all well at present, hoping you the same. I have nothing strange to write. Times the hardest I ever saw. Crops cut short by the drouth. Cotton sorry, six and quarter cents per pound. Hog meat the scarcest I ever saw. There is not been enough in Newton Co to feed ten hungry men. Synthia, I would love to see you and the children the best in the world. I feel lonesome since Jim and Parilee has moved off. They staid here all summer and feel if they ever had a short word I never heard it. John has just finished sowing wheat. He has got all his corn together. Only what he sowed in wheat. We will make corn, enough corn to do us by being saving. George write and let me know how you are getting along. Synthia, George is the biggest fattest boy you ever saw. The baby is 9 months old. He is small. His name is Walter. He is just beginning to crawl. The whooping cough liked to killed him. Well, I will not tell you how well I am getting along for my writing paper shows that. So I will close by saying write soon and fail not.
Mahala Curtis
To George Dotson and family"

Her letter, more than one 110 years old, was written on heavy paper and is still in excellent condition. It is now a treasure in my possession.

On June 6, 1900,
John & Mahala Curtis, ages 56 & 32, owned a farm in Limestone Valley in Union Township, Newton Co, AR. They had been married 26 years; Mahala had given birth to 12 children, 9 who were living. John farmed to support their large family. Their children were William, age 20; Alice, 15; Adaline, 13; George, 8; Walter, 5; & Gracie, 6 months.

On April 29, 1910,
John & Mahala, ages 55 & 52, had been married 36 years. They were still living on their farm in Limestone Valley. Mahala had given birth to 13 children; 9 were living. Children living with them were William, age 30; Alice, 25; George, 18; Walter, 16, & Gracie, 11.

On January 12/13, 1920,
D. John & Mahalia Curtis, ages 66 & 62, were living on their farm in Limestone Valley. Hill Township on their farm. By this time only two children were at home: Walter and Gracie, ages 26 & 21.

On April 12, 1930,
John D. & Mahala, ages 76 & 71, were living alone on their farm in Limestone Valley. Their farm was valued at $1500. Their son, Walter, age 36, lived on an adjacent farm valued at $500.
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Mahala and John's grandchildren have provided a brief glimpse into their lives through the stories they have shared.

Her grandson, Fayne Curtis, said his grandmother was a little better educated than the average. She told him that she had taught his grandfather, John, how to read and write. She was very interested in educating her children. Fayne's father, George (the tenth of Mahala and John's thirteen children), liked school and attended religiously. He had a seeking mind and was curious about everything. Mahala always tried to encourage him to do the best he could. He became a school teacher and later a minister.

Mahala's granddaughter, Imogene, enjoyed sharing memories about her grandmother. Imogene's mother, Grace, was the
13th and last of Mahala and John's children. She married William Frank Bohannon, and they two children, Imogene and Kenneth. They lived near Mahala and John where they raised their children.

Imogene said she was at her grandparent's house almost as much as she was at home. She was close to her grandmother and said, "She was a good person who would do anything for anyone." She said her grandmother was tall, thin, dark complexioned, with Indian features.

Her grandmother did most of the cooking in the fireplace, even though she owned a cast iron stove. She thought food cooked in the fireplace tasted much better. This was where she baked her mouth-watering cakes and pies.

Imogene's grandparents always raised a large garden. She remembers the delicious green beans from the garden, cooked in a big cast iron skillet and served with corn bread and hominy. When Mahala was growing up, she had learned to identify edible plants they gathered for meals.

Fayne & his sister, Opal (Curtis) Beck, children of Mahala and John's son, George, told about spending summers in Limestone with them. Opal said, "I get really emotional when I think about my grandmother. She was really my heroine. She worked hard and was always doing something for somebody."

Opal's parents moved to Grayson County, Texas, in 1919, when she was five years old. For several years, during summer breaks her father went back to Limestone and taught school for six weeks. He did it for the added income and partly so he could be with his parents. She said, "We loved to spend the summers with grandma and grandpa. I don't know how they put up with us because there were six of us kids. Grandma would cry when she saw us coming, but she didn't cry when we left."

All of their grandparent's drinking water came from Big Spring. This was a spring on the farm, about one-quarter mile from the house. Big Spring emptied into Curtis Creek running along the back of their property. They stored their perishables in a large cave, near Big Spring, which was just like a refrigerator. One of Fayne's chores was to carry drinking water to the house. He said it was a long way to haul water when you're only 10 years old.

Opal said Big Spring was a gathering place for everybody. Young people would spend Sunday afternoons, have picnics, and sometimes carve their initials on trees. She remembers the black wash kettle and washboard Mahala had set up so she could do her laundry using the water from the creek.

Opal looked forward to grinding coffee every morning. She said, "Grandma always let me grind the coffee for breakfast." Years later she kept wishing Mahala would give the antique coffee grinder to her someday. After Mahala got down and couldn't do anything, she asked Walter if the old coffee mill was in use. She was disappointed when he told her, "No, I just threw that old thing away." He got rid of it when he could buy coffee that was already ground up.

Fayne said, "John was stove up pretty well with rheumatism, and for all practical purposes, was totally deaf. He was quiet and never did talk very much."

Mahala's grandson, Kenneth Bohannon, said she was sick a long time. She had heart trouble and had pneumonia almost every winter. They all thought she was going to die anytime, but John, who seemed healthy, died a few months before she did. He was doing one of the things he enjoyed most, when he had a heart attack. He was sitting in his chair, on the front porch, watching some children play, when he fell over dead. John died on January 8, 1939. Mahala died from pneumonia on June 14, 1939.

Memories of growing up in Limestone are still fresh in mind of Kenneth's sister, Imogene. Although she has moved away from Limestone, she said, "In my heart, Limestone will always be home."

Compiled by Virginia Brown
December 2009 (After many years of research)