Nancy Linscott, Frances A. Southworth Curtis, Lucy E. Curtis – Silent Land Cemetery, Spearville, For

The original headstone for this article, Nancy Linscott, ended up being a story involving four people and two headstones. Three are from Silent Land Cemetery and the other is in the West Indies. Along the path under a tree, is a headstone carved with the names of three women. Here is the story of each of those women.

Nancy Widow of John Linscott Born New York City Jun 23 1798 Died Oct 12 1885

Nancy Ireland married John Linscott on November 18, 1817, in New York City. Mr. Linscott was born in 1791 in Maine. Before the marriage, Mr. Linscott served as a sailor in the Navy during the War of 1812. The couple settled in New York City and had two children – John Jacob and Sarah Kingsbury. Mr. Linscott died in October 1821 in St. Bartholomew, West Indies. This left Mrs. Nancy Linscott a widow at the age of twenty-three with two young children.

On the second side of the headstone, it reads:

Frances A. Curtis wife of D.G. Curtis Born in N.Y. City Oct 27, 1848, Died Sept 12, 1887.

Frances Augusta Southworth married David Grant Curtis in Ford, Kansas on the 19th of August 1879. Mr. Curtis was born in Palmer, Saratoga, New York on August 14, 1845. By the late 1870s, the Curtis family was living in Ford County. The 1880 census shows the family moving to Hodgeman County. Shortly after their marriage, David was elected the clerk of the District Court for Hodgeman County. Lucy E., their daughter, was born there on November 25, 1881. Tragedy struck on the 12th of September in 1887. Frances A. passed away days after giving birth to their son, Merritt Linscott. Two years later on November 1, 1889, 7-year old Lucy succumbed to diphtheria.

The third side of the headstone is for Lucy E. Curtis who was born on the 25th of November 1881.

Why are all three of these women on the same headstone? What is their relationship with each other?

Nancy’s daughter, Sarah Kingsbury, married Seth Sprague Southworth. Their first child was Frances Augusta. In 1856, Nancy, Sarah, Seth, and Frances moved to Sugar Creek, Cedar, Iowa. They remained there until 1878 when they all moved to Wheatland, Ford, Kansas.

While living in Ford County, Frances Augusta married David Grant Curtis. They eventually settled in Hodgeman Co. Lucy was the daughter of Frances A. Curtis and the great-granddaughter of Nancy Ireland Linscott. This headstone is the resting place for a young girl, her mother, and great grandmother.

Note: The headstone of Sarah Kingsbury Linscott Southworth (1820-1898) and her husband, Seth Sprague Southworth (1817-1900) are buried alongside their family members.