HAMILL, Curtis Gainer

1872 - 1973  (101 years)

• Name	HAMILL, Curtis Gainer
  Birth	24 Jan 1872	Pennsylvania   [1, 2]
  	1900 Census says he was born June 1873.
  Gender	Male
  Residence	17 Jan 1920	Bay City, Matagorda, Texas, United States   [3]
  	Self employed in the oil business
  	Very poorly written census record.
  Death	1 Mar 1973	Bay City, Matagorda, Texas, United States   [2, 4]
  	Curtis Gainer Hamill, 100, a resident of Houston passed away March 1. Survivors include: 1 daughter, Mrs. Ethel Semple of Boerne; 2 sons, Percy R. Hamill of Bay City and Claud B. Hamill of Houston; 2 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Mr. Hamill moved to Bay City from Kerrville in 1922 and lived here 15 years before moving to San Antonio where he lived for 17 years. He later moved to Houston where he resided for 11 years. He was a member of the Kerrville Baptist Church and the Oddfellows. Funeral services will be held March 3 at 2 p. m. at the First Baptist Church with Rev. W. D. Baker and Rev. G. Wayland Elmore officiating. Interment will be at the Cedarvale Cemetery with pallbearers being: T. Austin Castleton, Otis Russell, Harry Cowger, H. Norman Barkley, W. J. Luder, Jr., Frank Hurley, Jr., Hugh Strickland and J. W. Sanders. Mr. Hamill’s remains will lie in state at the home of his son, P. R. HAmill from 2 p. m. Friday until 12 noon Saturday when he will be taken to the First Baptist Church. Taylor Brothers Funeral Home in charge of funeral arrangements.   The Daily Tribune, March 2, 1973 ------------------------------------------- A man who witnessed the beginning of a new era when the Lucas gusher came in at Spindletop some 70 years ago died yesterday at the age of 100.   Curtis G. Hamill was standing on a derrick platform 40 feet off the ground January 10, 1901, when the gusher hit at Spindletop Hill south of Beaumont, Texas. The full force of the stream of oil hit Hamill in the face, signaling the start of the greatest oil boom in history. He landed on the derrick floor below, miraculously uninjured.   Hamill, whose son, P. R. Hamill lives in Bay City, was born in January born in January 24, 1872, in Iowa and also lived for a time in Pennsylvania before moving to Texas.   He led a farm boy’s life through much of his youth and was forced to leave Baylor University after a serious case of pneumonia.   He met his wife, the former Eva Estelle Smith, in Bell County while he was selling smoothing irons from house to house. They were married in 1893.   After acquiring a farm near Waco, he was ruined by a sudden storm. He went to work for a Waco dairy but soon was offered a job by elder brother, Jim, who broke into the drilling business by working on the first great artesian well in Texas. Younger brother, Al, was a partner in the firm, called Hamill Brothers of Corsicana.   Hamill accepted the job and that led him to the derrick platform and the Lucal Well at Spindletop.   On his 97th birthday, he looked back on the historic moment.   “If there hadn’t been a Spindletop, there would be no oil business today,” he said. “It was sure something to be a part of it. I’m glad I was there but I’d hate to go through it all again.”   Survivors include two sons, Claude of Houston and P. R. of Bay City, Tex.; a daughter, Ethel Semple of Burney, Tex., and two grandchildren.   The funeral service will be held Saturday afternoon in the First Baptist Church at Bay City. Burial will be in Cedarvale Cemetery at Bay City.
  Burial	Bay City, Matagorda, Texas, United States   [2]
  	Address: Cedarvale Cemetery
  Person ID	I9410	Pickel_Bartlett
  Last Modified	6 Dec 2014

  
  

  Family	SMITH, Eva Estelle,   b. 22 Dec 1878, Mississippi, United States d. 1 Feb 1961, Kerrville, Kerr, Texas, United States (Age 82 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1893  [1]
  Residence	15 Jun 1900	Corsicana, Navarro, Texas, United States   [5]
  	Oil company tool dresser
  	Listed as Curtis G. and Eva S. Hamill, they had been married for six years and all four children were still living.
  Residence	7 Apr 1930	Houston, Harris, Texas, United States   [1]
  	Contractor, Oil Wells
  Residence	11 Apr 1940	Terrell Hills, Bexar, Texas, United States   [6]
  	Oil operator, oil wells
  Children	1. HAMILL, Mabel,   b. Dec 1894, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   2. HAMILL, Ellis,   b. Apr 1896, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   3. HAMILL, Purcey,   b. Aug 1897, Texas d. Yes, date unknown   4. HAMILL, Claud Bray,   b. 2 Apr 1899, Waco, McLennan, Texas, United States d. 10 Mar 1986, Houston, Harris, Texas, United States (Age 86 years)   5. HAMILL, Ethel,   b. Abt 1902, Texas d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F2697	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 May 2022

  
  

• Sources

  [S72] 1930 Federal Census, Houston, Harris, Texas, ED 91, Page 11A, Dwelling 127. [S109] Find-a-Grave website, Memorial# 37442775. [S73] 1920 Federal Census, Bay City, Matagorda, Texas ED 135, Page ??, Dwelling 248. [S102] Cer, Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 9: September, 1970-August, 1973. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1974. (BioIn 9). [S110] 1900 Federal Census, Corsicana, Navarro, Texas ED 97, Page 18B, Dwelling 378. [S427] 1940 Federal Census, Terrell Hills, Bexar, Texas ED 15-5, Page 6A, Dwelling 129, 1940 United States Census.