Every family tree has individuals whose lives seem to touch many places, occupations, and experiences, leaving a wide paper trail but also plenty of questions. Hiram Miles Currey is one of those people in my family history. As my great-grandfather, his story intersects with multiple Kansas communities, a large and resilient family, and a lifetime marked by hard work, adaptability, and perseverance.
This ABC Biography was created using a detailed narrative report built from census records, newspapers, vital records, and family-held documents. By weaving those sources together, a fuller picture emerges of Hiram’s life—from his childhood in Kansas, to his education and marriage, the raising of nine children, and his many occupations that carried him across the state and beyond. What follows is a snapshot of an ordinary man whose life reflects the rhythms, challenges, and opportunities of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the Midwest.
As you read, I invite you to see Hiram not just as a name on a pedigree chart, but as a father, husband, worker, and community member whose experiences helped shape the generations that followed.
Hiram Miles Currey (1866-1943)
Early Life and Family Background
Hiram Miles Currey was born on 23 October 1866, with records indicating Missouri as his place of birth, although several census records later listed Kansas. As a child, Hiram grew up in Leavenworth County, Kansas, where he appeared regularly in state and federal census records with his family.
During his youth, Hiram lived in Kickapoo Township and later Delaware Township in Leavenworth County. He attended Nine Mile School in 1881, suggesting a typical rural education for the time. His early years were shaped by farm life and community ties in northeastern Kansas, a region still developing in the post–Civil War era.
Education
Hiram continued his education beyond common schooling. Between 1890 and 1891, he attended William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, an experience that set him apart from many of his contemporaries and likely influenced his later interests and varied occupations.
Marriage and Family Life
On 13 May 1891, Hiram married Winifred Mae “Winnie” Hutchinson in Kansas City, Missouri. Winnie was born on 6 May 1871 in Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa, the daughter of Albert Hutchinson and Julia Harding.
Together, Hiram and Winnie raised a large family, although their marriage was also marked by loss. Winnie died on 23 September 1913 in Olathe, Kansas, at the age of 42, leaving Hiram a widower with several children still at home.
Children of Hiram Miles Currey and Winifred Mae Hutchinson
Hiram and Winnie were the parents of the following children:
- Infant Currey
Born 18 April 1892; died 10 May 1892. - Henry Currey
Born 25 May 1893, Liberty, Clay County, Missouri; died 20 May 1906, Leavenworth County, Kansas. - Herbert Miles Currey
Born 3 April 1895, Liberty, Clay County, Missouri; married Pearl Grace Stewart on 24 December 1916 in Ogden, Utah; died 20 April 1971 in Ontario, Malheur County, Oregon. - Hiram Currey
Born 11 August 1897; died 24 January 1898. - Myrtle Irene Currey
Born 11 January 1899, Pomeroy, Wyandotte County, Kansas; married Claud E. Gaskill on 24 March 1917; later married Everett Donald Jones on 1 June 1936; died 23 July 1970 in Dodge City, Kansas. - Mary Lela Currey
Born 17 August 1901, Lansing, Leavenworth County, Kansas; married Joseph Louis Walters on 2 February 1919; died 8 December 1977 in Zion, Lake County, Illinois. - Winnie Letha Currey
Born 30 June 1903, Lansing, Leavenworth County, Kansas; married Leon Russel Crawford on 24 December 1919; died 11 February 1992 in Dodge City, Kansas. - Earnest Oran Currey
Born 5 April 1906, Lansing, Leavenworth County, Kansas; married Evelyn Marie Rasmussen on 1 June 1931 in Denver, Colorado; died 25 May 1979 in Denver. - Alma Jean Currey
Born 5 April 1912, Plainville, Rooks County, Kansas; married Joseph Johnson Taylor on 14 December 1929; later married Nate Grenier in December 1974; died 7 September 1989 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Work Life and Changing Occupations
Throughout his adult life, Hiram held a wide range of occupations, reflecting both economic necessity and adaptability. He worked at various times as a magnetic healer, miner, topman, carpenter, teamster, baker, and section hand. These jobs took him and his family across multiple Kansas counties and into Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1906, Hiram was politically active enough to be placed on the ballot as a Socialist Party candidate for clerk of the district court in Leavenworth, Kansas, highlighting his engagement with labor and reform movements of the early twentieth century.
Later Years
After Winnie’s death in 1913, Hiram’s life became increasingly mobile. By the 1920s, he was living and working in western Kansas. In later years, he resided in Dodge City, often living with or near his adult children. Census records from 1930 and 1940 show him living with family members and continuing to work as a carpenter well into his sixties.
Death and Burial
Hiram Miles Currey died on 15 September 1943 in Dodge City, Ford County, Kansas, at the age of 76. The cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage and arteriosclerosis. He was buried on 18 September 1943 at Maple Grove Cemetery in Dodge City, where his grave marks the end of a long and hardworking life spent largely in Kansas.
Legacy
Hiram’s life reflects the experience of many Midwestern men of his generation—marked by frequent moves, changing occupations, civic engagement, and devotion to family. Through his children and grandchildren, his legacy continued across Kansas, the Midwest, and beyond, leaving lasting ties to the communities where he lived and worked.
Writing an ABC Biography for Hiram Miles Currey has been a reminder that even well-documented lives can feel elusive until the records are brought together in one place. Census entries, directories, newspapers, and family records each captured only a moment in time, but when viewed collectively, they reveal a man who adapted repeatedly to changing circumstances while providing for a growing family.
As my great-grandfather, Hiram now feels less like a distant name on a chart and more like a real person whose choices and experiences shaped the family that followed. His many moves, occupations, and roles reflect the realities faced by countless families during this period of American history. Preserving his story ensures that his life—and the lives connected to his—remain part of our shared family narrative, not just as dates and places, but as lived experiences remembered and passed down.