RICHARD J. "HARRY" CURTIS was born in the state of New York in December of 1851, according to the 1900 Census. He started going by the nickname "Harry" after moving to Camden in the early 1880s.

Harry Curtis was living in Pennsylvania in the mid-1870s, marrying his wife Selana, in 1877. When the census was taken in 1880 the Curtis family, which included daughters Elizabeth and Nellie, was living in Montoursville, Pennsylvania. Harry Curtis worked in a sawmill at the time of the Census. The family came to Camden in the early 1880s. He appears in the 1881-1882 City Directory at 122 Federal Street, working as a teamster. By the following year he had moved to 904 Howard Street in Camden's First Ward. Harry Curtis was then working as a teamster for William A. French & Company, a builder's supply firm then located at North 3rd and Vine streets. Around this time Harry Curtis made the acquaintance of another relative newcomer to Camden, Thomas A. Walton, who lived nearby at 225 Bailey Street. Both men became involved as Republican in local politics, served briefly with Camden's Fire and Police Departments, and then went to work as detectives for the Pennsylvania Railroad.
  

Harry Curtis and family stayed at 904 Howard Street through at least 1885. A third daughter, Laura, was born in 1884. In August of 1886, Harry Curtis was appointed to the Camden Fire Department as a replacement for Thomas A. Walton, who had been appointed to the Camden Police Department.  

When the next City Directory was published, the 1887-1888 edition, Harry Curtis and family had moved into Thomas Walton's former home at 225 Bailey Street, where they remained through 1888. Harry Curtis Served with the Fire Department into January of 1889.

The 1890 Camden City Directory shows that Harry Curtis had been by then appointed to the Camden Police Department. He was living at 905 North 3rd Street, where he remained until 1894 when he moved to 907 North 3rd Street. The Curtis family moved to 203 York Street prior to the compilation of the 1897 Camden City Directory. They remained at this address into 1900. When the census was taken that year, Harry Curtis was living at 203 York Street with his wife and three daughters, Elizabeth, Nellie, and Laura.

In May of 1899, Harry Curtis again followed his friend, Thomas A. Walton, in a job. He resigned from the Camden Police Department to take a position as a special officer with the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had been made open when Walton was move to another post. When Thomas A. Walton passed away in February of 1905, Harry Curtis succeeded him once again, being promoted to Detective of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The 1906 Camden City Directory shows Harry Curtis and family at 604 North 2nd Street. He moved around North Camden in the ensuing years. His address was 217 Elm Street in 1910, 219 Pearl Street in 1914, 511 Elm Street in 1918, and 430 Grant Street in 1924.

By the time the 1929 Camden City Directory was compiled, Harry Curtis had passed away. His widow was then living at 622 State Street, Nellie Koelle and her husband Frederick.