Our Unique Stories

nathaniel curry

1921-1995

Life Story

From the Fields of Newton County to the Opportunities of Chicago

Early Life and Family Foundations

Nathaniel Curry was born on June 20, 1921, in the Lawrence community of Newton County, Mississippi, to Carlton (also recorded as Carleton) Curry and Sarah Williams Curry. Although some census records suggest a birth year of 1922, both his military records and Social Security records confirm June 20, 1921, as his birthdate.

Nathaniel grew up in a large farming family rooted in the rural communities of Beat 4. His childhood was shaped by the rhythms of agricultural life, where family members worked together to maintain the household and cultivate the land.

The 1930 census shows eight-year-old Nathaniel attending school while living with his parents and siblings, including Willie Mae, Arthur, Inez, and Mildred. Also residing in the household was an older woman named Mary M. Jordan, who was recorded by the census enumerator as “mother.” Because other records clearly identify Carlton Curry’s mother as Sarah Windham Curry, the exact relationship of Mary M. Jordan to the household remains uncertain. She may have been related through Nathaniel’s mother, Sarah Williams Curry, or may have been identified as “mother” as a term of respect for an elder family member. Regardless of the precise relationship, her presence reflects the multi-generational family structure common in rural Mississippi communities.

By 1940, Nathaniel was eighteen years old and helping support the family farm. Census records document that he had completed the fourth grade and was working approximately twenty hours per week as an unpaid laborer on the family farm while continuing his education. Living in the household were younger sisters Jerlene, Imagene, and Ernestine, as the Curry family continued to grow.

Answering the Call to Service

As war engulfed Europe and Asia and the United States prepared for possible involvement, Nathaniel became part of a generation whose lives would be shaped by global conflict.

On February 16, 1942, he registered for the Selective Service draft in Lawrence, Mississippi. His registration card provides a detailed physical description, recording him as five feet nine inches tall and weighing 136 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and a light brown complexion.

At the time of registration, Nathaniel listed his mother, Sarah Curry, as his nearest relative. Later that year, on December 12, 1942, Nathaniel enlisted in the United States Army at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, one of the nation’s major military training installations during World War II.

His enlistment record identified his civilian occupation as unskilled manufacturing and noted that he had completed one year of high school. Six days later, on December 18, 1942, he entered active military service as a Private in the Army’s selectee component.

World War II Service

Nathaniel served during one of the most significant periods in modern history.

Although surviving records do not presently identify the specific units to which he was assigned or whether he served overseas, his period of service coincided with the height of World War II, when millions of Americans were mobilized for military duty.

Like thousands of African American servicemen, Nathaniel served in a segregated military. Black soldiers often performed essential duties while facing discrimination and unequal treatment within the armed forces. Nevertheless, their service played a vital role in the Allied war effort and helped lay the groundwork for later challenges to segregation in American society.

Nathaniel remained on active duty for nearly three years.

Following the conclusion of the war, he received an honorable discharge on November 30, 1945.

The Great Migration and Life in Chicago

After returning home from military service, Nathaniel joined the continuing migration of African Americans leaving the rural South for northern cities.

Like many veterans, he sought greater economic opportunities than those available in Mississippi’s agricultural economy. He eventually settled in Chicago, Illinois, becoming part of the city’s vibrant African American community.

Public records place him in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, an area that became home to many Black migrants from Mississippi and other Southern states during the twentieth century.

His move reflected a larger historical movement known as the Great Migration, through which millions of African Americans sought employment, improved educational opportunities, and greater social mobility in northern cities.

Later Years

Nathaniel spent the remainder of his life in Chicago.

In January 1976, he filed a Social Security claim. Later records show that in 1989 he submitted documentation to correct a spelling variation of his name that had appeared in official records as “Nathanial” rather than Nathaniel.

Though surviving records reveal little about his daily life during these years, they show a man who successfully navigated the transition from rural Mississippi to urban Chicago while maintaining his identity through decades of social and economic change.

Death and Legacy

Nathaniel Curry passed away on April 28, 1995, at the age of seventy-three.

His life spanned a remarkable era of American history. Born in the rural South during the Jim Crow era, he witnessed the Great Depression, served during World War II, participated in the Great Migration, and lived through the Civil Rights Movement and the closing years of the twentieth century.

His story reflects the experiences of countless African American men whose lives connected two worlds: the farming communities of Mississippi and the industrial cities of the North.

Today, Nathaniel is remembered as a son of the Lawrence community, a World War II veteran, and a member of the Curry family whose life embodied resilience, service, and determination.

Resting Place

Unknown

Photos/Albums

Sources

  1. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index; World War II Army enlistment records; and military service records identify Nathaniel Curry as having been born on June 20, 1921, in Newton County, Mississippi.
  2. 1930 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, household of Carlton and Sarah Curry; documenting Nathaniel Curry as a school-age child living with his parents and siblings in the Lawrence community.
  3. 1930 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi; identifying members of the Curry household, including Willie Mae, Arthur, Nathaniel, Inez, and Mildred Curry.
  4. 1930 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi; documenting the presence of Mary M. Jordan within the household.
  5. 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, household of Carlton Curry; documenting Nathaniel Curry at age eighteen, his educational attainment, and his work as an unpaid laborer on the family farm.
  6. 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi; identifying younger siblings Jerlene, Imagene, and Ernestine Curry within the household.
  7. U.S. Selective Service Registration Card, Nathaniel Curry, February 16, 1942, Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
  8. Nathaniel Curry’s Selective Service registration card records his height as 5 feet 9 inches, weight as 136 pounds, complexion as light brown, hair color as black, and eye color as brown.
  9. U.S. Selective Service Registration Card, Nathaniel Curry; identifying Sarah Curry as his nearest relative at the time of registration.
  10. U.S. Army Enlistment Records, Nathaniel Curry, December 12, 1942, Camp Shelby, Mississippi.
  11. U.S. Army Enlistment Records; identifying Nathaniel’s civilian occupation as unskilled manufacturing and recording that he had completed one year of high school.
  12. U.S. Army Enlistment Records; documenting Nathaniel Curry’s entry into active military service on December 18, 1942.
  13. U.S. Army Separation Records; documenting Nathaniel Curry’s honorable discharge from military service on November 30, 1945.
  14. During World War II, African American servicemen served in segregated units throughout the United States military. Their service contributed significantly to the Allied war effort while also helping lay the groundwork for later civil rights advances.
  15. Surviving military records currently document Nathaniel Curry’s enlistment and discharge but do not identify his specific unit assignments, duty stations, or overseas service.
  16. Postwar public records document Nathaniel Curry’s residence in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, following his departure from Mississippi.
  17. Chicago city records and public records place Nathaniel Curry in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, a community that became home to many African American migrants from Mississippi during the twentieth century.
  18. The Great Migration refers to the movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to northern and western cities between approximately 1915 and 1970 in search of expanded economic and social opportunities.
  19. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index; documenting Nathaniel Curry’s Social Security claim filed in January 1976.
  20. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index; documenting a 1989 identity verification and correction involving the spelling variation “Nathanial” versus “Nathaniel.”
  21. Illinois Death Index and Social Security Death Index; documenting the death of Nathaniel Curry on April 28, 1995, at the age of seventy-three.
  22. Family records, military records, census records, Social Security records, public records, and genealogical research collectively document Nathaniel Curry’s life as a farmer’s son, World War II veteran, Great Migration participant, and longtime resident of Chicago, Illinois.

Sources Consulted

1930 and 1940 U.S. Federal Census Records; U.S. Selective Service Registration Card (1942); U.S. Army Enlistment Records (1942); U.S. Army Separation Records (1945); U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index; Illinois Death Index; Social Security Death Index; Chicago Public Records; Family Genealogical Research Files; Newton County Historical Records.

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