CURRY, Thomas Jenkins (1878-1958)

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Thomas Jenkins Curry was born on July 13, 1878, in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco to Adolphus Curry (1843-1927) and Alicia Ann Roberts (1845-1918).

His siblings included…

Susan Melana (1867)
Libbie Lisbon (1870)
Jospeh Wilbur (1872)
William Adolphus ‘Buster’ (1875)
Theresa Irene ‘ Tessie’ (1883)

On July 28, 1898, in Key West, Florida, Thomas married Muriel Louise Thompson (1880-1960) from Key West, Florida. She is the daughter of Hope Town native Caleb Thompson (1845-1887?) and Affie Sarah Russell (1855-1933). They divorced in 1931 in Key West, Florida.

Their children included…

Mary Eloise (1900)
Mary Juanita (1902)

On June 29, 1931, in Miami, Florida, he married Margarita Aragon (1897-1981). They divorced the following year in Monroe County.

Nicknames and Conch Tales by Walter H. Norman, aka, Akin Bungy recalls…

On Duval Street between Kress and Holtsberg’s store, there was a pool room. The F. W. Woolworth store used to occupy this building. The pool room was owned and operated by *Genie Sands and *Jenkins Curry during the 1920s and 1930s. The pool tables and other fixtures were beautiful and expensive, and I imagine the place made Genie and Jenkins a goodly amount of money, but this was only a front for the gambling room in the rear of the place. That was where the money was made. Mind you, this was in the 500 block of Duval, right in the middle of downtown Key West on the main drag and operated in broad daylight. There was a running game of craps, blackjack, dominoes, poker, casino, and any other card game you wanted to play. Everything was wide open. I know, because I played some of the games and all of the slot machines.

The pool room was only one of his contributions to the keys. He was a Monroe County Commissioner and Jenkins is credited as being “largely responsible for the first highway over the keys connecting Key West and the mainland”. This is from an article about him when he ran for Monroe County Sheriff. He was also one of the incorporators of the Florida Keys Electrical Coop.

Excerpts from The Freeman Curry House…

Freeman Curry House – Historic Walking Tour – Fun in Key West

The Freeman Curry House was built in 1865 by Samuel Filer. He was a shipbuilder and a merchant and used Dade County Pine to construct the home. He and his wife, raised their four children in the home.

Unlike a lot of Key West homes, this home has only been sold once. In 1920, the Freeman Curry family purchased the home. T. Jenkins Curry and his wife, Muriel Louise Thompson purchased the home from the Filers, having moved to Key West from the Bahamas. Mr. Curry was a descendant from the Curry family. The Curry family were Loyalists during the American Revolution. They fled the Carolinas to the Bahamas and were given a land grant from Charles III. Mr. Curry had a business in Key West and served as a County Commissioner from 1938 to 1940.

During the last century, this family has been very politically active. Six members of the family have been elected to local, county and state positions. The Monroe County Courthouse is named the Freeman Justice Center in their honor.

When the Currys moved into the home, they began to a remodeling project. First, the home was moved back forty feet, to its current location. Then the outdoor kitchen and outhouse were moved inside, along with running water. Since the home was made of Dade County Pine, including the walls, floors and ceilings, it retained an older look. This older paneled look was not popular during this time, so the walls were covered in beaver-board, a decorative material.

The home has double parlors, which double as the living room and ballrooms. They are adorned with wall murals painted in 1925. The well known Key West artist, Joaquin Barroso, was commissioned to paint the walls with scenes from the Curry’s life. The room looks like a museum.

The Currys divorced in the early 1930’s. Mr. Curry deeded the home to Louise. The home was then converted to a rooming house. Jenkins went to live in Key Largo where he was a realtor and co-founded the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative. Louise ran the rooming house and was famous for her cooking. The rooming house was prosperous with winter rates at $3 a day or $15 a week. A few years later, Jenkins suffered a stroke and returned to Key West. Louise and their daughters, cared for him until his death in 1958.

The Curry’s daughter, Eloise and her husband, William Freeman Sr. later lived in the home. They raised their two sons, David and William Jr. in the home. Mr. Freeman was active in local politics too. He served on the Key West City Council from 1927 to 1944. William Sr. was a third generation Conch. His mother descended from Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor. William was instrumental in the city buying City Electric. City Electric brought standardized electric service to the Island.

William Jr. lived in the home for his lifetime. He, also, was active in politics. He served as a County Commissioner for 20 years (1954-1974) and as State Representative from 1974-1976. He was most famous for being the Monroe County Sheriff from 1976-1988. He and his wife, Dr. Shirley Freeman, lived in the home.