A member and administrator of the Freewill Baptist congregation in New England, Curtis was one the founders of several mission schools established in the Shenandoah Valley to educated freed slaves and their children after the Civil War. Curtis was also instrumental in the founding of Storer College in Harpers Ferry.
J.R. Clifford graduated from Storer College in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. in 1874. He was the first African-American Attorney in West Virginia. Clifford also published the newspaper, "The Pioneer Press" in Martinsburg, W.Va.
Coralie Franklin Cook (1861-1942) was born into slavery and eventually became the first descendant of a Monticello slave known to have graduated from college. She graduated from Storer College in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. in 1880. She later taught elocution and English at the college and then taught at Howard University. Cook was also known for her activities relating to the Civil Rights Movement.
