Arthur Curtis Rye was born January 7, 1897 in Marion County, Alabama. He was the son of James Andrew "Jimmy" and Lula Belle Huffman Rye. Arthur Curtis Rye grew up in the Rye Beat area of Marion County, Alabama. Florence Lewis was born April 29, 1896 in Marion County, the daughter of John Boley Lewis III and Samantha Jane Jeffreys Lewis. Curt and Florence Rye married on April 6, 1919. They had five children: Jesse Curtis Rye, Grace Rye, Jewel Florence Rye, Olga Mae Rye, and Hubert Ray "Pete" Rye.

Curt Rye was inducted in the United States Army on September 16, 1918 at Hamilton, Alabama. He served as a Private in Company K, 331st Infantry American Expeditionary Forces from October 28, 1918 until January 26, 1919. He received his discharge on February 8, 1919 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

Curt Rye assisted in his father Jimmy Rye in his pottery business. Florence Rye taught adult classes at Huffman, Harris and Cobb Town community schools until around 1923. They farmed some and in 1944 they moved the family to Adrian, Michigan where Curt worked in the Defense Plant. They moved back to Marion County, Alabama around 1949. They were members of the Church of Christ. Curt Rye died October 21, 1978. Florence Rye died November 20, 1978. They are buried at Hamilton Memory Gardens, Marion County, Alabama.

Adapted from The Heritage of Marion County, Alabama
© 2000 The Marion County Heritage Book Committee