Triangulation soon at 23andMe?

One of the DNA accounts I manage at 23andMe finally received notice to update in preparation for the transition to the new website format, which has been promised for over six months.  The main function of updating the account is to complete a new survey on ancestry and confirm access to health results.

A new feature that I do not have access to is viewing relatives in common with other relatives and whether or not all three parties share on the same segment of DNA or different segments.  This triangulation is necessary to assign areas of one's genome to the proper contributing ancestor, so I would really like to be able to start using this tool.  (Read here for an explanation of how I did this with ancestors from Morris County, New Jersey.)

Bible Records in a Newspaper

While perusing the Pine Plains Herald (Dutchess County, New York) at FultonHistory, I came across an article from 1880 describing family records in a bible.  The surname is Strever, a variant of Striebel.  Related surnames include Hoysradt and Dings.  Children were born in the 1700s and early 1800s.

If anyone has these actual pages from the bible, let us know.  It will be interesting to see if this bible or any other transcripts survived.

"Sketch of an Old Settler"

Marriage after Divorce

The record for my great grandfather's second marriage arrived in the mail a few weeks after ordering from the New York City Municipal Archives.  Howard Lutter married Fiorita Lorenz on October 10, 1928 in New York City.

Fiorita's address, 164 South Eleventh Street in Newark, New Jersey, was the home of Clara Uhl, Howard's mother.

Howard divorced Ethel Laurel Winterton in 1927.  ["E Laural" in the 1927 city directory above.]  Their divorce record included testimony from Fiorita, herself married.  Fiorita should have an interesting divorce record for her marriage with James Howard Winnie.

This 1928 marriage record provided the names of Fiorita's parents, Christian Lorenz and Louisa Schneider.  Fiorita died in California in 1969.  The informant, Fiorita's daughter Rita Curtis, was unable to recall the names of Fiorita's parents.

Fiorita was living in Newark, New Jersey in the 1910 census with "cousin" Adolf Eberhardt and his wife, Emilie, and their children.  Emilie, not Adolf, was probably Fiorita's cousin, as her surname was Lorenz.  Emilie and Adolf's daughter, Annie, married Conrad Ley.  Ann was the "distant relative" that Fiorita arranged to watch Howard Lutter's children.

Howard Lutter and "Rita" traveled to Trinidad in 1931.  Fiorita listed her naturalization "through marriage, Selma, Alabama, 1910."  I have not been able to find a record of the marriage, presumably to James Howard Winnie.

The next step was ordering the application for the 1928 marriage in New York City.  The indexes 1908-1929 were recently released via Reclaim the Records and can be viewed at Archive.org.  When it arrives, I will post and review.  The application is a separate document from the marriage certificate pictured above and may provide additional information.

Amanuensis Monday: Bible of Reverend John Hudson Duryea

A Duryea family bible found its way to me via eBay.  (Thanks Uncle Howard!)

Bible as advertised on eBay

The bible itself was published in 1838.  In the front are loose papers from the Jerome and Leach families.  Within the bible are records for John Hudson Duryea (1810-1895) and his wives.  The connection that I can figure out is:  Richard Jerome (born 1753) and Esther Leach (born 1760) were the maternal grandparents of Spencer Cone Blake (1835-1911), who married Harriet Wallace (1839-1921).  Harriet's mother, Elizabeth Thompson (1815-1852), was the second wife of Reverend John Hudson Duryea.  Reverend Duryea served at the Second Reformed Church in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey.

Reverend Theodore W Welles, the author of this book, married Reverend Duryea's daughter,
Mary Sophia Duryea, on April 24, 1900, according to the family bible.

Book mark.  Counted cross stitch.
"Feed they sheep and lambs."
Bible Rev J H Duryea.
Bible P Bogert.

Someone transcribed this original record from another bible.  The pages are loose inside the Duryea bible.
Note that the transcript is inaccurate.

I did not unfold the papers because they are too fragile.

The corresponding original paper for this transcript is missing.

The corresponding original paper for this transcript is missing.

PAGES WITHIN THE BIBLE

I transcribed the records for easier finding online and preservation.

HANDWRITTEN PAGE

Richard Jerom and Esther Leach joined in

Mariage Covenant June 11 [crossed out] 21 1789.

Richard born September 28 1753.

Esther his wife born July 22 1760.

Our Children  births  is as followeth

Irene born March 29th D ~ 1790 ~

Richard born December 16th D ~ 1792 ~ [corrected to 1791?]

Clarisa born January 10 D ~ 1793 ~

Olive born March 27th D ~ 1795 ~

Nancy born May 20th D ~ 1797 ~

Sally born August [?]th D ~ 1799 ~

Lovina born December 29th D ~ 1801 ~

Mary born May 18th D ~ 1804 ~

Richard Jerom Grand Son

David J Peck born September 25th 1811

Olive Rogers died December 19th 1820 - - Aged 25

Clarisa Rineford died October 27th 1821  Aged 28

Richard Jerome died May 15th 1837  Aged 83

Irene Jerome died May 15 1841  Age 57

[?] died January 10 1844  Aged 83

[Illegible]

HANDWRITTEN PAGE

Lovina Stebbins died October 30 1856  Aged 54

Anson Hillman died January 3 1870  Aged 37 and 4 months

Mary Darrow died Jany 3d 1842  Aged 38

OTHER SIDE OF HANDWRITTEN PAGE

John Jerome

Arrived in America about 1735 coming from France to escape persecution – first landing on Isle of Wight.

3 brothers came together – John – Augustus – and Stephen.

Augustus stayed in N. Y.

TYPED (NO ORIGINAL FOUND)

From the “Jerome” Bible

King James – Oxford Edition – 1776

Joseph Leach & Mary Rogers Joyned in Marriage Covenant

April 22, A.D. 1739

Joseph born Feb. 12, 1710 – Mary, his wife, born May 7, 1718.

Our children’s Births & Deaths is as followeth.

Joseph, born August 13th, 1740

Daniel, born April 30th, 1742

Amos, born Jan. 24th, 1744

Amos, born Feb. 17th, 1746

Mary, born Feb. 1st, 1748

Abraham, born Feb. 17th, 1750

Esther, born April 20, 1752

                Esther dec’d this life March 5, 1753

Isaac, born Jan 27, 1754

Esther, ye 2^nd daught. born July 22, 1760

James, dec’d this life Oct. 2, 1764, aged 21 years

Isaac, dec’d this life Jan. 21, 1772, aged 18 years

Amos, dec’d this life October 8, 1774, aged 28 years.

From the second page.

Esther Jeroms Book

Richard H Jerom

Richard Jerome in the Year of Our Lord (?)

Esther Jerome in the Year of our Lord (?)

Note: Spelled as written.

NEXT TYPED PAGE (SEE ORIGINAL)

From page in back of Bible

Richard Jerom & Esther Leach, Joined in Mariage Covenant

June 21, 1739

Richard, born September 21, 1793.

Esther, his Wife, Born July 22, 1760

[In pencil:  21 yrs later than 1^st Esther]

Our children births is as followeth:

Irene, born March 29th, 1790

Richard, born December 14th, 1792

Clarisa, born January 10, 1793

Olive, born March 27th, 1795

Nancy, born May 20th, 1797

Sally, born August 1st, 1799

Lovina, born December 29^th, 1801

Mary, born May 1st, 1804

Richard Jerome Grand Son

David J Peck, born September 25th, 1811

Olive Rogers, born December 19th, 1820

Clarisa Rixford, born October 27th, 1821

Richard Jerome, died May 15^th, 1834, aged 83

Irene Jerome died May 15^th, 1841, age 54

Esther, wife, died January 10, 1899, age 83

Lovina Stebbins, died October 30, 1896, aged 54

Mary Darrow, died January 3rd, 1862, age 38

[In pencil:  There was another Mary Darrow, related to Ephriam or Percy Lyon.]

Inside 1838 “Duryea” bible

MARRIAGES

Robert Wallace and Elizabeth Thompson

Married Sept 15th 1836

John Hudson Duryea and Elizabeth T Wallace

Married April 10th 1844

John H Duryea and Sarah Jane Burhans

Married Decr 12, 1854

John Hudson Duryea and Sophia Townsley

Married Sept 5, 1837

Spencer C Blake and Harriet S Wallace

Sept 16, 1862

Richard W Dockson and Sarah T Wallace

June 20, 1876

John H Duryea Jr and Emma Mundy

Married Decr 24th 1881

Theodore W Welles and Mary Sophia Duryea

Married April 24th 1900

BIRTHS

Robert Wallace born March 13th 1812

Elizabeth Thompson born Oct 18th 1815

John Hudson Duryea born November 28th 1810

Sophia Townsley born March 3, 1817

Sarah Jane Burhans born July 19, 1822

Richard W Dockson born Decr 16, 1829

Theodore W Welles born May 6th 1839

Sarah Wallace was born June 19th 1837

William Wallace was born Augt 29th 1838

Harriet S Wallace was born Novemr 22d 1839

John Hudson Duryea was born March 12, 1845

Robert T Duryea was born May 12, 1846

Mary Sophia Duryea born April 30, 1849

Elizabeth Duryea born April 3, 1851

Emma Duryea born 1857

DEATHS

Robert Wallace died August 8th 1839

William Wallace son of Robert and Elizabeth T died September 6th 1839

Sophia T Duryea died Sept 6, 1842

Revd John Hudson Duryea died Augt 7th 1895

Sara Jane Burhans widow of Rev. John H Duryea, D. D. died May 9th 1909 aged 86 years, 9 m, 20d.

Harriet S Wallace, widow of Spencer C Blake, died Sept 18th 1921.

John Hudson Duryea died Feb 14th 1923.

Emma Duryea wife of John Hudson Duryea died Dec 28th 1924.

Robert T Duryea son of John H and Elizabeth T Duryea died March 15, 1850.

Elizabeth T Duryea died Febr 21, 1852.

Elizabeth T Druyea daughter of John H and Elizabeth T Duryea died Febr 14, 1864 aged 12 yrs, 10m, 11d.

Richard W Dockson died May 4, 1877 aged 47 years, 4m, 18d.

Spencer C Blake died July 4th 1911.

Sarah T Dockson died July 8th 1924.

INVITATION

Mr Samuel Duryea

Present

Mrs Elizabeth Wallace compliments to Mr and Mrs Duryea requesting the pleasure of their company on Wednesday morning the 10th inst at 9 oclock.

Crawford April 6th 1877

Death Certificate Not Enough

The death certificate for Alexander Lutter has arrived.  He died in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois on December 23, 1897.  Unfortunately, his parents are not listed.  He was 33 years old when he died of "fatty degeneration of the heart."  Is he a brother of my great great grandfather, Herman Lutter?  We still do not know.

I obtained the date of death from a local newspaper, but the Cook County Archives were initially unable to locate a certificate.  (Alexander's wife, Ottilie Dahlke, died in 1904.  Her death certificate was easily found and listed Waldheim Cemetery as the place of burial.  Two cemeteries share this name, but neither could locate a record of this Lutter branch.  One is still named Waldheim; the other is now Forest Home Cemetery.)

Alexander Lutter does not appear in the online index through Cook County's search page.  Actually, no deaths for the year 1897 appear in this index.

Recently FamilySearch.org produced an index of deaths in Cook County.  Alexander Lutter appeared.  I reapplied for the death certificate via postal mail to the Cook County Clerk and received the death certificate in a few weeks.

The death certificate referenced a coroner's report.  An online index provided the location of this record.  I sent away for a copy.  The slightest clue could help place this piece of the puzzle into a larger picture.

This is done as a quest to find Alex Lutter, a witness to the marriage of my great great grandparents, Herman Lutter (1860-1924) and Clara Uhl (1864-1955) in 1888 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.  I find no record of an Alexander Lutter in Newark and no connection between the Chicago Lutters and my Lutters.  Herman Lutter's will mentioned children of two siblings, Otto and Ottilie, but not Alexander.

The only hint that tells me that I could be on the right path is a DNA match at AncestryDNA to a great great granddaughter of Alex Lutter and Ottlie Dahlke through their daughter, Emma, who married Frank Scaar.  This person has not responded to my inquiries.

Additional Details for a Family Story

One of the family stories of my maternal grandmother was that her grandmother, Delia Joyce (1862-1929), was a baby when her mother threw her to safety just as she was dragged to her death by a train.

The 1870 federal census has an accompanying mortality schedule that listed people who died in the year 1870 before the census commenced on June 1st.  Mary Joyce was on this mortality schedule in Pawling, Dutchess County, New York, as being killed by "cars" in May of 1870.  Her widower, Patrick Joyce, and four children, Mary, Adelia (Delia), John, and James were enumerated on the actual census.

Absent a death certificate, additional information was sought from newspapers.  The accident was in Katonah, south of Pawling in Westchester County, New York.  One article did not mention a child and another mentioned an infant child.  Delia was about seven years old at the time of the accident, so the focus was on one of her younger brothers as the baby who was saved.

I just found some more newspaper articles about this tragedy that clarify that the child was female, though she is not named and could have been Delia or her older sister Mary.  The articles appeared June 21st in the New York Herald and June 22nd in the Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser.

The key to finding these articles was by not using Mary's name as a search term.  Instead, I looked for articles containing Katonah (where the accident occurred) and Pawling (where Mary lived) with the narrow date of May or June of 1870.

Two newspapers carried the article about "a respectable married woman" from Pawling, not named, whose leg was "almost sever[ed]" by the train as she attempted to disembark when the train started to depart so that she did not leave her daughter who was already safely on the platform.

According to another article, Mary lived a few hours.

Mary (who was born as Mary or Margaret Campbell in Ireland, according to the records of her children), should not have been on the 1870 mortality schedule if she died after June 1st.  Perhaps her husband could not recall the exact date of death and the census recorder noted her information for the month of May.  Good thing this rule was bent because I may have never found any information on this sad story if Mary had not appeared on that mortality schedule.