Sunday, October 1, 2023

Benefit for the Widow and Children of George Duryea 1864

Found on eBay- 

this small card measuring two and a half by four inches.

A child in Victorian garb is depicted on one side.

Reproduction of a painting.
Child holding an open book. Wavy hair to the shoulders.
Shirt sleeve rolled up past the elbow.
Garments tied around the waist. Skirt to the knees.
Toes peeking out.

The other side is what interested me.


The card was trimmed at the sacrifice of the wording. From what I can ascertain, the inscription reads:

          Grand Ball
          of the
          ---ds and Clever Fellows' Jr. Club,
          ---d of the widow and children of the late officer
          George W. Duryea,
          at Irving Hall,
          -illegible-

George Washington Duryea (1823-1864) was the brother of my third great grandfather, Stephen Cornell Duryea (1814-1887). He was killed on May 16, 1864 in New York City while working as a police officer.

Notice of death and funeral services for George W Duryea
in The New York Herald

I did not find much about this club. I saw a few mentions in the newspapers about other benefits for widows and children hosted by the Clever Fellows.
Notice of benefit by the Clever Fellows Club, 1865
in The New York Times

George's widow, Rene Brewer (1824-1904) (who was also my fourth great grandmother), did not remarry. She died in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, on August 7, 1904. She and George had six children together. When George was killed, they ranged in age from four to sixteen years old.

To find family heirlooms on eBay, set up emails of saved searches containing the surname. If the surname is common, or is a word in its own right, you will need to add other search parameters to narrow down the results.



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