Two Sisters, One Husband

While researching my Duryea roots, this family popped up.

John Duryea, born about 1842 in New York (Manhattan), and his wife, Lizzie White. Only one child, Agnes, was found in records, born about 1871 in Manhattan.

1880 census. New York City.
Household of Albert White, including married daughter Lizzie
with her husband, John Duryea, and their baby, Agnes.

I don't think that this John Duryea is descended from the original Duryea immigrant, Joost. Joost arrived in the United States one hundred years before it became the United States. He lived in what is now called Brooklyn or Kings County, New York by the 1670s.

In contrast, John Duryea's parents, according to the 1880 census, were born in Germany. His wife's parents were from Baden and Prussia. They may have adopted the Duryea surname or shared an ancestor before Joost. I have not located the death certificate of John Duryea. The names of his parents could be on his death certificate.

Agnes Duryea married John Joseph Lee (1864-1938) and had eleven children from 1892 through 1908 in Jersey City. (I have not located a marriage record.)

1910 census in Jersey City
John Lee and household
Deceased children were Mary (1892-1893) and Annie Ida (1900-1900)

This branch is notable because two of the daughters married the same man. This was not unusual, but can be a bit tricky to figure out.

Loretta (also spelled Lauretta in records) Lee married Henry Treichel (also spelled Trieckel) in Jersey City in 1916.

1916 marriage certificate
Henry Treichel and Loretta Lee married January 26, 1916
in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey

Their first child, Ruth Elizabeth, arrived the same year.

1920 census. Jersey City.
Loretta died two months after this census was recorded.

The next child, Loretta, arrived March 27, 1920. Mother Loretta died two days later from pneumonia, with pregnancy contributing.

1920 death certificate
Loretta Trieckel died March 29, 1920 in Jersey City

The following year, 1921, Henry remarried to Irene Lee- a sister of his deceased wife.

1921 marriage certificate
Henry Trieckel and Irene Lee married February 8, 1921
in Jersey City

Henry and Irene had two children, Anna Marie born in 1926, and Henry William, born 1932.

Henry died in 1956 and was buried with his first wife, Loretta, in Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City. The name was spelled Trieckel by this time. Loretta's parents, John Joseph Lee and Agnes Duryea, are also in this plot, but are not on the gravestone.

The Elusive Parents of Jane Bell

 As I seek possible records for Reuben Bishop (1804-1855), finding his marriage record to Susan C Bell (1817-1888) would possibly help. Locating young Susan and her parents could help identify Reuben's place of origin. Marriages were between local people.

Family tree of Susan C Bell (1817-1888)
showing parents, spouses, and children

The name's of Susan's parents are from the record filed with the State of New Jersey for her third marriage in 1888 to Edward Prime DeGroot (1819-1884). Her father was listed as John Bell and her mother as Jane Bockover. Edward and Susan were married in the city in which she resided, Newark, Essex County. He resided in Morristown, Morris County, which is where Susan had raised her children.

Marriage record filed with State of New Jersey
Edward P Degroot married Susan C Bell, widow of Whitehead,
February 14, 1881 in Newark.
(Enos Littell Whitehead died February 2, 1880 in Newark.)

In the Morristown and Morris Township Library, while reviewing records for Evergreen Cemetery in Morristown, I checked out the family history books. There is a Bockoven family genealogy book compiled by Mrs R Vanderhoff of Bernardsville, New Jersey. This family lived in Somerset and Morris Counties, New Jersey.

Cover page
Bockoven book by Mrs R Vanderhoff

The Bockoven book lists the original immigrant as George Bockoven (1734-1814) of Alsace. George first married Mary Whitenack (1740-1806). Their children were born from 1759 through 1786.

After Mary Whitenack died, George Bockoven remarried to Jane Bell or Ball- a widow.

George Bockoven and his first wife, Mary, were buried in the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Basking Ridge, Somerset County.

Bockoven  Bell of Somerset County, relocated to Morris County, sound like Susan C Bell should fit in with this familial group. But she is not mentioned in the book.

1812 map northern New Jersey
Baskenridge in Somerset County is less than
ten miles south of Morris in Morris county.
(Rutgers Map Collection)

A copy of this bible is also available at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton via the bible collection of the New Jersey Genealogy Society.

Bockoven bible printed in the Bockoven Book by Vanderhoff

Bockoven bible printed in the Bockoven Book by Vanderhoff

More research is needed, this time in Somerset County.

The Unknown Origins of Ruben Bishop 1805-1856

Who are the parents of Reuben Levy Bishop, my fourth great grandfather? He died in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey in 1856, age 52.

In the prior post I demonstrated why the father of Reuben is likely not Stratton Bishop (1760-1823) of Bridgeton in Cumberland County, New Jersey.

Reuben Bishop married Susan C Bell in the 1830s. Her parents were John Bell and Jane Bockoven- according to her 1881 marriage record to Edward deGroot.

From this union five children have been identified:

1. Mary Jane Bishop, born about 1836, died in 1910. Married Edward Skinner in 1854.

2. Emma Louisa Bishop, born about 1839, died in 1888. Married Silas Totten in 1856.

3. Julia Bishop, born about 1841, died in 1902. Married George Joseph Ward and William Condon.

4. William Reuben Bishop (my third great grandfather), born about 1842, died in 1915. Married Susan Jane Marsh.

5. George F Bishop, born in 1848, died 1919. Married Mary E Frances Garrabrant.

In the 1840 census, "Rheubin" Bishop was enumerated in Morris Township, Morris County, New Jersey. Two adults, one male and one female, resided with two female children under age 5. These were probably Mary Jane, born around 1836, and Emma Louisa, born around 1839. 

1840 United States Federal Census
Morris Township, Morris County, New Jersey

In 1850, Reuben Bishop was enumerated in Morris Township with his wife, Susan Bell, and all five of their children.

Reuben Bishop, age 8, is William Reuben Bishop

Register of Marriages and Deaths, Morris County, New Jersey, 1848-1867.
Volume Z.

When Reuben Bishop died in 1856, New Jersey was not issuing individual certificates. A record of his death was entered as a single line in a ledger book. (This ledger book, Volume Z, appears at Ancestry in the collection titled New Jersey, U.S., Death Index, 1848-1878, 1901-2017.) His occupation was listed as Hostler. This was someone who either tended to horses or transported cargo.

His birthplace could hold the best clue. Reuben was born in "one of the Eastern States." Hmm. So not New Jersey? We will return to this.

Places of burial are not listed on this page in the death ledger. A cemetery is also omitted from the death notice in the local paper. A possible match is in Evergreen Cemetery in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey.

findagrave.com/memorial/173374681/

The date of death is off by one day. Curiously, the burial date was years later in 1873.

I called and visited Evergreen Cemetery. The records, if any exist, cannot be shown to me. The staff did kindly bring me to this site in Section O. There is no marker for Rueben Bishop.

Site of burial of "Rueben" Bishop in 1873, next to Jane Totten.
Evergreen Cemetery, Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey.
The grounds are beautifully maintained with historical and military sections throughout.
The records, however, are not available to the public.

I wrote to the creator and manager of this memorial on Find A Grave, but have yet to receive responses. How did this person access this record? Where was Reuben from 1856, when he died, until 1873, when he was buried at this location? (I submitted updates to other memorials managed by this person. The changes were made on September 14, 2024. Thus, someone is monitoring the account.)

Materials for Evergreen Cemetery are available for in-person use at the Morristown and Morris Township Library in the Caroline Rose Foster North Jersey History and Genealogy Center. Among the items are maps, section maps, transcriptions of gravestones, and published books.

Section map of Evergreen Cemetery, Morristown, New Jersey
available at the Morristown and Morris Township Library

Section O map, Evergreen Cemetery, Morristown, New Jersey.
Ruben Bishop owned plot 53.

What is lacking in these materials are records of burials. They might only be at Evergreen Cemetery, which forbids access. Because Rueben Bishop has no stone, he does not appear in the transcriptions of stones.

I need to know where he was originally buried. This could reveal family connections. Why was he moved to (or within) Evergreen Cemetery in 1876?

Two other Bishops, William and Reuben, lived in Morris County.

1- William Bishop (1768-1844) and his wife, Susan Scofield (1773-1852), were buried at First Presbyterian Churchyard in Morristown. They were from Connecticut.

Bishop family grave at First Presbyterian Churchyard,
Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey.

William Bishop and Susannah Scofield married March 31, 1796
in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Transcription.
Collection at Ancestry

Was my Reuben from Connecticut also? Is this why his death record listed his birth as "one of the Eastern States?"

My Reuben named a son William.

2- An earlier Reuben Bishop of Morris County.

In 1829 Reuben Bishop sold property in Chatham to Vincent Boisaubin and Dr Henry Prentiss Green.

Reuben Bishop appeared on an 1814 tax list in Chatham. He owned one horse.

3- Levi Bishop and family were enumerated in the 1855 New Jersey State census in Chatham. Only heads of household are named. In this residence were an adult male and female, two female children, and two male children.

I wonder if this is my Reuben Levy Bishop listed by his middle name.

Next research strategies:

---Continue searching for records in Morris County and neighboring counties in New Jersey.

---Research these Bishop families in Connecticut.

---Mine the DNA matches