Multiple Marriages in the 1910 Census

The United States federal census provides a framework for tracing families every ten years (except the mostly destroyed 1890). Later census forms asked more detailed questions of all members of households.

Marital status became a question in 1880.

The 1910 census asked two questions about marital status:

Question 8. Whether single, married, widowed, or divorced.

Question 9. Number of years of present marriage.

Questions on the 1910 federal census.
Questions 8 and 9 pertained to marital status.

Enumerators were to mark answers in accordance with rules that are not reflected on the census form. The rule for question 8: ". . . if this is the first marriage, write 'M1,' but if this is the second or subsequent marriage, write 'M2' (meaning married more than once)."

Instructions to the enumerator about how to record the answer
to Question 8 about marital status

Answers on the census can be wildly inaccurate. But the 1910 census can mislead the researcher with the answers about marriage. M1 means first marriage, but M2 means more than one marriage, not necessarily the second marriage.

We will look at two people to illustrate this question in the 1910 census, Albert Baldwin Duryea (1853-1924) and Minnie Tuthill (1870-1941).

Albert Baldwin Duryea

Albert was the son of George Winfield Duryea (1823-1892) and Barbara Ann Savidge (1825-18xx). He was born around 1853, probably in Montgomery, Somerset County, New Jersey.

On March 18, 1882 Albert married Margaret Lear Heavener (1851-1903) in Upper Black Eddy, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This union produced two children, Paul Gamble Duryea (1883-1966) and Edwin Jayne Duryea (1886-1942).

On May 6, 1905 Albert married Virginia Stryker (1854-1907) in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Virginia was the widow of William S Barr. She died two and a half years later from cancer of the bowels.

Marriage certificate
Albert B Duryea and Virginia S Stryker
married May 6, 1905
in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey

On May 15, 1908 Albert married Elizabeth Tinsman Morris (1850-1925) in Trenton.

Marriage certificate
Albert Baldwin Duryea and Elizabeth Morris Comly
married May 15, 1908
in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey

This brings us to the 1910 census. Albert Duryea and his wife Elizabeth were enumerated in Trenton with a boarder, William Hillpot.

1910 federal census in Trenton, New Jersey
Household of Albert Duryea

For Question 8, "M2" is written for the marital status of Albert and Elizabeth. Elizabeth had at least one prior marriage (looks like "Comly") on her marriage certificate to Albert. We found three marriages for Albert. This is an illustration of M2 properly indicating more than one marriage and not second marriage.

Close up of 1910 federal census
Albert was on marriage number 3. "M2" was the correct response.

Minnie Tuthill

Tuthill or Tuttle and variations is a popular name from Suffolk County, New York. Minnie was born around 1870 in Riverhead to Albert Daniel Tuthill (1846-1920) and Hannah Erskine (1847-1927).

Minnie's marital history is vague at times, but we will see what we can see.

On January 10, 1887 Minnie C Tuthill married John Edwin Duryea in Riverhead- according to the New York State Marriage Index. As of this writing, New York is still refusing to release genealogical copies of records.

In the 1900 census, Minnie Gusswiller was enumerated in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey with her husband, Frank Gusswiller. They were married for nine years. She had six children, four still living, listed with birth years from 1888 through 1899, all using the surname Gusswiller.

John E Duryea died February 22, 1901 in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey. 

Death certificate of John E Duryea
died February 22, 1901
in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey.

If Minnie Tuthill married Frank Gusswiller around 1891, she would have need to have divorced her first husband, John Duryea. I use "if" because I have not found a possible entry in the marriage indexes for Minnie and Frank in New Jersey, New York, and New York City.

This brings us to the 1910 census. Minnie Woodin and her husband, William Woodin, were enumerated in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York. His marital status was "M1," married five years. Her marital status was "M2," married five years. She had ten children, six still living. With them were five children. Four children were named Gusswiller and were ages 9 through 19. William Woodin, final child, was three years old.

1910 federal census in Poughkeepsie, New York
Household of William Woodin

Close up of 1910 federal census
Minnie was on marriage number 2 or 3. "M2" was the correct response.

The answer "M2" means that she was married at least twice and is not indicative of whether she and Frank Gusswiller actually married.

Minnie continued marrying after the 1910 census. In the 1920 census, Minnie Woodin, married, was still in Poughkeepsie, but without a husband. From the New York State marriage indexes we find that on October 20, 1920 Minnie M Trythill aka Gussweller married John Henry in Beacon, Dutchess County; on July 27, 1937 Minnie Henry married Charles Hults.

Minnie M Hults died December 25, 1941 in Poughkeepsie.

Obituary of Minnie M Hults (born Tuttle or Tuthill)
December 27, 1941

Minnie's husbands as far as I can tell:

1887  John Edwin Duryea (1867-1901)

18xx  Frank X Gusswiller (1862-19xx)

19xx  William J Woodin (1868-19xx)

1920  John Henry (18xx-19xx)

1937  Charles Hults (1865-1954)

Minnie's children as far as I can find:

Edith Mabel May Duryea (1888-1943)

Everett Tuthill Duryea (1890-1937)

Elnora Frances Gusswiller (1893-1893)

Theresa Tessie Gusswiller (1895-1975)

Frances Gusswiller (1897-1898)

Ivon Albert Gusswiller (1898-1969)

Elsie Gusswiller (1901-1991)

William James Woodin (1906-1983)

Leon Ellsworth Woodin (1910-1987)

A note about Edith, the daughter of John E Duryea and Minnie Tuthill: she had a troubled life. She was born May 16, 1888 in Jersey City.

Birth certificate
Edith Mabel Duryea
born May 16, 1888 in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.
First child of John E Duryea and Minnie M Tuthill.

Newspaper article from the Evening Journal of Jersey City November 21, 1907.
"Mrs Gussmiller angry at her arrest."

In the 1910 census, Edith "Gusswiller" was an "inmate" at Laurel Hill in Secaucus, Hudson County. This institution housed those who were mentally ill or infirm. It was also called Snake Hill, or Hudson County Insane Asylum, and still exists today as "Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital." Edith was still there in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses, but under the name Duryea, not Gusswiller.

This is why I think that the baby named "Peter Duryea or Gussweller" was hers. I did not find a birth certificate for him, but he was issued a death certificate. He died at the Hudson County Insane Hospital on January 21, 1913 from inanition. His date of birth was December 13, 1912. He was "out of wedlock." Only his mother was listed on his death certificate- "Edith Duryea or Gussweller."

I searched unsuccessfully for a marriage between Duryea and Gussweller. With the additional information gathered about Minnie Tuthill and her daughter, Edith Duryea, I think that Peter was the baby of Edith.

Death certificate of Peter Duryea or Gussweller.
Died January 21, 1913 at the Hudson County Insane Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Age 1 month. Mother- Edith Duryea or Gussweller.
Burial at Laurel Hill. Undertaker Alms House.

Burials at Laurel Hill were unmarked, which was not an unusual practice at such institutions. Laurel Hill burials included not only people from the insane asylum, but also from the alms house, tuberculosis hospital, and jail. Records were kept, but supposedly Hudson County cannot find them today. In 2002, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority sought to extend part of the Turnpike (Interstate 95) into the burial area and found bones and artifacts when construction crews started digging. It is thought that over 10,000 people were buried in this area.

When Edith Duryea died in 1943, she too was buried in an unmarked grave at Laurel Hill. Her usual address was in Poughkeepsie, connecting her to her late mother's residence since at least 1910.

Death certificate of Edith Duryea
died December 29, 1943 in Secaucus, Hudson County, New Jersey
at the Hudson County Hospital for Incurable Diseases.
Burial at Laurel Hill.

For pictures and further reading on Laurel Hill and the burials, see Weird New Jersey and this article from NJ dot com.

When reviewing the 1910 census, be mindful that the answer "M2" for a married person means that this is at least the second marriage. You would still need to use other records to discover marriages and their disposition.

Two Death Certificates for a Soldier

I found another death certificate filed in two states. The difference from the prior finding is that the death occurred in North Carolina instead of Pennsylvania and that the deceased was an active member of the military when he died.

Carl Bagley Duryee (1918-1942) resided in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey with his parents, Stanley Loveman Duryee (1893-1978) and Elsie Lee Waite (1893-1971). Around July of 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army to serve in World War II. He was sent for training to Camp Davis in Onslow County, North Carolina. While stationed there, he married Selma Helen ONeil (1916-2012) on December 21, 1941.

Within three weeks of his marriage, Carl was admitted to the military hospital at Camp Davis with a brain bleed followed by clotting and pneumonia. He lingered for four weeks, dying on February 4, 1942.

A death certificate was filed in North Carolina. These death certificates are available online in a database on Ancestry (North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976).

Death certificate filed in North Carolina
Carl Bagley Duryee
died February 4, 1942 in North Carolina
while a soldier in the United States Army

A death certificate was also filed in New Jersey. These are not online, but rather on microfilm in the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton.

Death certificate filed in New Jersey
Carl Bagley Duryee
died February 4, 1942 in North Carolina
while a soldier in the United States Army

These death certificates do not indicate that Carl's condition was caused by external trauma. Maybe this was a natural stroke, in spite of his youth. His obituary did not mention the causes or circumstances of his death.

Carl's widow, Selma, remarried in 1945 to Aubrey B Howland (1914-2004). Carl's father "gave the bride away" at this ceremony in Long Branch, New Jersey.

Thank you, Carl Bagley Duryee, for your service.

Death Record in Two States

Sometimes an out-of-state death record is filed in New Jersey. I have seen this most often with military-related deaths.

Edwin Jayne Duryea (1886-1942) died at the United States Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A copy of his Pennsylvania death certificate appeared New Jersey's deaths for 1942. (New Jersey death certificates are housed on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives and are not online.) He was a resident of New Jersey, not Pennsylvania. He was not active in the military at the time of this death, but was an inpatient at a military hospital for over two months.

Death certificate of Edwin J Duryea,
died March 8, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Filed in New Jersey.
Printed image from microfilm.

Screenshot of the negative image of microfilm

Ancestry has a database of Pennsylvania death certificates (Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1973). This is a color reproduction of the records. Edwin's Pennsylvania death certificate in this collection is not identical to the certificate filed in New Jersey.

Collection at Ancestry

Edwin's full middle name was given on the death certificate filed in Pennsylvania, but only the initial was written on the certificate filed in New Jersey.

The Pennsylvania death certificate has a second side. This is the next image, so remember to click when viewing online. This side tells us that Edwin served in the Army in the World War (World War I) in the 146th Infantry, rank of sergeant, from April 4, 1918 through April 7, 1919. His brother was Paul G Duryea of Trenton, New Jersey.

Edwin was born July 21, 1886 in Frenchtown, Hunterdon County, New Jersey to Albert B Duryea (1853-1924) and Margaret Lear Heavener (1851-1903). His given name on this document was Edward, not Edwin.

Birth certificate of Edward J Duryea, 1886 in New Jersey.
Note that the mother's full age is given: 34 years, 8 months, and 17 days.

Thank you, Edwin Jayne Duryea, for your service.

Pocket Watch of Peter S Duryee 1922

A pocket watch of Peter S Duryee is up for auction on eBay. The item is located in Australia, far from its origins.

EBay listing for pocket watch engraved for Peter S Duryee

The manufacturer was Illinois Watch Company, which still exists today.

Cover of watch is engraved P S D

Picture of engraving on the watch

The engraving reads:

Peter S Duryee
Vice President 1914-1919
President 1920-1921
A Token of appreciation of his devoted

and able services to the

Knickerbocker Country Club

from his associates on the

Board of Trustees

January 27th 1922

There were many men named Peter Duryee or Duryea. This particular watch probably belonged to Peter Stanford Duryee (1873-1954). He was born, raised, lived, and died in the City of Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey. 

Peter's parents were Jacob Augustus Duryee (1841-1886) and Arenia Graves Ruggles (1844-1911). 

On November 8, 1900 Peter married Pauline Julia Clephane (1875-1954). They had two daughters. Pauline Clephane Duryee (1903-1985) married Anton Gysberti Hardy. Margaret Ruggles Duryee (1904-2000) married Albert Whitney Rhodes.

Peter had many endeavors throughout his life. He began as a coffee and tea merchant. He actively raised funds for charities. He became a banker during the World War, circa 1917. He held top positions at various financial firms. He was one of the first commissioners of the Englewood Police. He was also a trustee of the New York and New Jersey Railroad Company and served on the board of directors of Englewood Hospital.

In 1954, Peter died on May 12. His wife, Pauline, died nine days later. They were buried in Brookside Cemetery in Englewood.

More Confusing Birth Records

In a prior article, we reviewed the 1877 birth record of a male child, not named, which was in error for a female child named Lucy Lutter. 

In reviewing births of Duryea children, we have two more instances of incorrect sex on the birth record.

On January 10, 1901, a "male" child was born to John Duryea (1866-1940) and Anna Belle Bogert (1865-1957) in Franklin Township, Bergen County, New Jersey.

Birth certificate of male baby born January 10, 1901
in Franklin Township, Bergen County, New Jersey

Layout on microfilm of birth certificate and correction to birth record

Birth certificates are on microfilm. This birth certificate for a male was corrected in 1937. The form for corrections was filmed next to the original birth certificate. The sex was corrected from male to female. The unnamed child became Alice Janette Duryea. Confusion was averted because the correction was available with the incorrect birth certificate.

Correction to birth of unnamed male Duryea to female Alice Janette Duryea
filed January 30, 1937

For Irvin W Duryee, this confusion was not corrected in the birth records.

On February 17, 1900, a "female" child was born to Charles Cruiser Duryee (1850-1927) and Alice Lavalet (1868-1920) in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.

Birth certificate of female Duryee born February 17, 1900
in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey

In the 1900 federal census, Charles and Alice had four children. The youngest was a son, Irvin W, born February 1900. No daughters.

On August 24, 1900, Irvin W Duryee died. He was 6 months and 7 days old. He was buried in Fairmount Cemetery in Newark.

Death certificate of Irvin W Duryee August 24, 1900
in Jersey City

To figure out this discrepancy of unnamed female birth and male death certificate, I assembled all the children of Charles and Alice.

Nine children of Charles Cruiser Duryee and Alice Lavalet
born between 1886 and 1905 in New York and New Jersey

The couple probably had ten children. I found seven birth certificates.

I do not know when Charles and Alice married. Harry Milton was their oldest child in the 1900 census. He was either their first or second child. He appears in the index of births for the State of New York.

Births for the year 1886 in the State of New York
Database at Ancestry

New York State stopped issuing copies of vital records. Unlike New Jersey, you cannot visit a repository and view and copy the certificates. This entry in the index is the closest we can achieve for the birth record of Harry Milton. He was born September 13, 1886 in Oyster Bay, Queens County, New York. Because we cannot access the actual record, we cannot see if he was child number 1 or child number 2.

Beginning with Mary Elizabeth in 1892, the children were born in New Jersey.

Mary's birth certificate anchors the numbers. She was child number three; two are living. The other living child was Harry; the deceased child's name and date of birth is unknown as of this writing.

Birth certificate of Mary Elizabeth Duryee
born February 24, 1892 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.

No birth record for Herbert Hammell Duryee was found for a date of March 7, 1893. He was child number 4.

Child 5 was Charlotte L. Child 6 was Russell Sage.

Child 7 was the confusing female or Irvin/Irwin of 1900.

The child immediately after Irvin was Loraine on December 19, 1901. Although now a female name, this was a male child. The issue was that the birth certificate could not be located because the index from 1901 was illegible.

Index of Births in New Jersey for the year 1901

Birth certificates were filed by certificate number until 1904. Without this number, it is very difficult to locate a particular record among the rolls of microfilm. For years, the only Duryea birth certificate that I had from 1901 was Alice.

Rolls of microfilm containing images of birth certificates
for New Jersey year 1901.
New Jersey State Archives.

The release of the Geographic Birth Index 1901-1929 enables us to find certificates when the handwritten indexes are illegible.

Geographic Birth Index for New Jersey.
Unnamed child of C and A Duryee born in Jersey City December 19, 1901.

Male Duryee was born December 19, 1901 in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. He was child 8 with 4 still living.

Birth certificate of male Duryee born December 19, 1901 in Jersey City.
This child became known as Loraine Albert.

Thus, we can see that no other child, except "female" or Irvin/Irwin, was likely born between Russell Sage in 1898 and male (Loraine Robert) in 1901. Irvin's birth certificate misstated him as female.

Remember while searching the Geographic Birth Index at Ancestry that not all entries on the typed page appear in the Ancestry index.

This article was written in memory of Richard Alan McCool, researcher of the Duryea families. He helped me craft my skills in genealogical research and inspired me to persist until I linked my "stray" Duryea line to the larger family in New York.

Richard's efforts spanned decades, thoroughly and accurately documenting the Duryeas and collateral lines.

He passed away last month.

New York City Ledger Books

Older New York City births, marriages, and deaths with images are on Ancestry ("New York, New York, U.S., Vital Records, Births 1847-1897, Marriages 1847-1903, Deaths 1798-1900"). The earliest year is 1795- people who died from yellow fever in Manhattan. These are ledger books- not individual certificates.

Caroline Duryea, age 27. Died May 14, 1851 in Manhattan.
Dropsy of brain. Interment in Dutch Reformed, Harlem.

The links on Ancestry may not bring you to the exact page of the record. Search a few pages earlier and later if you do not see the target entry.

Based on the years contained in the title of this collection, you might think that there is overlap with the collection located on the website of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services ("DORIS"). The difference appears to be that the collection at Ancestry contains the collective ledger books, while the collection at DORIS contains the individual records, which started around 1866.

It may be possible that some events appear in a ledger book and an individual record. If anyone finds examples, please comment below.

Not all people and events made it into these ledger books. For example, I cannot find a record of death for John Evenshirer. He probably died sometime between 1842, when he married Rene Brewer, and 1847, when she remarried.

These images with indexes have been available at FamilySearch, but at a Family History Center and not at home. Now they can be found and viewed from home via Ancestry. The images at FamilySearch are probably from microfilm and in black and white. The images at Ancestry are high-resolution, color images of the originals.

Index of New York City Municipal Deaths
FamilySearch.org

John H Duryea died in 1836, leaving behind his pregnant wife, Sarah Moffat (1815-1896), and their daughter, Catherine Jane (1834-1906). I had his will, but his entry in the ledger of deaths is great to also have. His cause of death was consumption, now known as tuberculosis.

John H Duryea, age 29 years, 3 months, 26 days.
Died May 6, 1836 in Manhattan.

I think I found a surprise baby of John and Sarah. Garret S Duryea died November 9, 1832 in Manhattan on Spring Street. His age was one year and six months. He was likely the first child of this couple. John's father was also named Garret S Duryea.

Garret S Duryea, age 1 year, 6 months.
Died November 9, 1832 in Manhattan.

The next topic to tackle in these records of death is the places of burial- now gone from the crowded landscape of modern-day Manhattan.

John and baby Garret were buried in First Baptist. They lived at 326 Spring Street in between Greenwich and Washington Streets, on the west side of the island.

I did not find much about First Baptist. The cemetery is on Find A Grave. New York City Cemetery Project featured an article with some details. On the lower east side, on North Street (now called Houston), was the First Baptist Church with adjoining land used as a graveyard. The bodies were reinterred at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn. The website of Cypress Hills Cemetery has a Find a Loved One search, but I did not find any entries that could match John or Garret.

Randel Map Number 1 from New York City Cemetery Project

Notice the angle of the adjoining church property to the cemetery. A condominium building, 14 Second Avenue Condominium, now sits atop this strip of land at the same angle.

2025 aerial view of Houston Street, location of First Baptist Cemetery

2025 map of Houston Street, Manhattan, New York
showing location of First Baptist Church and burial area

Randel maps were created over 200 years ago, showing the layout of streets and properties in Manhattan. This website beautifully lays out the corresponding geographical location of the smaller maps.

Website to access Randel Maps of Manhattan circa 1820
thegreatestgrid.mcny.org/greatest-grid/randel-map-gallery

Caroline Duryea, a later death in 1851, was buried much further north in Harlem Dutch Reformed. This cemetery is also gone. The physical church structure moved around the neighborhood over the centuries. In 1851, in the New York City directory, the church's address was Third Avenue and 122nd Street. There is still a church there, renamed Elmendorf Reformed. The burying ground predates the moves of the physical church buildings. As of this writing, I have not found a definitive map of the perimeter of the burying ground, but it was in the area of First Avenue and 125th and 126th Streets.

1851 New York City directory
Harlem Dutch Reformed Church
Minister Jeremiah S Lord
122d (Street), corner Avenue 3

A portion of the burying ground became dedicated to the burial of people of African descent, but fell out of use and was forgotten over time. In 2008 the graveyard was discovered when Metropolitan Transportation Authority dug to build a bus depot.

Beginning in 1869 some of the bodies were moved to Woodlawn Cemetery. The images are housed at FindMyPast. There are only 35 pages. I viewed all of them and did not see an entry for Caroline. There are several entries for unnamed people.

Images of records books of Disinterments
Harlem Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery
1869-1875

On March 12, 2025 I sent an inquiry of Caroline's reinterment to Woodlawn Cemetery.