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.

Children of John Lutter and Rhoda Gant

John F. E. Luther (1854-1915) and Rhoda A Gant (1858-1923) married March 1, 1876 in Newark, Essex County New Jersey. He was 22 years old. She was 18. His occupation was carpenter.

John F E Luther and Rhoda A Gant
married March 1, 1876 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Volume BP, Marriages, Atlantic through Hudson Counties, 1875-1876, viewable at Ancestry

John's parents were Ernst Lutter and Margaret Alfke. They married in 1851 in Newark. Ernst was likely the earliest Lutter to arrive in Newark.

Johann Christian Ernss Lutter and Anna Margaretha Alfken married March 23, 1851
in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
This marriage was recorded at the county level, not state.
New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956, viewable at FamilySearch.org.

John died May 30, 1915 in Secaucus, Hudson County New Jersey at the Hudson County Hospital for the Insane. Cause of death was cerebral apoplexy. Parents "unknown." Burial was at New York Bay Cemetery in Jersey City.

Rhoda died December 16, 1923 in Bayonne, Hudson County. Cause of death was chronic endocarditis. Burial was also at New York Bay Cemetery.

John and Rhoda had at least nine children. Five lived into adulthood.

NAME	DATE OF BIRTH	DATE OF DEATH
Lucy	Feb 15, 1877	June 11, 1939
Rhoda Ann	Feb 1879	Sep 10, 1941
Catherine Perkins	Mar 3, 1880	Nov 23, 1880
Antoinette	Sep 1881	Mar 10, 1886
John Ernest	Apr 1884	Dec 6, 1944
Margaret	May 1885	Jan 20, 1959
Charlotte Nathanie	1888	Dec 23, 1934
Ruth	Nov 24, 1890	Aug 24, 1894
Winefred	Sep 8, 1893	Sep 8, 1893

The links are to their pages on Find A Grave.

I located birth records for three of these nine children. Only Ruth was named at birth.

Child Number 1

Lucy was the first child of John and Rhoda. She was born February 15, 1877 in Newark. Births at this time were recorded in ledger books. Lucy's entry does not name her and mislabeled her as male.

Male child born to John and Rose Luther
February 15, 18777 in Newark.
Volume CM, Births Atlantic through Hudson Counties, 1866-1877, viewable at Ancestry

In 1912, Lucy married Martin Lang (1848-1933), widower of Anna Petrany. His children were from this earlier marriage and not from Lucy. Lucy died in 1939 and was buried in Woodland Cemetery in Newark.

Child Number 2

Rhoda Ann was born in February of 1879. No record of birth was found.

She was married twice. In 1899 she married Frank Clarkson in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey. After Frank's death, Rhoda remarried to Alexander J Cross in 1909 in Bayonne. Her children were delineated in a previous article.

Child Number 3

Catherine Perkins was born March 3, 1880 in Newark at 65 Fairview Avenue. She has a birth certificate, but was not named on this document. The midwife was Mary Staehle of 20 Belmont Avenue. She was the third child according to this birth certificate. 

Female Lutter born to John Lutter and Rodi Gerndt
March 3, 1880 in Newark.
Copied from microfilm at New Jersey State Archives.

We know Catherine's full name from her death certificate. On November 23, 1880 Catherine Perkins Lutter died from croup at 63 Fairview Avenue. She was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Newark.

Catherine Perkins Lutter
died November 23, 1880 in Newark.
Death certificate copied from microfilm at New Jersey State Archives.

When Catherine died, John and Rhoda were left with two children.

Child Number 4

Antoinette was born around September of 1881. No birth certificate was located.

She died March 10, 1886 in Newark at the age of four years and six months from acute bronchial pulmonary edema. She was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Newark.

Antoinette Lutter died March 10, 1886 in Newark.
Age four years, six months.
Copied from microfilm at New Jersey State Archives.

Child Number 5

John Ernest was born around April 1884. No birth certificate was located.

In 1905 in Bayonne John married Annie Mary Emma Otto (1885-1964). They had four children.

John died in 1944 in Staten Island, Richmond County, New York.

Child Number 6

Margaret was born around May 1885. No birth certificate was located.

In 1911 in Bayonne Margaret married Frank Schreiner. They had one son, Raymond.

Margaret died in 1959 in Jersey City.

Child Number 7

Charlotte Nathanie was born around 1888. No birth certificate was located.

In 1907 in Bayonne Charlotte married William Gerhard Kontje. They had at least six children.

Charlotte died in 1934 in Bayonne. 

Child Number 8

Ruth was born November 24, 1890 in Newark at 664 South 12th Street. She received a birth certificate. On this document, she was child number 8 with 6 still living. This tracks with what I found up to 1890. The midwife was Wilhelmine Belz of 122 Morton Street.

Ruth Lutter born November 24, 1890 in Newark.
Copied from microfilm at New Jersey State Archives.

Ruth died August 24, 1894 at 454 Bergen Street in Newark. She was aged three years, nine months, and 26 days. The cause of death was convulsions. She was buried in Woodland Cemetery.

Ruth Lutter died August 24, 1894 in Newark.
Age three years, zero months, and 26 days.
Copied from microfilm at New Jersey State Archives.

Child Number 9

Winefred was the final child found for John and Rhoda. She has no birth certificate; instead, she received only a death certificate for September 8, 1893- age fourteen hours. The cause of death was atelectasis pulm; probably premature birth with insufficient lung functioning. She was buried at Woodland Cemetery.

Winefred Lutter died September 8, 1893 in Newark.
Age fourteen hours.
Copied from microfilm at New Jersey State Archives.

How does one find these birth records in New Jersey?

There are indexes.

Where are these indexes? They are in the Archives and online at FamilySearch and Ancestry. (Currently not on the website of the New Jersey State Archives.)

Physically there are books in the Archives in Trenton, New Jersey.

Books of indexes at New Jersey State Archives

There are three sets of books to cover three different periods:

1848-1878

1878-1890

1890-1900

(There are additional indexes for 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1901-1929. These Lutter children were born before that time, so I will not delve in to those years here.)

These bound books are copies of typed indexes. I do not know who created them, when, or how. Maybe someone could chime in with a helpful comment.

Copy of paper index of births 1848-1878
available at the New Jersey State Archives.
This entry is actually for a female child who became known as Lucy.

Entries in the index for 1848-1878 refer to ledger books. No individual certificates exist. The first child, Lucy, a female, was born February 15, 1877 in Newark. An official record of her birth was made with the City of Newark. This record eventually made its way into a ledger book stored at the state level.

Entry at FamilySearch for male child born to John Luther and Rose Luther
in Newark on February 15, 1877

This same entry at FamilySearch lists the full date of birth and names of parents, but the image is not viewable at home. I had to travel to a Family History Center to look at the image. It was the image that I copied from the book in the Archives. Again, this is not the birth ledger, but rather the index.

Underlying image linked to the index at FamilySearch for male child born to John Luther and Rose Luther in 1877 in Newark

Note that this index lists the father's first initial, J, and does not list the mother. Yet the entry at FamilySearch spells out John's full first name and gives the first name of the mother.

Ancestry's entry is a bit different. The full date is missing; however, the image is viewable. The image is not the index, as on FamilySearch, but rather the actual birth ledger.

Search result at Ancestry for male child born to John Luther and Rose Luther in 1877 in Newark.

The underlying image is viewable.
This is the actual birth ledger book, same as the microfilm in the New Jersey State Archives.

Microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives

In 1878, New Jersey shifted from entries in a ledger book to individual certificates. Below is the entry in the index for Catherine Lutter, not named at birth, born March 3, 1880.

Copy of paper index of births 1878-1890
available at the New Jersey State Archives

The index at Ancestry has issues. I suspect that this index was not derived from the books in the Archives nor from the actual certificates. A film number is provided.

Entry at Ancestry for Lutter birth 1880 in Newark.
A film number is provided. FamilySearch describes this film as births 1879-1880.

This film is not viewable at home, but is viewable through the FamilySearch website at a Family History Center. This film does NOT contain birth certificates; rather, it is a handwritten index of births.

Image linked to index at Ancestry for Lutter birth March 3, 1879

At the top of this page is "Index Register of Births in Newark, Essex County, 1879-1880." Pages must be flipped to find the start of births in the middle of 1879. Thus the dates on this page are for the year 1880, not 1879.

FamilySearch indexed the correct year.

Entry for Lutter birth March 3, 1880 at FamilySearch. This is the correct year.

Users can request a correction to the date of birth in Ancestry's index, but please do not do this until the date is confirmed on the actual record (not another index).

The Schneider Children plus a Bonus Baby

Joseph Schneider (1892-1945) and Mary Fila (1895-1938) lived in Newark, New Jersey from the 1910's until their deaths. They were buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange.

I did not find a marriage record for this couple. The strategy is to start with the first child and work backwards. Locating birth certificates for all the children was difficult because the surname was spelled a different way for each of the five children: Snajder, Snaider, Shnyder, Schneider, and Snyder.

All five birth certificates were located by sifting through the geographic birth index. In New Jersey, birth certificates for the years in which these children were born are filed alphabetically by year on microfilm in the Archives in Trenton. Instead of spending hours looking at the microfilm, I used the index at home. This index is indexed at Ancestry; however, not all names on the page were transcribed into Ancestry's index. This is a very important consideration when a name cannot be found in an electronic database. Death records helped narrow down the date of birth. All were born in Newark, which also helped immensely.

You can view the New Jersey Geographic Birth Index at The Internet Archive or Family Search.

The couple's first child was Josephine Madlin, born on Leap Day, February 29, 1916. The midwife was K Zamlynska. The birthplace of Joseph and Mary was Austria. He worked as a button maker.

Birth certificate of Josephine Madlin Snajder.
Born February 29, 1916 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
87 Richmond Street.

The midwife signed her name "K Zamlynska." In the 1920 census in Newark, the birthplace of Caroline Zamlysnki was Austria and she spoke Polish. This could be indicative of the origins of the parents of the baby. Her profession in the census was "none," which is why the city directories are so helpful for finding midwives.

City directory entry for Karolina Zamlynski, midwife.
115 South Orange Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.

Baby Josephine died September 12, 1916 from acute gastro enteritis. She was six and a half months old. She was buried at Holy Sepulchre in a plot where her parents would later join her. Already in this plot was another baby, discussed at the end of this article.

Death certificate of Jozefa Schneider.
Died September 12, 1916 in Newark. 87 Richmond Street.
Cause of death acute gastro enteritis.

The birthdate on the death certificate is February 29, 1916. This is how her entry was located in the birth index, leading to her birth certificate, even though the surname was spelled differently on the death certificate versus the birth certificate.

New Jersey Geographic Birth Index
Josephine M Snajder born February 29, 1916 in Newark.

The couple's second child, Stanislau, was born April 2, 1917. He was child number two, one alive. He was the living child; Josephine had died over six months earlier.

Birth certificate of Stanislau Snaider.
Born April 2, 1917 in Newark.
87 Richmond Street.

The midwife signed her name "Antonia Wakova." This was a feminization of her husband's surname, Wak. In the 1910 census, she was from Bohemia. In 1920 and 1930, she was from Czechoslovakia. No profession was given in the census entries, again making the city directories invaluable for finding this midwife.

City directory entry for Mrs Antonio Wak, midwife.
82-17th Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.

Stanislau became Stanley John. He married and has living descendants. He died October 30, 1988.

The couple's third child, Edward Shnyder was born July 21, 1918. He was incorrectly listed as the second child on his birth certificate.

Birth certificate of Edward Shnyder.
Born July 21, 1918 in Newark.
30 Lones? Street.

In 1936 Edward's surname was modified from Shnyder to Schneider via an official correction to the  birth certificate. These are filed with the birth certificates.

Corrected birth certificate of Edward Schneider, born Edward Shnyder.

Correction to birth certificate of Edward Shnyder,
changing surname from Shnyder to Schneider.

Edward Jacob married and has living descendants. He died October 2, 2001.

The couple's fourth child, Sofie Anna, was born September 26, 1920. This was the only birth certificate to use the Schneider spelling. The first name became Sophie and she married Alphonse Peter Anthony Ulinski in 1939. She died in 1995 in Florida.

Birth certificate of Sofie Anna Schneider.
Born September 26. 1920.
119 Broome Street.

The couple's fifth and final child was Joseph Snyder, born December 11, 1921. He married and has living descendants. He died in 1974 in Alabama.

Birth certificate of Joseph Snyder.
Born December 11, 1921 in Newark.
Beth Israel Hospital.

Baby Josephine, born and died in 1916, appears to be the first child of this couple. They probably married in 1916 or 1915. I found no record in New York or New Jersey. This could be because the names were butchered in the index, or they married in a different state or country.

Another mystery about this couple arises because of a baby buried with them.

In the same plot as Joseph Schneider and Mary Fila is a two-month old baby name Katie Fila. I don't know who this is, but based on the surname Fila and the address- 85 Richmond Street- she is related. Baby Katie died October 17, 1914 at the Babies' Hospital in Newark. The cause of death was enteritis and malnutrition.

Death certificate of Katie Fila.
Died October 17, 1914 in Newark at The Babies' Hospital.
"C. H. S." is Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre.

The image is of very poor quality. "O.W." is written after Katie's name. This stands for Out of Wedlock. The names of her parents appear to be Stanislaw Floczyiski and Mary Fila, both of Poland. Katie's birthdate is given as August 19, 1914 and her age 2 months, 27 days. Perhaps the month of birth would be more accurate as July. Either way, I did not identify a listing for Katie in the birth index in Newark for this time.

Could Baby Katie have been a child of Marie Fila, wife of Joseph Schneider?