When I discovered that my great-great-grandmother, Teresa (Devine) Duper had six children but one died, I was determined to find the missing child.
The 1910 census states five children born, four living (Gerald was born in 1910, after census was taken). I only knew of four children as of the 1910 census: Josephine, my great-grandmother, Steven, Theresa, and Albert. Who was the missing child? When did he or she die? When was the child born? I still have not found the Duper family in the 1900 census but then again my 2nd great-grandfather was Austrian and had a thick accent. The other censuses I found had the names badly misspelled. The 1905 NY state census has three children- Josie, Steve and Tessie. I know those names so I must did deeper.
I had ordered Theresa's birth certificate from the Municipal Archives in New York City. Tessie was born in August of 1902 in Manhattan and her birth certificate states three children born previously and four now total. My great-grandmother Josephine was born in December of 1894 and her brother Steven was born in May of 1897. Was the missing child born before Josie? Was he or she born between Josie's birth and Steve's or between Steve's and Tessie's? I needed to order more birth certificates. Josie and Steve were both born in Rosendale, NY. I ordered Josie's birth certificate because she was my great-grandmother so I thought I'd start with a direct line ancestor. The town clerk in Rosendale processed my request quickly and I had the certificate approximately a week after I mailed them my check. I could barely contain my excitement as I carefully opened the envelope. I found that there were no children born before Josie. I then ordered Steven's birth certificate. Steven was born in 1897. If the missing child was not born before Steve then I would have to search for the years 1898-1901 in Rosendale and if not there then I'd have to check Manhattan because his younger sister Theresa was born in Manhattan in 1902. I hoped Steve's birth certificate was helpful. That certificate arrived just as quickly as his sister's. I opened the envelope and was happy to see that there were two children born previously. That's great! Josie and Steven were both born in Rosendale, one in 1894 and the other in 1897 so I will assume that the missing child was also born in Rosendale. I called the town hall and asked if it was possible to search for a birth certificate without the first name or date of birth. I was told that they could so once again I mailed a check for $22. along with my request for a birth certificate for Baby Duper born in 1895 or 1896 unless he or she was a twin to Josephine born in 1894. I also listed the parents names with their places of birth. I waited patiently for my request to be fulfilled. I expected this request to take a bit longer because i couldn't provide a name and an exact date of birth.
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The child has a name! Let us rejoice! The child has been found!
William Vincent Duper was the second child born to Teresa Devine and Stephen Duper. William was born on the 13th of January in 1896. He was probably baptized at St. Peter's Church in Rosendale as his siblings Josephine and Steven were. I will find out soon enough. William does not appear in the 1905 NY state census but was alive in 1902. Now that I have a name and birth date for the missing child it will be easier to order the death certificate. William would have been 7 or 8 years old at the time of his death. What caused the child to die so young?
William Vincent Duper - - found at last!
