Philip Duel of Worcester, Otsego, N.Y.
To pick up the trail of the grandfather of Harry Porter Deuel, Philip Duel in 1810 is in
Berne, Albany with one male child under 10 (this must be Charles). One of the things
that puzzled me in the Babcock information is that there is a daughter who died in
Decatur, NY but marries an Isaac Born in Worcester, MA, which happens to be where
my mother was born. I think that they meant Worcester, Otsego County, NY, which is
next to Decatur, which in turn had a Gardner Boorn and Nathan Boorn among its
earliest settlers.
In 1820 there is a Philip Duel in the census for Worcester, Otsego. In 1830 he appears
again, with an estimated birth year of 1780-90, which fits, and a son age 10-15 (this
must be either Joseph E. or Erastus).
In 1840 Philip is gone, I don't see him in Illinois, but there are some other Deuels worth
a look in Otsego. But to wrap up Philip first, I think he is Philip6(Joseph5-3) for the
following reasons:
1. The Babcock birth year of 1781 fits with the unknown son of Joseph5 (I think we
are going to find more than one unknown son of Joseph5).
2. Philip is born in Dartmouth (or Newport) at a time when Joseph5 was in Dartmouth
or Newport, and at a time when most NY Deuels had already moved to NY.
3. He had an uncle named Philip.
4. He named a son Joseph.
5. He is in Berne, Albany at a time when Joseph5 was there.
Looking at the other Otsego Deuels, keeping in mind that Richfield borders Warren,
Herkimer and that Exeter, Otsego borders the first, you have in 1830:
A. John Duel in Exeter, age 30-40 with one male under five
B. Jacob Duel in Exeter, age 30-40
C. William Duel in Richfield, age 30-40 and one male under 5.
In 1840 Philip and William are gone, and you have the following:
A. John Duel in Exeter, age 40-50, one male 5-10 and another 10-15
B. Jacob Dowell in Richfield, age 40-50 and one male 10-15
C. Anson Duel in Richfield, age 20-30
D. Seth Duel in Richfield, age 20-30 and one female age 70-80 who will turn out to be
Lydia (---) Deuel, born in CT ca. 1768.
These last two live next door to each other, but leaving Otsego and going forward to
1850 in Albion, Oswego, which is east of Mexico, you have an Anson Duel and Seth
Duel (with Lydia, now 82 and most likely a grandmother of these two) living next door
to each other.
By the way, in Wright, Schoharie County (not far from Worcester) in 1850 there is a
Henry B. Duel, age 17 in the household of a Benjamin Duel, next door to a Philip Duel,
this group merits a further look to see if he could have an uncle Henry.
But back to Oswego, you have Anson and Seth, whose line I don't know yet, in Albion
in 1850 and 1860. Nelson7 is in Volney in 1850 and so too, apparently, are his niece
and nephew, children of his brother Charles7. Nelson's uncle Benjamin6 is in Palermo
at some point.
In Mexico itself you have Nathan in 1830, then Cornelius in 1850 and 1860. Also in
Mexico in 1860 there are a Louisa Dewal, age 13 (could she be named after an aunt
Louisa7(Joseph6)?) and Celstin (?) Dewal, a male age 9, in the household of a Francis
Maltby. There is a Sally Duel, age 67, on the same page as Milton Dewel.
The remaining Mexico Deuels of 1860 are Milton Dewel, age 33, a blacksmith, with
wife Clarissa and children Ida, age 6, Sena (?), a male age 2, and Horatio age 5
months. Milton N. Dewel (also spelled Dewell, Duell) enlisted in August, 1862 in the
110th New York, "the Oswego Regiment," and he died at Key West, FL in August,
1864 (probably it was at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, where the unit was stationed at
the time). This was a very inhospitable place due to yellow fever and such, the rich and
famous didn't hang out there back then. The 110th NY, which was engaged at the siege
of Ft. Hudson, Louisiana in the summer of 1863 (this was the remaining Confederate
foothold on the Mississippi after Vicksburg fell) lost a total of 16 men killed in action or
as a result of battle wounds in its history, while 195 men (roughly 20% of the total
enlisted in the regiment) died of disease.
I thought it would be a good time for me to look in Otsego, there is a New Lisbon there
and last Saturday in RI I had pork and littlenecks Portuguese style, which is a pretty
fired up dish and not for the fainthearted. Fortunately I am acclimated to it, the
grandparents of a lot of my friends growing up were from the Azores, and I spent many
a noon in their grandmothers' kitchens while they, in their plain black dresses and
listening to the melancholy "saudade" Azorean songs on the radio, cooked up the "old
country" meals.
Take care,
Rick Gifford
August 16, 2002