Amasa Durkee

Amasa Durkee is buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. The Oakland Cemetery interment card states that he was buried on June 1, 1873 in the North Ridge section of the cemetery, and that he had been "found dead in bed." He was aged 75 at the time of his death.

In the book KENTUCKY: A HISTORY OF THE STATE, published in 1885, we read that Amasa Durkee had been a boot dealer in Dalton, Massachusetts, and his wife, the former Mary Lester, had died in 1840. Mary Lester Durkee left behind eight children: Sarah, Mary, John W., Henry S., James., William L., Orpha E. and Emily A. Durkee. (Note: Some sources list Marianne as the first name of Mrs. Amasa Durkee.)

The 1870 U.S. Census for Erie County, Ohio, indicates that John W. Durkee, the son of Amasa Durkee, was living in Sandusky, Ohio, where he was employed as an assistant to James Woolworth at the Woolworth Axe Handle Works. John W. Durkee's daughter Edna married Amos Day. Edna Durkee Day's obituary appeared in the February 15, 1927 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal. She had been a well known teacher with the Sandusky Schools. She was survived by a son and three daughters, one of whom was the wife of Dr. J. D. Parker. Dr. J.D. Parker had two sons who became physicians in Sandusky, Drs. Watson and Lester Parker.

My family's physician when I was a child was Dr. Watson Day Parker, a descendant of Amasa Durkee. He was a "shirt tail" cousin to me through my mom's Parker line, but I had no idea that he was also descended from Amasa Durkee, until I did a little bit of genealogical digging. I wish Dr. Watson was here to tell me more about his interesting family heritage! Dr. Watson Parker passed away in 2004, and his sense of humor and wonderful bedside manner are still missed by many.