Furbler, Harry
Harry Furbler (1886-1940s)
Chesterfield, NH
In 1910, 24-year old Harry Furbler worked as a farm laborer on the Curtis H. Chickering farm in West Chesterfield, NH. His time in the Monadnock region was relatively short; Harry moved back to Medford, Massachusetts, and by 1917 he was working at a men’s hat shop as a porter.
Harry Furbler was born in Nov. 1886 in Portland, Maine, to 23-year old Emily Furbler. His father is not known. The Furbler family had resided in Portland since at least the 1840s. Harry’s grandfather Edward was a mariner, originally from Bermuda/Jamaica who settled in Maine. He married Eliza Ann and they had five children together before she died in 1866.
Of their children, Frances Emeline Furbler, was born in 1863 in Portland. In the 1880 census she resided with her father and siblings at Carleton’s cottages behind Merrill Street. Also in the home was a 1 year old boy named Henry A. Furbler. This most likely could be Harry, pushing his birth date back by 7 years.
By the 1890s, Emily had moved to New York, NY where she worked as a domestic and married William Barnes, a Black male, in 1895. By the 1920s, Emily had moved to Medford, MA to live with Harry. Her step-son Theodore Furbler also lived with her for some time. His relationship to Harry is undetermined.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Harry worked as a janitor in an office building at 897 Washington St, Boston. Harry had married Beatrice in the early 1930s and they had 2 sons: Harold in 1937 and Ernest in 1939. Sometime in the 1940s, Harry died. Beatrice continued to live in Medford with their sons.
SOURCE MATERIALS
Find-A-Grave
Maine, U.S., Divorce Records, Portland, 1886
Maine Vital Records, Births, Portland- 1849, 1851, 1855, 1861, 1863- Familysearch.org
Maine Vital Records, Deaths, Portland- 1866- Familysearch.org
Maine Vital Records, Marriages, Portland- 1887- Familysearch.org
Massachusetts Death Index, 1943- Ancestry.com
New York City Marriages, 1895- Familysearch.org
“Married”, Portland Press Herald, January 26, 1875- Library of Congress, ChroniclingAmerica.LOC.gov
“Notice”, Portland Press Herald, June 13, 1878, p.1- Library of Congress, ChroniclingAmerica.LOC.gov
“Municipal Court,” The Portland Daily Press; March 28, 1863, p.2- Newspapers.com
“Deaths,” Portland Press Herald, September 10, 1875, p.1- Library of Congress, ChroniclingAmerica.LOC.gov
U.S. City Directories, Maine, Portland, 1863- Ancestry.com
U.S. City Directories, Massachusetts, Medford, 1938- Ancestry.com
U.S. Federal Census, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1910, 1920,1930, 1940, 1950- Ancestry.com
U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917- Ancestry.com
U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942- Ancestry.com
GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY
HARRY FURBLER was around 1886 to Frances Emeline Furbler of Portland, Maine. His father is unknown. He married BEATRICE in Medford, Massachusetts, in the 1930s. They had: Harry A. Furbler Jr. (1936-2014) and Ernest Furbler (b.1939).