I'm tracking Millie / Mittie Agers, who married Eugene D. Terwilliger. Does anyone know when/where Eugene was born and died?

Details follow.

Siskiyou Cemeteries (Evergreen) has:
Terwilliger, Ada C. Sep 4, 1859 - Apr 29, 1881
Plot 6-1-1;
Age 21Y 7M 25D. Wife of Eugene D. Terwilliger.
(An old post on this board says she is Ada Camp.)

Siskiyou Cemeteries (Marriage Register) has:
Groom: Terwilliger, Eugene D
Bride: Ager, Mittie
16-Jan-1901 Book 7, page 1

Siskiyou Cemeteries (Little Shasta) has:
Terwilliger, Mittie Ager; Oct 11, 1871 - Nov 6, 1907; Wife of Eugene D. Terwilliger

Siskiyou Cemeteries URL:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~casiskiy/index.htm

In the 1870 Census (Table Rock, Siskiyou, California; Roll: M593_89; Page: 645; Image: 607.) we find:

Sidney Terwilliger, 40
Phebe Terwilliger, 37
Eugene D Terwilliger, 15
Isabelle S Terwilliger, 13
Andrew Terwilliger, 11
Frank Terwilliger, 10
Mary Jane Terwilliger, 8
Willie Terwilliger, 5
Edgar Terwilliger, 3
Katie Terwilliger, 1


In 1880 (Table Rock, Siskiyou, California; p. 294B on the LDS) we find

(Name, Relation, Marital Status, Gender, Race, Age, Birthplace, Occupation, Father's Birthplace, Mother's Birthplace)

P. S. Terwilliger, Self, M, Male, W, 50, NY, Farmer, NY, NY,
Phebe Terwilliger, Wife, M, Female, W, 47, NY, Keeping House, NY, Ct,
Eugene Terwilliger, Son, S, Male, W, 25, Ca, Laborer, NY, NY,
Isabel Terwilliger, Dau, S, Female, W, 23, Ca, School Teacher, NY, NY,
Andrew Terwilliger, Son, S, Male, W, 21, Ca, Carpenter, NY, NY,
Frank Terwilliger, Son, S, Male, W, 20, Ca, Laborer, NY, NY,
Mary J. Terwilliger, Dau, S, Female, W, 18, Ca, At Home, NY, NY,
William Terwilliger, Son, S, Male, W, 15, Ca, At Home, NY, NY,
Edgar Terwilliger, Son, S, Male, W, 13, Ca, At Home, NY, NY,
Katie Terwilliger, Dau, S, Female, W, 11, Ca, At Home, NY, NY,
Gussie Terwilliger, Dau, S, Female, W, 6, Ca, NY, NY,
Susie Hill, Other, S, Female, W, 19, Ca, Music Teacher, Ma, Ma,
James Williams, Other, S, Male, W, 20, Ca, Laborer, Mo, Mo,
Antown Silva, Other, S, Male, W, 21, Portugal, Laborer, Portugal, Portugal

So far, so good. Eugene, son of Sidney and Phoebe, is born 1855. He is single at the time the 1880 was taken. He marries Ada, 4 years younger than he, after the enumerator comes through. She dies very shortly after.


In 1900 there is an Eugene is living with his mother, Phoebe, in Table Rock, Siskiyou, California:

Pheobe Terwilliger, 67, New York, White, Head
Eugene D Terwilliger, 32, California, NY, CT., White, Son
[I looked at the image; it says Son, born May, 1868, age 32, in a reasonably clear hand]

The rest of the household:
William D Martin, 18, California, White, Grandson
Harry McGrath, 22, California, White, Boarder
William Simpson, 21, California, White, Boarder
James M Young, 19, Kansas, White, Boarder
Morton Earhart, 18, California, White, Boarder
George A Truap, 16, California, White, Boarder
Egbert T Robins, 21, South Dakota, White, Boarder
Charles E Stevens, 37, Wisconsin, White, Boarder
Fred W Talcott, 24, New York, White, Boarder
Chinaman Jim, 61, China, Ch, Cook
Chinaman Toy, 57, China, Ch, Servant

A widowed Phoebe is taking in boarders. They may be drawn by the reputation of her cook and laundryman. Both Chinese gentlemen undoubtedly had three names, as all Chinese do, but the round-eyed barbarian enumerator just wrote "Jim, Chinaman" and "Toy, Chinaman."

Look at Eugene, though; b. 1868. The Eugene here could not have married Ada C. who died in 1881. Even if she died on her wedding night, he would have been 13 years old when they wed.

My Mittie or Millie Ager, b. 1871, marries an Eugene D. Terwilliger in 1901, when she is 29. The 1855 birth date for Eugene fits best, given the (sexist) customs of the times. An old maid school teacher had to take what she could get, and he was usually 10 - 20 years older then she.

An 1868 birth date for Eugene fits too, if love blossomed in later life. ("Later' in 1900 was after age 25.) He was just a couple of years older than her, which is the pattern for 80% of the first marriages in that era.

Eugene isn't buried next to either of his wives. I can't find him in 1910.

So -

1) There was just one Eugene, who lied to the enumerator in 1900, out of vanity (I'm 45, but my hair is still curly and my eyes are still blue, so put me down for age 32"; it even rhymes.)

2) There was just one Eugene, who spoke with his mouth full in 1900.

3) There was just one Eugene, and the 1900 enumerator spilled something on his rough copy, which made his fair copy wrong.

4) There were two Eugenes; the relation to Phoebe in 1900 should have been "Nephew" or "first cousin once removed" or "Boarder".

5) None of the above