William Scott Pyle's Oldest Son, James V. Pyle

My second great uncle, William Scott Pyle (1856-1906), shared in the success of the soap manufacturing company started by his father, James Pyle. In the 1905 New York State Census, 49-year-old William S. Pyle, with the occupation of Manufacturer, is living at number 3 East 53rd Street in Manhattan with his wife, Mary V. Pyle (age 45) and his two children, Mary V. Pyle (age 19) and William S., Jr. Pyle (age 17). The household also includes eight servants!

(I have cleared out the extraneous information to direct your view to this Pyle family's entry.)

1905 New York State Census, New York County, population schedule, Manhattan, p. 42, line 13, William S. Pyle; digital images, Ancestry.com (https:www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 June 2014).

I have previously shared that William Scott Pyle died on January 1, 1906, of cirrhosis of the liver. (I shared his death certificate here.)

Five years later, in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census, the widowed Mary V. Pyle is living in Mendham, Morris County, New Jersey. With her are her children, Mary V. Pyle, age 24, and William S. Pyle, age 21, and seven servants.

1910 U.S. census, Morris County, New Jersey, population schedule, Mendham, enumeration district (ED) 22, sheet 8B, dwelling 159, family 180, Mary V. Pyle; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 June 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 902.

This census asks the question "Mother of how many children / Number born / Number now living." This can be a helpful piece of information, letting us know if there are additional children we have not recorded. In this case, Mary reports that she gave birth to two children and two are living. However, this is not accurate, as there was an older brother, James Vanderhoef Pyle, who was born in November 1882 and died on 28 February 1887 of Diptheria.

His death certificate is below:

New York Co., Manhattan death certificate no. 1887-593778, James V. Pyle; FHL microfilm 1,412,484.

Name of Deceased: James V. Pyle
Age: 4 years, 3 months
Birthplace: [New York] City
Father's Birthplace: U. S.
Father's Name: Wm. Pyle
Mother's Birthplace: U. S.
Mother's Name: Minnie Pyle
Place of Death: Berkely House, 5th ave + 9th St. Street, 9 Ward
If a Dwelling, by how many families, living separately, occupied, Hotel Floor: 5th
I hereby certify, that I attended the deceased from Feb 25, 1887 to Feb 28, 1887, that I last saw him alive on the 28 day of Feb 1887, that he died on the 28 day of Feb 1887, about 4 o'clock, P.M., and that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the Cause of his death was as hereunder written:
Chief and Determining: Diphtheria
Duration: 6 Days
Consecutive and Contributing: Paralysis of heart
Duration: Sudden

Dr. L. Weber, M.D., of 25 W 46th, signed the death certificate the next day and it is noted that young James was buried at Woodlawn on March 2nd, 1887; Merritt was the Undertaker.

Young James's sister was not quite a year old (I believe she was born in March 1886), and William, Jr. was not yet born. It must have been a terribly sad time in the household. Perhaps his parents didn't speak much about their first child to the extent that by 1910, whoever reported the family's information to the census enumerator (possibly one of the adult children) didn't even know that Mary had a son who died young.

James Vanderhoef Pyle is not forgotten. I have set up a memorial for him at FindAGrave.