Durfee Family Genealogy & History

Araminta Estelle "Minta" Durfee was a pioneering American silent film actress born on October 1, 1889, in Los Angeles, California. Best known for her role in "Mickey" (1918), Durfee was also significant as Charlie Chaplin's first leading lady. She began her showbiz career as a chorus girl at 17 and later transitioned into television with appearances on shows like "Noah's Ark" (1956). Durfee's filmography includes "How Green Was My Valley" (1941) and "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963). Despite her separation from Roscoe Arbuckle and his subsequent scandal, she remained a staunch supporter of both Arbuckle and close friend Mabel Normand. In her later years, Durfee actively promoted silent films through lectures and retrospectives.

M. Eugene Durfee (1885-1941) was a prominent American architect known for his significant contributions to the architectural landscape of Orange County, California. After starting his career with Shea & Shea in San Francisco, Durfee formed a partnership with Emmanuel J. Bresemann in Seattle, which lasted from 1909 to 1913. He later moved to Anaheim, California, where he designed notable structures like the Yungbluth Building and the Hotel Valencia. Durfee's work extended across several states, including Arizona, where he designed the Grand Theatre and the Fox Tucson Theatre. His architectural legacy was largely impacted by urban renewal projects that demolished many of his buildings.

Edmund Durfee (1788–1845) was an American settler and early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, recognized as a martyr within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, Durfee was a skilled farmer, carpenter, and millwright. He and his wife, Magdalena Pickle, converted to the Latter Day Saint faith in the 1830s. After enduring persecution and loss of property in Ohio and Missouri, they settled in Hancock County, Illinois. Durfee was tragically killed during an anti-Mormon attack in 1845. His death is marked by the community's resilience and the larger struggles faced by early Mormons, providing key insights into religious history and the 19th-century frontier experience.

Edmund Durfee and Magdalena Pickle were parents to thirteen children, many of whom played significant roles in the westward migration of the Latter Day Saints. After Edmund's death, the family, including eight of his children, joined the Mormon exodus to Utah Territory. This movement was part of a broader migration that shaped the history of the American West. The Durfee family’s journey underscores the personal sacrifices and pioneering spirit emblematic of the era.

Job Durfee, born on September 20, 1790, in Tiverton, Rhode Island, was a prominent politician and jurist. A Brown University graduate, he served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democratic-Republican and later as an Adams-Clay Republican, serving from 1821 to 1825. Although unsuccessful in later elections, he continued to influence state politics as a speaker and member of the Rhode Island House. Appointed as associate and later chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, Durfee presided over the significant trial of John Gordon. He was also an accomplished author, known for works like "What Cheer" and "The Panidea."