Duryea was born on August 20, 1832 in
Center Moriches, New York, the son of John Hubbs Duryea and Maria Duryea. Duryea attended Miller's Place Academy, a well-known school at the time. When he was 19, he moved with his parents to
Dix Hills, where his father built a farm. He left the farm shortly afterwards and became a teacher in the House of Refugee in
Manhattan. Shortly after his wedding, he moved to
Syosset and began farming there. Duryea was Justice of the Peace from 1860 to 1862. In 1862, he was elected to the
New York State Assembly as a
Democrat, representing the
Queens County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in
1863 and
1864. In 1865, he moved to
Brooklyn and spent the next two years representing a railroad pool in the
Bureau of Immigration. In 1867, he moved to
Huntington, leased the Suffolk Hotel, and spent the next several years successfully conducting the hotel. In 1874, he moved to
Babylon and began managing Sumpwams Hotel, the leading local hotel at the time. and
Supervisor of Babylon in 1876 and 1878. In 1878, he was the Democratic candidate for the New York State Assembly in
Suffolk County and was declared the winner by one vote. He briefly served in
1879 but the Assembly declared the Republican candidate
George F. Carman the winner. In 1879, he was the Democratic candidate for the
New York State Senate in
New York's 1st State Senate district. He lost the election to Republican candidate
John Birdsalls. At one point, Duryea edited the Babylon paper
Budget, which later merged with the
South Side Signal. In 1883, Sheriff Selah S. Brewster appointed him Under Sheriff. He served in that office until the start of 1886. In 1887,
Collector Daniel Magone appointed him Superintendent of New York Bonded Warehouses. And when Deputy Collector Dabney died a few years later, Collector
James T. Kilbreth appointed him to that position. He retired in 1896 due to poor health. Duryea died at home from a long illness on December 27, 1899. His funeral was conducted at his home and was led by the Rev. George Downings Sparks, the rector of Christ Church in
West Islip. A delegation of officers and member from the
Freemason lodge Duryea was a member of attended the funeral. He was buried in the Babylon Rural Cemetery. == References ==