THE McDUFFEE'S

An interesting document giving the genealogy of the McDuffee's has been kindly put into my hands, and duly examined. It is understood to have been prepared by John McDuffee, Esq., assisted by his son Charles, in whose elegant handwriting it appears. Both the father and the son deceased several years since. It does not consist with my present object to follow this genealogical account into all its various and remote ramifications; but what I propose is to trace, very concisely, the direct lineage of the family who settled in Bradford, and then to speak somewhat more fully of some of its members or descendants, as may seem expedient; but especially of John McDuffee, above named.

In regard to the origin and name of this respectable class of our citizens, I will quote a few paragraphs from the old manuscript which I have mentioned.  "The McDuffee family are undoubtedly of Scotch descent, and the first that we find of this name is in a book styled "Memoirs of Scotland" It appears that a man by the name of Duff was a king or chief in Scotland a short time previous to the Christian Era.   This was before christian names were used, and from the fact that in Scotland the prefix Mac, abbreviated Mc, was used to indicate son, or descendant, we infer that the children of Duff were called McDuff. In Irish names the prefix "0," and in English the termination, "son," are of the same import.

" We have but little further notice of the name till we come to the tragedy of McDuff and McBeth, which occurred about A. D. 1050, and is particularly described in the Memoirs of Scotland, and which by Shakespeare is made the theme of his thrilling  Macbeth. McDuff was  Thane of Fife one of the noblemen of Scotland during the reign of King Duncan, who was assassinated, and for a short time superseded, by the treacherous McBeth. Under the leadership of the bold and loyal McDuff, the usurper was dethroned and slain, and Malcolm, son of Duncan, established on the throne; who, in consideration of McDuff's great services, gave him a tract of land in the County of Fife, and added fee to his name, including a gift from the crown; and thus McDuff became McDuffee. A further honor bestowed was a coat of arms, known in Scotch heraldry by the combined representation of a lion, rampant with a sword in his paw, guarding the crown and kingdom of Scotland; three hawks under the lion's feet, representing the three witches whose sorceries had incited McBeth to assassinate his sovereign; and a thorn bush, in memory of Birnam Woods, through which, and bearing green bunches from the same, McDuff and Malcolm, with their English allies, marched against the rebel in his stronghold at Dunsinanc, who, in personal encounter with McDuff, was slain.  A picture of this coat of arms was brought to this country before the old French war, by William McDuffee, and subsequently painted on the back of the sleigh in which Daniel McDuffee came from Londonderry to this town in February, 1796, and when the sleigh was worn out, the back, on which was the coat of arms, was for several years preserved by his daughter Agnes, Mrs. James Wilson, but finally disappeared, leaving no vestige behind." Sic transit gloria mundi! So passes away the glory of the world.

The McDuffees were among the emigrants from Scotland who settled in the North of Ireland about the year 1612.   John McDuffee and Martha, his wife, were in the terrible seige of the city of Londonderry in 1688, where she acquired the name of the Matchless Martha, for having carefully kept a quantity of meal, against a time of great distress for food, and then freely distributing it among the starving people. This unexpected relief was received with gratitude and rejoicing long remembered.  This John and Martha had several children, and among them a son Daniel.

Daniel McDuffee, son of the above named, having served an apprenticeship at the business of a lockmaker, married Ruth Britton, of Colerain, and in 1720, with his wife and daughter Martha, then about two years old, emigrated to America ; his pastor, Rev. James McGregore, of whose church he was a member, with some sixteen families of his parishioners, having gone a year or two before, to establish themselves there. Daniel, with his little family, arrived safely in Boston, and after a few months residence at Andover, in the Spring of 1721 settled down among their Scotch-Irish friends in Nutfield, subsequently Londonderry, N. H. These parents had six sons and three daughters. Five of the sons were in the army of their country in the war with France; three of them in the decisive battle of Quebec, when that city with the French provinces in North America passed into the hands of the British. This early inhabitant of Londonderry died there in 1768, and his wife died there about two years after.

Daniel McDuifee, Jr., a son of the above named, was born in Londonderry, in March, 1739. He was by occupation a blacksmith, but owned and cultivated the farm in that town on which his parents had lived and died. He married Margaret, daughter of James Wilson, the first of the name in that place. She had a brother James, who was father of James, the globe maker. This Daniel McDuffee emigrated to Bradford, Vt, in the month of February, 1796, and settled on a farm at the north end of what is now called the Upper Plain, where several of his posterity are still living. His house was on the east side of the highway, near what was long known as McDuffee's Ferry, across the Connecticut River. The writer of this article remembers him well; remembers once, at his request, preaching in his quiet cottage a discourse designed for his special benefit, when, by reason of the infirmities of age, he was unable to attend public worship. He died in Bradford, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, December 15, 1824, and his remains were laid in the cemetery close by. His wife had died several years before-April 1, 1805.

Mary McDuffee, a sister of Daniel, last named, was born in Londonderry, N. H., married Thomas Highlands, a farmer of that town, and lived there till his death, then came to Bradford and lived some fourteen years longer.  She had an interesting family of eight or nine children, and died May 26, 1821, aged eighty-nine years. From her have descended our worthy citizens, the Highlands.  Daniel and Margaret W. McDuffee, of whom we have been speaking, had a family of fifteen children, all natives of Londonderry.   Some of these died in their infancy.  Some of these died in their infancy.  Of those who lived to be men and women, and who were for some part of their lives inhabitants of Bradford, the following notices may be given.

1 John McDuffee was born June 16, 1766. Of him and his family more hereafter.

2 Jennet, born February 1,1768, married David Bliss, went with her husband into the Western country, and died somewhere there.

3 Ruth, born November 5, 1769, married Samuel Drew, remained here a few years longer, then removed to Stanstead, Canada East, where she died. They had eight children.

4 Samuel, born September 7, 1773, married Jane Wilson.   He owned and cultivated a good farm in Bradford, at the north end of the Upper Plain, and died there July 20, 1850, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.  He left one daughter, Annis, at this writing still possessing the old homestead; and one son, James, whose residence was quite near his sister's; an industrious farmer and good man he was, who died, strong in Christian faith, March 22,1873, in the seventy-third year of his age, leaving the beloved wife, Mary P. Sawyer, with whom he had happily lived for over forty-four years, with one daughter and four sons, with their wives and children, all in close proximity, to love and sympathize with their mother and each other, while passing through the various trials and comforts of life. Their daughter Alice married Alexander Young, who had died, leaving her in widowhood before her father's decease. The eldest son, Ellis, married Elizabeth Sawyer. Olivia, Louisa Annis, Edward Everett, and Sarah Sawyer, are the names of their four surviving children. The second son of James McDuffee, Horrace Everett, married Lucy McDuffee, a remote relative. Their children are Frank and Alice. The third son, Homer S., married Adelaide Robinson. The names of their children, Frank and Alice.   The fourth son, James Lewis R., married Carrie Woodward, and they were living in the house with their father McDuffee at the time of his decease.

5 James McDuffee, son of Daniel, was born August 21, 1775.  He married Susan Sweet, moved to Syracuse, N. Y., and died there, leaving five children. 

6 Mary, born August 27, 1777, by occupation a tailoress, when about fifty years of age married Peter Frye, of Windsor, Canada East; lived there several years, and after his decease returned to this town, and spent the remnant of her days. She died in July, 1870, in the ninety-third year of her age.

7 Margaret, born March 20, 1779, married a Mr. Lee, of Windsor, Canada East, and died there, leaving one daughter.

8 Daniel, born March 7, 1781, married Martha Bishop; after a while went off, forsaking his wife, and died, it is not known when nor where. She was familiarly styled, by not only relatives but neighbors generally, "Aunt Patty;" and died at Bradford, in April, 1852.  She requested her pastor to preach at her funeral from the text, " Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law."

9 Agnes, born February 28,1783, married her cousin, James Wilson, the globe maker. In her ninety-second year, March, 1874, she was still living in Bradford, Of her family see further notice under the title Wilson. 

10 Sarah, born March 7,1786, married Manasseh Willard, a brother of Captain Israel Willard, of Bradford, They had six children.   She died in Massachusetts. 

11 Annis, born April 22, 1790, married Samuel Chapman, of Newbury, Vt., April 19, 1821, and took up her residence there.

Three sons and one daughter are now living.  A more particular account of John McDuffee, a distinguished member of this family, will now be given.

JOHN McDUFFEE, Esq.

He was a son of Daniel and Margaret (Wilson) McDuffee, above named; their second child, the first, who was also a son, having died in infancy. He was born at Londonderry, N. H., June 16th, 1766. When old enough to assist his father, till about fourteen years of age, he worked with him, alternately on the farm and in his blacksmith shop, as the season of the year and state of the weather guided them; in his father's double occupation. For some weeks, or months, during each season of winter, he was allowed to attend such schools as they had.   The teachers were paid by the scholars attending, or their parents; and the books were few, and of a rather low order. Dillingsworth's Spelling Book was more used than any other book. Books of Arithmetic and Grammar were uncommon. Young McDuffee, however, was so fortunate as to have a teacher who had a "Cyphering Book," containing various arithmetical rules and problems, and who was able to give lessons of instruction from the same. This was quite to the boy's taste; for he had, as his subsequent life proved, a real genius and talent for the mathematics.  His health, a great part of the time between fourteen and seventeen years of age, was poor; he was too feeble to work much; and so, as he would find opportunity, he studied the more. In his seventeenth year he had acquired a thorough knowledge of Fisher's Arithmetic; and had commenced the study of surveying, under the instruction of Master Clark, who had the reputation of being a good surveyor; and was then teaching in Londonderry. In the Spring of 1784 he taught school for a few weeks, then attended the academy in Andover for a while, and so worked along as best he could; keeping the art of surveying continually in view, with the use of the instruments of which he had by this time become quite well acquainted.

Before tracing his progress any further, I will go back, and for the amusement, especially of my youthful readers, relate an incident or two of a singular character, of which his manuscript makes mention, as occurring in his boyhood. One of them is this: "When I was a boy I was not at all timid, but one day, while passing through the lot, I thought I distinctly saw a lad, with whom I was well acquainted and had been very intimate, jump behind a log ahead of me, by which I was about to pass, for the purpose, as I supposed, of frightening me. I therefore quickened my steps, designing to get the start of the other boy, and running up to the log leaned over, crying out, Boo ! but to my surprise there was no one there." For this he was never able to account, for he was sure if there had been a boy there he could not possibly have got away. This, we too may as well throw into our heap of unaccountable.

Another anecdote is that when he was quite young an Irishmen, directly from the old country, came to his father's house, and, being taken into employment on the farm, made himself very useful. He seemed for a while contented and happy. But one day he was very sad, and said he must leave. On being asked what was the trouble, he could not be induced to tell. At last when John, for whom he had taken a special liking, was trying to get the secret out of him, the Irishman, after much hesitation, said : "Oh ! ye live so near the chimney of hell I dare not stay!" On further inquiry it was found that this son of Erin, having been out on a low piece of ground near the house the evening before, had, for the first time in his life, seen lightning-bugs flying about, which he thought must be sparks from the infernal pit, and it was not with-out much difficulty that he could be convinced to the contrary, even when John had caught one of the little flashers, and given him  demonstration of its appearance and manner of operation.

We will now resume the main thread of our narration.  When John McDuffee was between nineteen and twenty-one years of age he taught school for several terms in different towns in the then province of Maine, particularly in Falmouth, Saco, and Brunswick. On his first journey into that part of the country, which was probably in his nineteenth year, he very narrowly escaped being killed by wolves, in Saco woods. He was making his journey on foot, and towards evening one day inquired at a house how far it was to Saco Falls, and on being told five miles pushed on, thinking there would be houses by the way, as there had been, where he could in case of necessity stop during the night. He had not proceeded far before he found himself in a wilderness, and in the darkness of night. While pursuing his solitary way he heard at a distance behind him a noise which he recognized as the bark of a wolf, which he was convinced must have scented his track. He quickened his steps, and, being young and spry, passed rapidly along. Soon the howl of the first wolf was answered by that of another. There seemed to be a pack of them in pursuit of him ! He commenced running, but, while exerting his powers to the utmost to escape, the wolves were evidently coming nearer and yet nearer. His courage and strength were beginning to fail, when he discovered a light ahead of him, and pressed on, closely pursued by the monsters, determined still to seize and devour him. He reached the house; dashed open the door; and, completely exhausted, fell headlong and senseless upon the floor. A party of young people, the girls having had what they called a "wool breaking" in the afternoon, were there that evening engaged in dancing, and were greatly surprised to receive so dashing a visitant, from they knew not what quarter.   But on going to the door they at once learned what was the trouble, for the wolves were still within a few rods of the house. On recovering, McDuffee was told that but a few days before a man had gone with his team into the same woods, and not returning when looked for, search was made for him, when he was found dead, with several dead wolves lying around him, in one of which his axe was sticking. The appearance was that while at his work getting wood, a pack of wolves had rushed upon him, when, turning his back to a tree with axe in hand, he bravely fought them, and had killed several. Then striking his axe between the shoulders of a stout and strong-one, the helve had been jerked from his hands, leaving him defenseless, when the infuriated survivors of the pack quickly overpowered him; killed him; and drank his blood. Having thus had a taste of human blood, they were the more eager and determined to have another feast of the same sort. It was of the Lord's mercies that the young man so narrowly escaped.  Mr. McDuftee having finished his teaching in Maine, returned home, and came the ensuing summer to Vermont, bringing his instruments of surveying and engineering with him, not without use by the way. In June, 1788, he made his first visit to Mooretown, which by act of Legislature the following autumn received its present name of Bradford. The direct object of his visit was to assist, as he had been requested, in the settlement of the estate of his uncle, Samuel McDuffee, who had been drowned in Connecticut River, 1781. The widow, Elizabeth (Rogers), was still living on the desirable farm to which her deceased husband had become entitled as one of the first settlers. He was pleased with the farm, and purchased the same for himself. It was that which his father, Daniel McDuffee, and family, subsequently occupied. He then returned to Londonderry, and there spent the winter. In the spring of 1789 he came back, and took up his residence on the place he had purchased, and thence forward, to the distant day of his death, became a distinguished citizen of Bradford.

March 24, 1791, Mr. McDuffee purchased of Uriah Stone, of Piermont, N. H., the ferry subsequently known as McDuffee's ferry, a noted crossing place over "the great river," till superseded by bridges, both above and below, many years afterwards. Soon, after his coming to Bradford he built a small house near the ferry, a little north of the one his uncle had occupied, and for some time kept a small store of various articles wanted by the early settlers. For a few years his sister Ruth kept his house, after which he married Martha Dake, a native of Londonderry, but then a resident of Bradford; left his farm near the river to his father, and moved to a new one, on the eastern slope of Wright's mountain, near the line between Bradford and Newbury, where he raised up a large family, and spent the remnant of his days. Of his family some further information will presently be given.  The Legislature of Vermont, at its session in 1792, passed an act, as in another part of this history has been stated, constituting Israel Smith, Alexander Harvey, and James Whitelaw, a committee to make a survey of the Hazen tract, in the Western part of Bradford, dividing it into lots convenient for settlement, and, on certain easy conditions, securing to each man the due possession of the lot on which he had been making improvement, and the like advantage to others who might wish to purchase lots still inappropriate. The work of making this survey was, by the said Whitelaw, Surveyor General of Vermont, committed to John McDuffee, who no doubt performed it faithfully. He was for many years, in all this region accounted a distinguished master of his art, and was as such extensively employed.  When the project of building a railroad from Concord, N. H., through Plymouth, Wentworth and Haverhill, to Wells River, Vt., began to be seriously discussed, and it was remembered that Mr. McDuffee had long before surveyed through at least the most formidable part of that route, with a view to a canal, and found it quite feasible, his counsel and influence were earnestly sought for, and, proving highly beneficial, were, it is said, very handsomely rewarded. He was quite a zealous politician, as well as a celebrated surveyor; and when attending a railroad meeting at Concord, and called upon for a sentiment, or toast, as it was called, brought out the applause of the gathering, by the following impromptu: " The political compass of the United States, with the representative needle, equally balanced on the pivot of the Union, freely playing over the four cardinal points-Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom in elections, and freedom in religion."

The writer of this, when about sixteen years of age, enjoyed for a short time the instruction of Mr. McDuffee in his favorite department, not so much with a view to practice as to mental improvement and satisfaction, and from that and subsequent acquaintance became quite impressed by a conviction of his mathematical genius and attainments. It is encouraging and delightful to see how some, indeed many, young men of decision and energy, almost unassisted by relatives or pecuniary resources, pressed their way through manifold difficulties to honorable distinction in the various departments of scientific and useful knowledge. John McDuffee, Esq., after a laborious and protracted life, died at his mountain home in Bradford, May 4, 1851, in the eighty-fifth year of his age.

John McDuifee, Esq., as has been said, was a native of Londonderry, N. H., born June 16, 1766. He married Martha Dake, of that town, some time in 1795. They had six sons and five daughters, all natives of Bradford, Vt.  Of these five, namely, Jennet, Patty, Martha, James, and Andrew J., died in their childhood. Of the others, we have the following notices.

1 Margaret McDuffee, born December 26, 1796, married Mosely Blake, of Bedford, Mass.   She, at this date, (1874) is living in widowhood, with her sister, Mrs.  Kronsden, at Milton, in that State.

2 John McDuffee, Jr., born July 31, 1798, lived for some time at Sing Sing, N. Y., taught schools for several years in New Jersey, and was last heard from at Akron, Ohio.

3 James McDuffee, born October 17, 1806, married and had three children; settled at Eel River, Ind. 

4 Samuel, born May 7,1808, married Emily Way, of Lempster, N. H., and settled in Ackworth.   They have six children; namely, Samuel V., a worthy minister of the Congregational order; George W., Charles 0.,Louisa E., and Lucy, wife of Horace Everett McDuffee, of Bradford, Vt.   Also Martha.

5 William McDuffee, born September 25, 1809, married Laura J. Carter, of Newbury, January 14, 1836.  They have had six children. Of these, two sons and two daughters died in their infancy. Their daughter Louisa married Clement Worthen, of Enfield, N. H.   She, with her brother, George W., and sister, Etta L., at this date is still living.

6 Louisa McDuffee, born April 11, 1817, married Lewis Bronsdon, of Massachusetts, February 6, 1844.  They have three children, Louisa, Lewis and Peleg. 

Mrs. Martha Dake, the first wife of John McDuffee, Esq., died at Bradford, May 14, 1822, at the age of forty-nine years and two days; a worthy woman of the Scotch Irish race.

Esquire McDuffee married for his second wife, November 10, 1833, Miss Dolly Greenleaf, of Bradford, who was born there, March 10, 1790. They had six children, all sons.   Of these Daniel, the first, died in the eleventh year of his age, July 29, 1835; and Mansfield, the second, and Henry, the fourth, in early childhood.  Charles McDuffee, the third son, born November 19, 1827, was an estimable young man, of ability and good scholarship; a professional land surveyor, and trustworthy agent in the settlement of estates; and died at the family home in Bradford, July 31, 1863, in the thirty-sixth year of his age.

Henry Clay McDuffee, born October 3, 1831, married Miss Laura Waterman, of Lebanon, N. H., March 12, 1863, who died on the 15th of the subsequent September.  He married for his second wife, June 8, 1869, Miss Rosie M. Bill, a daughter of Major R. M. Bill, of West Topsham, Vt, Their son Ernest B. was born November 23,1870. Mr.  H. C. McDuffee represented the town of Bradford in the State Legislature of 1870 and 1872, and has held several other offices of honor and trust. Was High Bailiff of Orange County in 1872 and 1873; one of the Selectmen of Bradford, etc., and has been much engaged in buying and selling lands in the Western and Southern States, as agent for parties in Boston and New York; also in connection with his brothers, Charles and Horace, in settling several large estates in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Horace G. McDuffee, the youngest member of this large. family, born December 22, 1833, studied surveying and civil engineering in the scientific department of Dart-mouth College, and graduated there, in the class of 1861.  He has made his permanent home in Bradford, and been diligently occupied in land surveying, the manufacture and sale of lumber, and as a real estate agent. In 1867 he married Mrs. Ellen P. Smith, widow of James C. Smith, of Cairo, Illinois. They have one child, a daughter, named Mabel; and a pleasant home of their own in Bradford village.

I here very gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of Mr. H. G. McDuffee for scientifically ascertaining, at my request, the height of Wright's Mountain, as stated in another chapter of this History.

John McDuffee, Esq., the father of this large family, died in Bradford, at his mountain home, May 4, 1851, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. His venerable widow, who had been spending her last years with her son, Henry C, and wife, at the village, having gone out to her old home on the mountain, where her sister, the Widow Corliss, was still residing, was shortly after stricken down by apoplexy, and died there May 7, 1874, at the age of eighty-four years and two months, lacking three days.  Her remains repose beside those of her husband, in the cemetery near the village.  Biographie Index

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