Twins Kate and Mary Duff
Twin sisters Kate and Mary Duff were born 25 July 1892 in County Laois, Parish of Raheen, to Michael and Anne Grant Duff. Other addresses for the family listed: Coolnacart, Mountrath, Clonkeen, Ballynamuddagh. Eleven of Michael and Anne’s thirteen children lived into adulthood. Their parents were married in the Parish of Raheen February, 1880, and departed for the USA almost immediately following their wedding. Michael and Anne settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Michael, a farmer could only obtain laborer employment, and by 1885, they had returned home to Ireland with two of their three children born in the USA. One child, also named Mary, died in infancy, and is buried in Philadelphia.
Eight adult Duff children emigrated to the USA; four - Ellen, Edward, Anne, and Fintan remained in Ireland. Anne died in childhood.
The eight children who emigrated to the USA: Mary, Kate, William, James, Lawrence, Patrick, Joseph, and Michael. William and Michael served in the US Armed Forces during WW I. Michael died and is buried in France. William returned home to Philadelphia.
Kate arrived at the Port of New York on The S.S. Mauretania 9 June 1911, accompanied by two brothers. Mary followed a year later, accompanied by a brother. Family lore tells that Mary was scheduled to depart on the Titanic, but was denied boarding. Apparently, her paperwork was not in order, so she sailed to the USA on the S.S Baltic, arriving at the Port of New York 6 April 1912.
Kate married Bernard Johnson, a widower with three small daughters, in 1920. They settled in Ardmore, Pennsylvania and had five more children. Bernard died in 1931; a resourceful Kate continued raising their eight children.
Mary married John O’Donnell, a native of Donegal, also a widower with two sons in 1923. Mary and John had seven more children, settled in Philadelphia, and later, in Havertown, Pennsylvania.
Kate and Mary remained very close throughout their lives. Their children and grandchildren had difficulty telling them apart. Kate died in 1959 at age 68; Mary was 93 when she died in 1985.
Numerous grandchildren great-grandchildren and beyond survive them throughout the United States and Ireland.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 25th Jul 1892 | VIEW SOURCE |
| Date of Death | 1st Sep 1959 | |
| Associated Building (s) | Duff Family Home - Coolnacart/Raheen/Laois | |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | Michael Duff | VIEW SOURCE |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Anne Grant | VIEW SOURCE |
| Names of Siblings | 13 Children total Mary, Kate, William, James, Lawrence, Edward, Ellen, Patrick, Joseph, Michael, Ann, Fintan, Mary Eight of the Duff children emigrated to the United States- Mary, Kate, William, James, Lawrence, Patrick, Joseph, Michael. | VIEW SOURCE |
| Spouse (First Name/s and Maiden/Surname) | Bernard Johnson 1920, John O’Donnell 1923 | |
| Number of Children | Kate and Bernard - 8; Mary and John - 9 | |
Thanks for putting a spotlight on this. I submitted it a few months ago, and our family loves it. Can you edit the last paragraph I’ve added in bold text. (Please don’t bold text in the narrative.). Re the survivors ...throughout the United States and Ireland. I forgot to add ‘and Ireland’.
Also, in the last paragraph...Kate’s two surviving children are now 95 and 93 as of August 2018. They’ve each had birthdays.
Thanks for updating.
Sharon Dolan
Username coolnacart1892
Hi Sharon, those changes are complete now. You can always edit the Chronicle yourself by clicking on the orange button. All changes will be moderated before publishing but this at most takes a few days. Laura
Hi, Laura, thank you for making those revisions. The only thing that needs changing is that their birthdays aren’t in August. Can it just read ....
Kate’s two surviving children are ages 95 and 93 (as of August 2018).
I’ve tried revising the narrative using the orange button, but it gives me a message that I don’t have permission to edit that area. I can do it for the other sections, but not the narrative.
Thanks very much,
Sharon Dolan
Greetings,
thank you for making it possible to record our family history. Our family is so appreciative. There are corrections/editions to the narrative I wrote about Mary and Kate and their family. I've previously been informed I could make these changes to the narrative myself, but that section is disabled, with a notation that I don't have permission to edit it. Following are the changes. Hopefully, most of the text can be copied and pasted. Thank you again. Sharon Dolan - St. Louis, MO USA - Kate's granddaughter.
Paragraph 1 - please edit to read:
Twin sisters Kate and Mary Duff were born 25 July 1892 in County Laois, Parish of Raheen, to Michael and Anne Grant Duff. Other addresses for the family listed: Coolnacart, Mountrath, Clonkeen, Ballynamuddagh. Nine of their eleven siblings lived into adulthood. Their parents were married in the Parish of Raheen February, 1880, and departed for the USA almost immediately following their wedding. Michael and Anne settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Michael, a farmer could only obtain laborer employment, and by 1885, they had returned home to the family farm in Ireland with their two children, William and James, born in the USA. Their third child, also named Mary, died in infancy, and is buried in Philadelphia.
Paragraph 2 - please delete. It currently reads:
Eight adult Duff children emigrated to the USA; four remained in Ireland.
(I have incorporated it in paragraph 3)
Paragraph 3 - please edit to read:
Eight Duff children emigrated to the USA: Mary, Kate, William, James, Lawrence, Patrick, Joseph, and Michael. William and Michael served in the US Armed Forces during WW I. Michael died and is buried in France. William returned home to Philadelphia. Edward, Ellen and Fintan remained in Ireland. Another child, Ann died in childhood.
Paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7 - no changes
Final paragraph - please edit to read:
Mary's children are deceased. Kate’s last surviving children, Bernard, Jr. and Julia had birthdays in April and July, 2020. Bernard Jr. died 31 May 2020 at age 97. Kate's surviving daughter, Julia celebrated her 95th birthday 31 July 2020. Numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and extended family survive them throughout the United States and Ireland.
SJD Rev. August, 2020
I have made the edits to the narrative. Sharon Dolan, St. Louis, Missouri, USA,10 Jan 2023
