This gentleman is my great-grandfather. The first we hear of him is in Leeds, Yorkshire, where he signed up to join the British Army. He gave his age as 18 years 0 months, was born in Lucan and was employed as a weaver. The names of his parents were not asked for or given. It is assumed he travelled to Leeds for employment in the woolen mills, but whether his parents went also is not known, nor is it known if he had any siblings.
I have detailed information of his life from 1826, but absolutely nothing before that date. I've searched sundry resources on the Internet, but none are forthcoming. Can anyone help?
Chris Duff in Canada
Friday 18th Dec 2015, 11:07PM
Message Board Replies
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Chris:
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
The Lucan RC records on the National Library site do not start until 1818. Here is a link to the parish register. http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0472
I also checked on Roots Ireland and they had one Patrick Duff baptismal record for the period 1803-1813 and ironically it was in 1808. Not sure how far Swords is from Lucan.
Roger McDonnell
Name:Patt DuffDate of Birth:0000-Jan-00
Date of Baptism:12-Apr-1808Address:
Parish/District:SWORDSGender:MaleCountyCo. Dublin
Denomination:
Father:Mathew DuffMother:Rose KellyOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Peter MagenisSponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Mary McCannCastlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
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Hi Roger,
Many thanks for your response. It is possible you may have found something. Swords is about 15 miles NNE of Lucan and north of Dublin. Patrick Duff states on his army papers he was born in Lucan on 18th March 1808. However, it would seem strange he would be baptised 25 days later in a different parish 15 miles away. Coincidences do occur: the first is the date of baptism - 1808 being the date of his birth. The second may be more important - the LDS site has a record of Patt Duff being married to a Maria Kiely. Maybe Patt as a first name stuck in some quarters.
Patrick Duff went back to the Dublin area in 1847 after he was discharged from the army, then moved to Cavan. He married (wife's name not known) and had a daughter Catherine Mary born 1850 +/- 1 year, born in Cavan. Wife died in 1859 in Cavan. Patrick took a second wife, Bridget Mary Kelly (maybe LDS's Maria Kiely?) and moved on to Limerick.
The baptismal record you unearthed has Mathew Duff as the father and Rose Kelly as the mother. Neither of these first names have been used for children or grandchildren - they have generally been Patrick, Charles, James and Mary. I will, however, see if I can trace Mathew and Rose.
It's a pity the Irish family records are so sparse. I'm so grateful that you have given me another thread to follow. I am open to further suggestions!
All the best for Christmas and the New Year.
Chris
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Chris:
Thanks for the Christmas and New Year greetings. All the best to you and your family.
Roger
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
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Hello to anybody and everybody who reads the Cavan message board. I'm grateful to Roger for his replies and would like to hear from anyone else who lives in Cavan and is interested in local family history. The Duff family must have left some trace of their existence. How about a record of families leaving to work in the Yorkshire woolen mills? I've been in touch with Yorkshire sources and there appears to be no records relating to personnel working in the mills. All I have is his army record from when he signed up for the army. No indication of his parent's name though.
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Sorry everyone, but I meant the LUCAN message board! It's Lucan I'm interested in. My great grandfather moved to Lucan after he came out of the army.
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Sorry everyone, but I meant the LUCAN message board! It's Lucan I'm interested in. My great grandfather moved to Lucan after he came out of the army.