John
Duffus of Banff, Banffshire,
Scotland
Descendants of John Duffus of Banff
1737 June 26 (also given as July 7th): John Duffus the elder married Mary Bissett in Banff.
(Webmaster's note: LDS reference appearing in Scottish Church Records as follows: John DUFFUS (M)....................... M: 7 Jul 1737 Ba: M111472 Spouse: Margt. BISSET Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990817 Pr: 6901968).
John Duffus was a merchant in Banff. Mary Bissett was the grand-daughter of the Earl of Hydford (title now extinct).
Children: Allison baptised 19th May 1738, daughter of John Duffus, merchant;
Margaret, baptised 1739, daughter of John Duffus, merchant of Banff;
Alex and John, twin sons of John Duffus, merchant of Banff, baptised 30 May 1741. Witness Alex Innes and his son, also John Alexander Bissett and A.C. Duffus (grandfathers), and A.C. Duffus, uncle to the children.
(Webmaster's note: It appears, according to the LDS Scottish Church Records, there were a number of children:
Alison DUFFUS (F)..................... C: 19 May 1738 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
Alexr. DUFFUS (M)..................... C: 30 May 1741 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815
Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
John DUFFUS (M)....................... C: 30 May 1741 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967Possible children of John Duffus christened 1741:
William DUFFUS (M).................... C: 11 Dec 1757 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990816
Mother: Margaret GALL Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
John DUFFUS (M)....................... C: 27 Jan 1760 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990816
Mother: Margaret GALL Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
Elizabeth DUFFUS (F).................. C: 13 Nov 1762 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990816
Mother: Margaret GALL Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
Isabel DUFFUS (F)..................... C: 20 Dec 1742 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815
Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
James DUFFUS (M)...................... C: 11 May 1744 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So:
990815 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
Jean DUFFUS (F)....................... C: 16 Jun 1746 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815
Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
Mary DUFFUS (F)....................... C: 28 Apr 1748 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815
Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
William DUFFUS (M).................... C: 9 Dec 1749 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815
Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
Thomas DUFFUS (M)..................... C: 3 Dec 1752 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990815
Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967
Jean DUFFUS (F)....................... C: 20 Sep 1754 Ba: C111472 Father: John DUFFUS Banff, Banff, Scotland So: 990816
Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 Pr: 6901967 )
Alexander Duffus: one of the twin sons of John the elder and Mary Bissett went out to the West Indies (no date given) and was a merchant planter and slave owner there. Alexander married Francis Smith (grand-daughter of James Washington of Ardwich.
Alexander and Francis had a large family of sons and daughters and also adopted Susannah Gordon Berryman.
One daughter married a Mackenzie and lived in Jamaica.
Another daughter married Major Hardy, father of Sir William and Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy of the Record Office, London.
Alex sons went to various parts of the world -
One son to India,
One son to Russia,
One or more to America,
Two - William and Thomas - remained in the West Indies as partners, merchants and owners of a large sugar and coffee plantation.
Thomas Duffus: married Susannah Gordon Berryman on Tuesday, November 15th ?1802.
Note on Susannah Berryman: her parents were Quakers in Pennsylvania. When Susannah was 10, they sent her to England for her education, but with war breaking out soon after she left Philadelphia, the vessel in which she was sailing was captured by the French, recaptured by the English, and taken into Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. The little girl was adopted by Mr. & Mrs. Gordon, under whose care she was traveling and they had her christened by their name, but soon after they died of yellow fever, within a few days of each other, she was then once more adopted by Alexander Duffus and his wife Francis, into which family she afterwards married. Susannah's date of birth is given as 7th Jan. 1784.
Children of Thomas Duffus and Susannah:
John Duffus, b. Sat. June 9th 1804 (at his aunt's house in Kingston). Died October 17th 1870, age 66 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Christiana, b. Tues. June 27th 1806.
Frances, b. June 6th 1810.
Charlotte, b. Tues. Sept. 29th 1812 (later married a Polish "Count Plater and lived in Australia).
Laura, b. Fri. Oct. 14th 1814 (later married a Polish "Prince Alois Konstantine Driucki-Lubecki" - both went to Australia on the same ship "Eden" as her brother John and his wife and his wife and children.
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Note on Thomas Duffus: He was born Sept. 9th 1778 in Jamaica and died March 13th 1835 age 56 in Boulonge Sur Mer in France. At some date after the end of 1827 he left Jamaica, "probably for health reasons." On Dec. 12th 1827 he wrote to his son John in England, advising him not to return to Jamaica, where he says "There is now nothing but corruption, intrigue, and dissimulation." At this date his wife and daughters were in England (where the children went to be educated) and he sends his affectionate greetings to them. Susannah later joined her husband in France. After he died she returned to England and later followed her son to Australia and then (1848) to New Zealand.
John Duffus, born Jun. 9th 1804 in Jamaica, died October 17, 1870, aged 66, in Auckland, New Zealand. He was the oldest son of Thomas and Susannah Duffus. At an early age, John was sent to England for his education. he went first to Eton, then to Queens College, Oxford, where he was an Oxford Blue and took his MA degree. After leaving college, he entered the Anglican Church and was ordained Deacon on June 15th 1828, and priest on June 28th 1829. He was appointed to the curacy of Tetbury, where he met and married Maria Henrietta Paul, daughter of Robert Clark Paul, member of an old established legal family. At an early age his health (John's) broke down owing to the severe English climate and he was advised by his physician to leave England. He applied for and obtained an appointment in New South Wales, Australia, and on May 20th 1838, with his wife and five children (all under 7, and 2 "in arms") he sailed from Gravesend in the MV "Eden" and after a 5 month voyage landed in Australia where he remained in a parish near Sidney. All his sisters and their husbands eventually followed him to Australia as did his mother.
After 8 years in Australia he resigned from the ministry (? salary - could not support large family) and sailed for Auckland, New Zealand, arrived in early 1848, where he took up farming at Te Hihi, Monganui, Northland, new Zealand. He later moved to Auckland, where he died on October 17th 1870.
Children of John and Maria Duffus:
Exact birth dates not definitely known - women of this generation were all very secretive about their ages.
Elizabeth Paul Duffus, b. approx. a832, later married Taylor.
Annie Duffus, b. ?1833, died unmarried.
Francis Maria Duffus, b. 1835, married William Hunt.
Charlotte Plater, b. ?1836, married William Ball.
Robert Drucki-Lubecki Duffus, b. ?1838, married Lucy Ball - had no children.
The above were all born in England.
John William Duffus, born in Australia (Liverpool) in 1842. Later married Adeline Fleming McDonald in New Zealand. He died 19.7.1938 (age 96) in Auckland.
Amy Duffus, b. 1846 in Australia, married James Sheath.
Thomas Duffus, born in Australia, died in infancy.
All the above came to New Zealand with their parents arriving in early 1848.
Children of John William Duffus and Adeline Duffus:
Elizabeth Paul Duffus, b. 1875, died age 93 in Auckland. Never married. Was a school teacher.
Adeline Minnie Duffus, b. 1878, died age 91 in Auckland. Never married. Was a physiotherapist.
John Charles Kinnear Paul Duffus, b. 1.7.1883 in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, died 2.9.1958 in Auckland. Trained and worked as a dentist in Auckland.
Alice Edith Duffus, b. ?1887, died 23.8.1977.Never married. Worked spasmodically as a receptionist for her brother, a dentist.
John Charles K. P. Duffus and Ada Lilian Jackson:
John Charles K. P. Duffus married Ada Lilian Jackson 27th August, 1914 in Auckland.
They only had one child, a daughter, Adeline Ruth, b. 30.10.1916 (me). I never married, but trained and worked as a nurse. My father was a dentist, my mother, prior to her marriage, was also trained as a nurse.
I apologise for my poor typing, but thought the above records could help your comprehensive Duffus family tree.
Signed: A.R. Duffus 21.6.99
P.S. As you can see, our line ceases at my death.
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276 Richardson Rd. Mt. Roskill
Auckland 4 New Zealand
Wed. 21.7.1999Dear David:
Many thanks for the copies of the "Duffus Sunday Eve. News".
Also for returning my small cheque - are you sure you don't need it towards your postage? As you know I have had a letter from Mervyn de Plater, who is (I think) my 4th cousin, being 4th from Thomas Duffus, as I am also. Between you I have clarified a few points.
1. The wife of John Duffus the Elder was obviously Margaret Bissett., as you have the records from Banff, and also Mervyn gives the same name. I also have a note by "Susie" (? daughter of Thomas Duffus and Susannah Berryman) of "Robert" Duffus marrying (no date) "Miss Bissett" "and lived in Banff". Is it possible that 2 brothers married 2 sisters, and that is how the confusion arose?
2. Mervyn de Plater gives "Rebecca Berryman" as Thomas's wife. The other details agree with my records, except that he says "Rebecca's parents died of yellow fever before she was adopted by Alexander and Frances", whereas we have her name as "Susannah" and a note that her first adoptive parents died of yellow fever (The Gordons) in Jamaica, afer being off-loaded by the British warship. I have no note as to her real parents, and have wondered why no apparent attempt was made to return the child to them. Maybe the yellow fever had also claimed them, and that was why she was traveling under the care of Mr. & Mrs. Gordon?
3. I think she was probably "Susannah" as the notes compiled after the fire in Jamaica were written by "Susie", presumably the 2nd daughter (3rd child) of Susannah and Thomas Duffus, and no "Rebecca" appears in any of their descendants.
By the way, did I miss her off my list? You have not mentioned her name on your newsletter. Susannah, daughter of Thomas and Susannah Duffus was born "Sat. a.m. May 21st, 1808". I think this family must have been into astrology, as all the births give the day and whether a.m., p.m. or night.
I am impressed by the fecundity of the early forebears, tho' of course in those pre-pill, pre-TV days, as I once heard a farmer say, "What else is there to do in the long winter evenings?"
4. The badge - the one in your copy is the same as the one my Aunt Bessie has copied - it is different from the description of "2 savages, proper, armed with a baton" with the motto "Sans Peur" - I don't know where that description came from. In New Zealand at so many removes, we don't go in much for crests and badges and the proper description, so I hadn't noticed the discrepancy before. I see Mervyn de Plater's is different again. I don't know the difference between "Crest" "Badge", and AShield".
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One other difference - in her letter June Duffus, widow of William Duffus, you have her saying she has "passed her 90th birthday" - this is either a typist's error, or else she was felling particularly old, as I was invited to her 80th birthday party on Sat. 20th March this year, 1999. And I know she is younger than I am - we were at Epsom Grammar School together, and June was 2 years behind me. We get old quickly enough, without adding on 10 years! I am 82 - will be 83 in the end of October.
My father's cousin, Mary McFarlane, grand-daughter of Elizabeth Paul Duffus, who married "Taylor" (I don't know his Christian name), and whose daughter Fanny married a McFarlane and had 2 children, Ken and Mary, - later inherited the "family" notes which later she let me copy. Also I have other notes from my Aunt Bessie and another cousin of Dad's Jack BurnMurdoch, (descended from Francis Maria, 3rd daughter of John and Marie). However, Mary had most, and when she died she passed all her records to her niece, who is now Robin Hooper. I asked Robin if I could give her name and address to both you and Mervyn, in case you want more information than I have. She agreed - her address is:
Mrs. Robin Hooper
11 Windmill Rd.
Auckland 3, New Zealand
Her phone no. (09) 630-6835Her e-mail address r.hooper@clear.net.NZ
When I die, Robin will get my records also.
N.B. On your covering letter you refer to "seeing me at the reunion next year" - Alas!! I won't be going - too old. I has a slight stroke - 1997 & Tho' fully recovered, don't feel secure enough to venture far from my own home. Next time I am near a photo copier I shall take a few photos for you ( I haven't many) & also send you the incomplete journal my great-grand father's voyage from UK to Australia - 1838
click on image to read introductory letter from Ruth Duffus
and Reverend Duffus' journal
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