Have I got Duff ancestors ?

[grannysrock]

If you had ancestors who gave at least 3 of their 5 known children "Duff" as a middle name ( and I haven't yet found registrations for the first two children ) , would you think it likely that they had Duff ancestry ?
Or could they have had Duff employers ? Are there any Duff surname variants I should be looking for ? .

Sally
Possibly a Duff descendant.

[SarahND]

Hi Sally!
I would say it was highly likely there was a Duff back there somewhere, so you have more digging to do, you lucky person

According to Rampantscotland.com the origin of the name is the Gaelic word dubh "black"
MacDuff would be a variant, of course.
Duffy is an Irish version of the name and Dow is a variant common in Aberdeenshhire (pronounced "doo").

Purely in the mis-spelling department, there are a small number of Doffs on SP, even a couple of Doff and Dough individuals
No dogh, however, and only one each of dugh and duph

Have fun with this!
Sarah

[grannysrock]

Thanks Sarah
I've tried a few things - all unsuccessful , but don't think Dow would have ever occurred to me - thanks for that. FamilySearch seems to be playing up just when I want to experiment.

If it's a family name, I think it has to be on the daddy's line. He was John Montgomery , born circa 1802 and in Midlothian if the 1841 census is anything to go by . Sadly he died in 1844 , so no parents names to be had .... His wife was Marion/May Anderson and her parents were John Anderson and Anne Smith. No Duffs that I can spot on her side.

John and Marions' children ( born Edinburgh High Street ) :

Ann * born about 1829 -1888
George about 1832 - ?
Catherine Duff 1835 -1863
John Duff 1839 - 1839
Robert Duff 1843 - 1871

* Ann on the birth reg. of one of her children , is styled as Ann Anderson S. Montgomery , so she would appear to be named after maternal granny.
As far as I know Duff was not passed down any further - but I am a bit lost as to what happened to George, so can't be certain.

Duff Duff Duff...

Sally

[WilmaM]

Remember to look sideways too - a brother-in-law or a 'rich' great uncle or the like could influence names.
Another option is the minister at the time .

[grannysrock]

Good tip Wilma
The minister's name was only mentioned on one of the baptisms - Revd Hunter
I'm stuck sideways and backwards with this family , now and then I get them out , dust them down and try again but all it gets me is a sore head .

cheers
Sally
Still waiting for my Duff, Duff, Duff !

[LesleyB]

Sally
- I have some Duffs; Easter Ross ones, so not sure if this is relevant, but the surname is from further north than Edinburgh.

I don't know a great deal about them: I've got an Ann Duff b. abt 1783 who is my 5th Gr Grandmother who marries a McCulloch and that is the end of the Duffs on that side, and a Janet Duff b. abt 1773 (same area but no connection found to Ann so far but birth records start pretty late in Tarbat, Easter Ross) who married a Ross, and ditto, except as a middle name here and there. The name could come from quite a few generations back. Some of the Duffs in that area of Easter Ross (Janet's brothers) were quite well off, owning several farms & etc.

Best wishes
Lesley

[Currie]

You would have already been there Sally, but for anyone else researching middle names there are the IGI Middle Name Indexes on the Hugh Wallis website. They can sometimes be very useful in this sort of situation. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.anc ... #PageTitle

Alan

[grannysrock]

Thanks Alan and Lesley for your suggestions. I have had a go with the middle name indexes - but I only looked in Midlothian. I think I will try the other counties - as Lesley suggests , the answer might lie further North ....

Sally

[DuffProject]

Hi there,

My Great Great Grandfather Robert G Duff married a Margaret R. Anderson.
Margarets parents were Joseph Anderson Sr. and Martha Ross:

Martha Ross
Born: abt. April 1801
Married: abt. 1822 Co. Armagh, Ireland
Died: Dec 1895 aged 94 yrs.
Burial : Bethany Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, Moffat, ON

Joseph Anderson
Birth: abt. 1801 Parish of Ballymore, Armagh, Ireland
Occupation: Weaver, Armagh, Ireland;
Farmer, Lot 12, Concession 2, Nassagaweya Twp., ON
Emigration: 1830 Nassagaweya Twp., ON
Death: December 10, 1862 Nassagaweya Twp., Halton Co., ON
Burial : Bethany Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, Moffat, ON
Website:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.anc ... derson.htm

Does any of this ring a bell with anyone ?
Alane.

[WilmaM]

I've encountered Duffy's recently.
A Duffy is marrying a Duthie soon - but they BOTH pronounce thier surname as DuFFy.
A variation worth checking perhaps?