'Duff01'
Index links to: Lead / Letter
Families covered: Duff of Craighead, Duff of Muldavit (Maldavit)
| (1) We decided to review what we had on the Duff family when we realised that not only was page Duff02 one of the largest pages in the database (by file size) but also that, within that page, we had skimped on using what is surely the Main Source on the Duff family: 'The Book of The Duffs' by Alistair & Henrietta Tayler (1914). Furthermore, we soon realised that one of the Main Sources we had used for that page when we prepared it in 2003, a web site (kittybrewster.com) that we suspect took much information from 'The Book of The Duffs', was no longer accessible. (2) The following link identifies a connection to the ancient Earls of Fife that is suggested by 'The Book of The Duffs' and reported by various web sites but which seems not to be accepted by all serious genealogists. Douglas refers to the reputed descents from the line of Strabolgie (shown on the continuation as 'Strathbogie') but starts his pedigree from the David who married Mary Chalmers. BP1934 ('Fife') starts off with reference to the David Duff who married Agnes Chalmers but does not provide a solid chain of descendants until the John whose second wife, Margaret Gordon, was mother of Adam Duff of Clunybeg whose immediate descendants are shown in the lower section below. |
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| John Duff (d 1404) | |||||||||||||||
| 1. | David Duff (b c1375) | ||||||||||||||
| m. Agnes or Mary Chalmers of Muldavit (dau of Maud of Muldavit) | |||||||||||||||
| A. | John Duff of Muldavit & Craighead | ||||||||||||||
| i. | John Duff of Muldavit & Craighead (a 1440) | ||||||||||||||
| a. | John Duff of Muldavit (a 1500) | ||||||||||||||
| (1) | Andrew Duff of Muldavit (d 1515/1519) | ||||||||||||||
| m. Helen Hay (grandchild of John Hay of Boyne, Enzie & Tillibovel) | |||||||||||||||
| (A) | John Duff of Muldavit | ||||||||||||||
| m. Elizabeth Abercromby | |||||||||||||||
| (i) | George Duff of Muldavit | ||||||||||||||
| Douglas suggests that George never married but 'The Book of The Duffs' (vol 1, p17) reports that he had the following family. | |||||||||||||||
| m. Isabel Gordon (dau of Patrick Gordon of Drummy) | |||||||||||||||
| (a) | Isobel Duff | ||||||||||||||
| m. Patrick Gordon (son of _ Gordon of Cairnburrow) | |||||||||||||||
| (ii) | John Duff of Muldavit (d 25.04.1593) | ||||||||||||||
| Douglas identifies John's 1st wife (and mother of John) as Isabel Allan but 'The Book of The Duffs' (vol 1, p13 & p18) shows her as wife of his grandson and identifies this John's 1st wife as ... | |||||||||||||||
| m1. _ Abercromby (dau of Abercromby of Skeith) | |||||||||||||||
| (a) | John Duff of Muldavit (also known as Craighead) | ||||||||||||||
| m. Agnes Gordon | |||||||||||||||
| ((1)) | John Duff of Muldavit or Craighead | ||||||||||||||
| m. (1618) Isabel Allan | |||||||||||||||
| ((A)) | Andrew Duff (dsp) | ||||||||||||||
| m. (1647) Grisel Bell | |||||||||||||||
| ((B)) | James Duff (dsp) | ||||||||||||||
| ((C)) | Janet Duff | ||||||||||||||
| m. _ Stephen | |||||||||||||||
| ((i)) | Alexander Stephen (dsp) | ||||||||||||||
| m2. Margaret Gordon (of Cairnbarrow family, m2. Walter Ogilvie of Auchoynany) | |||||||||||||||
| (b) | Adam Duff in Ardrone, later of Clunybeg (b 1590, d 04.1674) - continued below | ||||||||||||||
| m1. _ Murray of Milegen | |||||||||||||||
| m2. Beatrix Gordon (dau of Alexander Gordon, 3rd of Birkenburn) | |||||||||||||||
| (c) | John Duff in Cullen | ||||||||||||||
| m. Margaret Meldrum | |||||||||||||||
| (d) | Margaret Duff apparently of this generation | ||||||||||||||
| m. John Meldrum of Laithers | |||||||||||||||
| (e)+ | 9 other sons (including Patrick, George, James, Andrew, Nicholas) | ||||||||||||||
| One of these sons (or John) was father of ... | |||||||||||||||
| ((1)) | John Duff in Aberdeen | ||||||||||||||
| m. Margaret Johnstone | |||||||||||||||
| ((A)) | John Duff in Rotterdam (d 1718) | ||||||||||||||
| m. Anne Innes | |||||||||||||||
| (B) | George Duff of Castlefield, Provost of Cullen (priest) | ||||||||||||||
| partner unknown | |||||||||||||||
| (i) | John Duff of Castlefield | ||||||||||||||
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| Adam Duff in Ardrone, later of Clunybeg (b 1590, d 04.1674) - continued above | |||||||||||||||
| m1. _ Murray of Milegen mentioned only by 'The Book of The Duffs' | |||||||||||||||
| 1. | Margaret Duff | ||||||||||||||
| m. G. Geddes | |||||||||||||||
| m2. Beatrix Gordon (dau of Alexander Gordon, 3rd of Birkenburn) | |||||||||||||||
| 2. | Alexander Duff of Keithmore (b 1623, d 1696) | ||||||||||||||
| m. (1650) Helen Grant (d 1694, dau of Alexander Grant of Ballentomb and/or Allachie) | |||||||||||||||
| 3. | John Duff of Bowmakellach (b 1624, d before 1685) | ||||||||||||||
| m. Isobel Pringle of Elgin | |||||||||||||||
| 4. | William Duff, Provost of Inverness (b 1632, d 1715) | ||||||||||||||
| m1. (1655) Christian Duff (dau of Alexander Duff of Kinloss) | |||||||||||||||
| m2. (1666) Jane Lockhart (d 1690) | |||||||||||||||
| m3. (after 1672) Mrs Jean Fraser (of Dattalick) | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | George Duff of Edindiach | ||||||||||||||
| m1. Beatrice Duff (dau of Adam Duff of Drumbulg) | |||||||||||||||
| m2. _ Alexander ("a minister's daughter") | |||||||||||||||
| 6. | James Duff of Milntown in Auchindown (6th son) | ||||||||||||||
| 'The Book of The Duffs' (vol 1, p50) reports that James was probably father of ... | |||||||||||||||
| A. | James Duff in Inverness possibly father or uncle of ... | ||||||||||||||
| i. | Robert Duff (b 1711) | ||||||||||||||
| m. Barbara Gordon | |||||||||||||||
| a. | John Alexander Duff (b 1759, d 1829) | ||||||||||||||
| m. Catherine Lucy Maudsley | |||||||||||||||
| (1) | Thomas William Duff in Southwark (b 1789, d 1856) had issue | ||||||||||||||
| m1. Utricia Goodman | |||||||||||||||
| m2. (sp?) ?? | |||||||||||||||
| m3. (sp?) ?? | |||||||||||||||
| (2) | John Duff (dsp) | ||||||||||||||
| b.+ | 13 other children | ||||||||||||||
| ii. | Thomas Duff (b 1713, d 1801) | ||||||||||||||
| 7. | Jean Duff | ||||||||||||||
| m. John Muir of Mather Cluny | |||||||||||||||
| 8. | Helen Duff | ||||||||||||||
| m. _ Taylor in Ardgaithnay | |||||||||||||||
| 9.+ | other issue - Adam, Andrew, Thomas, Peter | ||||||||||||||
Main source(s):
(1) For upper section : 'The Book of The Duffs' (Alistair & Henrietta Tayler, vol 1 (1914), Chapter 2 ('Duffs of Muldavit'), p12+), 'Baronage of Scotland' (Sir Robert Douglas, 1798, 'Duff, Baron of Dipple and Braco in Scotland, Earl Fife, Viscount MacDuff, and Lord Braco of Kilbride, of the Kingdom of Ireland', p136+)
(2) For lower section (uploaded 31.08.25) : 'The Book of The Duffs' (Alistair & Henrietta Tayler, vol 1 (1914), Chapter 4 ('Adam Duff of Clunybeg'), p38+), 'Baronage of Scotland' (Sir Robert Douglas, 1798, 'Duff ...', p139)
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