H. P. DUFFEY. In recording the names of the
early settlers of Delaware county,
mention must be made of H. P. Duffey, formerly a
resident of Milo township, but now living in the
town of Manchester. Mr. Duffey has been a resident of the county for more than
thirty-six years, all of which time except the last year and a half has been
spent where he first settled in Milo township. He has been actively identified with the best
interests of his adopted home and his sketch therefore finds an appropriate
place in this work.
H. P. Duffey is a native of Ohio, but comes of New England parentage. His father, Nicholas Duffey, was born in Linn, Mass., and his mother, Mary Conover, was born
in Rutland, Vt. His parents met in Rutland, whither his father was taken when
a child and there subsequently married. From Rutland they moved to Kingston, Canada, at which place the father, being a
boot and shoemaker by trade, established himself in business. A prosperous
trade rewarded his industry for some years until he was overtaken by a calamity
in the shape of a fire which swept away all he had, and to get away from the
scenes of his great loss as well as to repair his wasted fortunes, he returned
to the States, moving to Cleveland, Ohio. There, after a few years' residence, he died in
1835, at the early age of forty, followed two years later by his faithful wife,
who died at the age of thirty-three. Coming of the staple stock of New England,
Nicholas and Mary A. Duffey led the industrious,
useful lives characteristic of New England people, and if they did not leave a
great fortune to their children, they left what was of a vast deal more value
in the moulding of character, a reputation for
honesty, industry, sobriety and benevolence set off with the most devout love
of home and family. They were the parents of four children, only two of whom
are now living. Tbe eldest, Thomas, died after
reaching his majority. The youngest died in infancy. The third, Alvin D., is
married and located in Ogden, Utah, while the second, Henry Perry, is a resident of Delaware county,
and forms the subject of this biographical notice.
H. P. Duffey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, February
22, 1829.
He was just seven years old when his father died. He was scarcely nine when he
was overtaken by a greater loss in the death of his mother. As may well be
imagined, his early lines were not cast in pleasant places. An orphan at nine, left
to the care of strangers, usually has a hard time of it. He resided in Cleveland till he was eleven, receiving
little or no education during that time, and then he started out in the wide
world in pursuit of his fortunes. He became a cook on a vessel plying on Lake
Erie, then becoming a hand before the mast, and so went on up to the captaincy
of the vessel. He followed the lakes for eleven years, running on all of them
except Lake
Superior,
and became an expert inland seaman, discharging his duties with zeal and
fidelity, and giving entire satisfaction to his employers. In 1848 he married,
and this event brought about a change in his manner of living, and, in fact, a
change which has affected his whole subsequent career. Marrying into a family
of steady-going farmers, it was the wish of the young lady whom he married, and
of her people, that he quit the lakes and settle to
the quiet pursuits of agriculture. He did so, taking up his residence in
Winnebago county, Ill. He lived there only four and a half years, when he
determined to move further West, and, in the spring of
1854 came to Iowa, locating in Milo township, Delaware county. He had secured a farm
before moving to the county, and settling on it, he set about to make a home. The labor incident to this undertaking
was much greater at that time than it would be
now. At that date the country was
new, material scarce and costly, and transportation
difficult. Markets were at
considerable distance, and the entire state of agriculture largely a matter of
experiment, not to say
uncertainty. But Mr. Duffey allowed
no obstacles to conquer his purpose nor perplexing
doubts to affect his zeal. He came West to stay, and he came to succeed, and he started
resolutely to work as soon as he secured a location. He met the obstacles as they arose,
and whatever misgivings he may have had of the ultimate outcome he
discreetly kept to himself, courageously forging away and doing the best
he could with the means at hand. The old saying has it that
"fortune favors the industrious," and so it proved with him.
Each succeeding year
after he settled in the county
witnessed a gradual improvement in his condition, and, like a wise husbandman,
as his means accumulated he turned them back into the soil from which they had
come. It is a fact worth-mentioning,
that he built the
first barn in his township and it is also true, that he now has the largest
barn in the township. He bought the
first reaper that was
ever brought into the towship, and he was, during his residence on his farm,
foremost in everything in his community. Relying on his own judgment, he never
waited to
see what others would do, but satisfied himself as to the advisability of his
course, and then followed his own mind with a will and determination that usually
crowned his efforts with success. He has now one of the best improved places in
the county, and, although not born and bred to the business of farming, he is
still credited with being one of the most successful farmers that Milo township
has ever had.
Having had
to deal all his life with the practical side of things, Mr. Duffey
takes a decidedlv matter-of-fact view of whatever he
has in hand. There is no foolishness in his way of going at his business. He
goes straight to the point. He sees things with his own eyes. He puts his own
estimate on them and he forms his own opinions. But it is to his industry and
careful management that he owes his success. He labored under many disadvantages
in early life, but he has overcome these to a large extent by hard work and careful
observation, learning many valuable lessons from his own experience and the
experience of others. As might be expected, Mr. Duffey
was not only active in building up the material interests of his community, but
bore his part in the administration of the local affairs of his township. He
served as township trustee, township clerk, justice of the peace and treasurer
of his school board, giving to the duties of these several offices his careful
attention, and seeking, so far as lay in his power, to spread among the people
of his township a desire for order and good government, and cultivating a
spirit of education, of sobriety, of industry and of usefulness.
Moving to
Manchester in the spring of 1889, Mr. Duffey engaged
in business the November following, buying the feed-store of D. P. Ballard, since
which time he has given his attention mainly to that, retaining his farming
interests, however, and being now as always identified in every way with the
welfare of the community where he first settled on coming to the county.
As noted above,
Mr. Duffey married in 1848. The lady whom he selected
to share his life's fortunes was Miss Mary A. Proctor, who was born in England, a daughter of William Proctor, and
a descendant of the ancient stock of the mother country. Mr. and Mrs. Duffey have had born to them a family of seven children,
only three of whom are now living. The deceased children, being the four
eldest, are—Alvin L. Rosalind A., William H., and May; those living are— Cora,
now wife of W. Henry Todd, of Milo township, Delaware county;
Alva L. and Roy J.
Mr. Duffey has been a republican since the organization of that
party. He is thoroughly loyal to the principles of his party, and, when
occasion demands, he turns out and works with a will for the success of the men
and measures which his party places in the field. He is a zealous Mason, having
taken all the degrees up to and including that of Knight Templar. As a citizen
he is public spirited and wide awake, ready and willing, at all times, to do
his share towards the encouragement of every worthy purpose.
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