William T. Duff (1931)
DUFF, MCKEE, MILLIGAN
Posted By: Treva Patterson
Date: 6/18/2007 at 18:42:33
Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Thursday, February 19, 1931
Page 1Death of Will T. Duff
Will T. Duff passed away at his home Tuesday night. He was 91 years of age at the time of this death. Mr. Duff came to this county in 1854, going to the farm in Madison township where he has since made his home. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Duff and one of a family of 11 who have all preceded him in death.
He was married to Emmeline Milligan on February 18, fifty seven years ago. Mrs. Duff passed away October 9th, 1930.
Funeral services will be held Friday, the hour not being set, when the paper went to press. The services and burial will be at the Worthington church.
He is survived by two children, Mrs. Dean McKee and Clyde Duff.
________________________Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Thursday, February 26, 1931
Page 5William T. Duff
William T. Duff, son of William and Mary Duff was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, Sept. 14, 1839 and died February 18, 1931 at the age of 91 years.
He came to this county with his father at the age of 18, coming overland by wagon train. They settled in Jefferson township one year later, coming to Madison township which has been his home for 73 years. He was one of a family of eleven children who have all passed away February 18, 1874. He was united in marriage to Emmaline Milligan in Henderson county, Illinois. To this union was born three children: Mandie, Clyde and Josephine, Mandie having died at the age of 12 years.
He was a faithful follower of the church having joined when a young man, giving his time and means of support to the North Branch United Presbyterian church and later to the Worthington Methodist church, and today he has entered into the promise of the Lord he loved and served.
The Rev. A. R. Weed, pastor of the West Star church, assisted by Rev. A. P. Keast and Rev. W. C. Porter, conducted the funeral services Thursday morning at the Worthington church and burial was in the Winterset cemetery.
_______________________Earlham Echo
Earlham, Iowa
Thursday, February 26, 1931PIONEER FARMER IS LAID TO REST
William T. Duff Came to Madison County Nearly Seventy-Five Years Ago
In the passing of William T. Duff, Madison County loses another of its sturdy pioneers. Mr. Duff came to Madison County seventy-four years ago. For 73 years he resided on the same farm in Madison twp. which he homesteaded at the age of 18. He then could have bought the virgin prairie land near Earlham at less than $10 an acre.
In his youth Mr. Duff drove wagons in freight trains overland from Davenport to Denver. At that time the government would not permit the freight caravan to start with less than 100 wagons in the train. His experiences of that romantic period on the lonely trail that passed past Mitchell’s Mill and west through Quaker Divide surpass any later depicted in novels or motion pictures. It was remarkable that Mr. Duff retained full use of his unusual memory until the last, despite his great age of 91 years.
Mr. Duff’s only regret was that he was unable to participate in the Civil War, an accident having injured the fingers of his right hand. But his was a greater contribution to the nation than that engendered by strife with his fellow man. It is to the builders of empire like Mr. Duff, who carved a commonwealth out of the wilderness, that we owe most for the advantages we enjoy today.
Funeral services for Mr. Duff were held Friday afternoon from the Worthington Church conducted by the pastor. Burial was in the Worthing Cemetery. The following obituary was read:
William T. Duff, son of William and Mary Duff, was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, September 14, 1839 and died February 18, 1931 at the age of 91 years.
He came to this county with his father at the age of 18, coming overland by wagon train. They settled in Jefferson twp., one year later coming to Madison twp., which as been his home for 73 years.
He was one of a family of eleven children who have all passed away.
February 18, 1874 he was united in marriage to Emmaline Milligan in Henderson County, Illinois. To this union were born three children: Maudie, Clyde and Josephine, Maudie having died at the age of 12.
He was a faithful follower of the church having joined when a young man. He gave his time and means of support to the North Branch United Presbyterian Church and later to the Worthington Methodist Church, and today he has entered into the promise of the Lord he loved and served.
________________________Transcriber’s note: Typed as printed in the Earlham Echo. Burial was at Worthington cemetery, Madison county, Iowa.
Gravesite
Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
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