Detail of 1851 Map of Lockport, showing Gooding Street.

Detail of 1851 Map of Lockport, showing Gooding Street.Glenwood was later established just below the railroad.

John Duffy was the eldest son of Patrick Duffy and Elizabeth Dillon Duffy. He was born in Orleans County, New York in 1838.

By the 1840 census, the family had moved to Lockport, Niagara County, New York.

John attended school until at least the age of 12. The 1855 New York State census shows that he worked at farming (probably on the acreage his father was acquiring) at the age of 17. His father was then working as a laborer.

It is unclear if he served in the Civil War. There are records for a John Duffy from Niagara County who served in the Union Army, but I’m not sure it is this John Duffy — there was another John Duffy in Porter, Niagara County, New York, of about the same age. The gap in our John Duffy’s children’s birth dates indicate he may have been away from home during the years 1861-1864, although there may have been other reasons for this gap.

He married in about 1860, to Susannah Holland, the daughter of James and Ellen Holland, Irish immigrants. James was a stone cutter. Susannah was the oldest of their seven children.

Susannah and John Duffy had five children who survived to adulthood:

John Duffy Jr  (b 1861)
Mary Elizabeth Duffy (b 1865)
James P Duffy (b 1871)
William G Duffy (b 1872)
Susan “Susie” Duffy (b 1877)

The 1865 census found the family at 70 Gooding St in Lockport. His occupation was  “boatman on the Erie Canal.” This home was not far from his parents’ home on Glenwood near Lock Street. In the 1878 City Directory, it lists “hotel” along with  “Canal locks” as his occupation. He is often listed in census records as a teamster, which meant someone who drives a team of horses or mules. Rafts and barges on the Erie Canal were pulled along the two path by such teams.

The address is listed 383 Gooding in the 1887 directory, although it’s not clear if this was a move or a matter of the city renumbering street addresses.

Susannah died in about 1893; John died on December 12, 1895.

I’ve learned more about the circumstances of his death since I first posted this. The Buffalo Evening News carried the following story on page 41 of its December 12, 1895 issue:

Bite Was Fatal: John Duffy of Lockport Dies of Blood Poisoning at the General Hospital — He Was Bitten in A Free Fight.

“John Duffy, whose home is at Lockport, died at the General Hospital this morning from  blood poisoning.  Duffy was a teamster. Ten weeks ago he got into a fight with several men at Lockport. One bit part of his first finger off and Duffy did not think it worthwhile to see a physician.

“He bandaged up the stump and blood poisoning set in. Three weeks ago he was sent to the General Hospital here. He was given careful nursing but died this morning.

“Coroner Tucker called the attention of the Coroner of Lockport to the case. The body was shipped home today and the Lockport police will investigate the case. Duffy was 57 years old and a widower.”

You can see this story here.

Locks on Erie Canal in Lockport, U.S. Government aerial photo taken in 1961

Locks on Erie Canal in Lockport, U.S. Government aerial photo taken in 1961

Erie Canal in Lockport 2016, looking in the opposite direction of the photo above.

---

Sources include:

“United States Census, 1840” Lockport, Niagara, New York, Roll 311, Page 63 Image 131; FHL Film 0017199

“United States Census, 1850,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCBV-ZZB : accessed 12 May 2016), John Duffy in household of Patrick Duffy, Lockport, Niagara, New York, United States; citing family 834, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

“New York State Census, 1855,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-25918-9964-36?cc=1937366 : accessed 7 May 2016), Niagara > Lockport, E.D. 1 > image 5 of 43; county clerk offices, New York.

“New York State Census, 1892,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ37-LNG : accessed 12 May 2016), John Duffy, 1892; citing Lockport City, Ward 02, E.D. 02, county offices, New York; FHL microfilm 878,329.

Images:

Callan, Bernard, M Dripps, and Augustus Kollner. Map of the village of Lockport, Niagara Co., N.Y. New York: M. Dripps, 1851. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2010593267. (Accessed May 11, 2016.)