You have the headstone of William Patrick Duffy on your website. He is the son of Jerome & Ann E. Williams Duffy. He is my great grandfather's brother. He is James Monroe's nephew. (Greg Coombs)

The Internet Home Site For The
Patrick & Mary McNally Duffy Family
From
County Monaghan, Ireland
Includes Surnames Beach, Benninghoff, Bobenmeyer, Collins
Duffy/Duffie, Gilstrap, Jenny, Lesher, McCadum, McNally, Pollard, Trine, Yoes.

Last Updated: August 11, 2010


I am not a genealogist...I prefer to think of myself as a story-teller. Story tellers...
  • need not worry about every jot and tittle.
  • don't claim verbal plenary inspiration.
Story tellers simply tell stories and hope they have entertained the reader.

I learned rudimentary genealogy in order to determine when and how my surname got to be Duffie, not the original Irish Duffy. Once I had learned that, I began to discover family stories...stories like Bevy Of Beautiful Beach Babes, and Shootout In The Watermelon Patch...and this web site was born.

As I learn new and (hopefully) interesting and/or humorous facts about the history of my various ancestral families, I write them into stories. I hope this makes our family history a little more interesting than the Biblical...and Brenda begat Shirley, Laura, and Charles. I have done this in order to put our family history onto DVD which I will pass on to future generations. Hopefully this will provide a kick-start for any future family historians/story-tellers who would continue what I have begun.

Also, several newfound "cousins" from a variety of family branches have stumbled onto this web site while researching their particular surname, and the stories help them learn what I have found over the years.

There are several links to Genealogy Reports which will not work if you are viewing this site on the internet. I've built this in such a way that it can be viewed from a CD...and, since much of the information includes living persons, I only include those reports when sending a CD to my family members. However, there is still much to enjoy if you opt to continue on and read some of the family stories included.

If you are visiting here because you are descended from a particular family, and wish to see what I have written about that branch, go to Family Stories below and look for the link to that family. The primary surnames with stories include Beach, Duffy/Duffie, Lesher, Pollard, and Trine.

Enjoy
E-Mail: Tim Duffie


With My Wife, Judy


Note: some of the following stories and genealogical reports include conclusions as to the parentage of Joseph G. Pollard. Those conclusions are pure conjecture at this time. It is conjecture based on deductive logic, conclusions that could be drawn from several known factors. I have support in these conclusions from others more experienced in this than I.

However, conclusions drawn from decutive logic are not facts. They are mere conjecture and will stay as such until further data proves them right or wrong.

Tim Duffie
August 10, 2009


The History of Surname Duffy

"Duffy is a name which comes from the Old Irish word "dubhthaich" which means "of the dark house". The Irish Duffys are a sept of the Scots Clan Macfie or McFie, which originated on the Island of Colonsay. The Scots Gaelic form of the name is "MacDubhsithe", which means "son of the People of Peace", or the faeryfolk.

"This name is now the single most common name in County Monaghan, where it originated. Its (modern) Irish version is Ó Dubthaigh, which means black, probably referring to hair."


We now know that our clan came from County Monaghan, Ireland, thanks to Greg Coombs, Grandson of Margaret Catherine Duffy.


The Family In Graphics: A "Power Point" presentation of many of the family portraits I've accumulated. There is probably something in here for all related families, including our newly located Trine family cousins. The "Lesher" family graphics include an excellent picture of Daniel John Lesher, son of Rebecca May Catherine Trine Lesher.

Viewing the Power Point presentation may require to lengthy download...but it can then be file saved to your hard drive for future reference.


Sorting Through Cousins

Even after 15 years of genealogical research, I never quite figured out the "1st., 2nd., 3rd." cousins as opposed to the "2X Removed" cousins. If you're like me, mebbe this will help:

Cousins
by Gena Philibert Ortega

A lot of confusion exists around the subject of cousins. Everyone knows that a cousin (or also known as a first cousin) is the daughter or son of their parent’s siblings. But after that, the confusion begins for most people. When thinking of cousins just remember that they are relatives for whom you share a set of grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. So a second cousin would be someone related to you with whom you share a great-grandparent with.

Second cousins are often mistaken as the children of your first cousin but in actuality, that person would be your first cousin once removed. The term “removed” indicates that you and that person are not of the same generation. You and your first cousin are of the same generation; you are both two generations from your grandparents. But your cousin’s daughter is a 3rd generation away from your grandparents (her great-grandparents.). In this instance the word generation has nothing to do with how old you are but instead it indicates how far generationally you are from a couple, like your grandparents or great-grandparents.

I know this is confusing and for some it may be easier to “see” it than to understand it by just reading it. A clear concise chart can be found on About.com at Relationship Chart. This can assist you as you pick up new cousins and want to know exactly how you are related.


Duffy/Duffie Family Web Pages & Genealogy Reports
I have included a variety of genealogy reports to give a better perspective of each
of our ancestral surnames...from both the paternal and maternal perspectives.

Of Interest to Collins - Duffie


Of Interest To Beach - Duffie

I have never been able to determine the surname name of William Beach's wife, Emerencianna. She was listed as Emerencianna Beach on the 1851 Canadian census. One of the family rumors I've been chasing is the story that "commoner" William Beach married royalty, and that was the reason they had to leave England. If that rumor was true, then we may find Emerencianna listed in British royalty somewhere...someday.

Maidstone, Essex County, Ontario, Canada
The 1870s Home Of Hugh Percy & Mary Elizabeth McCall Beach

The settlers along the Middle Road were largely emigrants from the Old Country, especially Ireland. In the 1840's the potato famine caused a heavy migration and Essex County received its share. Along the Middle Road and up toward Lake St. Clair the "Irish Settlement" grew and fourth and fifth generation descendants remain today. The village of Maidstone was the centre of the Irish community.


Of Interest To Duffie - Jenny - Lesher- Trine
Including the Trine/Bobemeyer Family Data Recently Uncovered

In 1832, a significant portion of the Trine family, including two of Rebecca May Catharine Trine Lesher's grand uncles, Jacob & Mathias, moved their families to the frontier of southwestern Ohio. I have posted a few Trine Family web pages:

Right: Daniel John Lesher (son of Nathan & Rebecca May Catharine Trine Lesher)
with Paul & Ralph (Lesher) Deevers, Shirley Lesher Duffie & Betty Lesher Jenny

Genealogy Reports for the Trine/Lesher family include:


These individuals are not directly related to us, but they are essential to understanding the life of Isaac G. Pollard.
  • Mary Lou Hays was the 2nd. wife of Isaac G. Pollard and mother of two of his children: Jesse Foss and Sarah A. Pollard. Isaac divorced Mary in 1882 in order to marry Elizabeth Dillahay. As of 4/22/08 I am exchanging e-mail with Isaac & Mary Hays Pollard's granddaughter, Lavona Pollard Blackwell, the daughter of Jesse Foss Pollard.
  • Elizabeth Dillahay (right) was the 3rd. wife of Isaac G. Pollard and the mother of nine of his children. She was 16 years old at the time of her marriage to Isaac. According to newspaper articles, she was a "mulatto" and a student at the first black college in Arkansas, Walden Smith Seminary, now known as Philander Smith College.


Kinship Reports

These will be the generations most likely to peruse these reports, so each of you can determine your kinship to people relative to your relationship to Brenda & Laura. Michael Woods, Grandson of Martha Gertrude Beach Woods, is a 2nd Cousin to Ed, Tim, and Brenda Duffie, and a 2nd Cousin 1X removed to Shirley, Laura, and Charles Woodworth.


Our Family History
In Short Story Format

Beach Family Stories Duffie Family Stories Lesher Family Stories Pollard Family Stories
Trine Family Stories


Beach Family Stories

Bevy Of Beautiful Beach Babes Search for the identify of the seven Beach Sisters in the series of three pictures, ca 1900-1910.
Walla Walla Washington Identifying the woman with Elizabeth Mary McCall Beach in a photograph taken in Walla Walla, Washington, ca 1895.
Shootout In The Watermelon Patch How Hugh Percy Beach defended his watermelons from ruthless Cowboys and Indians on his Nebraska farm, ca 1890.
The Children's Blizzard of 1888 A real life example of the snow Sarah Ann Beach Duffie talked about walking through in the plains of Nebraska.
From Palaces To Cow Chips From royalty to collecting cow chips in Nebraska.

Duffie Family Stories

The History Of The Surname Duffy A history of our surname as well as a history of County Monaghan, home of Patrick & Mary McNally Duffy before they immigrated to Canada in the 1830s.
Our Irish Republican Army Connection Why did Harriet Allen Duffy change the spelling to Duffie? Was it because she didn't want to be associated with the Catholics as we were led to believe, or was she worried about the family link to the "Bread Duffy Clan" of the Irish Republican Army?

Lesher Family Stories

From Leasure To Lesher What was our original surname, and who changed it to Lesher?
Samuel Lesher, Civil War Veteran Additional conjecture about other "Leasure" individuals who may have changed their names to Lesher. Samuel Leasure-Lesher, brother of Nathan Leasure-Lesher.
Daniel John Lesher: Wagonmaker Daniel John and Anna Williman grew up in Otter Creek Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. They married and moved to Transfer where Daniel, the son of a wagonmaker, set up his blacksmith shop.
The Man Who Didn't Believe In Banks John B. Benninghoff, Great Grandfather of Evalyn Pollard Lesher, was one of the wealthiest of the Titusville/Oil City, Pennsylvania, oil barons. He was robbed of $250,000, spent thousands chasing the "bad guys" west, but never recovered a penny of his loss.
Clyde & Evalyn Pollard Lesher's First Transportation Clyde & Evalyn Pollard Lesher and Shirley Evalyn Lesher on Clyde's 1910 gas powered velocipede, ca 1920.
Leasure/Lesher Jewish Connection Our Jewish connection as discovered when I located Simon & Susan Jetta Trine Goldman, Middletown, Ohio.
Paul Emerson Lesher's Letters Letters from Paul Lesher from Boot Camp to France with the American Expeditionary Forces, 1918.

Pollard Family Stories

Mary Elizabeth Pollard Reed & Family The sister of Isaac G. Pollard, Mary Elizabeth married Joseph Reed. A recently discovered photo of the Reed family, taken approximately 1880, shows several of our "cousins". Many of these cousins were located in Oklahoma where we might find current relatives.
Our Vivacious Cousin Cherokee Cherokee "Cherry" Gilstrap, 2nd. Cousin 6X removed to my generation of the Pollard clan, and the hands-down winner of the greatest name in the history of our family!
Who Was That Masked Man? We're not quite sure where he came from...or exactly when he disappeared. Rootsweb.com is full of contradictory databases as to exactly what his name was. This Pollard clan Grandfather is our own personal "Lone Ranger"!
Fleeing The KKK An Arkasas Methodist preacher living in Little Rock, Arkansas in the 1860s, who joined the Union Army during the Civil War (Strike 1), served on the Board of Trustees for a Black College in Little Rock in the 1870s (Strike 2), married a 16 year old "mulatto" girl in 1883 (Strike 3)...then Isaac G. Pollard fled the "Good Ole Boys" to Pennsylvania!
Gotta Have Me Summa Dat Kumback Sauce! James Henry Pollard, son of Isaac G & Elizabeth Dillahay Pollard, was well known on the east side of Chicago for his Kumback Sauce. He served his sauce for years out of a walk up restaurant on Lake Michigan Drive.
The Grand Army Of The Republic A synopsis of the life of Isaac G. Pollard including his Civil War record, run for the Senate in Pennsyvania, and membership in the Grand Army Of The Republic
Clement C. Maloney, Civil War POW The son of Elizabeth Pollard Maloney, and a POW during the Civil War, died in 1864 at the Point Lookout Prisoner of War Camp, Maryland
Amelia County, Virginia The data discovered that links Joseph & Mary Gilstrap Pollard to the Amelia County, Virginia, family of George Pollard.
Pioneer Educator Benjamin Parham Aydelott was a pioneer educator in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, in the early 1800s.
The University of Cincinnati Benjamin Parham Aydelott was the first president of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, ultimately merged into the Dental Department of Univeristy of Cincinnati.

Trine Family Stories

The Augspurgers of Trenton, Woodsdale, and Seven Mile, Butler County, Ohio The Augspurger family of Butler County was instrumental in the founding of Trenton, Ohio, originally an Amish community. Additonal Augspurgers eventually settled in Warren & Preble Counties.
George & Peter Trine: Soldiers Of The Revolution George & Peter Trine, possibly the earliest of our Trine ancestors to arrive in America, both served in the Revolutionary War. This story includes some interesting facts of our earliest ancestors in Pennsylvania.
Bobenmeyer/Trine Move To Ohio This is the story of the Bobenmoyer/Bobenmeyer family's arrival America in the early 1700s. While not directly related to the Lesher/Jenny/Duffie family, Catherine Bobenmeyer married Jacob Trine and is the 4th Great Grand Aunt-In-Law to my generation of the family.
Simon Goldman The history of Simon Goldman and the first Jewish family to move to Middletown, Butler County, Ohio. Simon married Susan Trine, daughter of Jacob & Catherine Bobenmeyer Trine, of Trenton, Butler County, Ohio.
Marcus S. & Olive Mortimer Remington Goldman Marcus S. Goldman, grandson of Simon & Susan Trine Goldman, and his wife, Olive Mortimer Remington Goldman, each led rather remarkable lives. Included are remarks about Olive Goldman from Presudent Harry S. Truman and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Trine/Bobenmeyer Legacy The legacy of the Trine-Bobenmeyer families of Fairfield Township, Butler County, Ohio.


Originally started as a "Lesher Family" military history, I've expanded this page to include all those within our "family tree" who served.


Winning Hearts & Minds In Vietnam

I was in the Marines during the Vietnam War. I had the good fortune to have the opportunity to volunteer for a unique program started by the Marines in 1965. The Combined Action Program recognized the fact that the Americans could not expect any assistance from the villagers of Vietnam if they did not offer those villagers protection from the Viet Cong terrorists. This need for security was best described in the Preface to the story of my experiences in Phuoc My Hamlet, Trieu Ai Village, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, during the summer of 1967.

The Combined Action Program (CAP) placed a squad of Marines and one Navy Corpsman in 114 villages throughout the northern I-Corps area of Vietnam.

While in the village marketplace in the hamlet of Lai Phouc, two other Marines and I were able to rescue a 16 year old girl, Co Van Thi Hue from sexual harassment at the hands of several South Vietnamese Ranger officers. Later, after I was wounded and forced to leave the village, I went to say goodbye to Co Hue and the other villagers. Co Hue handed me a picture and said, "Remember me."

Co Van Thi Hue, Lai Phuoc Hamlet, Trieu Ai Village, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, 1973

I found Co Hue in 1994, as documented by Mary Robb Jackson's Emmy Award Winning documentary on KDKA TV, Pittsburg...Finding Peace. (You may be better off to "right click" on the link, select "Save Target As", and save it to your desktop. It may take as long as six or seven minutes to download.)

I returned to Phuoc My to visit with Co Hue and her family in 1996.

The story from 1967 to 1996 is at:

Tim "CAPVet" Duffie


The story of one of our ancestors, John B. Benninghoff, one of the first oil barons of Titusville/Oil City, Pennsylvania.


The full index and link to copies of all of Paul Emerson Lesher's letters home.


Rootsweb Sites & Misc. Sources

The following are links to census reports and other confirming data that I've file saved over the past six or seven years.

Family Web Pages