PREFACE As long ago as the year 1889 itwas pointed out, in the pages of the Genealogist, that there existed noproper history of the Duff family in ancient times. Again, in subsequent years, the present writers havefrequently been asked by members of this large and scatteredfamily to compile an account of 'the nineteenth century Duffs,'showing their connections with each other. It was determined to combine the twoobjects, and while providing a record of a long-lived and energetic family fromthe earliest days, to collect at the same time, from all possiblesources, printed and otherwise, interesting details of what may be called the 'medimval'and modern members, and to bring the history of thefamily and the genealogical tables thoroughly up to date. The present volume, therefore, aims atproviding a record, complete as far as possible, of those Scotsmen who havebornc, and now bear, the name of Duff, giving the legendary loreconnected with this family (even though some of it may be discreditedby modern historians), as well as a full personal history of those Duffs who have(listinguishcd themselves in any way (and brief mention of theothers), with their intermarria.ges and their Iflatrjmonjt1 connectjoiis withotlicr Iimilies. The only attempt previously madeat anything of the kind is the Memoirs of the Duffs, written about the:ycar 1770, by William Baird of Auchrncildc (whose wife was one of thedaughters of William Duff of Dipple), and privately printed in 1869 byMajor Lachian Gordon Duff of Drummuir.1 Several original manuscripts of this workexist. One, belonging to Gcncalogicat .lfe,izojy.ofthe Duffs. Printed for private circulation. ii. Aberdeen, 1869. Wyllie and Son, 1' V1TL PREFACE Miss Fyffe Duff of Corsindae, bears (late September24, 1772, which prc- suniably was the date of thecompletionof one portion, as some births and deaths, etc., connected with the families dealtwith, occurring in 1778, are recorded. William Baird himself died in 1775. Baird's original manuscripts contain frequent blanks fornames both of persons and of places, and there aremany inaccurate statements and conjectures, due doubtless to enforced relianceupon hearsay evidence, to the difficulty of communications, and theimpossibility at that period of verifying references and dates, or obtainingaccess to original documents. When we consider the expenditure of time andenergy involved, even now, in correspondence with outlying members of the family, and in research in public offices at home and abroad,we are filled with admiration for the courage and energy displayed, and thelarge amount of information collected by our forerunner,a hundred and forty years ago. For permission to make copious extracts from this chroniclewe are indebted to Thomas Cordon Duff, son of the original editor,among whose papers is also preserved a schedule of questions sent by William Baird to various members of the family, showing themeagre response he sometimes elicited. rrhe arrancment of the first few chapters of thepresent history explains itself, as it is purely chronological. After that, it has been found best to carry the elder line down to thepresent day, and then revert to the younger sons, in order. It is hoped that the fullgenealogical tables and the smaller key tables will make this plain. After tracing the descendants of John of Muldavit and hisson, Adam of Cluñybcg, in over twenty separate lines of descent,1 the later chapters dca.l with other branches of the Duff family (which it has been found impossible to correlate with the Muldavit stock), and with one or two other families with which the Duffs have intermarried sofrequently as to make some account necessary. Other sources, besides Baird, which have been found of great value,are the family trees preserved in various branches of thefamily, old family 1Thechart of these vi11 be found at end of Volume I. PREFACE ix papers, letters and manuscript records, whereverexisting and obtain- able, the l)ecennial List of heirs for Scotland,parish and local regisiers,' and records of every kind, in London andEdinburgh, as vcll as all over the United Kingdom. Innumerable histories of other families, and historicaland genealogical collections of every sort have been laid undercontribution; wills, records of sasines, hornings, deeds and decreets,commissariat records, school chronicles, files of old newspapers, everything whichmight yield the smallest scrap of information, has been consulted, and the writers would further like to place on record their debt to thepersonal recollections and traditional information of several old friends inevery walk of life, some of whom have, unfortunately, not lived to see the appearance of the book. 'All which doth require Briareus his hundred hands, Argus his hundred eyes, And Nestor's century of years to marshal.' This volume represents the results ofmany years of congenial labour, in which the writers have received valuable assistancefrom relations and friends almost too numerous to mention. Special thanks ae due to: H.R.H. the Princess Royal and 11cr highness theDuchess of Fife, Princess Arthur of Connaught, for permission toexamine and l)rint selec- tions from the documents long preserved at DuffRouse, and now in time Though these do not invariably give all details, for, as is well known, theparish registers in Scotland suffered, like everything else, from the wars andtumults. Those in the Episcopal Church in BCnff stop abruptly in I76, when Cumberlandon his way to Culloden burnt the cliuich, and it is said, carried off thu books. While those in Brechin as is then noted by the clerk suffered a century earlier, In the month of March 1645, the scrolls were lying in thebook, but the book being taken by the cruel enernic, the scrolls were lost and leavesryven out of the book, as evidentlie appears.' And two months later, he notes :There, six or seven leaves following, being clean CuR out be som of Montrose followers.' paper, were And the parish clerk of Inverness protects himself from the following entry: charge of inaccuracy by the If there be any blanks here, know that it is not the fault of i y I heir christening money.' the clerk, but such as did not One of these reasons must account for the fact that esluauustivosearch has failed to elk— co. er .my record of the baptisms of the thirty—six children of Patrick Duff cscpL Iliuje of his eldest son and eldest daughter, chronicled at Grange. of Craigston (q.v.), x PREFACE charter room at Monteoffer,' and for permission to reproduce ten family portraits. To 11cr 1-Iighness Princess Maud, for the loan of the portrait of her father, her sister, and herself. To the Duke of Richmond and Gordon and the Earl of Seafield, for permission to make extracts from their charter chests. To Thomas Gordon Duff of Drummuir, for the unrestricted use ofall his family papers, dating from the sixteenth century downwards,without whieh some chapters of this history could neveriiave been written. To Mrs. Chancellor and J. Wharton Duff, for permission to usethe large collection of family letters at Orton, fromwhich a great part of the personal history of Lord Braco's family has been reconstructed.To Mrs. Chancellor also for kindly supplying photographs of the family portraits in her possession. TO Edward GOrdon' Duff, for the loan of the Rose MSS. now in.his possession.2 To Edward Alexander Duff, for the use of all his papers, and permis- sion to i eproduce two portraits and the facsimilelettei in chapter xvii To Garden Alexander Duff of ilatton for the loan of documents, etc. To General Sir Beauchamp Duff, G.C.B., for an invaluable list, pre- pared for us from official sources, of all Duff swho have served in the Army3 or Navy, and for his kindly criticism and help on many points, particularly wherever in our history we havetouched on military matters. To Walter B. Blaikie, LL.D., for expert assistance andadvice in the production. 1Inthe Historical Man uscvipis Commission these papers arc thus noted: The extensive series of documents in the charter room at Duff House were scheduledin 1872, the entries numbering over iooo. They consist wholly of thetitle-deeds and relative papers of the vast estates belonging to Lord Fife in thecountries of Banif, Moray, and Aber- deen, and none of them call for detailed description.' Besides these there are also innumerable family letters. William Rose was long factor to the second Earl Fife, and in that capacity a great deal of very interesting correspondence was addressed to him.He also became possessed of many other family letters and papers, and amassed, on his own behalf, a largecollection of genea- logical and other notes. All these were left untouched at his deathand long afterwards, but were oventually scattered, Mr. Edward Gordon Duff of Liverpool purchasingthe greater part, while some were acquired for the Spalding Club, but were neverutilised. commissions in the British 'Sincei755 over a liuiidred men of the name of Dull have held Army. PREFACE xi To IL InglisLindsay, W.S., for his unwearied kindness andenergy in undertaking researches in Edinburgl . To William MacIntosh, Fife Estates Office, for muchhelp in dealing with matters regarding the Earls Fife. To the Hon. Henry Hannen, for help in the elucidationof obsolete words and phrases. To J. Malcolm Bulloch, for useful adviceas to the sources to consult, and for much information. To the Rev. Stephen Ree, for various importantnotes supplied. To James Grant, LL.B., for permission to makeuse of the books in Banif. To the authorities of the Advocates' Library, the PublicLibrary, and the University Library, Aberdeen, for permission toexamine manuscripts in their hands. To the authorities of the office of the Lord Lyon, of theAdvocates' Library, and of the Signet Library, Edinburgh, for similar permissions. To the officials of the India Office, Record Office, SomersetHouse, College of Arms, and the British Museum Library and Manuscript Room.