a journal for Ann of NZ looking for her family ...

Denis/Dennis DUFFY (1848-1915) was from County Westmeath, Ireland
- he married Mary Ellen GILROY, of Fryerstown, Victoria, Australia on 17th August 1875 in St Patrick's Church, Greymouth
- Mary was a daughter of James GILROY of County Fermanagh Ireland and Catherine 'Kate' McALOON (married in Castlemaine, Victoria Australia)


the 12 CHILDREN of Dennis & Mary Ellen:

... 1
1877 - 1944 William Herbert Duffy
- William was born on 16th May 1877
- he married Letitia Margaret TOBIN (1881-1925) on 13 January 1909
From the NEW ZEALAND TABLET 21 Jan 1909:
... The Catholic Church, Alexandria was the scene of a very pretty wedding on January 13, the contracting parties being Mr W. H. Duffy, eldest son of Mr D. Duffy, of Greymouth, and Miss Letitia Tobin, youngest daughter of Mrs T. Tobin, of Arrowtown. A Nuptial mass was celebrated by Rev. Father Hunt, who also performed the marriage ceremony. The bride, who was given away by her brother, Mr Patrick Tobin, was attired in a blue lustre dress with white lace trimmings, and hat to match. She also wore a handsome gold bangle set with diamonds and rubies, the gift of the bridegroom. She was attended by Miss Bella Gray as bridesmaid. The bridegroom's present to the bridsmaid was a beautiful gold brooch. The bridegroom was attended by *Mr. R. C. Heffernan (Greymouth) as best man. After the ceremony the wedding party drove to the residence of Mrs McClintock, the bride's sister, where the wedding breakfast was partaken of and the usual toasts honored. The happy couple left by train for Dunedin and the Lakes, where the honeymoon will be spent. A large number of useful and valuable presents were received, thus testifying to the esteem in which the young couple are held
- the only child found so far for William & Letitia was William Patrick Duffy (1909-1992)
- Letitia was a daughter of Thomas TOBIN (1831-1882) & Letitia NASH (1832-1919) who married in New Zealand in 1865. Their children found so far: Martin (1866-1900), Patrick Malcolm (1869-1941), Anne (1874-1950), Letitia (1881-1925) and Andrew Tobin (1878-1955) ... at the time of their last child, Andrew, Letitia was 47 & Thomas was 46
NOTES
- her sister Anne Tobin married Robert James McClintock (1869-1917) in 1901 and had at least 5 children, one daughter they named Letitia
- her mother LETITIA TOBIN died in Arrowtown on 5 September 1919 aged 87 & buried in Old Area, Catholic, Plot 47A at Arrowtown with:
- son Martin, buried 9 Nov 1900 Old Area, Catholic, Plot 51
- son Patrick buried 6 Sep 1941 Old Area, Catholic, Plot 49
*R. C. Hefferman and William were friends and members of the same Athletic Club in Greymouth (William was the Club President). In Dec 1908 they were both selected to represent the West Coast
- in (at least) 1908 William was the Chairman of the St Columba Catholic Debating Club, also the Secretary of the H.A.C.B. Society (Hibernian-Australasian Catholic Benefit Society)
- William Duffy died aged 69


... 2
1879 - 1952 Katie 'May' Duffy
- Katie was born 15th May 1879
- she married Philip COONEY (1871-1934) on 17 April 1907
- From the NEW ZEALAND TABLET 22 April: A very pretty wedding was celebrated at St Patrick's Church last Wednesday morning, when Miss May Duffey, eldest daughter of Mr Denis Duffey (sic) of this town, was married to Mr Cooney, of Waverley. Very Rev. Dean Carew oficiated. The bride, who was given away by her father, was attired in a duchess satin dress, trimmed with Honiton silk lace, embroidered chiffon, and orange blossoms. The bride was attended by her three sisters, Misses Annie, Lucy and Rita Duffy, as bridesmaids. The bridegroom was attended by his cousin, Mr M. McEnroe, as best man, and Messrs. W. and T. Duffy as groomsmen. The happy couple left in the afternoon for Christchurch, where the honeymoon will be spent
- 2 of their chidren found were: Dorothy Monica Cooney (b.1908) and Elsie Mary Cooney (b/1909)
- Philip may have been a Station Master in Waitara for a time
- they moved to Northland by 1915
- Katie died aged 71


... 3
1881 - 1956 Annie Gertrude Duffy
- Annie was born 21st January 1881
- in 1905 Annie was the vice-captain of the ladies cricket club
- Annie married Thomas McDONALD (1882-1966) in 1919
- Thomas was a brother of Michael McDonald who married her sister Flo, see below
- Annie died aged 74 on 22 June 1956
- she had been living at 15 Young St, New Plymouth
- she is buried Alpha Block Row X - West Plot 24 Te Henui Cemetery
- Thomas died aged 85 on 19 June 1966 (3 days from 10 years after Annie). He was still living in Young St. He is buried with her


... 4
1882 - 1882 Mary Ellen Duffy
- Mary Ellen was born on 5th June 1882
- she died 15 days later


... 5
1884 - 1973 Florence 'Flo' Harriet Duffy
- Florence was born 23rd January 1884
- 'Flo' married Michael McDONALD (1879-1962) on 23 August 1910:
- Michael was a brother of Thomas who married her sister Annie, See above
- A very pretty wedding was celebrated at St Patrick's Church yesterday morning, the contracting parties being Miss Flo Duffy, third daughter of Mr D. Duffy, Esq. of this town to Mr Michael McDonald, of Waverley, third son of James McDonald, Esq., of Newbliss County Monaghan, Ireland. A nuptial mass was celebrated the Rev. Father McCarthy being the celebrant. The bride, who entered the church on her father's arm looked the picture of happiness and was attired in a beautiful white glace robe, relieved with sequin and pearl trimmings. She also wore the orthodox wreath and veil and carried a white ivory prayer book. Se was attended by her two sisters, Nellie and Rita, as bridesmaids, the former being attired in white mousseline de soie and the later in white embroidered muslin, both wearing pretty floral hats. The bridegroom was attended Mr Mr J. Larmer, of Nelson. The bridegroom's present to the bride and bridesmaids were beautiful gold bangles. The bestman also presented each with a pretty gold brooch. The bride's present to the bridegroom was a handsome gold albert. A sumptuous wedding breakfast was partaken of at the residence of the bride's parents and the usual toasts honored. The happy couple left in the afternoon en route to Christchurch and Dunedin where the honeymoon is to be spent. The bride's going away costume was a pretty grey tweed with hat to match.


... 6
1886 - 1892 James Henry Duffy
- James was born on 31st August 1886
- he died in October 1892 aged 6
- Denis & Mary were living in Willis St, Greymouth where the funeral cortege left from on Friday 28th


... 7
1888 - Thomas Edmund Duffy
- Thomas was born on 11th December 1888
- he served in WWI as Sergeant 15/112 with the 2nd Reinforcements, Headquarters
- NEXT OF KIN was his father Dennis Duffy of High St, Greymouth
- his enlistment address was c/o Cardno, Central Terrace, Kelburn, Wellington
- he embarked from Wellington on 14 December 1914 for Suez, Egypt
- no wife found yet for a Thomas Edmund but a couple of possibles for a Thomas


... 8
1890 - Elizabeth Ellen 'Nellie' Duffy
- Elizabeth was born on 13th December 1890, 2 years 2 days after her brother Thomas
- in August 1913 Nellie and her brother Francis Patrick competed in the Competitions Festival in Greymouth which comprised speaking, elocutionary items and instrumental music. Nellie & Francis entered in the Pianoforte Duet section
- she MAY have married Leslie Southam Stohr in 1928
.. reearch continuing


... 9
1892 - 1929 Lucy Theresa Duffy
- Lucy was born on 5th December 1892
- in July 1907 the annual Greymouth Poultry Show was held at the Opera House. In the Cooking exhibits Lucy was entered in the Technical School Class and won 2nd prize for her scones
- Lucy died, unmarried (?), on 15th July 1929 aged 36


... 10
1894 - 1964 Francis 'Frank' Patrick Duffy
- Francis was born on 8th March 1894
- in May 1913 Frank applied for, and was granted, a transfer from the Ahaura Rugby Union Club to the Star Club
- in August 1913 Frank and his sister Nellie competed in the Competitions Festival in Greymouth which comprised speaking, elocutionary items and instrumental music. Nellie & Francis entered in the Pianoforte Duet section and Frank also entered the 'Recitation', the 'Musical Monologue', the 'Oration' and the 'Impromptu Speech' Sections
- on 28 April 1917 Fran, a ledger keeper at the Union Bank, was transferred to the Martinborough, Wairarapa branch, leaving that day
- he married Margaret Mary FISHER (1899-1974) in 1919
- Margaret was 1 of 4 children of Thomas FISHER & Marie/Maria FRANK
- Francis Duffy died aged 70


... 11
1896 - 1957 Margaret Eileen 'Rita' Duffy
- Margaret was born on 15th April 1896
- in 1912 she played hockey for the Grey Team in Greymouth
- she married Richard Smellie 'Dick' DAVIES (1898-1957) in 1920 (to be verified)
- Richard was one of 13 children of Charles Arthur DAVIES & Agnes MENASE of the Parish of St Peter Carmarthen, West Wales (Charles was a Welsh Guard in India before settling in New Zealand)
- a brother of Richard also served in WWI, William John Davies


... 12
1897 - 1897 Charles Denis Duffy
- Charles was born on 13th August 1897
- he died on 12th October aged 8 weeks


DENIS DUFFY died on 11 January 1915
- his Requiem Mass was held at St Patrick's Church Chapel in Greymouth on 12 January 1915 at 7.30am
- his obitaury appeared in the GREY RIVER ANGUS ON 13 January 1915:
... The funeral of the late Denis Duffy which took place yesterday afternoon, was very largely attended, many coming from a distance to pay their last tribute of respect to one who had done his share in building up the prosperity of the West Coast. The service at St. Patrick's Church and also at the grave was taken by the Rev. Father La Croix. The late Mr. Duffy who was born in West Meath, Ireland, in 1848, emigrated at the early age of 18 years to Australia, and almost immediately came to Hokitika, where he participated in the early gold ruches, and then went to Maori Gully, subsequently settling in Greymouth 40 years ago, during which long period he enjoyed the respect and esteem of the entire community. He followed mining and kindred occuations with varying success, and in the prime of life achieved much distinction as an athlete, being a particularly clever wrestler. He leaves a widow and family to mourn the loss of a good husband and an exemplary father.
His children are
William, residing at Boddytown
Thomas, of the Postal Department
Frank, in the Union Bank at Blenheim
Mrs Cooney, (Katie May) Hikurangi (Northland)
Mrs McDonald, (Annie Gertrude AND/OR Florence Harriet) Stratford
Misses:
Annie Duffy, Stratford
Nellie, Rita and Lucy in Greymouth


TIME LINE
In November 1881 Denis asked for a refund of his deposit on the contract of No3 section, for Deep Creek track, on the ground that he had made a mistake through being misled in the way of information and for other reasons. The chairman moved that the Council refund the balance after deducting the expense at which the Council was put to in the matter. Councillor Ryall spoke of the necessitous condition of the applicant and thought the Council out not to be too strict with a poor man. Councillor Madden pointed out that if Mr Duffy had not tendered the next man who tendered, and who might also be a poor man, would have got the contract and the Council would have been saved any trouble and expense in the matter. The Clerk of the Grey County Council informed Denis that his application could not be entertained in its present form as to do so would establish a dangerous precedent.


any help with this family would be appreciated