Henry Perry Duffey was born on 22. Feb. 1829 at Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was the son of
Nicholas Duffey and
Mary A. Conover. Henry Perry Duffey married
Anna Mary Proctor, daughter of
William Proctor, in 1848. Henry Perry Duffey died on 24. Oct. 1902 at Manchester, Delaware County, Iowa, at age 73. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery, Manchester, Delaware County, Iowa. 1890 Buchanan and Delaware Counties History pgs. 392-395
H. P. DUFFEY. In recording the names of the early settlers of Delaware county, mention must be made of H. P. Duffey, formerly a resident of Milo township, but now living in the town of Manchester. Mr. Duffey has been a resident of the county for more than thirty-six years, all of which time except the last year and a half has been spent where he first settled in Milo township. He has been actively identified with the best interests of his adopted home and his sketch therefore finds an appropriate place in this work.
H. P. Duffey is a native of Ohio, but comes of New England parentage. His father, Nicholas Duffey, was born in Linn, Mass., and his mother, Mary Conover, was born in Rutland, Vt. His parents met in Rutland, whither his father was taken when a child and there subsequently married. From Rutland they moved to Kingston, Canada, at which place the father, being a boot and shoemaker by trade, established himself in business. A prosperous trade rewarded his industry for some years until he was overtaken by a calamity in the shape of a fire which swept away all he had, and to get away from the scenes of his great loss as well as to repair his wasted fortunes, he returned to the States, moving to Cleveland, Ohio. There, after a few years' residence, he died in 1835, at the early age of forty, followed two years later by his faithful wife, who died at the age of thirty-three. Coming of the staple stock o New England, Nicholas and Mary A. Duffey led the industrious, useful lives characteristic of New England people, and if they did not leave a great fortune to their children, they left what was of a vast deal more value in the moulding of character, a reputation for honesty, industry, sobriety and benevolence set off with the most devout love of home and
family. They were the parents of four children, only two of whom are now living. Tbe eldest, Thomas, died after reaching his majority. The youngest died in infancy. The third, Alvin D., is married and located in Ogden, Utah, while the second, Henry Perry, is a resident of Delaware county, and forms the subject of this biographical notice.H. P. Duffey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, February 22, 1829. He was just seven years old when his father died. He was scarcely nine when he was overtaken by a greater loss in the death of his mother. As may well be imagined, his early lines were not cast in pleasant places. An orphan
at nine, left to the care of strangers, usually has a hard time of it. He resided in Cleveland till he was eleven, receiving little or no education during that time, and then he started out in the wide world in pursuit of his fortunes. He became a cook on a vessel plying on Lake Erie, then becoming a hand before the mast, and so went on up to the captaincy of the vessel. He followed the lakes for eleven years, running on all of them except Lake Superior, and became an expert inland seaman, discharging his duties with zeal and fidelity, and giving entire satisfaction to his employers. In 1848 he married, and this event brought about a change in his manner of living, and, in fact, a change which has affected his whole subsequent career. Marrying into a family of steady-going farmers, it was the wish of the young lady whom he married, and of her people, that he quit the lakes and settle to the quiet pursuits of agriculture. He did so, taking up his residence in Winnebago county, Ill. He lived there only four and a half years, when he determined to move further West, and, in the spring of 1854 came to Iowa, locating in Milo township, Delaware county. He had secured a farm before moving to the county, and settling on it, he set about to make a home. The labor incident to this undertaking was much greater at that time than it would be now. At that date the country was new, material scarce and costly, and transportation difficult. Markets were at considerable distance, and the entire state of agriculture largely a matter of experiment, not to say uncertainty. But Mr. Duffey allowed no obstacles to conquer his purpose nor perplexing doubts to affect his zeal. He came West to stay, and he came to succeed, and he started resolutely to work as soon as he secured a location. He met the obstacles as they arose, and whatever misgivings he may have had of the ultimate outcome he discreetly kept to himself, courageously forging away and doing the best he could with the means at hand. The old saying has it that "fortune favors the industrious," and so it proved with him. Each succeeding year after he settled in the county witnessed a gradual improvement in his condition, and, like a
wise husbandman, as his means accumulated he turned them back into the soil from which they had come. It is a fact worth-mentioning, that he built the first barn in his township and it is also true, that he now has the largest barn in the township. He bought the first reaper that was ever brought into the towship, and he was, during his residence on his farm, foremost in everything in his community. Relying on his own judgment, he never waited to see what others would do, but satisfied himself as to the advisability of his course, and then followed his own mind with a will and determination that usually crowned his efforts with success. He has now one of the best improved places in the county, and, although not born and bred to the business of farming, he is still credited with being one of the most successful farmers that Milo township has ever had. Having had to deal all his life with the practical side of things,
Mr. Duffey takes a decidedlv matter-of-fact view of whatever he has in hand. There is no foolishness in his way of going at his business. He goes straight to the point. He sees things with his own eyes. He puts his own estimate on them and he forms his own opinions. But it is to his industry and careful management that he owes his success. He labored under many disadvantages in early life, but he has overcome these to a large extent by hard work and careful observation, learning many valuable lessons from his own experience and the experience of others. As might be expected, Mr. Duffey was not only active in building up the material interests of his community, but bore his part in the administration of the local affairs of his township. He served as township trustee, township clerk, justice of the peace and treasurer of his school board, giving to the duties of these several offices his careful attention, and seeking, so far as lay in his power, to spread among the people of his township a desire for order and good government, and cultivating a spirit of education, of sobriety, of industry and of usefulness.Moving to Manchester in the spring of 1889, Mr. Duffey engaged in business the November following, buying the feed-store of D. P. Ballard, since which time he has given his attention mainly to that, retaining his farming interests, however, and being now as always identified in every way with the welfare of the community where he first settled on coming to the county.
As noted above, Mr. Duffey married in 1848. The lady whom he selected to share his life's fortunes was Miss Mary A. Proctor, who was born in England, a daughter of William Proctor, and a descendant of the ancient stock of the mother country. Mr. and Mrs. Duffey have had born to them a family of seven children, only three of whom are now living. The deceased children, being the four eldest, are-Alvin L. Rosalind A., William H., and May; those living are- Cora, now wife of W. Henry Todd, of Milo township, Delaware county; Alva L. and Roy J.Mr. Duffey has been a republican since the organization of that party. He is thoroughly loyal to the principles of his party, and, when occasion demands, he turns out and works with a will for the success of the men and measures which his party places in the field. He is a zealous Mason, having taken all the degrees up to and including that of Knight Templar. As a citizen he is public spirited and wide awake, ready and willing, at all times, to do his share towards the encouragement of every worthy purpose.