James Duff (North Norfolk MP)

For other people named James Duff, see James Duff (disambiguation).

Colonel James Duff (1831 – 22 December 1878)[1] was a British Army officer and Conservative Party politician from Westwick in Norfolk.[2]

Early life

Duff was born on 21 July 1831 in Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland.[3] He was the son of James Duff and his wife Charlotte, eldest daughter of Sir George Beeston Prescott.[2] His grandfather was Major-General Sir James Duff.[2]

Duff was educated at Rugby[3] and entered the army as an ensign in 1851.[2]

Career

He served with the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers in the Crimean War, including the Siege of Sebastopol, and was taken prisoner in the Battle of Inkerman.[2] He retired from the army in 1858 as a major, having received the Crimea Medal with two clasps,[3] and became a Justice of the Peace (JP) in Norfolk.[2]

He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for North Norfolk at a by-election in April 1876, after the death of Frederick Walpole MP, and held the seat until his death less than three years later.[4] In Parliament, Duff spoke on military matters, and was active in getting the Norfolk and Suffolk Fisheries Act 1877 through Parliament.[3]

Personal life

In 1859, Duff married Mary Laura Dawkins, daughter of Edward Dawkins.[3] Together, they were the parents of:[5]

  • Mildred Blanche Duff (1860–1932)[5]
  • Beatrice Duff (1861–1863)[5]
  • Lilian Selina Amy Duff (b. 1862)[5]
  • Lt.-Col. Bernard James Petre (1867–1934), who married Hon. Ruby Thellusson, daughter of Frederick Thellusson, 5th Baron Rendlesham and Lady Egida Montgomerie, in 1907.
  • Granville John Berney Duff (1869–1936), whop married, firstly, Rangiamohia Te Herekiekie, a descendant of Tūwharetoa i te Aupōuri, in 1899.[6] After her death in 1908,[7] he married Lilian Mary (née Petrie) Bulwer, widow of William Dering Earle Bulwer and daughter of William Witon Petrie, in 1922.
  • Catherine Basilia Duff (1877–1951)[5]

He died in office in December 1878, aged 47, at his London residence in Upper Brook Street.[3]

References

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 2)
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Election Intelligence. Norfolk (North)". The Times. London. 24 April 1876. pp. 11, col D.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Death of Colonel Duff, MP". The Times. London. 25 December 1878. pp. 7, col D.
  4. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 427. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  5. ^ a b c d e Upper Ten Thousand. An Alphabetical List of All Members of Noble Families. Kelly's Directories, Limited. 1938. pp. 621–622. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  6. ^ John Te Herekiekie Grace, Tamaku's brother gives the line as follows: Manaiawharepu - Topuni - Pitokura - Tutaramarae - Tupara-i-te-Aupouri - Hine-mihi - Te Rangituaiwa - Hinea - Ngarangikaruia - Matakai - Putai - Rangiamohia - Te Arahori - Ngatangi Rongopai - Rangiamohia: Grace 1959, pp. 539
  7. ^ Binney, Judith (7 May 2021). The Shaping of History: Essays from the New Zealand Journal of History, 1967–1999. Bridget Williams Books. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-927131-09-1. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

Works cited

  • Grace, John Te Herekiekie (1959). Tuwharetoa: The history of the Maori people of the Taupo District. Auckland [N.Z.]: A.H. & A.W. Reed. ISBN 9780589003739.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for North Norfolk
1876 – 1878
With: Sir Edmund Lacon, Bt 		Succeeded by