Sacramento County
Biographies
JOHN B. DUFFY
JOHN B. DUFFY.--A successful vineyardist of Galt whose younger days were spent in Texas
riding the range, where he had many interesting experiences in that free, outdoor
life, is John B. Duffy, who was born in Cabell County, W. Va,
September 21, 1858, the son of Patrick and Martha (Wade) Duffy, the father a
native of County Galway, Ireland, while the mother was born in Lynchburg, Va.,
and reared in Virginia. They were the
parents of seven children: Mary,
deceased; John B. of this sketch; Ellen, Anna and Dora, deceased; William lives
in Texas; Margaret Olive lives at Cincinnati,
Ohio.
The mother passed away at the age of thirty-six and in 1860 the father
removed to Bath County, Ky.,
where he followed his work as a stone mason and macadamized road builder, and
lived to be seventy-eight years old.
John
B. Duffy was reared at Bethel, Ky.,
and when he was nineteen he went to Texas
and started out for himself. He became a
rider on the cattle range and helped drive the first cattle north into the Pan
handle of Texas in 1898. Mr. Duffy made his home at Sherman,
Texas, during the greater part of his
cowboy life, residing there from 1877 to 1889.
Coming to Galt he became interested in the orchard and fruit business
and since then he has developed three places.
The first was a six-acre place on Frank Street,
and after he disposed of this he improved a place of seven and a half acres
near Galt. His present holdings consist
of seventeen acres one mile southeast of Galt, and this he has partly set to
vineyard and has completed a new residence there, with many other improvements.
At
Sherman, Texas,
August 22, 1880, Mr. Duffy was married to Miss Anna Brown and three children were
born to them, Ray, Ruby and Don. On
January 24, 1921, his second marriage occurred at Sacramento, when he was
united with Mrs. Emma (Covell) Tayler;
she is a native of Michigan, but came here with her parents when about fifteen
years old, her father engaging in farming near Santa Cruz and Redding. By her first marriage she is the mother of
two children, C. W. Taylor and Mrs. Frona Smith of Boise,
Idaho.
During the World War the former entered the R. O. T. C. at Camp
Pike, Ark., and here he
received his discharge in December, 1918.
Mr. Duffy is a Democrat in politics and in fraternal life is a member of
the Knights of Pythias, being past chancellor of the
Galt Lodge; he is a charter member of the local Grange and was one of its
officers during its organization. At the
time the United States entered the
World War, on the 14th day of April, 1917, this regiment was
mustered into the Federal forces as the 158th Infantry, 40th
Division, and he was sent to Naco,
Ariz., for border patrol work immediately
upon enlistment. In November they were
transferred to Camp Kearney
for overseas training and on November 25, 1917, Mr. Duffy received his
discharge there, not being eligible for overseas service on account of his age;
he was a member of the supply company and was a wagoner. He is a member of Smith-Lippi
Post of the American Legion at Galt and is its chaplain and historian.
Transcribed by
Priscilla Delventhal.
Source: Reed, G. Walter, History
of Sacramento County, California With Biographical
Sketches, Page 631. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA.
1923.
© 2007 P. J. Delventhal.