My Genealogy Hound

RICHARD E. DUFFIELD was born near Jenkintown, in Abington township, Montgomery county, June 14, 1852. He is the eldest child of Christian Bosbyshell and Mary Jane (Williams) Duffield.

Richard Edwin Duffield attended the public schools of Abington township until his nineteenth year, assisting his father on the farm in the meantime. After leaving school he took a still greater interest in farming operations, and remained with his parents until the spring of 1876. He married, January 20, 1876, Cecilia Morton, daughter of George F. and Sarah H. (Clayton) Shelmire, both deceased, of Southampton township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, After his marriage, Mr. Duffield established himself as a farmer at Huntingdon Valley, where he remained six years, after which he removed to Montgomery township. After remaining there two years longer, engaged in farming, he returned to Bucks county. His next removal was to Broad Axe, Whitpain township, Montgomery county, where he rented a farm for four years, after which he became a tenant of his father at the Duffield homestead. The following year he removed, however, to Penllyn for two years, and then removed to the farm of Caroline R. Miller, near Blue Bell, where he remained seven years, He then removed again to his father’s farm, managing it for three years and finally purchasing it at the settlement of the estate after the death of his parents. The Duffield farm contains fifty-eight acres of very superior land, all of which is in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Duffield operates the farm in the usual way, giving considerable attention to his dairy and to the raising of vegetables, his produce being shipped to the Philadelphia markets.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Duffield are: Lizzie Davis, born March 9, 1878, married Howard Fronefield, May 11, 1896, and had one child -Edwin Morton. In June, 1900, Mrs. Fronefield was divorced from her husband, and in June, 1903, was married to Benjamin E. Doan, of Auburn, New York, where she now resides. Horace George, born October 17, 1883, married, January 14, 1903, Harriet May, daughter of Jacob E. and Margaret (Wright) Clayton, and have one child, Mildred May. Horace, who resides with his parents at the homestead, assists his father in the management of the farm.

Mr. Duffield is a Republican in politics, although he gives more attention to the management of his farm than he does to political affairs. He has never sought or held office. Mr. Duffield and his family attend the Baptist church at Ambler.

Christian Duffield (father) was born in 1828. His children: Richard Edwin, subject of this sketch; John Ellwood, born in 1855, married Clara M. Engle; Mary Ella, married Harvey Fesmire, of Moreland township, having seven children; Harvey Alfred, married Anna Hallman; Frank Wesley, born September 25, 1861, married, December 27, 1885, Ellen, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Conard) Walton, having several children; Harriet Ida, married Thomas H. Fetter; Frederick, married Abbie Eisenbrey; William Conard, married Mary White; Daniel J., married Mary E. Reinhart; Flora L., born October 8, 1875, unmarried, and resides in Philadelphia. The father and mother are both deceased. The father died January 27, 1893, and the mother September 24, 1901. The father was a Republican in politics, and a deacon in the Baptist church at Ambler.