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John Duff, born John McElduff, or John Michael McElduff, because early court records referred to him as John Michael Duff (September 1759 or August 1760 – June 4, 1799 or 1805), was a
counterfeiter, criminal gang leader, horse thief, cattle thief, hog thief,
salt maker,
longhunter
A longhunter (or long hunter) was an 18th-century explorer and hunter who made expeditions into the American frontier for as much as six months at a time. Historian Emory Hamilton says that "The Long Hunter was peculiar to Southwest Virginia onl ...
, scout, and soldier who assisted in
George Rogers Clark's
campaign to capture the
Illinois country
The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
for the
American rebel side during the
Revolutionary War.
Early life and family history
John Michael McElduff was born sometime between September 1759 and August 1760 in the British
Province of South Carolina
Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...
, according to his court testimony in August 1781, where he claimed to be 21 years old. John's father may have been the Thomas McElduff murdered by Philip McElduff, a brother, of Thomas, some time prior to November 1761. His mother later remarried, and his stepfather moved the family to the
Natchez District
The Natchez District was one of two areas established in the Kingdom of Great Britain's West Florida colony during the 1770sthe other being the Tombigbee District. The first Anglo settlers in the district came primarily from other parts of Britis ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
region of the colony of
British West Florida
British West Florida was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1763 until 1783, when it was ceded to Spain as part of the Peace of Paris.
British West Florida comprised parts of the modern U.S. states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alab ...
, on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
, prior to the start of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. McElduff is believed to be a grandson of a Thomas McElduff, Sr., who received two land grants for military service in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
on the south side of the
Tyger River
The Tyger River is a stream in the U.S. state of South Carolina, and a tributary of the Broad River. It is part of the Santee River Basin. It is a generally shallow and narrow river. Pollution in the north fork was the source of dispute in ''Fri ...
, in
Union County, South Carolina
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,244. Its county seat is Union. The county was created in 1785.
Union County is coterminous with the Union, SC, Micropolitan Sta ...
on February 7, 1754.
American Revolutionary War service and life in the Illinois Country
Around 1778, Duff was living in the Illinois Country, later referred to as the "
American Bottom
The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mo ...
." While leading a group of longhunters returning to
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...
, John Duff, John Saunders, and the rest of the hunting party were intercepted by Colonel
George Rogers Clark's soldiers and his Virginia frontiersmen soldiers, near the ruins of
Fort Massac
Fort Massac (or Fort Massiac) was a French colonial and early National-era fort on the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, United States.
Its site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
History
The Spanish explorer ...
. Suspected of being British spies, they immediately took an American
oath of allegiance, where Duff and his men joined Clark's
Illinois Regiment,
Virginia State Forces. Duff enlisted into Captain John Williams' Company in
Cahokia
The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...
and rose to the rank of sergeant in the Illinois Regiment.
In 1780, while Duff was posted with the garrison in Cahokia, a
British force attacked St. Louis, which was under colonial Spanish rule, and American-held Cahokia in 1780, with a motley army of British Loyalists composed of French-Canadiens, fur traders, and their Indian allies. McElduff and other soldiers were on
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
, for General Clark, observing the British movements, near the Mississippi River. The group was attacked by an Indian war party, barely escaping with their lives. The combined American, French, and Spanish forces successfully repelled the enemy assaults. In the George Rogers Clark Papers and Illinois
court records, Duff was referred to both as "John McElduff" and "John McDuff."
In the mid-late 1780s, Duff was living in Kaskaskia, Illinois and was in business with two brothers of the captain of the
Ohio County,
Virginia Militia and
Revolutionary War Patriot,
Samuel Mason
Samuel Ross Mason, also spelled Meason (November 8, 1739 – 1803), was a Virginia militia captain, on the American western frontier, during the American Revolutionary War. After the war, he became the leader of the Mason Gang, a criminal gang o ...
who later became the notorious
river pirate
A river pirate is a pirate who operates along a river. The term has been used to describe many different kinds of pirate groups who carry out riverine attacks in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. They are usually prosecuted ...
. According to the French Kaskaskia records, the Duff name was recorded as, "Jean Michel Duff" and "John Michael Duff." In 1786, John, Daniel, and another son of Thomas McElduff sold land tracts for two different property deeds. There was a Daniel McElduff and McDuff who was also at Kaskaskia in the 1780s and was likely the brother of John Duff. When the McElduffs first arrived, the pre-American Revolution, British-controlled,
French-speaking settlement of Kaskaskia was not recorded. Daniel McDuff owned slaves while residing in Kaskaskia, as was the custom of
transplanted Southerners and the
French creole population in the Illinois Country. After the departure of the bandit John Dodge, who lived in the area from 1784 to 1790, John McElduff was elected, in 1790, as one of six
judges, to the Kaskaskia town court. According to the French records, on February 6, 1794, John McElduff and Seddy, his wife, sold a dwelling and grounds in Kaskaskia Village, to J.R. Jones for $200; this Jones may have been
John Rice Jones, a politician and Illinois Regiment veteran.
Counterfeiting at Cave-In-Rock, Northwest Territory and in Kentucky
After 1790, John Duff was associated with the
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
counterfeiter,
Philip Alston
Philip Geoffrey Alston is an Australian international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Globa ...
, the
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
river pirate,
Samuel Mason
Samuel Ross Mason, also spelled Meason (November 8, 1739 – 1803), was a Virginia militia captain, on the American western frontier, during the American Revolutionary War. After the war, he became the leader of the Mason Gang, a criminal gang o ...
, and the
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
serial killers
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
the
Harpe brothers
Micajah "Big" Harpe, born Joshua Harper (before 1768 – August 24, 1799), and Wiley "Little" Harpe, born William Harper (before 1770 – February 8, 1804), were murderers, highwaymen and river pirates who operated in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illi ...
, at
Cave-in-Rock, in the
U.S. Northwest Territory, where he learned the illicit business of counterfeiting, known as "
coining", where he could make a lot money in criminal pursuits. By this time, he had left the historical record and from this point on, he was referred to in folklore as, just Duff or "Duff the Counterfeiter." Even as a counterfeiter, John Duff was not a violent man by nature and he was never known to have killed anyone. Whether or not John McElduff and his wife left Kaskaskia permanently after 1794 is not known, but folklore mentioned John Duff, as owning a slave named Pompey and tales of his miraculously avoiding numerous attempts at capture and death from local regulator
vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
s and the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
.
Death
For nearly a decade, Duff had become a scourge along the lower Ohio River region. On June 4, 1799, a group of three
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
Indians and a French
courier du bois were hired by
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
officer, Captain Zebulon Pike, Sr., father of the
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
Zebulon Pike, who was the commandant at the frontier outpost Fort Massac, now
Metropolis, Illinois
Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, Massac County, Illinois, United States. It has a population of 6,537 according to 2010 United States Census, the 2010 United States Census. Metropolis is the county sea ...
. This mercenary party was given orders to kill John Duff, which they did at his house, which was located either at
Battery Rock, according to the newspaper account, on the
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
side of the
Ohio River or across the river at what would later become
Caseyville, Kentucky
Caseyville is an unincorporated community in Union County, Kentucky, United States. Caseyville is located on the Ohio River and Kentucky Route 1508, west of Sturgis.
During the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war betwee ...
on the
Tradewater River
The Tradewater River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in western Kentucky in the United States. It drain ...
as, recalled in the ''History of Union County, Kentucky''. According to ''Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Illinois'', Duff was killed in 1805 on Ripple Island, on the
Saline River, in
Gallatin County, Illinois
Gallatin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,828, making it the third-least populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Shawneetown. It is located in the southern ...
and buried near the local
salt springs.
See also
*
Peter Alston
*
Edward Bonney
Edward William Bonney (August 26, 1807 – February 4, 1864) was a 19th-century adventurer, miller, hotel keeper, city planner, counterfeiter, livery stable keeper, bounty hunter, private detective, postmaster, merchant, soldier, and ...
*
Abel Buell
*
Mary Butterworth
*
Sile Doty
Sile Doty (August 30, 1800 – March 12, 1876) was an infamous robber, burglar, horse thief, highwayman, counterfeiter, and criminal gang leader. Stewart Holbrook says that Doty "was, before the James-Younger era, the most energetic and no ...
*
David Farnsworth
*
James Ford
*
Catherine Murphy
*
John Murrell
*
Sturdivant Gang
*
Samuel C. Upham
Samuel Curtis Upham (February 2, 1819 – June 29, 1885) was an American journalist, lyricist, merchant, bookkeeper, clerk, navy officer, prospector, and counterfeiter, during the later part of the 19th century, sometimes, known as "Honest S ...
References
*
Alvord, Clarence Walworth. ''The Illinois Country, 1673-1818, Volume 1''. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois Centennial Commission, 1920.
*
Alvord, Clarence Walworth, editor. ''Kaskaskia Records, 1778-1790,'' ''Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois State Historical Library''. Springfield, Ill.: Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, 1909.
*Bateman, Newton and Paul Selby, editors. ''Biographical and Memorial Edition of the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume 1''. Munsell Publishing Company, 1915.
*Glaser, Lynn. ''Counterfeiting in America: the history of an American way to wealth''. C.N. Potter, 1968.
*
Reynolds, Governor John. ''Reynolds' History of Illinois: My Own Times: Embracing Also the History of My Life''. Chicago, IL: Chicago Historical Society, 1879.
*
Reynolds, Governor John. ''The Pioneer History of Illinois: Containing the Discovery, in 1673, and the History of the Country to the Year 1818, when the State Government was Organized''. Chicago, IL: Fergus Print Company, 1887.
*Rothert, Otto A. ''The Outlaws of Cave-In-Rock''. Cleveland: 1924; rpt. 1996
*Seineke, Kathrine Wagner Seineke. ''The George Rogers Clark adventure in the Illinois: and selected documents of the American Revolution at the frontier posts''. New York: Polyanthos, 1981.
*Underwood, Lt. Thomas T. "The journal, 1792-1800, of Thomas T. Underwood, lieutenant in the United States Army, life at Fort Massac (Illinois) under Zebulon M. Pike's command (1795-1798)," ''Draper Manuscripts: Frontier Wars Papers, 1754-1885 (Volume 16)''. Wisconsin Historical Society, Library-Archives Division.
*Walker, Mrs. Harriett J. ''Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Illinois''. Standard Printing Company, 1918.
*
Wellman, Paul I. ''Spawn of evil: the invisible empire of soulless men which for a generation held the Nation in a spell of terror''. New York: Doubleday, 1964.
*Willson, Richard Eugene, Indexing, Donald E. Gradeless, Ph.D., Editor. 1998. ''Index to the George Rogers Clark Papers: The Illinois Regiment. Based on the Microfilmed ''George Rogers Clark Papers at the Virginia State Library and Archives''. Chicago: Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Illinois.
*''Chester Co (South Carolina) Misc Record Book LL'', reprieve granted Philip McElduff convicted of murder of Thomas McElduff till Wed the 2nd of Dec 1761, p.417
*''History of Union County, Kentucky''. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1886.
New Bern District (North Carolina) Court Records 1770-1774 Papers of the U.S. War Department 1784-1800
*Raymond H. Hammes Collection. English Summaries. Illinois State Archives. 81:2:27:1.
*"Some Irish Protestant Immigrants to South Carolina 1753 and 1754," ''The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research'', Vol. 17, No. 1 (Winter 1989):25-29. FHL Book 975.7 B2sc v.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, John
18th-century births
2nd-millennium deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
American outlaws
18th-century American criminals
American counterfeiters
People murdered in Kentucky
Extrajudicial killings
American hunters
American slave owners
Illinois in the American Revolution
People from South Carolina
People from Natchez, Mississippi
People of pre-statehood Illinois
People from Kaskaskia, Illinois
People from Hardin County, Illinois
People from Saline County, Illinois