William Wright Duffus

1920-2004

  
Margaret and William Duffus

Before the mid-20th century, most people never traveled outside a 20-mile radius of the place where they were born.  Families were as much defined by a sense of place as by the people who comprised them.  Proper names were often derived from place names, the name Duffus itself alluding to the homeland terrain.  Even in nature, many animals either return to or stay close to their birthplace.  A single wolves den is known to have been in use for nearly 800 years, serving as a homestead for hundreds of generations.

The early days of the William McGlashan Duffus family were punctuated with such a sense of place.  By virtue of his birth and childhood in Vermont, where his father had settled after immigrating from Scotland, and his marriage to Effie Parmelee Wells, whose family was deeply rooted in Burlington, the Duffus family maintained a strong connection with Vermont.  All of the children were born not only in Burlington, but also in the same house, the residence of Charles Wells.  In the event of the birth of the third child, William Wright, the Duffus family even journeyed there from their residence in Newton, Massachusetts, in order to continue that tradition.

However, with the progression of the 20th century came improvements in transportation and communication that enabled that radius to be widened immeasurably.  Families could become more dispersed while maintaining nearly instant communication.   Connections could be maintained among family members regardless of physical separation.  For some, like William Wright, this became alluring.  No geographic boundaries could limit his possibilities.  No distant place could be excluded because going there no longer required that family ties be broken.

William's life became a journey not only through time, but also across the landscape.  This is a celebration and a chronicle of that journey and of the places and people he encountered along the way.  It is also a commentary on the separation family from place.

Origins
Newton, Massachusetts (1920-1930)
Columbus, Ohio (1930-1940)
Cleveland, Ohio: Baltic Road (1940-1950)
Los Angeles, California (1952)
Bay Village, Ohio: Edgewood Road (1952-1958)
Wimbledon, England: Bathgate Road (1954)
Wimbledon, England: Annex to Newstead (1955)
Bay Village, Ohio: Lake Road (1958-1962)
Medfield, Massachusetts (1962-1965)
Troy, Michigan (1965-1968)
Yonkers, New York (1968-1972)
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania (1972-1986)
Morehead City, North Corolina (1986-2002)
Portland, Oregon (2002-2004)