Thomas' first wife was Pleasant Jane Hamilton, also known as Pleasy and Jennie, born December 9, 1851, in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Daniel and Nancy Ann* Hamilton.  Daniel brought his family to Hancock County, Illinois, in the latter half of the 1850s.  In 1860 Daniel, Nancy Ann and five daughters were living in Carthage Township.  Daniel died November 12, 1860, and was buried at the Old Brick Cemetery, Carthage.

In 1866 Mrs. Nancy Hamilton married Zebulon D. Wallace.  They apparently went to Missouri shortly thereafter, because their son, Charles, born in 1867, later stated that he was born in Clark County, Missouri.  By 1870 Nancy Wallace, two of her daughters and Charles were back in Hancock County, Illinois, living in Hancock Township.  We do not know where Pleasant Jane was in 1870; she was not counted in her mother's home.  In 1874 Mrs. Nancy Wallace married Sidney Brown.

Thomas and Pleasant Jane were married on January 14, 1874.  Marriage license

In 1880 they were counted in the Federal Census in Fountain Green Township.  They had three children, the eldest a five year old daughter.  All of the children were probably born in Fountain Green Township.

Thomas was a notable character in Hancock County history.  Briefly stated, on August 20, 1880, Thomas Duff and Alvin Salisbury attended a Republican political meeting at the United Presbyterian Church in Fountain Green.  While the meeting was still going on, Salisbury was outside the church, engaged in conversation with Ninian Simmons and others.  Duff approached the men, there was an argument, Duff produced a knife and stabbed and slashed Salisbury multiple times.  It was culmination of what was described as a longstanding feud between the Salisbury and Duff families. Salisbury lived until the next day and then died.  Duff was subsequently found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 5 years in the penitentiary.  Follow the link to Alvin Salisbury for news items regarding the incident.

In November of 1881 there was a published notice that Mrs. Thomas Duff of Uniontown (located in Hancock Township, later renamed Joetta), had lost an infant son on the 17th.  We believe this was the fourth Duff child.

Thomas and Pleasant Jane's children:

i.	Louisa G. Duff, born about 1875.  She died after December 16, 1943.
ii.	William S. Duff, born about 1876.  See text below.
iii.	Joshua H. Duff, born about 1878.  See text below.
iv.	Infant Son Duff, died November 17, 1881, burial at Webster Cemetery in Fountain Green Township.

Perhaps Thomas Duff's conviction and incarceration provoked Pleasant Jane to seek a divorce.  In Adair County, Missouri, on October 28, 1884, Pleasant Jane, reported as a resident of Hancock County, Illinois, married Warren W. Dye, himself a native of Hancock County.  Pleasant Jane and Warren lived for many years in Salt River Township, Adair County, and together had four children.  Follow the link to Warren for more information on both Warren and Pleasant Jane.

After serving his time, in 1900 Thomas Duff was living on the northern border of Missouri, in Mercer County, Morgan Township.  His brother, James, was living in the same township.

Thomas had remarried about 1889.  His new wife, Sophia Christiana, had immigrated from Sweden in the early 1880s.  By 1910 they had left Mercer County and moved southward almost the full length of the state to settle in Greene County.

The background of Sophia Christiana, or Christian, remains an unanswered question.  Death certificates for two of her children show her maiden name as Earskine or Erskin, and Johnson.

We do not know where Thomas and Sophia met, married, died or were buried.

As of 1910 they had five children.

i.	Martha Victoria Duff, born about 1891 in Illinois.
ii.	Robert Carlton Duff, born November 13, 1896, in Hancock County, Illinois.  He died September 1, 1970, in Arkansas, and was buried at Workmans Cemetery south of McCrory, Woodruff County, Arkansas. In 1918 Robert Carlton Duff was living in Prairie County, Arkansas, near the town of Des Arc. When he filled out his WWI draft registration, he provided the following information: Name in full - Robert Duff Age - 21 Home address Rfd. #2, Box 33A, Des Arc, Ark. Date of birth - Nov 1_, 1896 [illegible digit] Where born - Hancock Co, Ills. USA. Father's birthplace - Hancock Co. Ills. USA. Name of employer - Myself Place of employment - Near Des Arc Ark. Name of nearest relative - Mrs. Lue Langley Address of nearest relative - some where in Kansas US. Color of eyes - blue Color of hair - dark brown Has person lost arm, leg, hand, eye or is he probably physically disqualified (specify) ? - No We note that Robert named his half-sister, Louisa, as his nearest relative, even though he didn't know exactly where she was.  This suggests that Robert's parents were already deceased. Robert remained in Arkansas for the rest of his life.
iii.	Pearl Duff, born about 1898 in Missouri.
iv.	Myrtle Duff, born about 1900 in Missouri.
v.	Grace Duff, born about 1904 in Missouri.

Joshua Duff, 30, male, farmer, value of real estate 800, born KY
Martha, 32, female, born NY
William, 2, male, born IL
Thomas, 3/12, male, born IL
Marion Pendleton, 12, female, born NY, attended school within the year
John White, 29, male, farmer, born NY

Joshua Duff, 40, male, farmer, value of real estate 1000, value of personal estate 700, born KY
Martha, 45, female, born NY
William, 12, male, born IL, attended school within the year
Thomas, 10, male, born IL, attended school within the year
James, 7, male, born IL, attended school within the year
John, 6, male, born IL, attended school within the year
Charles, 4, male, born IL
Martha, 2, female, born IL

Daniel Hamilton, 31, male, farmer, value of real estate 700, value of personal estate 300, born PA
Nancy, 29, female, born PA
Pleasy J, 9, female, born PA
Mary Ann, 7, female, born PA
Rebecca R, 5, female, born PA
Susan A, 2, female, born IL
Sarah E, 10/12, female, born IL
Samuel Cole, 11, male, born IL, attended school within the year

Duff, Joshua, 50, male, white, farmer, value of real estate 4000, value of personal estate 1200, born KY, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
Louisa, 51, female, white, keeping house, born NY
William, 21, male, white, farm laborer, born IL
Thomas, 20, male, white, born IL, attended school within the year
[continued on next page]
Duff, James, 17, male, white, teacher common school, born IL
John, 16, male, white, born IL, attended school within the year
Charles, 14, male, white, born IL, attended school within the year
Martha, 13, female, white, born IL, attended school within the year

Duff, Thos B, white, male, 30, married, farmer, born IL, father born KY, mother born NY
Jennie, white, female, 26, wife, married, keeping house, born PA, both parents born PA
Louisa, white, female, 5, daughter, single, at home, born IL, father born IL, mother born PA
William S, white, male, 4, son, single, at home, born IL, father born IL, mother born PA
Joshua H, white, white, male, 2, son, single, at home, born IL, father born IL, mother born PA

Duff, Thomas, head, white, male, July 1849, 50, married for 11 years, born IL, father born KY, mother born NY, farmer, months not employed, could read, write and speak English, rented his farm home, farm schedule 276

Christiana, wife, white, female, May 1864, 36, married for 11 years; mother of 3 children, all living; born Sweden, both parents born Sweden, year of immigration to the U.S. - 1881, number of years in the U.S. - 19, could read, write and speak English

Martha, daughter, white, female, Jan 1890, 10, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born Sweden, at school for 7 months, could read, write and speak English

Robert, son, white, male, Nov 1895, 4, single, born IL, father born IL, mother born Sweden

Pearl, daughter, white, female, July 1897, 2, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born Sweden

Duff, Thomas B, head, male, white, 58, married for 22 years, born IL, father born KY, mother born NY, spoke English, farmer, farm, working on own account, could read and write, rented his farm home, farm schedule 172

Christine S, wife, female, white, 46 [or maybe 40], married for 22 years; mother of 5 children, all living; born Sweden Swedish, both parents born Sweden Swedish; year of immigration to the U.S. - 83, naturalized, spoke English, could read and write

Martha, daughter, female, white, 18, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born Sweden Swedish, spoke English, could read and write, did not attend school after Sept. 1, 1909

Robert [initial illegible], son, male, white, 13, single, born IL [very hard to read, looks more like Illinois than Missouri], father born IL, mother born Sweden Swedish, spoke English, could read and write, attended school after Sept. 1, 1909

Pearl, daughter, female, white, 11, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born Sweden Swedish, spoke English, could read and write, attended school after Sept. 1, 1909

Myrtle, daughter, female, white, 9, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born Sweden Swedish, attended school after Sept. 1, 1909

Grace, daughter, female, white, 5, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born Sweden Swedish, attended school after Sept. 1, 1909

Dueff, Robert, head, renter, male, white, 23, married, could read and write, born IL, both parents born IL, spoke English, farming, general, working on own account, farm schedule 101

Gillie, wife, female, white, 23, married, could read and write, born AR, both parents born AR, spoke English

Bernie H [Bennie H.], son, male, white, 2 2/12, single, born AR, father born IL, mother born AR

Duff, Robert, head, renter, did not own a radio, lived on a farm, male, white, 33, married, age at first marriage - 26, could read and write, born IL, both parents born IL, spoke English, farmer, general farm, whether a veteran of the U.S. military or naval forces mobilized for any war or expedition - yes, WW, farm schedule 59

Lizzie M, wife, female, white, 25, married, age at first marriage - 16, could read and write, born AR, father born AR, mother born TN, spoke English

May B [or Mary B], daughter, female, white, 8, single, attended school after Sept. 1, 1929, born AR, father born IL, mother born AR

Orris M, daughter, female, white, 5, single, born AR, father born IL, mother born AR

Vera J [Vera G], daughter, female, white, 3 1/2, single, born AR, father born IL, mother born AR

Ulysses H, son, male, white, 1 ?/12, single, born AR, father born IL, mother born AR