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From all available evidence (but by no means proven beyond any doubt), Leah Diffee's father was one ALEXANDER DIFFEE / DIFFEY / DIFFY. I have no birth or death data on him, nor do I know his wife's name, but he appears to have had at least two other children, ALEXANDER JR. and JEMIMAH (various spellings).
Here are references to Alexander's existence:
-- 1772, mentioned in Ann Arundel Co, MD census as householder;
-- 1783, listed in Ann Arundel census, Elkridge Hundred, near household of ROBERT BURGOON. (Remember, most people married a cousin or a close neighbor in those days, so this is significant evidence of Alexander's connection w/ our Leah Diffee Burgoon);
-- 1790, listed in Federal census for Baltimore Co, MD (adjacent to Ann Arundel, and boudary changes are unclear to me, so it could be the same location as in 1783), with two males over 16 (himself & Alexander Jr.?) and two females (unknown Wife and daughter Leah?);
-- 1800, again listed in Federal census, this time for Ann Arundel Co, and next to Robert Burgoon again;
-- 1810, listed in Federal census in Soldier's Delight Hundred, Baltimore Co, MD.
In correspondence with other Diffee/Diffey/etc. researchers, I have learned that several lines of Alexander Diffey Jr.'s descendants apparently also moved through Pennsylvania to Ohio, thence into Indiana (some) and further West. In several cases, they resided near descendants of Robert Burgoon & Leah Diffey, again evidence for a family connection, since migrations were often made with relatives and neighbors rather than alone or with strangers.
None of my efforts, however, have discovered the ancestry of Alexander Diffey himself, nor the name or line of his wife. I do know that there are many Diffeys, by whatever spelling, in the deep South and into Texas. These may descend from Alexander's prgenitors or siblings, and many of the Southern Diffeys trace their place of origin in America to North Carolina, not too far from Maryland by sea, and a logical alternate spot for Diffey's coming to the New World to head for.
The name may be French, or Norman (de Fey, for example), and may have been "strained" through long residence in Ireland (though probably not ethnic Irish, more likely "colonists" from England).
Pressing personal and business concerns (no, I am not awaiting indictment in the Enron scandal) have taken me away from an interesting exchange with another Forum contributor relative to the possible descendants of Alexander Diffey, so I apologize for not having more definite information for you.
Step Tyner
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