Annotation:Miss Duff of Muirton's Jig
X:1 T:Miss Duff of Muirton’s Jig M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig N:”Old” B:Donald Grant – Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Jigs &c. (1820-21, p. 30) B:The volume was perhaps first issued c. 1790, from a penciled note in a copy. N:The collection was dedicated to Mrs. Col. Grant of Grant (“Sir James and N:Lady Grant of Grant”). S: https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/105814156 Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Dmin D|D>EF TE2D|Td2e Tf2g|a>gf e>dc|AcA GEC| D>EF TE2D|Td2e Tf2g|a>gf e>d^c|{^c}d3D2:| |:e|Tf>ga Tf>ga|f>ga a>gf|ecg ecg|e>fg g>fe| Tf>ga a>gf|e>fg g>fe|d>ef g>fe|{^c}d3D2:|
MISS DUFF OF MUIRTON'S JIG. Scottish, Jig (6/8 time). D Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Miss Duff of Muirton's Jig" was published by Elgin fiddler-composer biography:Donald Grant in his Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Jigs &c. (1820-21), where it is marked "Old." The estate of Muirton near Inverness, Scotland, was acquired in 1741 by William Duff, 1st of Muirton, who trained in the law and was admitted as Advocate. His son and heir, Alexander Duff the younger, was an army officer who served in the German wars and in India, but he predeceased his father in 1778. Alexander the younger's son, Hugh Duff (1771-1832), succeeded his paternal grandfather William Duff as the 2nd laird of Muirton in 1783. All of the aforementioned Duff's married and had families, and each had daughters. It is difficult to tell which is the 'Miss Duff' of the title, and, since it is only marked as "old" in Grant's collection there is no telling which generation of daughters it might be. However Hugh Duff's daughters can be eliminated as the eldest was born in 1825. It is likely 'Miss Duff' was Emilia Duff (1772-1839), the only surviving daughter of Alexander Duff, who married Alexander Fraser of Inchcoulter in 1795; alternatively William's surviving daughters Jean (b. 1739), Anne or Magdalen (all of whom married) may be 'Miss Duff' depending on the age of the jig.
