Who is this?
The 1880 Census of Uvalde County, Precinct 1, household 154 is occupied by Levi L. Finley and his family — including “John Lafferty“, a ward. Lafferty was age 14 and the record shows that he was born in Missouri in 1866, parents born in Ireland. The census taker notes that Levi was born in Virginia and his wife Delia was born in Ireland, along with both of her parents. From the ages of their children (two sons) and “ward” John Lafferty, they were in Missouri from at least 1866 to 1878. They must be recent arrivals in Uvalde.
Perhaps Delia and this John Lafferty are siblings, and it’s mere happenstance that two men named John Lafferty end up in this same area.
See also the Hokit family article who boarded a 21 year old “John Laferty” in 1880. This young man is of the right age to be L.D. Lafferty’s son.