Posted on: HOUGH Obituaries Board URL: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/genbbs.cgi/surnames/h/o/HOUGH/obituaries?read=2 Surname: hough ------------------------- An old tombstone was discovered in the basement of a house in the bay area of California. The inscription on the tombstone read: Seeley son of William J. and Lizzie Hough 5-7-1875, 1 year 7 months 12 days gone but not forgotten

Posted on: HOUGH Queries Board URL: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/genbbs.cgi/surnames/h/o/HOUGH/queries?read=4 Surname: Hough, Huff, Hoff ------------------------- Benjamin and Ruth Hough/Huff of Bent Mountain, Virginia Benjamin Hough was born December 28, 1718 and married Ruth (?) born May 4, 1723. The diary of a grandchild, Jonas Durman Wilson, is the only known source for the birth dates. Benjamin and Ruth had eight children: 1. John Hough/Huff, born 1744 in Virginia, died 1795 in Montgomery Co., Virginia. 2. Joseph Hough/Huff, born about 1745 in Virginia, died 1807 in Kanawha Co., (W.) Virginia. 3. Stephen Hough/Huff, born about 1747 in Virginia. 4. Catherine (Hough/Huff) Wilson, born September 6, 1748 in Botetourt Co., Virginia, died 1820 in Rockcastle Co., Kentucky. 5. Sarah (Hough/Huff) Reed, born about 1750. 6. Elizabeth (Hough/Huff) Wilson, born about 1752 in Virginia, died February 16, 1831 in Barren Co., Kentucky. 7. Charity Ann (Hough/Huff) Renfro, born December 23, 1763 in Virginia, died March 6, 1831, in Pineville, Knox Co., Kentucky. 8. Jerusha (Hough/Huff) Lee, born 1766 in Virginia, died 1865 in Claiborne Co., Tennessee. The earliest known records of Benjamin Hoff or Hough or Huff appear in Loudoun County in northern Virginia in the 1760s along with families related by marriage, Wilson and Reed. All of these families relocated to Bent Mountain in southwestern Virginia (near present day Roanoke, Virginia) in the early 1770s and were there during the Revolutionary War. The families remained at Bent Mountain until after the death of Benjamin in 1791 and the eldest son, John, in 1795. There was a split among the family after 1800 with Joseph Huff going to Kanawha County (near present day Charleston, West Virginia) and the other siblings migrating west into Kentucky and Tennessee. There are two primary theories (and a lot of other speculation) about the ancestry of Benjamin. One theory is that he is the son of Jonathan and Abigail Hough of Wallingford, Connecticut. This Benjamin married Ruth Brownson or Bronson on August 22, 1738. They had a son Noah born February 5, 1739 and died February 9, 1739 in New Milford, Connecticut. By the diary birth dates, Benjamin would have been 20 and Ruth 15 when they married. Benjamin survived until 1791, age 73, and Ruth survived until sometime after 1800, at least age 77 given the diary birth date. So it seems reasonable that Ruth was a few years younger than Benjamin. All this would be a highly probable ancestry except that Orcutt, History of New Milford and Bridgewater, CT. lists the birth date of Ruth Brownson as December 25, 1710. This would have made Ruth age 56 when the last child of Benjamin and Ruth (Jerusha) was born in 1766. It would also make the widow Ruth at least 90 years old when she moved with part of the family, sometime after 1800, from Bent Mountain to Claiborne Co., TN where it is believed that Ruth died. By the 1723 diary birth date, Ruth would have been age 43 when the last child, Jerusha, was born. So if the 1710 birth date is proven to be correct (and to my knowledge it has not been so proven), then it makes Ruth Brownson highly unlikely as the spouse of Benjamin Hough of Bent Mountain. The other theory about the ancestry of Benjamin is that he is the son of Dirk Pauluszen Hoff and Sarah Yeats of Flushing, NY and Laurenceville, NJ. Benjamin was mentioned as an heir in Dirk Pauluszen Hoff's 1722 will in Hunterdon Co., NJ. These Hoffs were of Dutch ancestry and seem unlikely as the parents of Benjamin for the following reasons: (1) There is absolutely no family history among any of the descendants of Benjamin and Ruth that the family originated or immigrated from Holland. It seems very unlikely that a Dutch connection would have been completely lost among the succeeding generations. (2) The spelling of the family name prior to Bent Mountain seems clearly to have been "Hough" and not "Hoff." The origin of Hough is almost certain to have been English and most likely descended from immigrants from Hough, England (which were the ancestors of Jonathan and Abigail Hough of Wallingford, CT.). The family, while at Bent Mountain, seems to have deliberately adopted "Huff" as the spelling of the family name as all succeeding generations have spelled it that way. (However, one great-grandson of Benjamin, Hiram Hough, continued to use the old spelling.) There is only speculation about why the family chose to change the spelling to Huff. One theory, which seems reasonable, is that the change occurred at the time of the Revolutionary War. The family, if they were of English ancestry, may have wanted to show their loyalty to the American cause by rejecting the "tory" spelling. The other theory about the change in the spelling of the family name to "Huff", which is not necessarily inconsistent with the first theory, is that the family simply got tired of correcting public servants and others in the spelling of "Hough" and chose to adopt the easier phonetic spelling of "Huff." The spelling of the family name is a very complicating factor for researchers of the Huff genealogy. That is because there are several spellings with different national origins, Hough, Houghe, Hooff, Hoff, and Huff, that phonetically sound nearly the same. It must be remembered that Colonial America was indeed a "melting pot" with almost as many people speaking German, Dutch and other languages as spoke English. A little known historical fact is that the Founding Fathers debated whether to make English the official language in the Constitution. This was rejected because many of the Founding Fathers believed that German might actually emerge as the dominant language of the new nation. So pity the plight of the public servant in Colonial America, many of whom were not well educated themselves, trying to record transactions from many people who either did not speak English well or spoke it with a heavy accent. And unlike today, there does not seem to have been the same concern or expectation among early public servants that names be accurately spelled in public records. So the historical record for the Huff families in Colonial America is replete with inconsistent spellings, as amply demonstrated by the following entries: 1762 Loudoun, Co., VA Benjamin Hooff in Clerk's Fee Book 1764 Loudoun, Co., VA Benjamin Hough in Clerk's Fee Book 1769 Loudoun, Co., VA Benjamin Huff on Tithable List These may have been the same or different Benjamins, it is difficult to say. But when you look at the entire history of the different family lines in Colonial America, it does appear that the Huff spelling eventually emerged as the dominant family name. And this may be simply because it was the easiest to spell. But here is where things get a little more complicated with regard to the Huffs at Bent Mountain, VA. And that is because there were other Huffs or Hoffs in the same area at the same time. A 1773 entry in the Botetourt County, Virginia records shows that on May 12 the county court considered a report by Leonard Huff, Joseph Willis, and William Bell on establishing a road from Bent Mountain to Bell's Mill on Little River. It ordered Joseph Willis to survey from Bell's Mill to the top of Long Ridge, and Benjamin Huff to survey from Long Ridge to Bent Mtn. Joseph Willis and Benjamin Huff were each to keep their parts of the new road in repair. A similar entry is recorded in 1779 when Leonard Huff, Jasper Terry, and William Terry were to view the way for a road from Pine Sput to Major Inglishe's. They reported favorably, and in May 1780, Benjamin Huff was to open the road and keep it in repair, using the men of Capt. Wilson's Comp. There are other entries that suggest a family relationship among Leonard and a Phillip Huff, and also possibly a Peter, Thomas and William Huff in the same area. These Huffs did not live at Bent Mtn. but appear to have founded a community identified on Virginia maps today as "Huffville," a distance of about 40 miles from Bent Mtn. The association of Leonard and Benjamin Huff in connection with these road building activities certainly suggests a family connection. And it is this geographical association at Bent Mountain that gives rise to the speculation that Benjamin is descended from Dirk Pauluszen Hoff of New York and New Jersey as that is the most probable ancestry of Leonard Hoff or Huff. It appears that Leonard "Huff" also underwent a spelling change at the same time as Benjamin "Hough" as the family name for Leonard is more often spelled "Hoff" in earlier records. It also appears that Leonard Hoff or Huff may have been in the Bent Mountain area as early as the 1740s while Benjamin Hough and family did not arrive until the 1770s. Did Benjamin relocate to Bent Mountain because he already had family there? There may be something to this. It does appear that Benjamin was in Loudoun County in northern Virginia in the 1760s and early 1770s. Benjamin Hoff shows up on the 1771 Tithable List for Shelburn Parish, Loudoun Co., listed together with Joseph Hoff, Phillip Hoff, Joshua Willson (son-in-law of Benjamin), Cornelius Reed (son-in-law of Benjamin), and also in the same list was Robert Jakson (father-in-law of Phillip Hoff). All these names are later associated at Bent Mountain in southwestern Virginia. Phillip Hoff retained the Hoff spelling, but his sons all preferred Huff. No relationship has ever been established between Phillip Hoff and Benjamin Huff, but it does appear they were neighbors in both Loudoun County and Bent Moutain, Virginia. One aspect that may be worth exploring further is whether there was any family connection with the Wilsons and/or Reeds that pre-dated Loudoun County and Bent Mountain. Of interest here is the marriage of Elizabeth Huff to Noah Reed in Maidenhead (Lawrenceville), Hunterdon Co., NJ, the same location as Dirk Pauluszen Hoff. Elizabeth was born May 4, 1764 and died July 7, 1837. Her father was Abel Huff who died about 1810 or 1811, making him a contemporary of Benjamin.. Abel's parents were John Huff (Hoff) born about 1692 and died after June 1769. He was married to Eva Johnson. John Huff (Hoff) would have been age 26 when Benjamin was born in 1718, so it is possible that Benjamin could have been a son or maybe a nephew, although this is highly speculative. Just what relationship, if any, there may have been between Dirk Pauluszen Hoff and John Huff (Hoff) is unknown. Still, a possible connection between Benjamin Hough or Hoff or Huff and the Hoffs of New Jersey and southwestern Virginia cannot be entirely discredited. One final factor that should be considered are the Christian names among the male descendants of Benjamin, although this is weaker reasoning. While Benjamin, John, Joseph and Stephen are obviously of biblical origin, they are also fairly common English or Anglo-Saxon names. Although this is a gross generalization, names like Dirk, Leonard and Phillip would be more closely affiliated with the Teutonic or Germanic languages, including Dutch. But of most significance is that John, Joseph and Stephen were all oft repeated names among the male descendants of Benjamin. There is not a single Dirk, Leonard, or Phillip among any of the established male or female lines of descendants from Benjamin and Ruth. But then again, Benjamin is only repeated once among the male descendants with grandson Benjamin Wilson, son of Catherine Hough/Huff and Joshua Wilson, born 1765 in Loudoun County, Virginia. It is a tangled web indeed and we may never know for certain the ancestry of Benjamin and Ruth Hough of Bent Mountain, Virginia. The good news is that the all of the lines of descendants from Benjamin and Ruth, with the exception of Stephen Hough and Sarah Hough Reed, are all now well established and known to each other. There are several genealogical researchers among the various lines of descent and all are sharing information that may close the gap between the known and the uncertain.

I am researching James HOUGH christened 1780 in Kniveton, Eng. He married Elizabeth ROOM in Sutton-on-Hill, Derby, Eng. in 1799. They had 9 children all Christened in Kniveton. The eldest son also James married Mary GRANT ist, Elizabeth HULLAND 2nd.and settled in Australia. can anyone help with info on this family. Regards to all Jan.

Posted on: HOUGH Queries Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/h/o/HOUGH/queries?read=3 Surname: HOUGH, FAIRCHILD ------------------------- I am still searching for any info on Benjamin Hough, born in Loudoun Co. VA in 1756, married Rachel OR Rebecca (Greene) Fairchild in 1784. Our family history lists him as the son of John Hough and Sarah Janney, but I guess they didn't KNOW they had a son Benjamin, OR they disowned him, and somehow managed to erase all trace of him, OR someone MESSED up, and I'm going CRAZY trying to figure it out! Please e-mail me if anyone can find any documentation of him! Thanks! Wendy

<< "The year 2000 is a Census Year. most of the census will be taken by mail, so after you have filled out your census form why not make a copy of it and file with your important papers. Then your family will not have to wait 70 years to learn about you." >> Thought this was an excellant idea ...... just thought I'd pass it on!!!!!

I recently found out that I am descended from the following Hough/Huffs --Samuel>Leonard>William>Derrick>Paulus I would like to know how many on this list also descend from the above. Billie

I recently found out that I'm descended from Nancy Hough and Isaac Stanley. Does anyone have information about Nancy who married Isaac about 1801 in Green County, Georgia? Billie

Jacob & Lois had a son named John, who was born 12/29/1802, death unknown. John married Martha Hamilton, born 3/16/1805. John & Martha had 3 children, Jacob Hough, born 11/30/1826, Catherine Hough, born 5/ 3/1833, Harriett Hough, born 12/22/1839. Does anyone have more information on Jacob & Lois (possibly from Germany or England, Europe) and ancestors previous to these 2? Roger & Diane Hough r&dhough@effingham.net

I don't have any information on your Hough, but we need to get Houghs to start listing their ancestors and this forum to see if we can help each other and further our lines. I am trying to find the children of Joseph Hough and Hannah Finley. they are originally from Ohio, then moved to Indiana and after Joseph's death, to Iowa. Need help Judy McGrew

Hi I just subscribed to the list. Glad to be here. Does anyone has any information on Thomas S. Hough b.1/1857 in New York? Spouse name is Elizabeth, and I believe he had a sister name Harriet b. 1849. Thanks Larry Hough

My gggrandparents were Frederick Eichinger b. 1816 in PA M. probably 1840/41 in PA to Mary Hough b. abt 1825 Westmorland Co. Pa. I'm looking for Mary Hough parents. 1830 & 1840 census Westmoreland Co. show Peter Hough b. btwn 1780-1790. 1850 census lists a Peter Huff age 74 living with Frederick Eichinger and Mary. 1810 cenus has a Joseph Hough b. btwn 1765-1784 also Westmoreland Co. Pa. Trying to connect Mary Hough to Peter Hough, possible father and Joseph Hough, possible grandfather. Thank You Phyllis pif3237@earthlink.net

Sorry I can't help you at all. I'm not aware of any of my ancestors emigrating from England to the U.S. I believe I was the first to emigrate to Canada from England. Ralph Hough -----Original Message----- From: NINABOOTS@aol.com <NINABOOTS@aol.com> To: HOUGH-L@rootsweb.com <HOUGH-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Friday, August 20, 1999 12:12 AM Subject: Ernest V. HOUGH >Anyone out there know this man ? He was married to my Grandmother's sister, >Winifred. They're both buried at St Mary Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois. >That I know , they had 2 daughters... Lucille & Verna. Hoping to find a >cousin out there. >Nina Kelly Butkiewicz >ninaboots@aol.com > > >============================== >Search more than 274 MILLION NAMES and find your ancestors at Ancestry.com! >Get started today at http://www.ancestry.com/rootswebtext.asp >

Anyone out there know this man ? He was married to my Grandmother's sister, Winifred. They're both buried at St Mary Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois. That I know , they had 2 daughters... Lucille & Verna. Hoping to find a cousin out there. Nina Kelly Butkiewicz ninaboots@aol.com

Amos Hough b. circa 1775, location unknown, wife unknown. Children: Levi Lemuel (children Homer, Alfred and Eliza) Elijah Hosea* Hannah (m. White, son Alfred) Polly (m. Fowler, sons Lester & Earl) Does anyone have information on Amos' parentage, place of birth, siblings? *Hosea Hough, b. circa 1800, m. Elizabeth Rappole in New York (settled in Jefferson Cty., Theresa, N.Y.) Children of Hosea and Elizabeth Cordelia, b. 1-10-1823, m. George Brown Almeda Emily, b. 10-8-1825, m. Andrew F. Porter Henry Alphonso b. 5-16-1827, m. Mary Rappole Leander b. 9-28-1828** George G randison, b. 7-2-1830, m. Mary Albertson in 1858 Eliza **I have much information on Leander and descendants, if anyone is interested, also some info. on the other children of Hosea and Elizabeth. Marcia

I am looking for information on my great grandfather, John Hough and my G.G. grandfather, also named John Hough. My grandfather, John juniors son, was William Hough who was born 01Dec1886 in Normanton Springs, Nr. Sheffield, England. His sister, Emily, was born in May 1889 in Handsworth Woodhouse, Nr. Sheffield. My g.grandfather, John junior, married Frances Ellen Sykes in the Parish Church in Handsworth Woodhouse on 25Dec1885. On their marriage certificate his age is shown as 20, his father is shown as John and both are listed as 'Miners'. His address is shown as Normanton Springs. John Junior was deceased when William Hough married Sophia Ward, AKA Hemmings on 01Aug1914. I am almost certain John Junior was buried in Revill Lane cemetery, Woodhouse on October 25,1899 at age 34 years. Unfortunately his wifes name is not shown on the death certificate, but his brother in law was Frederick Sykes. His birthdate would be between 26Dec1864 and 21Oct1865, but the exact date and place of birth are unknown at this time. The family do not show on the 1881 census for Normanton Springs and unfortunately several pages of the 1891 census for Normanton Springs were destroyed. They probably moved into the area after 1881 when a new mine opened in the area. The 1881 census for Brightside, near Sheffield, shows a John Hough, aged 49, his wife Mary, aged 49 and their children John, age 16 (B:1865), Martha, age 13, Fanny, age 10 and Harry, age 6. This may well be the right family as John Jr. would have been 20 in 1885. John Sr. is shown as having been born in Leeds. Does anyone have any connection or knowledge of this line of the Hough family. Any information will be much appreciated. Ralph Hough ill be much appreciated. Ralph Hough

Isaac Hough was born 11-15-1726 in Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 4-13-1786. He married Edith Hart 9-29-1748, daughter of John Hart and Eleanor Crispin. His second marriage was to Elizabeth Houghton 4-25-1781. I descend from Isaac thru his daughter Eleanor Hough, who married Thomas Craven. Does anyone know who the parents of Isaac were? Any information will be appreciated. Bob Jones

Hi, My husband is a Hough, and we are trying to locate a Judd Hough. We are now finding his name could have been William Judd Hough. He was born in Stirling Ontario Canada in 1875 or very near that time. He moved to New York area around 1895/1890 , and worked on Wall Street we are told. He married and had a daughter and the only name we have is possibly Marion. We have been told that she and her mother moved to California. Judd was the son of Daniel M. and Margaret Hough of Stirling and had brothers Arthur, Henry, and John. He had sisters, Maude and May. My husband is a grandson of Henry M. Hough. Any information on William Judd or Judd Hough would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Lin Hough rolin@msgexp.net