Dear Washington County genealogists, We know that a lot of Pughs migrated to Washington County from Hampshire County, Virginia (later West Virginia) in the 1800s. They also settled in Licking, Richland, Highland, Fairfield, Perry, Belmont, and other Ohio counties. We have a Pugh DNA Project on Family Tree DNA www.familytreedna.com/public/Pugh. We have had some interesting inquiries about this project recently. The latest news is that we have set up a MATCHING FUND for any male who carried the Pugh surname and descends from Robert ap Hugh born 1670, in Wales, he was later referred to as Robert Pugh. The descendants of Robert Pugh in our project are willing to pay half of the cost for a DNA test kit for the first 3 people who apply. Applicants need to show that they descend from Robert Pugh. Please remember that this is a Y-chromosome DNA project so participants need to be male to test. If you are female and descend from this line, see if you can find a brother, father, uncle, or cousin who carries the Pugh surname that can test for you. If you have Pugh ancestors but don't know if you descend from Robert Pugh, just remember that over the past three hundred years, his descendants have spread all over the country. Below is a list of some of the places that his descendants are known to have migrated. We have people in our project who have been researching the Robert Pugh genealogy for many years. They can advise you if you could be a descendant and are eligible for the matching fund. If you are interested in joining the Pugh DNA project, send an email to Daniela Moneta, dmoneta@cox.net. I am the volunteer Project Administrator for the Pugh DNA Project and will put you in touch with the people in our project who are offering the matching fund for Robert Pugh's descendants. Here is some information about Robert Pugh and his descendants. Robert was born in Merioneth County, Wales in 1670 and immigrated to Pennsylvania where he is believed to have died about 1728. He was a Quaker and may have had several brothers who also immigrated to Pennsylvania. Not a lot is known about them but some names suggested are Griffith ap Hugh, Evan ap Hugh, Edward ap Hugh, and David ap Hugh, all settling in Pennsylvania. Most of these ap Hughes later used the Pugh surname. We know that at least two sons were born to Robert Pugh and his wife, Sarah Evans. The first was Evan Pugh, born 20 July 1699, and the second was Robert Pugh, Jr., born 22 March 1701/02, both born in Philadelphia. Evan Pugh migrated around 1750 to the Hampshire County area, of what was then Virginia. He received title to land that was part of the Northern Neck Grants surveyed by George Washington. Robert Pugh, Jr. also migrated to the Hampshire County area. Evan and Robert are believed to have had the following sons (yet to be sorted out): JACOB PUGH born in 1725 and died 1816 in Hardy County; JOSEPH PUGH born 1726 and died in 1764, probably in Orange County, North Carolina; EVAN PUGH, Jr. born 1729 and died 1802 in Darlington County, South Carolina; JOHN PUGH born 1732 and died 1798 in Orange County, North Carolina; JONATHAN PUGH born 1732 and died 1794 in Capon Bridge, Hampshire County, Virginia (later West Virginia); ROBERT PUGH born 1735 and died 1808 in Hampshire County; and BETHUEL PUGH born 1740 and died 1821 in Hampshire County. We are hoping that DNA testing will help sort out who descends from Evan and who descends from Robert, Jr. There were many grandsons and great-grandsons of these men that migrated west. Here are some of the places that their descendants are known to have settled: COLORADO - Denver Co., Philips Co. GEORGIA - Forsyth Co., Gwinnett Co., Jackson Co. ILLINOIS -Logan Co. INDIANA - Delaware Co., Fountain Co., Knox Co., Madison Co., Randolph Co., Vanderburgh Co. IOWA - Decatur Co., Guthrie Co., Muscatine Co. MARYLAND - Allegany Co. MICHIGAN - Eaton Co., Ingham Co., Shiawassee Co. MISSOURI - Clay Co., St. Louis Co. NEBRASKA - Chase Co. NORTH CAROLINA - Orange Co. OHIO- Belmont Co., Fairfield Co., Harrison Co., Highland Co., Knox Co., Licking Co., Lucas Co., Perry Co., Richland Co., Washington Co. SOUTH DAKOTA - Darlington Co. UTAH - Cache Co. VIRGINIA - Fredrick Co. WEST VIRGINIA - Hampshire Co., Wood Co. Washington, D.C. If you have questions about the Pugh DNA Project or if you want to know if you possibly descend from Robert Pugh, post your questions here. If you want to apply for the matching fund, send an email to dmoneta@cox.net. If you descend from someone other than Robert Pugh, you may still be interested in joining the Pugh DNA project. At this time we have 115 participants and about 30 different Pugh/Peugh/Pew lines.