The name of Hough or Huff, which in England are variants of the same name, is said to have been derived from the residence of its first bearers at or near a "haugh or "hough", that is, a hill or mound. It is found on the ancient English and early American records in the various forms of Haugh, Haughe, Hauf, Haufe, Hauffe, Hauff, Hufe, Huf, Huffe, Huff, Houfe, Houf, Houffe, Houff, Hoghe, Hogh, Houghe, Hough, and others, of which the two forms mentioned at the beginning of this article are those most generally found in America today.
Families bearing this name were to be found at early dates in the English Counties of Chester, York, Glouster, Lancaster, Lincoln, and Warwick; as well as in the city and vicinity of London. Families mentioned. were for the most part, of the landed gentry of Great Britain.
One of the earliest known records of the family In England was that of one Richard del Hogh or Hough of Cheshire about the middle of the thirteenth century, and certainly prior to the year 1272A.D. Evidences indicate that he was the father of Thomas, Hugh, Richard, and Lettice, although complete records to substantiate this are not available.
Of the three brothers above mentioned, Thomas married Joan de Pulle and had issue by her of a son named Richard; who however, is believed to have left only female Issue.
Hugh del Hogh or Hough, another of the brothers, married a daughter of Thomas de Aldelyme, and had issue by her of Richard and William. Of these, Richard was the father by his wife Alice, daughter of Richard del Wode, of Ellen and Margaret, but had no male issue. William had at least one son, named William, who was the father of a son named John and probably of other children as well.
Richard del Hogh or Hough, the other of the first-mentioned three brothers, married Ellen, daughter of Roger Thornton, and was the father by her of Richard, Henry, and Joan; of whom the first is believed to have died young. Henry, son of Richard and Ellen, was the father of a son William, who was the father of Thomas, Lord of Leighton and Thornton, in Cheshire, who married Katherine, daughter of William Trussell, and was the father by her of Christopher and Thomas. Christopher had issue by his wife Margery, daughter of David de Malpas or Mallpas, of a son named Thomas, who died about the year 1514, leaving issue by his wife Katherine, daughter of Thomas Grosvenor, of Richard, John, and several daughters, of whom the first son, Richard, married Christian, daughter of Sir G. Calveley, and was the father by her of William, Thomas, John, Anthony, and Henry.
Of these last mentioned brothers, William left issue by his wife Jane, base daughter of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex of an only child, named Alice; and the brother Thomas, who then succeeded to the family estates, left Issue by his wife Elizabeth, base daughter of Richard Wilbraham, of Richard, Henry, Thomas, and Margery of whom the first was the father of at least one son, named John, who was the father of a son named William, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Meoles, and left numerous Issue.
Among the many other early records of the family In England are those of Willelmus or William de Huff of Yorkshire In 1379; those of William Houghe of Cheshire about 1564; those of John Huffe of London In 1605; those of John Hough or Huff of Warwickshire about the beginning of the seventeenth century, who was the father of a son named John, who settled in London and married Margaret, daughter of John Byrche, by whom he was the father of John Hough, Bishop of Worcester; those of Henry Hough of Cheshire In 1618; and those of John Huff of London In 1660.
While it is not definitely known in every case from which of the many lines of the family In England the first emigrants of the name to America were descended, it is generally believed that many of the English Hough and Huffs of America derive from a common ancestor at a remote period in England.
The first of the name In America was Francis Hough, who probably came from Cheshire, England, to America in 1620 and settled in Virginia. He was then about sixteen years of age. Records indicate that he married the Widow Windmill about 1633 and was the father by her in Nansemond County, Va., of William, John, Jane, and Anne. The records of this line, however, are not complete.
Others of the name who settled In Virginia In early times, but whose records are only fragmentary, were Mary Huffe, who came to that colony In 1636, and Abraham Huffe or Huff, who was living in Northumberland County, in that colony, in 1653.
In 1633, one Atherton Hough or Haugh came from Lincolnshire, England to America and settled at Boston, MA. He brought with him his wife Elizabeth and his son Samuel, and later removed to Wells, ME., where he had a second wife named Susanna, but no further issue.
The Reverend Samuel Houeli of Reading, MA, son of the emigrant Atherton, married Sarah, daughter of the Reverend Zechariah Symmes, and left issue by her of Samuel, Sarah, Zechariah (died young), Mary, Elizabeth, and Rebecca of whom the son Samuel married Ann, daughter of the Elder Edward Raineford, and was the father by her of Samuel, Ann, and Atherton.
One William Hough (some of whose descendants used the Huff form of the name) may have been the son of Edward Hough of Cheshire, England. He came to America about the year 1640. He settled first at Gloucester, MA, and was married in 1645 to Sarah, daughter of Hugh Caulkins. His children were Hannah, Abiah, Sarah, Samuel, John, William, Jonathan, Deborah, Abigail, and Ann, all but the first three of whom were born at New London, CT., to which place the emigrant William moved between 1651 and 1653.
Samuel, oldest son of the emigrant William, first made his Home at Norwich, CT, and was married in 1679 to Susanna, daughter of Simon Wrotham. They had issue of one son, named William, at Norwich and then removed to Wallingford, in the same colony, and had issue there of Samuel and Susanna. By his second Mary, daughter of James Bate, whom he married in 1685. He also had issue of James and Hannah.
John, son of the emigrant William, resided at Norwich, where he left issue by his wife Sarah, daughter of John Post, (married In 1680) of: Sarah, Hannah, Abiah, Hester, John, David, and Jabez.
Of the other sons of the emigrant William, William resided at New London and married Ann, daughter of Samuel Lothrop of Norwich; and Jonathan is believed to have left Issue in Connecticut of several children but the records of these two brothers are not complete.
Sometime before 1682 one Ferdinando Huff, who may have been the last son of Atherton Hough, who was living at Kennebunkport, ME. He was the father of a son named Thomas, who married Sarah Farris and left issue by her of George, Thomas, James, Charles, John, Joseph, Sarah, and Mary.
There were nine emigrants of the name who came to America and settled in Pennsylvania about 1683. Probably the first of these was Richard Hough, who came from Cheshire, England, and settled at Yardley, in Bucks County, PA. in 1683. He was married in 1684 to Margery, daughter of John Clowes, and had issue by her of Mary, Sarah, Richard, John, and Joseph. Of the three sons of the emigrant Richard, Richard was the father by his first wife Hester, daughter of Henry Baker and widow of Thomas Yardley and William Brown, of a son named Richard who died in infancy, as well as by his second wife Deborah, widow of John Gumley, of William, Deborah, Margery, Henry, and Mary. John married Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Taylor, In 1718 and was the father by her of John, Joseph, Benjamin, Isaac, William, Thomas, Septimus, Elizabeth, Bernard, Martha, and Samuel; and Joseph married Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel West, in 1725 and was the father by her of Sarah, Martha, Mary Rebecca, Joseph, John, Margery, Elizabeth, and Hannah.
John Hough, another of the nine Pennsylvania emigrants, also came from Cheshire, England, and settled in Bucks County, Pa., In 1683. He brought with him his wife Hannah and his son John Jr. He also had further issue here of Mary, Stephen, Hannah, Daniel, Isaac, Sarah, and Joseph. John Jr. married Elinor, daughter of Stephen Sands, in 1714 and left issue by her of Mary, John, Jane, Stephen, William, Daniel, and Joseph; but the records of the other sons, have not been found.
A Daniel Hough also appears in Stokes County NC. This most likely was in what is now Forsyth County, which was split from Stokes County later.
It appears that these two sons received money and property from their father as an early share of his estate and headed south to create their own lives. Both sons were mentioned in John Jr's will as "having already received all they are going to get" and no disbursement was made by the executor, the oldest son also known as John Jr.
The other seven Pennsylvania immigrants were Francis, who settled at Middletown, PA.; Thomas, who also settled at Middletown and left issue by his wife Jane Cowin of Mary, Hannah, and Jonathan; Samuel, who resided at Newtown, PA. and may have left issue by his wife Elizabeth, although this cannot be ascertained; Michael, who also settled at Newtown and left issue by his wife Joan, daughter of Francis Rossell of Cheshire, England, of at least one child, named Mary; Daniel, who left no records of his immediate family; Stephen, who had issue at Newtown by his wife Frances of a daughter named Martha; and Walter, who settled in Bucks County, but whose records are also lacking.
The descendants of these and other branches of the family In America have spread to all parts of the United States and have aided as much in the growth and development of the nation as their ancestors did in its founding. They have been noted chiefly for their energy, initiative, resourcefulness, leadership, courage, mental ability, moral and physical strength, endurance, perseverance, and loyalty.
Among those of the Houghs and Huffs who fought in the War of the Revolution were Captain John, Lieutenant Samuel, and Privates Samuel, Simon, and William of Connecticut; Sampson, of Kentucky; Bernard, Joseph, Stacey, Thomas, William, Charles, Elijah, James, Samuel, and Stephen, of Virginia and numerous others as well.
Thomas, Richard, William, Hugh, Henry, James, Samuel, Edward, Joseph, Isaac, Daniel, Charles, and John are some of the Christian names most highly favored by the family for its male progeny.
A few of the many members of the family who have distinguished themselves in America are:
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