HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



Philadelphia," p. 494; Sarah E. Titcomb's 

 "Early New England People," p. 52 j 

 "Glenn's Genealogy;" and "Friends' Mis- 

 cellany," vol. vii, both before referred to. 



RICHARD HOUGH AND SOME OF 

 HIS DESCENDANTS. Richard Hough, 

 Provincial Councillor from Bucks county, 

 for many years one of the most prominent 

 figures in the Provincial Assembly, as well as 

 in all the affairs of the Province and Bucks 

 county, justice of the county court, etc.. 

 was a native of Macclesfield, in the county 

 of Chester, England, and came to Pennsyl- 

 vania in the "Endeavor" of London, arriving 

 in the Delaware river 7th mo. 29, 1683 (O. 

 S.), bringing with him four servants nr de- 

 pendents — Francis Hough, (probably a 

 younger brother or nephew), Thomas Wood 

 (or Woodhouse) and Mary his wife, and 

 James Sutton. He settled at once in Bucks 

 county on land doubtless previously pur- 

 chased, though patented later. This land 

 consisted of two tracts fronting on the 

 Delaware in Makcfield township, one of 

 them in what became later Upper Make- 

 field and covered the present site of Tay- 

 lorsville, and the other' lying along the 

 original (bift not the present) line of Falls 

 township in Lower Makefield. On the lower 

 tract fronting on the river about one- 

 fourth of a mile and extending inland about 

 three miles, Richard Hough made his home 

 and erected his tirst and only I'ucks county 

 home, a stone house, (one of the earliest 

 to be erected of that material) from a 

 quarry on his plantation which Penn con- 

 sidered of so much importance that he or- 

 dered a memorandum be entered in the 

 land-office, "that ye great quarry in Rich- 

 ard Hough's and Abel Janney's lands be 

 reserved when they come to be confirmed, 

 "being for ye public good of ye county." 

 On this plantation lived six generations 

 of the eldest male branch of the family, 

 part of it remaining in their possession 

 until about 1850, when they removed to 

 Ewing township, Mercer county, New Jer- 

 sey. 



Richard Hough took an active part in 

 all the affairs of the county, political, so- 

 cial and religious. He was a member of 

 Falls Meeting of Friends and his character 

 and attainments gave him an important 

 place in its proceedings. Prior to the erec- 

 tion of the Falls Meeting House, the Bucks 

 Quarterly Meeting as well as meetings for 

 worship were frequently held at his house. 

 He was there, as elsewhere, intimately as- 

 sociated with Phineas Pemberton, Thomas 

 Janney, William Yardlej-, William Biles, 

 Nicholas Wain, Joseph Kirkbride and 

 others, who, with him, were the leaders in 

 the affairs of the county and province, 

 though some of them, notably William Biles, 

 with whom he was intimately associated in 

 private affairs, differed from him in provin- 

 ■cial politics. Biles being the Bucks county 

 leader of the Popular party, with strong 



Democratic tendencies, while Richard 

 Hough was a strong adherent of the Pro- 

 prietary party headed by James Logan. 

 Richard Hough began early to engage in 

 public affairs, and represened Bucks county 

 in the Provincial Assembly in 1684, 1688, 

 1690, 1697, 1699, 1700, 1703, and 1704-5; 

 and member of Provincial Council, 1693 

 and 1700. He was one of the commission 

 to divide the county into township in 

 1692; was one of the justices of the coun- 

 ty count, and appointed in 1700, with Phin- 

 eas Pemberton and William Biles, by Will- 

 iam Penn, a "Court of Inquiry" to inves- 

 tigate the affairs of the province. This bare 

 record of the positions filled by Richard 

 Hough can give but a very inadequate 

 idea of the real position he filled in the af- 

 fairs of the county and province, careful 

 perusal of the records of both disclosing 

 that he was one of the foremost men of 

 his day. William Penn in a letter to Lo- 

 gan, 7 mo. 14, 1705, replying to one of Lo- 

 gan reporting the death of Hough, says : 

 "f -lament the loss of honest Richard Hough. 

 Such men must needs be wanted where 

 selfishness and forgetfulness of God's mer- 

 cies so much abound." Richard Hough was 

 drowned in the Delaware March 25, 1705, 

 while on his way to Philadelphia from his 

 home in Bucks county. By his will dated 

 May I, 1704, his home plantation of 400 

 acres was devised to his eldest son, Rich- 

 ard, one half to be held by his wife Mar- 

 gery, for life. His upper plantation, next 

 the Manor of Highlands, went to his sec- 

 ond son John ; 350 acres and his Warwick 

 plantation mentioned as 570 acres, but real- 

 ly nearly 900 acres, was devised to his 

 youngest son Joseph; 271 acres, "next to 

 John Palmer's," and 475 acres in Bucking- 

 ham, purchased of his brother John, in 

 1694, were to be sold. The Warwick tract 

 was one originally taken up by his father- 

 in-law, John Clows, and purchased by Rich- 

 ard Hough of the heirs, and remained the 

 property of his descendants for many gen- 

 erations, some of it for nearly two centu- 

 ries. His daughters Mary and Sarah were 

 given their portions in monej'. His wife 

 Margery, son Richard, and "friend and 

 brother," William Biles, were made execu- 

 tors. 



Richard Hough married 8 mo. 17, 1683T 

 4, Margery Clows, daughter of John and 

 Margery Clows, theirs being the first mar- 

 riage solemnized under the control of Falls 

 Meeting. John Clows and Margery his 

 wife and their children, Margery, Rebec- 

 ca and William, came to Pennsylvania in 

 the same ship with Richard Hough, from 

 Gawsworth, Cheshire. Three other chil- 

 dren, John, Joseph and Sarah, had pre- 

 ceded their parents, arriving in the "Friends' 

 Adventure" 7 mo. 28, 1682. John Clows be- 

 came a large landowner in Bucks county 

 and represented the county in the Pt-ovin- 

 cial Assembly in 1683 and 1684. He died 

 7 mo. 4, 1687, and his widow Margery '' 

 mo. 2, 1698. The eldest son John fV '^'"~ 



1683; Joseph married ElizabetK^^ ^ ^ ^^~ 

 "" -^ ^ .800-67; was 



