William Huff (abt. 1680 - abt. 1750)

Born about 1680 in Cheshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1750 at about age 70 in Brunswick, Virginia [uncertain]

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Biography

William Hough (ABT 1680 prob., Cheshire, England - ABT 1750 Virginia) was described as an "Adventurer". He was known as William Huff in Virginia. He may be the person who established the Huff colony in Brunswick, Virginia.

Hough is a common name in Cheshire and parents have not been identified. Some believe his father is Willimus Hough but this has not been verified.

Brunswick County was formed in 1720 from part of Prince George County. In 1733, Surry and Isle of Wright Counties contributed land. The Tidewater of several generations began to move into the area from Isle of Wright, Prince George and Southampton.^[1]

Emigration Record^[2]:

• Name: William Huff
• Arrival Year: 1704
• Arrival Place: Virginia
• Primary Immigrant: Huff, William
• Source Publication: Abstracts of Virginia Land Office patent books 9 through 14, covering the early decades of the eighteenth century. Includes numerous references to land patented by "French refugees," the Protestants (Huguenots) who fled France after Louis XIV revoked the
• Source Bibliography: NUGENT, NELL MARION, abstractor. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants. Vol. 3: 1695-1732. Richmond [VA]: Virginia State Library, 1979. 578p. Indexed.

Probable Children:

1. William Huff/Hoof/Hough (1710–1781)
2. Daniel Huff (1715–1768)

DNA Evidence: Paternal descendants of the children shown above who have done Y-DNA tests (Y-37 to Y-111 and/or Big Y) match other Hough/Huffs with validated lineages to ancestors from Cheshire, England who settled in America in the 1600's. These include descendants of William Hough, John Hough, Samuel Hough plus several others including Richard Hough and Francis Hough who is disconnected.

The first known Hough in America was Francis Hough who arrived and thrived in the Jamestown area from from 1620 into the 1640's. He left land and right to his heirs though he died in London.

Others came as settlers or indentured servants. We presently known little of their families. We can assume some survived and established the families we detect later in the 1730's.^[3].

Thomas HOUGH (c 1691 Middle Hulton, Lancashire, England - ) was apprenticed at age 14 on 27 Apr - 3 Jul 1705 to Mr. Edward RATCHDALE of Liverpool to go by the Elizabeth to Virginia. His apprenticeship was to last seven years. No further record had been identified for this Thomas HOUGH in Virginia. He could have died soon after arrival, he could have stayed in VA, or he could have left the colony after 1712 when he became 21.

Daniel Hough/Huff was first recorded in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in the 1722 to 1724 period. He lived in Lynhaven Parish of Princess Ann Co, VA during the 1730 decade. By 1738, one Daniel HOUGH was doing jury duty in Bertie Co, NC, just over the state line from Southeastern VA. His probable brother was Joseph Hough. It is possible that he was the son of John Hough mentioned above.

James Hough (c 1700 England - c 1759 Isle of Wight Co, VA) is said to have been an Englishman who migrated in 1728 with his orphaned son, Hezekiah, to VA. A paternal descendant who has done Y-DNA tests (including Big Y) matches other Hough/Huffs with validated lineages to ancestors from Cheshire, England.

Suggested areas for future research:

• Colonial Virginia Land, tax and wills.

• "Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia." Author: John Bennett Boddie

• "Virginia tax payers, 1782-87, other than those published by the United States Census Bureau", Augusta B. Fothergill and John Mark Naugle

• "Marriages of Isle of Wight County Virginia, 1628 - 1800." by Blanche Adams Chapman, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD; 1976.

• The Library of Virginia. 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000

Notes:

• 1748 William Huff listed on Brunswick, Virginia Poll List. Others on list include a second William Huff (his son?), William Mosely, George Moseley, Robert Lunday.

Sources

1. ↑ Granville Hough, "Hough and Huff Families of the United States, 1620-1820: The Southeast" Pg 36
2. ↑ Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
3. ↑ Granville Hough, "Hough and Huff Families of the United States, 1620-1820: The Southeast" pg 24

See Also:

• Coldham, Peter Wilson. English Adventurers and Emigrants, 1609-1660. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002.