Atherton Hough is sometimes seen as the father of Ferdinando Huff, but quality sources supporting their relationship have not been found. Per The History of Kennebunk Port, the name is originally said to be Hough. However, there is "no evidence that the families in this town descended from Atherton Hough", who came to New England in 1633.[1] Anderson's Great Migration does not suggest that Atherton Hough - who resided in Boston and Cambridge - had a son named Ferdinando Huff.[2] Another source, showing information about Ferdinando and Mary Moses relationship does not state that his father is Atherton Hough either.[3]
In short appears that the connection between Atherton Hough and Ferdinando Huff rests solely on the similar last names.
Atherton Hough will be removed as his father until quality sources showing their relationship are posted to the profile.
Ferdinando HOUGH/HUFF (1648 Boston, MA - after 1702 Kittery, ME) c 1663 in Little Harbor, md Mary MOSES (c 1645 - ) dau of John and Mary BROWN MOSES. They lived in that part of MA now known as ME. Children may include:
a. Thomas (c 1665 - ) md (1) Grace FERRIS and (2) Sarah LIBBY, a warden of Christopher BARFIELD and John TIDY. It seems that he and Sarah FERRIS had ch to incl George, Thomas, Joanna, Sarah, Charles, James, John, Joseph, and Mary. He lived at Kittery and Cape Porpoise. Most HUFF families of ME descend from him.
b. Mary ( ) in 1712 md Ebenezer Emmons at Kittery, ME.
c. poss George
d. poss Joseph
e. poss Sarah
f. poss James
g. poss John (d young)
The list of children of Ferdinando and May is quite likely inaccurate and possibly mixed with those of his grandchildren or with other immigrants. Ferdinando and Mary moved to Cape Porpoise where he was a selectman by 1672. He was burned out by Indians in 1678 and had to move for some period of time to New Hampshire. On 3 June 1878, he was in Portsmouth, NH. He was recorded variously as Fardi HOOF, FerdHOOF, Nandy OFF, Nanda HOOF, and Andy HUF. He made a mark III in laying out lots for Cape Porpoise. After paying off his debts, he tried again at Cape Porpoise with a 1683 license for an ordinary. The Indians burned the town again in 1693. The family again went to Portsmouth, NH, then later lived at Kittery. In 1700, Ferdinando also had a home in Boston.
On 1 Mar. 1664/5 John Moses deeded land to his son-in-law Joseph Walker and Mary was a witness partly "in consideration of a little cornfield of Joseph Walker's which now doth belong to Ferdinando Huff". As Ferdinando was in possession of Huff land in 1664 when John Moses was deeding land to his sons-in-law it is deduced that Mary was undoubtedly John's daughter.
Ferdinando was from Sandy Beach 17 Mar. 1671 and was a Selectman of Cape Porpoise 7 Dec. 1672. He bought half of Batson's Neck in 1674. He was haying there in Sept. 1677 but moved to Portsmouth by 3 June 1678. The Indian attacks had abated enough in Sept. 1677 that George Walton Jr., William Agawam and several others sailed up the coast to plunder the abandoned farmsteads of the refugees. Among the group were his younger brother Shadrach, William Agawam, William Hilton Jr. and two other men. They would later claim that they went to harvest hay, however, none of them owned any property in the area. When they sailed into Cape Porpus they noticed two large stacks of hay which a couple of local men warned belonged to Ferdinando. George ignored the warning saying that it was better for him to take it than to leave it rotting. The men filled their boat with the hay and looted some other abandoned farms before sailing back to Portsmouth. The looters would have gotten away with it if Ferdinando wasn't taking refuge in Portsmouth and heard of the theft. He charged George Jr. with trespass and stealing his hay and he was brought before the court in Dec. 1677. George claimed that the Cape Porpoise tavern keeper, Richard Palmer, told him that the hay stacks were his and he had given them to Walton. Palmer wasn't the best alibi as only a few years before he had been fined for marrying while under suspicion of already having a wife in England. Ferdinando won the case against George and the court awarded him £3. George was stubborn and he refused to let it go. His appeal in June 1678 was on the technicality that the trespass and theft took place in Maine so the New Hampshire court had no jurisdiction. The court refused to listen and he was again was forced to pay the £3 along with £2 4s 6p in court costs![4]
In Oct. 1681 they lived in John Sherburne's house in Portsmouth and had charge of Henry Sherburne's mute daughter Rebecca. He was back in Cape Porpoise 29 May 1683 when he had a license to run an ordinary. His Portsmouth tax was abated in Dec. 1683. George Jeffrey of York sued him for debt in 1686. Ferdinando was living in Portsmouth again in 1693 and was taxed at Little Harbor 16 May 1701.
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Categories: Kennebunkport, Maine | Huff Name Study