The Hoghtons of Hoghton Tower of Preston, England
The Houghtons
of
Lancaster MA and the Hoghton Tower Hoghtons:
A nonexistent ancestral connection
by Charles J. Vella, PhD (c)
In an 1869 publication, The
Houghton
Memorial, Francis Walter Houghton (probably having taken the
idea from
his grandfather Jason Houghton's unpublished Lineage
of the Houghton Family of 1828) was the first to formally
present the
theory of a connection between the Houghtons of Lancaster MA (John
Houghton and Ralph Houghton) and the British noble Hoghton family of
Preston's Hoghton Tower (and the latter's connection to William the
Conqueror). Unfortunately, this theory is pure speculation. The
English origins of both Ralph Houghton and John Houghton of
Lancaster MA are yet to be
established. No documentary evidence, vital record, or parish record
exists for such a connection. It was high fashion in the early 1880s to
1920s to try to connect an American family's ancestry to British
nobility. Even
John Wesley Houghton examined the theory in his 1912 Houghton Genealogy (the first
major Houghton genealogy) and
rejected this connection. I still await anyone who can produce valid
genealogical evidence for this theoretical connection. The latest
volume of
Anderson's Great Migration
discredits the theory that John Houghton of Lancaster MA was the John
Houghton, aged 4 (or 40) who came over on
the "Abigail", the most often cited theory of John the Emigrant's
origin.
It is even unproved that John and Ralph Houghton were cousins. The
earliest citation I have been able to find that Ralph and John were
"cousins" was in Topographical and
historical sketches of the town of Lancaster (1826) by Joseph
Willard, which is 200 years after the fact.
There is also no evidence to suggest that John and Ralph "became"
Protestants here, as opposed to their having been Protestants in their
homeland.
While I have given the ancestry of the current Baronet of Hoghton
Tower, Bernard de Hoghton BT (based on two Pedigree charts supplied by
him), this is only for historical
interest and does not imply any acceptance of the connection theory. I
would welcome any valid genealogical evidence from anyone
claiming the English noble connection. Until then, the connection is
a Houghton myth not based on any valid genealogical evidence.
Use citation: "Houghton
Surname Project, authored and compiled by Charles J. Vella, PhD"
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