11.24.07
More about David Houghton
I decided to create pages for each of the family groups. So, please see the link for the new page for David Houghton, which gives details about him, his wife, Martha Edge, and their children.
11.19.07
David Houghton
The father of J. S. S. Houghton was David Houghton. His birth was quite a struggle to find. I found him on all the available census records (except 1881) and from these, I knew where he was born, his approximate birth year and his parents’ names. I had searched the civil registration indexes by variations of his surname, including Houghton, Oughton, Howten, Howtin, … you get the picture. I wasn’t until my last trip to research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, did I finally find closure to this.
My friend, Janet, was serving a mission in Salt Lake City and she told me of records that she was working with that might help. Sure enough, I found David in an as yet unpublished index of parish registers for Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. Because the records were indexed, I could do a given name sort on his father, Isaac, whose name was less common than David. I found his baptism under the surname of OATEN!
11.17.07
The purpose of this site…
Welcome to the new blog dedicated to the research of the ancestors of my great grandfather, John Samuel Small Houghton. For a starter, let me introduce you to the man.
John Samuel Small “Jack” Houghton was born on 10 January 1872 in Wolverhampton, Stafford, England, the fourth child of David Houghton and his wife Martha Edge.
At some time between 1877 and 1880, the family moved from Wolverhampton to Maesteg, Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales. Here his younger sister, Martha Miriam Houghton was born on 18 August 1880 and his younger brother James Edge Houghton died on 15 July 1881. By October 1882, the family had moved to Hanley, Stoke-upon-Trent, Stafford, England where David and Martha remained for the rest of their lives.
Jack married Alice Brayford on 8 August 1893 in Stoke-upon-Trent. Alice was born on 27 Aug 1871 in Fenton, Stafford, England, the daughter of George Brayford and his wife, Hannah Powell.
When living in Hanley, Jack ran a barber shop/tobacconist store—a usual combination in those days. He was a handsome, outgoing man and a born entertainer. He loved to go to the vaudeville shows and would come home and copy all the acts—juggling, sleight of hand, dancing or ventriloquism. When he would be cutting someone’s hair and children would be waiting for their turn seated on a hinged bench, they would hear this voice in the bench calling “Let me out!” So they would jump up and open the bench—only to find it empty. Grandpa was throwing his voice!