HUGHES Falv1ily of CAPE ~1A Y COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
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HUGHES FAlv1ILY OF CAPE ~1A Y COUNTY, NEW JERSEY 1650 - - 1950 A genealogy of the descendants of Humphrey Hughes of Long Island 1650 and later of Cape lvfay County, New Jersey HUGHES FAMILY Early genealogists have said that our family is of Welsh origin and about which there seems to be no doubt, indeed, the name of the progenitor of our family, Humphrey Hughes, very definitely designates Welsh origin. Welsh names derive from a son who would adopt his father's name as a last name and add "S" or "es". Thus Humphrey ap Hugh, as he was known in Wales, became Humphrey Hughes. William ap William became William Williams and thus we account for so many double names in persons of Welsh descent. The collecting of the genealogy of the Hughes Family has indeed been a pleasure. It has been carried on as an avocation covering about fifteen years. When I began the collection of this data, it was not with the thought of produc ing a genealogy, but just to satisfy my own desire to know more about our early ancestors in this country. It was such a very interesting hobby that I continued to search and collect until I found that I had accumulated valuable genealogical information which it is probable that no other person would ever put together and for the purpose of preserving this information for posterity, I am putting it in print. There are other Hughes families in New Jersey which have no connection with ours and I have not attempted to include them, but have confined my work to the direct descendants of our first ancestor, Humphrey Hughes. Mention is made of the Matthew Hughes family of Bucks County, Pa. and it appears very certain that this family belongs in our line but I have not found that con nection. There is another Hughes family from Northumberland County, Pa., which likewise is indicated to be connected with ours. Philadelphia (Hughes) Lount and her husband, Gabriel Lount, went from Northumberland County to Canada in 1811. Her brother, Ellis Hughes and his wife, Mary (Easterly) Hughes, followed them in 1819. Descendants of this family are still living in Toronto and correspondence is invited. There is much additional work to be done. I have addresses of many persons, who, I am certain, can supi,ly missing data on their immediate an cestors and their families. There are many lines that have stopped for want of additional information and which I am certain is available if the records are searched. It is now my intention to continue the work both in early generations and current generations. All persons interested, or having information not printed herein, are invited to correspond. Apology is made for errors which may have been made in the collecting and compiling of the data in this book. I have received information from members of the same family and which give different dates and it is impos sible that all should be correct. It is my intention to publish, at some future time, a supplemental volume if sufficient additional data is available, and corrections and additions will be made. 3561 Monteith Ave., Raymond Finley Hughes Cincinnati, 8, Ohio. July 15, 1950 HUGHES FAMILY 1. HUMPHREY HUGHES, The progenitor of the Hughes family of Cape May County, N. J., appeared very early in Long Island. The Rev. Paul Sturtevant Howe, author of "Mayflower Descendants in Cape May County", told the author of this genealogy that he had found traces of Humphrey Hughes as early as 1650. There is reason to believe that this Humphrey Hughes may not have been the first of his family to settle in the New World, and his father, also named Humphrey Hughes, may also have been here. In an early record, a deed for the purchase of land from the Indians, bears the name of Humphrey Hughes (his x mark) as witness, which indicates that this Hum phrey Hughes could not write. The Humphrey Hughes, whom we designate as Humphrey Hughes 1st, and who is the progenitor of this family, signed his name many places as shown by the Southampton Town Records. It is a reasonable assumption that the Humphrey Hughes who signed with an "X" may have been the father of our Humphrey Hughes. Further support is given to this theory by the fact that the will of Jedediah Hughes, known to be a son of Humphrey Hughes, dated Jan. 25, 1714, names three of his brothers, also makes a bequest to "my cousin Martha Hughes." If Jedidiah Hughes had a cousin "Martha Hughes" then our Humphrey Hughes must have had a brother in this country and also his father could have been here. Matthew Hughes, who came to Bucks County, Pa. in 1696 from Long Is land, married in 1700, Elizabeth Biles Beakes, daughter of William and Joanna Biles who came to Bucks County from Dorchester, Eng. in 1679, and widow of Stephen Beakes, son of William and Mary Beakes who came to Bucks County from Blackwell Somerset, England in 1682. This Matthew Hughes had a son Matthew, who preceeded him in death. Matthew Hughes Jr. had several children among whom were Humphrey Hughes and Constantine Hughes, both of these names being peculiar to our Hughes family. Early genealogists said that these children were related to the "four brothers" and this reference is found often and with additional data which identifies the "four brothers" as being Humphrey, Jedidiah, John and Constant, all sons of our Humphrey. This also gives support to the theory that our progenitor did have other members of his family in this country. Early genealogists stated that our family was of Welsh origin and about which there seems to be no question altho this author has not been able to establish the Welsh family from which they came. Perhaps some data may be found later which will give us that connection. The town records of Southampton contain many references to Humphrey Hughes. In 1658 Humphrey Hughes and John Griggs became involved in a controversy with John Scott and Lion Gardiner. The ship Roebuck, Captain John Penny, had been hired by a Dutchman to bring freight from the Man hadoes (Manhattan Island) to Easthampton and was confiscated by Griggs and Hughes. Gardiner, at the behest of John Scott, took the ship in charge and finding "that principles of law beyond the learning of the town magistrates were involved," the matter was referred to the Court at Hartford, Conn. Apparently the plaintiff did not have much confidence in the justice of his cause as he failed to appear and then in March 1659 Gardiner wrote to Gov ernor Winthrop complaining bitterly of the treatment which he received. In 1660 there was recorded at Southampton an agreement between James Mills of Virginia and Thomas Revell of Barbadoes, witnessed by John Rich bell and Humphrey Hughes. 2 HUGHES FAMILY In 1666 Humphrey Hughes received a whaling grant from Peter Carteret and in 1667 there is recorded at Southampton the transfer of a one-third in terest in the grant to Nicholas Stevens of Boston and a one-third interest to John Cooper of Southampton. On Oct. 30, 1672, Joseph Ludlam, of Oyster Bay, leased to Humphrey Hughes, of Southampton, all his land in Southampton and agreed to build a house on the land, the house to be twenty-five feet long by eighteen or nine teen feet wide, said lease to begin when the house was finished. On Nov. 5, 1679, the town of Southampton, by major vote, gave Humphrey Hughes ten acres of land "lying northward of ye old mill pond, next to ye land laid out to Edward Howe 11." Lists of townsmen in 1694 give his wife's name as Martha and mention five of his sons by name. The last record of Humphrey Hughes in Long Is land is a deed in 1699 signed by both Humphrey Hughes and his wife, Martha, disposing of his Southampton property. In 1689 Humphrey Hughes purchased from Simon Charles 243 acres of land on Cape Island, N. J., and as this land was later in the possession of Ellis and Jacob Hughes, sons of Constant Hughes, and grandsons of Hum phrey Hughes .1st, it is probable that this purchase was made by our pro genitor rather than by his son Humphrey Hughes 2nd. There is no further record of Humphrey Hughes 1st in Cape May but a court held at the house of Shamgar Hand on the 21st of May 1705, names "widow Hughes and Constant, her son," so the first Humphrey must have died between 1699 and 1705. No record has been found of the death of his wife, Martha Hughes, but the will of their son Jedidiah Hughes, dated Jan. 25, 1714, names three of his brothers, and makes a bequest "to my cousin Martha Hughes, a piece of cloth which I purchased for my mother," there fore we may be certain that she died between 1705 and 1714. * 2 Humphrey Hughes 2nd, born July 30, 1669. 3 Abner Hughes 4 Uriah Hughes 5 Jedidiah Hughes, died 1714 in New York City. * 6 John Hughes * 7 Constant Hughes 2. HUMPHREY HUGHES 2nd, born Southampton, Long Island, July 30, 1669; died in Cape May, N. J., 1745. His will is dated Feb. 13, 1745. He was one of the original purchasers of land from Dr. Daniel Coxe, West Jersey Soci ety, buying 206 acres at New England Town in 1695. He was a member of the Colonial Council from 1723 to 1733, and he and the Rev. Nathaniel Jenkins were loan Commissioners for the county from 1723 to 1737.