Richard Gough was the first child of Peter Gough and Letitia Nulty to be born in the United States; according to his obituary, he was born in the village of Beaver Meadows, which is just over the line from Luzerne County, in Carbon County. (1) He apprenticed as a tailor with his older brother, John, in Philadelphia, appearing there in the 1860 with John and his wife Susan; they lived at #2 Nonnater’s Court, a tiny alley off what is now called Hall Street. (2)
After the Civil War broke out, Richard and John returned to Hazleton, where Richard married Julia Ryon in 1867 at St. Gabriel’s Church. (3) We do not know the name of Julia’s father, but her mother was Susan (b. 1807, Ireland — d. after 1880); Julia had at least two sisters, Mary and Bridget. (Mary married John Crosby, though we haven’t yet found a marriage record.) (4)
Richard and Julia had five children, but by 1900 all but one had died; Julia told census enumerators that year that she had borne 5 children but that only one was still living. We only know the names of two — Peter Joseph and Elizabeth — who both were baptized at St. Gabriel’s. (5)
Richard and Julia appear to have had a tumultuous home life, probably made more difficult by the deaths of four of their young children. In 1870, they were enumerated in Hazleton but had separated by the 1880 census. While we haven’t yet located Julia in 1880, Richard was living in the Hazleton area while their son Peter was living with his maternal grandmother and aunt in Schuykill County where he was enrolled in school. (6)
By 1885, when Richard died in Hazleton, Julia and son Peter had moved to Philadelphia, where Peter also had taken up the tailoring and upholstery trade that was a traditional Gough family occupation. After Peter married in 1897, Julia continued to live with her son and his young family, along with her unmarried sister, Bridget Ryan. (7)
Julia died in Philadelphia and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery where her son Peter is also enterred. (8)
Richard Gough (b. 1844, Beaver Meadows, Carbon, PA — d. 11 Jan 1885, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA)
m. 18 Jan 1867, St. Gabriel’s Church, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA
Julia Ryan (b. 2 Jul 1845, PA — d. 14 Mar 1908, Philadelphia, PA)
Children:
i. Peter Joseph Gough (b. 18 Jun 1870, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA — d. 10 Apr 1912, Philadelphia, PA); m. Jane F. “Jennie” Readdie (9, 10)
ii. Elizabeth Gough (b. 27 Oct 1874, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA — d. before 1880)
Sources:
- Peter Goff household, 1850 U.S. Census of Population, Hazle Township, Luzerne Co., PA, 22 Aug 1850, dwelling #894, family #906, Ancestry online, accessed 31 May 2021; Richard Gough obituary, Hazleton, Hazleton Sentinel, Monday, 12 Jan 1885, page unknown.
- John Goff household, 1860 U.S. Census of Population, City of Philadelphia, Ward 2, 11 Jul 1860, p 335, dwelling #2215, family #2586, Ancestry online, accessed 31 May 2021.
- Richard Gough to Julia Ryan, Marriage Record, St. Gabriel’s Church, Hazleton, Luzerne Co., PA, presider, Fr. Filan; witnesses, Ptk. Gallagher and Mary Ann Gorman.
- John Crosby household, 1880 U.S. Census of Population, Schuylkill Co., Shenandoah 1st Ward, 4-5 Jun 1880, enumeration district 199, p 7, dwelling #48, family #53, White Street; Ancestry online, accessed 18 Oct 2021.
- Peter Gough household, 1900 US census of population, Philadelphia, PA, 6 Jun 1900, ED 748, SD 1st PA, sheet 8B, dwelling #182, family #184, 1717 Taney Street.; Peter Joseph Gough, son of Richard Gough and Julie Ryon, born 18 Jun 1870, baptized 26 Jun 1870, Cornelius O’Donnell and Catherine Gough, sponsors, St. Gabriel’s Church, Baptismal Register, baptized by Fr. J.P. McCloskey, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA; Elizabeth Goff, daughter of Richard Goff and Julia Ryon, born 27 Oct 1874, baptized 1 Nov 1874, Patrick McGee and Helen McGee, sponsors, St. Gabriel’s Church, Baptismal Register, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA.
- Richard Gough household, 1870 U.S. Census of Population, Hazleton, West Ward, Luzerne Co., PA, dwelling #295, family #346, Ancestry online, accessed 18 Oct 2021; Patrick McGee household, 1880 U.S. Census of Population, Hazle Borough, Luzerne Co., PA, 11 Jun 1880, enumeration district 152, page 8, dwelling #64, family #70, Ancestry online, accessed 18 Oct 2021; John Crosby household, 1880 U.S. Census of Population (see above).
- Richard Gough obituary, Hazleton Sentinel, 12 Jan 1885, page 4; Peter Gough household, 1900 U.S. Census of Population (see above); Peter Joseph Gough to Jennie Readdie, Marriage index, Philadelphia, PA, 1897, 1897:94546.
- Julia Gough, widow, death record, Philadelphia, PA, file #7279, 14 Mar 1908, pneumonia/tuberculosis, 2 Jul 1848, PA, no parents’ names listed, no informant listed.
- Phillip Gough, Philadelphia City Births, 1860-1906, father, Peter Gough; mother, Mrs. Gough, FamilySearch online.
- Peter J. Gough death certificate, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915, parents: Richard Gough, Julia Ryan (FamilySearch record search, accessed 25 Dec 2008.