My 3rd Great Grandfather was Peter HOUGH, born in Paris, France 1776 and died in Richmond, New South Wales on the 17 March 1833. He was buried at St Peter's Church of England Cemetery Richmond, on the 19 March 1833.

Peter Hough was indicted for burglary, 16th September 1795 and tried at the Old Bailey For steeling money and silver from St.Paul's Coffee Shop in London. For this charge he was found Not Guilty

On the 17 February 1797 Peter Hough was again before the courts. This time in Middlesex and charged with Petty Larceny. He was charged with "that on 8 February 1797 with force and arms that he did steal one Red Morocco Pocket Book of the value of 10 pence from James Daniell. Found guilty and committed to Newgate Prison until the sentence of 7 years Transportation could be carried out. Between 12 October 1797 and 31 December 1797 at Woolwich; England, Peter Hough was imprisoned on board the hulk Prudentia. On 2 January 1798 at Woolwich it was noted he had been ill but was recovering from venereal disease.

Peter HOUGH was named on the Hillsborough ships list as Peter HUFF sailed to New South Wales on the Hillsborough taking 218 days. The captain was William Hingston. She left England on 23 November 1798 and arrived in Sydney Cove on 26 July 1799. As well as convicts, free settlers were also also onboard. 95 died on the voyage.

The convicts were ironed two together and were accommodated on the lowest deck where conditions were extremely grim, there being no direct access to outside light or air. Each man was given a wooden plank two feet wide as a bunk and a blanket and a pillow. The weight of the irons was 11 lbs.

The Hillsborough was one of a convoy of about 15 ships and there was some delay in their sailing because of storms. During the trip typhoid struck and 100 convicts died. The typhoid began on 12 November. The disease was carried by lice and, due to the lack of hygiene, it spread rapidly through the ship.

The convicts were given only 13 pints of water each to last them for a week. This was to be their ration throughout the journey despite the fact that their provisions were salt meat and they had to sail through the tropics in appalling heat. The journey began with a gale and one can only imagine the conditions as the convicts were locked below and many were seasick.

The convicts were deeply rebellious and the Captain and crew responded with dreadful cruelty. A number of the convicts had found ways to remove their irons, but this was reported to the captain by an informer amongst the convicts. They were thereupon all ordered on deck, had their irons examined and, if these had been interfered with, the convicts were punished by between 12 and 72 lashes. The Captain further threatened to hang any more convicts found interfering with their chains.

By March the ship arrived in Table Bay, now the site of Capetown in South Africa, where they stayed for some considerable time as a number of convicts were dying from typhoid and the ship had to be cleaned and provisioned. Conditions on the shore were also very poor, the convicts being forced to dig graves for their dead comrades whilst shackled together.

The Captain finally realised that the treatment he was meting out would interfere with the payment he was to receive for the delivery of live convicts, and conditions began to improve toward the end of May with liberty to go on deck at will if one was sick, as much water as was wanted, but by now the death toll had risen to 63 of the original 300.

The ship sailed down the "roaring forties" going through a number of terrible storms and arrived off Van Dieman?s Land (now re-named Tasmania) on 4 July. Fighting their way up the east coast of Australia, they arrived off Sydney Heads at 4 am on 26 July. At daylight the ship sailed up the Harbour and the convicts were finally unloaded on 29 July.

Only 205 of the 300 original convicts were landed in Australia, and of these 6 more died in the first few days. The Hillsborough had been one of the worst convict ships ever to bring a load to Australia, and Governor Hunter wrote to the Secretary of the Colonies, the Duke of Portland, acquainting him with the situation and describing the convicts on the Hillsborough as \"a cargo of the most miserable and wretched convicts I ever beheld". The reason for this was a difference in the payment method. Whereas previously the Government had paid ?23 per head for every convict transported to Botany Bay, James Duncan owner and contractor of the Hillsborough was to receive only ?18 per head with an extra ?4/10/6 for every live convict arriving in Australia.

Source; William Noah 1754-1827


In July 1801 Peter appears on the census at Parramatta with Susannah Tillet 1780-1846 convict arrived on the 'Speedy' in 1800
No marriage. They had 2 Children
Peter 1801-xxxx
Henry 1803-1880 m Cordelia TOOTH 1828-1885 in 1848

Spouse Catherine Rigby 1782-xxxx died in Windsor. Convict arrived on the 'Nile' 1801, Catherine Rigby, sailed back to England after gaining her freedom, leaving Louisa in the care of her father.
No marriage
Children Louisa 1805-1881 m. John CUPITT 1799-1937 in 1819

Spouse Mary WOOD 1793-1880 The daughter of John WOOD 1768-1845 and Ann MATTHEWS 1762-1819. Peter married Mary at St.Phillips C of E Sydney, New South Wales on the 19 September 1809.

The children of this marriage were:-
1.Sophia 1810-1885m. Timothy LACY 1806-1887 in 1827
2.John 1812-1896 m. Margaret MAGUIRE 1812-1904 in 1837
3.George 1813-1878 m. Mary BANNISTER 1820-1875 in 1838
4.Peter Joseph 1817-1888 m. Jane Sharp LOVELL 1823-1894 in 1840
5.Mary 1821-1904 m. William CORNWELL 1827-1906 in 1850
6.Ann 1822-1889 m. William ONUS 1822-1855 in 1842 and William REID 1833-xxxx in 1857
7.Eliza 1825-1870 m. Charles EATHER 1827-1891 in 1848
8.Elizabeth 1830-1909 m. James Edward MARSDEN 1830-1887 in 1850
9.Sarah 1833-1878 m. William BENSON 1830-1923 in 1855

He was Publican of an hotel opposite the Toll Gate on the Sydney Road in Parramatta from 1825 till the end of 1828.

On 4 November 1826 at Parramatta, Peter Hough and Timothy KELLY were committed for trial at the Quarter Sessions, for assault and battery of John Hall of Evan forcibly taking his horse and cart from him on the high road, but the trial did not proceed.

janilye?

Below is the Toll Gate on Sydney Road. On the Sydney side of Parramatta.