Ralph and John Houghton, who were cousins, came to
Lancaster, Massachusetts from Eaton Bray in England around 1649. Descendants,
including the family of Daniel Houghton, moved into the southern Vermont area in
the early to mid 1700’s and still remain there today. The author, also a
descendant, was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts just south of his father’s
birthplace, Brattleboro, Vermont.