Peter Gough and Letitia Naulty/Nulty
(new Peter Gough descendant chart will be posted soon)

Peter Gough and his wife Letitia Naulty (or Letitia Nulty) came to the United States with their three eldest children in 1842. Their destination was Luzerne County in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. Luzerne was, and is, a largely rural county, with only two cities in the 19th century: Wilkes-Barre, the county seat, and Hazleton, which lies in the coal-rich Lehigh Valley.

Peter was employed as a laborer, and we lack more specific details of his occupation, either in Hazleton or in his home in Ireland. In census records, however, Peter said he could read and write (although his wife, Letitia, could not), suggesting he had received at least a basic level of education back in County Monaghan. All his children were literate, and his youngest daughter, Kate, ultimately became a schoolteacher.

According to their family tombstone in St. Gabriel's cemetery in Hazleton, Peter was born in 1802 in the townland of "Garribawn" (probably Garrybane), in the parish of Aughnamullen in County Monaghan. Hugh McGough's website on the origins of the McGough surname notes that the tithe applotment books for Garrybane show an Arthur McGough living there in 1829, and Griffith's Valuation (a valuable genealogical resource) shows a Peter McGough there in 1858 (lines 260 and 261).

Letitia Naulty (or Nulty) was born in 1810 and was from the parish of Nobber, in neighboring County Meath. Peter and Letitia probably were married around 1830, although we have found no marriage record for them yet. We believe they arrived on 9 May 1842 in New York City.

Peter became a US citizen in 1863; Bernard Murphy and Peter Martin served as witnesses to his application in Carbon County court.

Peter and Letitia are listed in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 census records for Luzerne County. In 1860, 82-year-old James Morris (born in Ireland) lived with them; on the census, he was listed as a "pauper." US census records didn't record family relationships until the 1880 census, and it is unclear what the relationship between them was. Our research continues on this.

Both Peter and Letitia died in 1871 -- Peter on 21 December and Letitia on 31 August.

Peter Gough (b. 1802, Co. Monaghan, Ireland - d. 21 Dec 1871, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA)
m. ca. 1830, in Ireland
Letitia Naulty/Nulty (b. 1810, Co. Meath, Ireland - d. 31 Aug 1871, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA)
Children:
i. Arthur Gough (b. 1831, Ireland - d. after 1866); m. A. Frances Torrile
ii. Mary Gough (b. 1832, Ireland - d. after 1880); m1. John Boyle, m2. Michael Hennessy
ii. John J. Gough (b. 1835, Ireland - d. 16 Jan 1876, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA); m. Susan McCloskey
iii. Alice Gough (b. 1841, Ireland - d. aft 1870); m. Edward Dunn
iv. Richard F. Gough (b. 1844, PA - d. after 1880); m. Julia Ryon/Ryan
v. Katherine "Kate" Gough (b. 13 Jun 1852, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA - d. 26 Jan 1878, Hazleton, Luzerne, PA); m. William McNulty