William Tough and Joanna --
William Tough was probably the son of (William Tough?) and Agnes --. William was admitted to the manor in 1525. In the record of rents at Rothley, Leicestershire, England, William is noted as Agnes's son but the identity of his father is not as certain.
William married first Margaret -- (d. bet. 1536 and 1542) and second Joanna --. Information about William's wives and son William, as well as a clue about Thomas's probable relationship to this family comes from a July 1560 suit in a collection of Rothley, Leicestershire, England records. Joanna, who had become a widow, was the plaintiff in that suit against defendants, Anne Gee, widow, and William Gee, executors of Cornicius Gee. In this suit, Joanna stated that William Tough Sr. held a messuage, two tofts and appurtenances in Rothley, Leicestershire, England and leased it by a deed of 18 April 1542 to Anthony Judde and that William had left this messuage to her for her life, then his heirs but that Judde had demised the property to Cornicius Gee. She claimed rent on the property. The Gees, however, claimed that Wiliam Jr., the son of William Sr. and Margaret, succeeded to the property and enfeoffed Cornicius Gee. The suit records that, "Thomas Tough seeks copy of these exceptions," which Coddington took to mean that Thomas supported Joanna.
William and Margaret’s child is:
- William Tough, mentioned in the 1560 suit as, according to the defendants, the heir of his father's messuage.
William’s probable child, most likely by Joanna, is:
- Thomas Tough, admitted to the manor 28 Aug 1560, married Susan -- (buried 30 November 1592 in Rothley, Leicestershire, England), a yeoman of Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, England, buried 24 May 1586 at Rothley, Leicestershire, England, will dated 20 May 1586.
Sources:
Records related to the William and Joanna Tough family but not copied below due to copyright considerations:
- Coddington, John Insley, "The Family of Frances (Tough) (Chester) (Smith) Stebbing, Wife of Edward Stebbing, of Hartford, Connecticut," The American Genealogist, vol. 30, Oct 1953, p. 193-212.