To trace this branch of the Clough Family, it is necessary to go to Salem, N. H., to the summer home of Erskine and Vivian Lord, where several picnics have been held on the Sunday after a reunion elsewhere. At the 17th reunion, Dan Lord entertained the younger folk with rides in his jeep up the hill on the old road to the cellar hole of the home of James-4.
Isaac-3, grandson of the founder John Clough, was given this land in Salem by his father, Thomas-2, who had received it from his father-in-law, Samuel Gile, of Haverhill, Mass.
James-4, son of Isaac-3, was born in Salem about 1732. He married twice, first to Mehitable Secombe, who soon died, and second to Ruth Webster, the mother of eight children. About 1771, when James was around forty years of age, he and Ruth decided to sell their home in Salem and remove to Hopkinton, N. H., a town that was incorporated in 1765, when the wars with the Indians and French had ceased. The reason for this move is unknown, yet one may conclude that after two brothers had died and the third son, Wyman, would inherit the property according to the English custom, James may have concluded to seek for a new home where land was available at a low price.
Hopkinton was incorporated in 1765 although the area was granted to proprietors many years earlier. Not until the Indian wars ceased did the demand for settlement of farms increase. On page 133 of the Clough Genealogy is the story about John Currier and his wife, Jemima Clough, who settled in Hopkinton about 1778 and their two sons became physicians there. An ancient document called a lease dated March 1, 1787 states that James Clough leased from the Town of Hopkinton the forty acre school lot, No. 6, adjoining the parsonage lot for a term of 999 years for the sum of 92 pounds. Another lease, dated April 14, 1789, states that James Clough leased the 40 acre school lot, No. 6, together with the buildings thereon to his son William for a term of 987 years and two months for the sum of $800.00. From an ancient map it would seem that this lot is the same site as the Phineas Clough homestead occupies today.
James and Ruth had eight children. Betty and Lydia were born in Salem and William, Stephen, Rebecca, Hannah, Phineas and Ruth were born in Hopkinton. On March 6, 1806, James and his son William bargained for 362 acres at a pond about five miles from their homes where they erected a mill and several buildings that were named Cloughville and the pond was called Clough Pond. Another pond called Grassy Pond was situated above Clough Pond and a dam held the flow from Grassy Pond for the water power for the Clough mill.
In 1814, William purchased his father’s interest and his tubs and buckets were famous products during the nineteenth century. William was killed by a falling limb while working in the forest and his sons, Benjamin, William and Charles F. continued the business. (See Clough Book, page 95.)
Charles F. Clough married Mary J. Hardy and they had eight children. Their two oldest, Joseph S. and Sylvia never married but lived at Cloughville and the pond was known as Joe and Sylvia’s Pond in the neighborhood. One daughter, Mary, married George F. Putnam who owned a large farm not far from the Phineas Clough homestead. Mr. Putnam became an influential member of the Farm Bureau and was a national officer for many years. Another daughter, Josie, married Arthur M. Dustin, a prominent citizen in Hopkinton. This branch of the Dustin Family descended from Thomas-1 & -2 and Timothy-3 while Hannah Dustin was the daughter of Nathaniel-3.
When James and William moved to Cloughville, Phineas and his wife Judith Currier took possession of the homestead. Their eldest son, Willard, married Charlotte Dustin and their son, Willard Eugene, was the father of Clara Clough Bent, our Executive Secretary.
The second son of Phineas was Moses Tenney Clough, born on November 22, 1814. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1834, studied law in an office in Ticonderoga, N. Y., and became District Attorney. Later he established an office in Troy, N. Y., became an eminent lawyer and director of a bank. He did not marry but resided at a club in rooms adjoining those of a younger lawyer. On December 30, 1903, at the age of 90, he suffocated in a sudden fire together with his friend who evidently attempted to rescue Mr. Clough, but both died before firemen were able to penetrate the dense smoke to their apartments. The newspapers in Troy published remarkable eulogies to the two distinguished victims, copies of which are preserved by Cousin Francis Clough.
Descendants of James-4 are living in Hopkinton today. The old homestead, birthplace of Cousin Francis, was sold several years ago. The present owners have remodelled the interior into a modern summer home. It stands beside the highway between Hopkinton and Contoocook, the house, on one side of the road and a small barn opposite.
For members who have a file of Clough Bulletins, in the December, 1952, issue may be found a story about a visit to Cloughville with a description of the cemetery on Clement Hill where a number of this family are lying.