Houghan, Thomas

Died: 1862-08-XX Saint Louis, Missouri

Flourished: 1838-03-22 Springfield, Illinois

From 1835 to 1837, Houghan purchased an immense amount of federal public land in central Illinois. In 1838, he was one of the leading citizens of Springfield who pledged over $16,000 of funding to secure the move of the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. In 1840, he was the head of a household in Springfield; by the time of his death he resided in St. Louis.

U.S. Census Office, Sixth Census of the United States (1840), Sangamon County, IL, 6; Missouri, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988, 20 August 1862, St. Louis County (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2015); John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 48; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Logan County, 70:11-12, Menard County, 69:66-67, Sangamon County, 69:63, Tazewell County, 69:63, 67, Marshall County, 69:63, Cass County, 69:66, Woodford County, 69:63, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.