Olney City & Twp. -
NORMAN A. LOUGH, attorney, was born in Denver Township, in this county, on Oct. 10, 1852, and is the only surviving child of four who were born to Robert C. and Mary A. (Cortrecht) Lough, natives of the "Old Dominion" and of New York, and of German-Scotch and English-Scotch descent, respectively.  Robert C. came to Denver Township, where he entered and bought some 200 acres of wild land, which he improved, and upon which he constructed a log cabin.  He still resides upon the place, but has added to the original land until it comprises some 500 or 600 acres, a part of which he has lately sold.  From early life he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a member of the Masonic Fraternity.  Mrs. Lough died in 1868, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Norman A. was educated at the common schools of Richland County, and afterwards attended college at Lebanon, Ill., three years, completing the courses in Science and Latin.  Until his seventeenth year he was employed most of the time upon the home farm.  In 1874 he entered the law office of Judge Horace Hayward, of Olney, and in September, 1876, was admitted to the bar, since which time he has been practicing his profession here.  For the past two years Mr. Lough has been engaged in the harness as well as the law business.  In 1877 he was elected City Attorney for the city of Olney, and was re-elected in 1879.   He was married Jan. 9, 1877, to Allie Conklin.  They have been given one son, Clarence R. They belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Mr. Lough is a member of the K. of P., is a Republican, and a very enterprising citizen.
--- Source: Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois Historical and Biographical, Published Chicago: F. A. Battey & Co., 1884 - Page 759

Denver Twp. -
R. C. LOUGH, pioneer and farmer, is a native of West Virginia, was born Nov. 21, 1820, is the son of Rev. Peter and Prudence (Gibson) Lough, and is the eldest of fifteen children, seven sons and eight daughters; parents of German-Irish lineage, and natives of West Virginia.  In 1839, they, with fourteen children, emigrated to Edwards County, Ill., and there remained five years, when they removed to Clay County, and there the father died in 1860, and the mother in Richland County in September, 1883.  The paternal grandfather of Mr. Lough, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and his father was a prominent man of one of the pioneers of Clay County, Ill.  The marriage of Mr. Lough, our subject,  occurred on Sept. 28, 1841, to Mary Ann Courtrecht, a native of Wabash County, Ill.  To this union were born four children, viz.: Benjamin P., Samantha C. (deceased), Martha L. (deceased) and Norman A.   Benjamin P. died near Vicksburg, Miss., during the late war.  He was a member of Company A, Fifth Illinois Cavalry, enlisted at Olney in 1863, and died in 1864, a brave and true soldier.  Mrs. Lough died in June, 1869,a nd Mr. Lough was married again in the following November.  He chose Jennie Bradshaw, a native of Wayne County, Ill.  In 1845 they settled where they now reside, and have been here for thirty-nine years.  He built the first house about fifteen rods from the site of his present residence, a cabin sixteen feet square, constructed of poles, after the fashion of the early pioneer dwellings.  At the time of the marriage of Mr. Lough, he only possessed an ax and a gun, and borrowed money to get his marriage license.  He now owns 364 acres of good land, 264 acres of which are improved.  His residence is one of the best in Denver Township.  It was erected in 1861, and cost $2,000.  Mr. L. is a thorough Republican, and cast his first Presidential vote for Henry clay.  He has been Township Assessor, and served as Justice of the Peace four years.  He has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity since 1855, and of the Methodist Episcopal Church for forty-eight years.  Mrs. Lough is also a member of that church.  Our subject is one of the enterprising men of Richland County and is a thorough Christian gentleman.  He is now the oldest living settler in Denver Township.
--- Source: Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois Historical and Biographical, Published Chicago: F. A. Battey & Co., 1884 - Page 837-38