Background
Houghton was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1842 and educated in the public schools there.
Houghton was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1842 and educated in the public schools there.
In the American Civil War he served as a paymaster for the United States Navy. He rose to the position of main draftsman and in this capacity was involved in the design of churches, schools, convents and rectories for many Roman Catholic clients throughout the Eastern United States. By the 1890s Keely and Houghton formed a partnership known as Keely and Houghton.
Most of the buildings designed during that time are attributed to that firm.
After Keely’s death in 1896, Houghton continued the practice under his own name.