Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Brough, William (1826-1870)
BROUGH, WILLIAM (1826–1870), writer, elder brother of Robert Barnabas Brough [q. v.], was born in London on 28 April 1826. He was educated at Newport, Monmouthshire, and apprenticed to a printer at Brecon. To the 'Liverpool Lion,' the venture of his brother Robert, whom he joined in Liverpool, William Brough contributed his first literary effort, a series of papers called 'Hints upon Heraldry.' He married Miss Ann Romer, known as a singer, who died a year after her marriage, leaving him one child. He subsequently remarried, and died on 13 March 1870, leaving a widow and six children. Like his brother, whose reputation has overshadowed his own, Brough wrote in many periodical publications. His dramatic works, chiefly burlesques, were seen at many of the London theatres. He also wrote the first of the quasi-dramatic entertainments given by Mr. and Mrs. German Reed.
[Era Almanack; private information.]