Matthew Howard-Arundell (abt. 1609 - 1659)

Born about 1 Jun 1609 in Wardour, Wiltshire, England [uncertain]

Died 4 Sep 1659 at about age 50 in Anne Arundel, Province of Maryland

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Biography

Several popular accounts trace the ancestry of Matthew Howard, Immigrant to Virginia and Maryland, to the noble Arundell family of England. These accounts conflate two real persons:

• Mathew Arundell was born in 1609, the son of Sir Thomas Arundell, and died during childhood in 1620.
• Matthew Howard, parentage unkinown, was an immigrant to Virginia and Maryland.

When these two persons are conflated into one, the result is Matthew Howard-Arundell (or Arundell-Howard).

The profile of Matthew Howard-9071 contains the factual record of the immigrant to colonial Virginia and Maryland. The profile of Matthew Arundell (1609-1620) contains the factual record of Sir Thomas Arundell's son Mathew. Mathew Arundell died in 1620 and was buried on 2 June 1620 in London. This profile for Matthew Howard-Arundell-1 contains the often repeated legendary material in which the Maryland Howard family descends from prominent English nobility.

The Legend: Newman's 1933 Account

While the legend actually appered in print as early as 1919^[1] it received a major boost in the 1933 edition of Harry Wright Newman's Anne Arundel Gentry. ^[2] Newman later retracted his support of the story.

But in 1933, Harry Wright Newman became the most prominent promoter of the legend that Matthew Arundell, son of Sir Thomas Arundell, migrated to Virginia and then Maryland under the name Howard, giving the many descendants of the Maryland Howard family a noble ancestry at the heart of English history.

A Descent from Lord Edmund Howard

In his 1933 account, Harry Wright Newman ^[2] provides a noble ancestry for "Matthew Howard":

1. Lord Edmund Howard. Marshall of the Horse at the Battle of Flodden. Married Joyce Culpepper, daughter of Sir Henry Culpepper, Knight, of Oxenhoath, Kent, and widow of Ralph leigh of Stockwell. ^[2]
2. Sir Thomas Arundell married Margaret Howard, daughter of Lord Edmund Howard. Lady Margaret Howard was also the sister of Catherine Howard, wife of Henry VIII, and first cousin of Ann Boleyn, also a wife. Sir Thomas was convicted of conspiring to murder John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and was beheaded February 22, 1552, and his lands confiscated.^[2]
3. Matthew Arundell-Howard. Matthew Arundel of Wardour, son and eir of Sir Thomas and Margaret (Howard) Arundel, felt the disgrace of his father's beheadment and the confiscation of his ancestral estate. He lived on the Continent and assumed the maiden name of his mother -- Howard. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby, of Wellston, County of Nottingham, and died in 1598.^[2]
4. Count Thomas Arundel-Howard. Thomas, son of Matthew Arundel-Howard and his wife Margaret Willoughby, spent his early life on the continent, especially in Germany. He served in the Imperial Hungarian Army against the Turks, and was created by Rudolph II, Emperor of Germany, a Count of the Holy Roman Empire. Returning to England, he received favor from the Tudors, and was elevated to the peerage in 1605 as First Baron Arundel of Wardour. In 1583 he had married Maria, the daughter of Henry Wriothesley, 2d Earl of southampton, and had three children. Maria died in 1607. Lord Thomas then married Ann, daughter of Miles Philipson, of Crook,Westmoreland, and had six children, one of whom was a son, Matthew. Anne, a daughter by his second marriage, wedded Cecilius Calvert, 2d Lord Baltimore. Anne died in 1649. Matthew, the only son of the second mariage, was born 1609. According to English records he died or disappeared by 1620. Newman believed that he actually married and migrated to Virginia, still using the Howard name of his great-grandmother, that had been used on occasion by his father and grandfather.^[2]
5. Matthew Howard-Arundell-1 or Matthew Howard the Emigrant^[2]

An Even Earlier Lineage

The Newman theory permits adding a pedigree back to Hereward, who lived prior to the Norman Conquest:

1. Hereward, living in Norfolk between 957 and 973. His son

2. Leofric, was the father of

3. Hereward, banished by William the Conqueror. His grandson

5. Hereward, m. Wilburga; their son

6. Robert (now written Howard) was the father of

7. John Howard m. Lucy Germund; their son

8. Sir Wm. Howard m. Alice Ufford and Alice Fitten. His son

9. Sir John Howard (Knight) m. Joan, of Cornwall; their son

10. [[Howard-467|Sir John Howard m. Alice, sister of Sir Robert de Boys; their son

11. Sir Robert Howard m. a dau. of Sir Robert Scales; their only son

12. Sir John Howard m. 2nd unknown Tendring; their son

13. Sir Robert Howard m. unknown; and his son

14. Sir Robert Howard m. Margaret Mowbray, Duchess of Norfolk; their son

15. Sir John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England;their son

16. Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, m. 1st Elizabeth Tilney; their son

17 Lord Edmund Howard m. Joyce Culpepper; their daughter

18. Margaret Howard m. Sir Thomas Arundel (beheaded); their son

19. Matthew Arundel-Howard of Wardour who took his mother's name of Howard, m. Margaret Willoughby; their son

20. Count Thomas Arundel-Howard, m. 2nd Ann Philipson; their son(emigrant)

21. Matthew Howard, b. 1609 Wardour Castle; m. Ann^[3]

Making the Legend Plausible

Several historical facts add plausibility to this legend:

• There is indeed a Howard family in the ancestry of Thomas Arundell
• There was indeed persecution of the Arundells and other Catholics so that adopting a name from one's maternal line might be attractive.
• The Howards rose to prominence in Maryland, suggesting that the family might have prominent roots
• Anne Arundell, alleged sister of the Thomas who became the subject of the legend, herself married a husband with the strongest of Maryland connections: Cecelius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore. Weaving facts like this into the legend, Newman suggested that Matthew Howard, ostensibly born Arundell, moved from Virginia to Maryland to be closer to his sister, Baroness Baltimore.

The Facts Disproving the Legend

1. Matthew Arundell died as a child and did not emigrate anywhere.

Matthew Arundell was baptized 19 June 1609 at St. Andrew's, Holburn, Middlesex, England, the son of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundel of Wardour. But rather than emigrating to Maryland under any name, he died as a child. John Bailey Calvert Nicklin ^[4] disproved it in 1939 by identifying the burial record of Mathew Arundell: Matthew Arundell, son of Thomas Lo: Arundell out of Castill Yard in Holborne was buried in the Chacnell under the Table the 2 June 1620. ^[5]

Mathew Arundel died in childhood in 1620. ^[6]

2. Matthew's father and grandfather did not use the Howard surname.

As noted above, the legend states that Matthew Arundell's father and grandfather, ashamed of the beheading of great-grandafther Sir Thomas Arundel, exiled to Europe and used the surname Howard. The line may be represented thus:

1. Sir Thomas Arundell, beheaded by King Henry VIII, was married to Margaret Howard.
2. Matthew Arundell supposedly used the Howard surname.
3. Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, married to Ann Philipson, the widow Thoroughgood/Thurgood.
4. Matthew Arundell, born 1609.

However, there is no evidence that they used the Howard name, and in fact Thomas Arundell went to Europe with an introductory letter from Queen Elizabeth, in which she referrd to him as her "dearest cousin Thomas Arundel." While there, due to bravery in battle, the Emperor of Germany give him as Thomas Arundel the title of "Count of the Empire." ^[7]

3. Lord Baltimore's Family did not acknowledge a relationship to Mathew Howard.

Newman notes that Matthew Arundell's sister Anne married Ceceilus Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore and suggested that as Matthew Howard, he moved from Virginia to Maryland to be closer to his sister. Newman apparently was unaware that Anne Arundell, Baroness Baltimore, never left England and never saw Maryland.

The Arundell family did have connections to Maryland. It was Anne, wife of the second Lord Baltimore, who gave her name to Anne Arundel County. Another sister of Anne, Mary, married Sir John Somerset, for whom Somerset County, Maryland, was named.

4. The Arundells were Catholic while Matthew Howard was a Puritan.

The Arundell family were strong Catholics which is consistent with their association with the Calvert family. Matthew Howard, however, arrived in Maryland with the migration of Puritans and Quakers expelled from Virginia for their faith, and settled in the portion of Maryland that was settled by Puritans and Quakers.

Variations on the Legend

The Howard-Douglas Theory

Another theory, the HOWARD-DOUGLAS theory, is that Matthew was a great grandson of Thomas HOWARD and Margaret DOUGLAS (niece of King Henry VIII).

This theory is also highly improbable. The foundation of Moss' theory rests on a false premise, that does not show a union between the HOWARD and DOUGLAS families as he implied.

Matthew HOWARD's son John HOWARD on his 1695 will affixed a wax seal, which corresponds with the undifferenced arms of the HOWARD family of England, from which descended the HOWARD family of the Duke of Norfolk.

That he was a son of John Howard and his wife Elizabeth Lock. (This John Howard was son of Robert Howard and his wife Philippa Buxton.) ^[8] .

Six of the eight children of John and Elizabeth (Lock) Howard are known:

1. Robert (christened 27 November 1608),
2. Daniel (christened 25 February 1609/10),
3. John (christened 30 January 1611/12),
4. Thomas (christened 4 April 1614),
5. Grace (christened 15 April 1616), and
6. (Mary (christened 5 March 1617/18).

There are two children whose names are not known. Matthew Howard and Henry Howard of Maryland might have been those two children. However, their marriage date and the birth dates of their known children make it highly unlikely that Matthew Howard of Maryland was their son. Robert Howard, John's father, is sometimes alleged to have been a son of Thomas Howard and Margaret Douglas, but nothing supports the relationship.^[8] .

Father: John I HOWARD b: 1 DEC 1578 in Brockdish Hall,Norfolk,Norfolk,Eng Mother: Elizabeth LOCKE b: 1580 in Eng ^[3]

John Howard Wax Seal Theory

Matthew's son John Howard used a close approximation of the ducal Howard arms on his personal seal (extant on his will). His descendant Cornelius Howard (died 1777) also used the arms on his gravestone. The arms used were Gules, a bend between six cross-crosslets fitchee Argent, which are the ducal arms minus the Flodden augmentation. However, the connection between this family and the ducal Howards, if there was any, remains unknown. Arms were frequently usurped by families not entitled to them.^[8].

Based on these arms, and the standing of the Howards in the colony of Maryland, Matthew Howard is often said to have been of royal descent. The leading theories are:^[8] .

Matthew Howard's son John Howard on his 1695 will affixed a wax seal, which corresponds with the undifferenced arms of the HOWARD family of England, from which descended the HOWARD family of the Duke of Norfolk. The arms were on an escutheon, a bend between six cross crosslets fitchee.

After the Battle of Flodden in 1513, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, was granted an augmentation that appeared on the bend as a small shield with the demi-lion of the arms of the King of Scotland cut in half with an arrow through its mouth. The seal used by John Howard did not contain the augmentation.

Many writers have stated that the use of the arms by John Howard showed that the family was not too distantly related to the Norfolk line. They also believed that the MD Howards would not have used the arms, if they did not have the "legal" right.

Illegal use of arms was a problem, both in England and America. The purpose of the Herald's Visitations in England in the 16th and 17th centuries were to determine those who did have right to display arms. Little, if any, effort was made by colonial governments to enforce laws regarding Heraldry. Contemporary with when John HOWARD wrote his will, a Mr. Gore, a carriage painter in Boston created arms for socialites there.{27}

Undifferenced usage of arms passed at death to a man's eldest son, other sons being allowed to use a differenced version of the arms. In that John HOWARD used the undifferenced, pre-1513 arms of the Ducal Howards his usage was illegal according to the laws of Heraldry. Whether the Howard family of MD was entitled to use a differenced version of the Ducal arms is unknown.

The arms were on an escutcheon, a bend between six cross crosslets fitchee.

The Brockdish Theory

That he was a son of Thomas Howard of Brockdish. This theory is plausible, except that Thomas is said to have been an illegitimate descendant of a secret child of Lord Thomas Howard and Margaret Tudor.^[8] .

Son of John Howard, Killed by Indians

Or Matthew may have been a descendant of the John Howard who came to this country in 1621 and was killed by the Indians.^[9]

Cross-References to Real People in Virginia and Maryland

• Matthew Howard is the profile of the real Matthew Howard who immigrated to colonial Virginia and Maryland.
• Anne Hall appears as a wife of Matthew Howard.
• Anne Dorsey appears as a wife of Matthew Howard.
• Elizabeth Todd appears as a wife of Matthew Howard.

Research Notes: Fredrick Saunders References

The below information obtained from: ^[10]

1. ^[11]
2. Philip was not named in the 1647 will of Richard Hall. While an Ann was named, this may have more likely been Matthew's wife than his aughter. She was named immediately after Matthew "the elder." If she was Matthew's daughter, and the children were named in order, that would place Ann's birth as about 1637. As Ann (Howard) Greneffe's 4 children were minors when her husband wrote his 1686/7 will, (born after 1666), a first child born at about age 30 seems unrealistic. Both Philip and Ann were probably born after Richard Hall's will. Date estimates for birth were made two years apart for those children born before and after the will. (Richard Hall)
3. Matthew Howard will ^[12]
4. James Greneff will, ^[13]
5. ^[14]
6. Birth date of son Henry. ^[15]
7. Deposition of Rachel Freeborne, ^[16] Her 1727 deposition stated that Alice Skinner had come to MD about 56 years ago, and married within a year to Henry Ridgely[Ridgley]. Henry's first wife Elizabeth Howard had to be deceased by that date. Elizabeth (Howard) Ridgely
8. Will of Joshua Dorsey, ^[17] He made bequests to "cousins" (i.e. nephews) John, Samuel and Matthew Howard, [children of Matthew Howard.]
9. Cornelius Howard will, ^[18]
10. ^[19]
11. John Maccubin will, ^[20]
12. John Howard will, ^[21]
13. James Warner will, ^[22]
14. Samuel Howard will, ^[23]
15. John Baldwin will, ^[24]
16. Phillip Howard will, ^[25]
17. Mary Rockhold will, ^[26]
18. John Howard account, ^[27]
19. F. Edward Wright, ^[28]
20. Matthew Howard (Sr.) account, ^[29]
21. Matthew Howard (Jr.) account,^[30]
22. ^[31]
23. ^[32]
24. Samuel Howard original ^[33]
25. Thomas Roper will, ^[34]
26. ^[35]
27. Joseph C. Wolf, Heraldry Lecture.
28. ^[36]
29. James Greeniffe inventory, ^[37]

Sources

1. ↑ Fredric Z. Saunders. Howard-Arundell Theory of Matthew Howard's Ancestry
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Harry Wright Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, Baltimore: Maryland Pioneer Series, 1933, pp. 239-241
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Sharon Neal, Families of Sequoyah County,OK & Others. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mjr6387&id=I26536&style=TEXT. Accessed Dec 8, 2015.
4. ↑ John Bailey Calvert Nicklin.Matthew Arundel of Wardour Castle vs. Mathew Howard of Virginia. Maryland Historical Magazine, Volume 34, No. 4 (March 1939), pp. 362-365. Accessed 2 March 2020 jhd
5. ↑ Church of England, Saint Andrew HBolborn Parish Register, Register of Burials, 1556-1623, M. S. 6773/1, unpaginated, entry number 63 for the year overall entry number 6810, Guildhall, London, England, Family History Library microfilm 374389, Salt Lake City, Utah. Cited by Fredric Z. Saunders.
6. ↑ John Bailey Calvert Nicklin. Matthew Arundel of Wardour Castle vs. Matthew Howard of Virginia. Accessed 2 July 2023 jhd
7. ↑ Edward Doran Webb, "Notes by the 12th Lord Arundell of Wardour on the Family History", (London:Longmans, Green and Co., 1916), pages 32-41; and John Pym Yeatman, "The Early Genealogical History of the House of Arundel," (London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1882, pages 274-277. Cited by Saunders
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4} William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 1. (Jul., 1900), pp. 65-66, exerpted by Sharon Neal
9. ↑ Sharon Doliante. Maryland and Virginia Colonials Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1991. Volume 1, page 353.
10. ↑ http://fzsaunders.com/howard.html Howard Family of Anne Arundel County. Page created by Fredric Z. Saunders. Last revised: 27 December 2050
11. ↑ Alice Granbery Walter, Lower Norfolk County, Virginia Court Records, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1995), 87 cites B:95a. Richard Hall will. Note: FHL micrfilm 0,032,823 of the original jumps from page 93a to next page of 102. (Richard Hall)
12. ↑ Maryland wills 2:222-224, FHL microfilm 0,012,841.
13. ↑ Maryland wills 2:215-216, FHL microfilm 0,012,841 and Maryland wills 7:79-80, FHL microfilm 0,012,843. Mentions wife Ann, "brother John Howard" and "brother Samuel Howard."
14. ↑ Maryland Patents 7:461, (Vol. 9) FHL microfilm 0,013,066.
15. ↑ John Thomas Gurney, III, Cemetery Inscriptions of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, (Chelsea, Mich: Bookcrafters, Inc, 1982), 1:88.
16. ↑ Tiverton, Devon, England, Baptist Church Records 1695-1915, FHL microfilm 1,526,426, item 3.
17. ↑ Maryland wills 6:8, FHL microfilm 0,012,843.
18. ↑ Maryland wills 2:107-110, FHL microfilm 0,012,841.
19. ↑ Maryland Patents 5:485, (Vol. 7) FHL microfilm 0,013,065.
20. ↑ Maryland wills 4:207-208, FHL microfilm 0,012,843 and Eleanor Howard will, Maryland wills 13:235-237, FHL microfilm 0,012,845.
21. ↑ Maryland wills 7:164-166, FHL microfilm 0,012,843
22. ↑ Maryland wills 1:618-619, FHL microfilm 0,012,841.
23. ↑ Maryland wills 11:397-399, FHL microfilm 0,012,844.
24. ↑ Maryland wills 4:43-44, FHL microfilm 0,012,843.
25. ↑ Maryland wills 11:153-155, FHL microfilm 0,012,844.
26. ↑ Maryland wills 3:248-249, FHL microfilm 0,012,842.
27. ↑ Maryland inventories and accounts 25:61-62, FHL microfilm 0,012,923.
28. ↑ Anne Arundel County Church Records of the 17th and 18th Centuries, (Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications).
29. ↑ Maryland inventories and accounts 25:54-55, FHL microfilm 0,012,923.
30. ↑ Maryland inventories and accounts 20:86, FHL microfilm 0,012,922
31. ↑ J. D. Warfield, Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties,(Baltimore: Kohn & Pollock, 1905), 71, 179.
32. ↑ Jane Baldwin, The Maryland Calendar of Wills, (Baltimore, Maryland: Kohn & Pollock, Inc., 1907), 3:25.
33. ↑ Anne Arundel County, Maryland will Box H, folder 116, Maryland State Archives.
34. ↑ Maryland wills 5:313-315, FHL microfilm 0,012,843.
35. ↑ Maryland Testamentary Proceedings 10:315, FHL microfilm 0,012,933.
36. ↑ Maryland Patents 10:499, FHL microfilm 0,013,068.
37. ↑ Maryland Inventories and Accounts 11A:22-22 1/2, FHL microfilm 0,012,920.