James Howland (1768 - 1846)

Born 14 Sep 1768 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Son of Thomas Howland and Mary (Kimball) Howland

Husband of Renew (Eddy) Howland — married about 1790 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Descendants

Died 18 Mar 1846 at age 77 in Southbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Anonymous Howland [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Howland Name Study.

The original vital book of Douglas, Massachusetts, showed that James Howland was born on 14 September 1768, but this birth record was added later, along with his wife's birth record and their children's birth records, in the vital book sometime before 1813.^[1] However, James Howland was actually born within the boundary of Glocester, Rhode Island, because his father, Thomas Howland, bought, owned, and sold the properties when he was a resident of Glocester since 1755 and then moved his residence to Douglas, Massachusetts, in 1794. James Howland's birth was not recorded immediately in the vital records of Glocester in 1768, unfortunately, but eventually his birth record was added to the vital book of Douglas, Massachusetts, sometime before 1813. The deed record confirmed that James Howland was a resident of Douglas in 1803, so it implied that his family started to record their births there in 1803.

His parentage was proved by the deed records, the probate proceedings, and one well-known genealogical Howland book of 1885.

He married Renew Eddy about 1790 in Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island, but their marriage was not immediately recorded in Glocester, unfortunately, or even in Douglas, Massachusetts. The federal census of 1790 proved that they were married before they were enumerated in Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island, in 1790.^[2] If the census takers would start on the first Monday of August 1790 and the duration was 9 months for them to complete the task, it would seem that they probably were married sometime before August 1790, or they probably were married before or about April, nine months before their first child's birth on 24 January 1791.

James Howland was recorded in the federal census of 1790 as the head of a family at Glocester, Rhode Island.^[2] The age/sex distribution and inferred attributions are, as follows:

• one dwelling house
• one free white male over age 16 (James himself, age 22)
• two free white females (his wife Renew, age 18 and other unknown female, age unknown)

He had three sons and five daughters with Renew Eddy between 1791 and 1813, as follows:

1. Naomi (Howland) Bixby
2. Cynthia (Howland) Lucas
3. Crawford Howland
4. Uranah (Howland) Smith
5. Enoch Howland
6. Bernice (Howland) Howland
7. Lois Lovan (Howland) Amidon
8. Thomas Howland

Not all of their children were born in Glocester because James Howland was not yet a resident of Douglas, Massachusetts, until 1803.

On April 2, 1793, James Howland of Glocester, Rhode Island, bought from his father, Thomas Howland, 60 acres of land in Glocester, Rhode Island.

On October 12, 1797, James Howland, wife of Glocester, Rhode Island, sold the above 60 acres of land in Glocester to Benjamin Salisbury of Thompson, Windham County, Connecticut.

On October 27, 1798, James Howland of Glocester, Rhode Island, bought 57 acres of land in said Glocester from Amasa Chase of said Glocester.

On March 12, 1803, James Howland and wife Nancy of Glocester, Rhode Island, sold above 57 acres to Samuel White of Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts.

The deed record proved that James Howland later moved with his father to Douglas, Massachusetts, sometime around 1803.

On December 22, 1803, James Howland of Douglas, Massachusetts, a gentleman, bought from his father, Thomas Howland, 12 acres of land in Douglas, Worcester County, Massachusetts. This shows that James Howland moved to Douglas nine years after his father moved to Douglas.

On May 29, 1804, James Howland of said Douglas, a gentleman, bought from his father, Thomas Howland, 3 acres and 74 rods of land in said Douglas, with reservations by the grantor of a road through the premises and the whole of the grantor's dwelling house, and with provision that if the grantee should build a house adjoining the house of the grantor, the grantee should have all of the said new house, and with further provision that the grantee will build a barn and allow the grantor to have one-half of said barn, and with still further provision that the grantee will not sell or dispose of his part during the life of the grantor's wife.

On January 29, 1816, James Howland of Douglas, Massachusetts, bought from his father, Thomas Howland of said Douglas, with 1,000 dollars, 60 acres of land in the southeasterly part of Douglas with a reservation of a road on the easterly part of side land to the highest available water.

James Howland inherited from his father's will in the following words:

"All my land and buildings standing on said land on the east side of a Highway leading southerly across Wallum Pond hill, so called, from a turnpike road that leads from Boston to Hartford, and also my half of the orchard on the west side of said highway, provided my said son James shall pay Two Hundred Dollars to my daughters hereinafter named, then to hold to him, the said James Howland, his heirs and assigns forever."

Therefore, together, James Howland and his father, Thomas Howland, purchased a farm, upon which James Howland resided until he sold it in 1834 or 1835, and lived with his son, Enoch Howland, who was the head of a family in the federal census of 1840 in Webster, Massachusetts, until his death on March 18, 1846, in Southbridge, Massachusetts, having lived a long life of 77 years.^[3] He was buried at Mount Zion Cemetery in Webster, Worcester County, Massachusetts.^[4]

DNA

• Paternal relationship is confirmed through Y-chromosome DNA STR and SNP testing. Anonymous Howland and Frank Howland match on 105 out of 111 markers and share 11 SNPs, as reported by Family Tree DNA. This confirms their direct paternal lines back to their most recent common ancestor, Henry Howland Sr.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed through Y-chromosome DNA test results on Family Tree DNA. Anonymous Howland, FTDNA kit # 861275, and his 6th cousin 1x removed, Howard Howland, FTDNA kit # 944338, match at a Genetic Distance of 4 on 111 markers, thereby confirming their direct paternal lines back to their most-recent common ancestor who is Samuel Howland, the 6x great grandfather of Anonymous Howland and 5x great grandfather of Howard Howland.

Sources

1. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L979-6488 : 20 May 2014), Worcester County, Douglas, Births, marriages, deaths 1766-1842, page 12, image 15 of 64; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 1790 United States Federal Census, Providence County, Rhode Island, population schedule, Glocester Township, page 246 (written), James Howland; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YY1-91NT: accessed 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M637, roll 10.
3. ↑ Massachusetts, Deaths, 1841-1915, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7BZ-K4R: accessed 2015); recording James Howland, 18 Mar 1846; citing Southbridge, Massachusetts, v 21 p 164, State Archives, Boston; Family History Library microfilm 959,808.
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 01 March 2021), memorial page for James Howland (14 Sep 1768 – 18 Mar 1846), Find a Grave Memorial no. 134125647, citing Mount Zion Cemetery, Webster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by New England Family (contributor 47735816).

See also:

• Howland, Franklyn, A brief genealogical and biographical history of Arthur, Henry, and John Howland and their descendants, of the United States and Canada : together with an account of the efforts made in England to learn of their English ancestry, etc.. New Bedford, Mass.: Howland, 1885, p. 185.

• Howland, Charles Roscoe. A Brief Genealogical and Biographical Record of Charles Roscoe Howland, Brothers, and Forebears. Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc., 1946. Print. Pages 65-66.

• 1800 United States Federal Census, Providence County, Rhode Island, population schedule, Glocester Township, page 115 (written), James Howland; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R8K-XYP: accessed 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M32, roll 45.

• 1810 United States Federal Census, Worcester County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Douglas Township, page 616 (written), James Howland; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYB4-FT3: accessed 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M252, roll 22.

• 1820 United States Federal Census, Worcester County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Douglas Township, page 26 (stamped), James Howland; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25121-77509-90: accessed 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M33, roll 54.

• 1830 United States Federal Census, Worcester County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Douglas Township, page 242 (written), James Howland; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYM-9VFD: accessed 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication: M19, roll 68.

• 1840 United States Federal Census, Worcester County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Webster Township, page 32 (stamped), Enoch Howland; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-25143-7380-20: accessed 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M704, roll 201.