Joseph Bernardo Howland (1824 - 1891)

Born May 1824 in Flores, Açores, Portugal

Husband of Rosella (Davis) Howland — married 3 Nov 1850 (to 31 Oct 1875) in Westport, Bristol County, Massachusetts

Husband of Almira A. (Tripp) Howland — married 27 Jun 1877 in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Husband of Mary Agnes (Leary) Howland — married 24 Apr 1879 in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 26 Jan 1891 at age 66 in New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts

Biography

This profile is part of the Howland Name Study.

Joseph Bernardo Howland was born in Flores, West Islands, considered part of Portugal. He married Rosella Davis in 1850 and Mary Agnes Leary in 1879. Mary was the wife of record in 1880 when the census occurred, but contrary to cursory appearances the three children are not hers. Records indicate he married Almira A Tripp on June 27, 1877. This would have been his second marriage and the marriage to Miss Leary his third, but that marriage record shows it as his second. He died of pneumonia in 1891.

Joseph Bernardo Howland’s birth record of 1824 in the Vital Records of New Bedford is based on G. R. 1, which is the gravestone record from the Rural Cemetery in New Bedford. His parentage is shown in the marriage records to Mary Leary and Agnes Tripp respectively. The Leary record shows his parents as Joseph Bernardo Howland and Anna Isabelle. The Tripp record has them as Joseph B. Howland and Ann Isabelle.

It may be that Joseph B. Howland and Captain Joseph Howland are one and the same. Captain Joseph Howland was the master of many merchant vessels that travelled to the Azores. His first wife Mehitable died in April of 1823, and he did not remarry until 1827 to Peace Kirby. From his first marriage he had a son born in 1787, and by the second marriage he had four children born between 1828 and 1834. He had two sons, neither named after him.^[1] During the time between marriages Captain Joseph Howland was at sea. It is possible that he fathered a child on one of his trips.

Many of the parish records for the Azores have been digitized and put online by the Azorean government. The baptismal records for both geographical areas on the small island of Flores: Santa Cruz das Flores and Lajes das Flores are on view. Although the Portuguese cursive is hard to read, there is an interesting record in the Parish of Fajãzinha in Lajes das Flores. It shows a boy Joseph Bernardo baptised May 1824, whose mother is listed as Anna Hownald. He appears listed as Joseph Jr. It is not clear whether the father is present. ^[2]

THE MIDDLE NAME BERNARDO - Where did the middle name Bernardo come from? It appears nowhere in any early Howland name. However, if by some chance, it was not meant to be Bernardo, but something similar, perhaps Barnabas. Captain Joseph Howland’s grandfather was Barnabas Howland, as was Joseph’s cousin by marriage Barnabas Rusell, merchant in New Bedford. Could the Captain have given this son the middle name Barnabas, only to have it written incorrectly by the priest doing the baptism on Flores? Written in cursive they look eerily the same.

If the Captain was married in New Bedford during the year 1827, would he want his new bride to know that he had a son out of wedlock in the Azores? Perhaps when that supposed son was grown, he might assist young Joseph in becoming a mariner, but wouldn’t he want to distance himself?

The Howlands were coming into wealth at the time. Just consider where Hetty Howland Robinson Greene got all her money. Captain Howland’s children, by both marriages, became well connected: Avery, Standish, Parker, Captain Eppendorf, James Ricketson, and further Howland intermarriage. This is all highly speculative, but there do exist some further avenues of research.

Sources

1. ↑ The Howland Heirs, by William M. Emery; published by E. Anthony and Sons, New Bedford, Mass, 1919. pp. 231, 232.
2. ↑ Fundos Paroquiais dos Açores (Inventário Genealógico) http://www.culturacores.azores.gov.pt/ig/registos/Default.aspx

• Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, Marriages in the Town of Westport, MA, Volume 45, page 100 of 615, Record 16 indicates: On November 3, 1850 Joseph B. Howland, 25, mariner, born on Flores ( Island, the Azores), married Rosella Davis, 18, born in New Bedford (MA). At the time they were both residents of Westport. This was the first marriage for both. Her parents were listed as Alfred and Anna Davis; his were not listed. Record entered by Geo. H. Gifford, Justice of the Peace.
• Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, Volume 425, Page 342 of 824, Record Number 324 indicates: On 14 Sep 1892 in Somerville, MA Edgar Job Pratt 36, a tinsmith of Somerville, and Annie Isabella Howland, (occupation: at home) of Somerville, were married by Rev. Chas. M. Smith of Somerville. This was the first marriage for each. Edgar son of Job Pratt and Susan Nichols was born in Cohasset, MA. Annie daughter of Joseph Howland and Rosella Davis was born in New Bedford, MA. This was recorded and certified on 15 Sep 1892 in Somerville, MA by George I. Vincent.
• Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, Marriages in the City of New Bedford, MA in 1879, page 119, Record 147 indicates: On April 24, 1879 Joseph Bernardo Howland, 54, clerk, born on Flores West Islands, married Mary Agnes Leary, 38, born in Ireland. At the time they were both residents of New Bedford. This was her first marriage and his second. His parents were listed as Joseph Bernardo Howland and Anna Isabelle. Her parents were listed as Dennis Leary and Anna Harrington. Marriage performed by James F. Clark, Asst. Priest.
• Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910, Marriages in the City of New Bedford, MA in 1877: On June 27, 1877 Joseph Bernardo Howland married Almira A Tripp. Parents of groom: Joseph B. Howland and Ann Isabelle. Her father was listed as Christopher Palmer.
• New Bedford, Massachusetts, Deaths for 1891, V. 418, p. 195, no. 60. Joseph B. Howland, M(ale), M(arried), died January 26, 1891, 66y 8m, cause pneumonia, (POB) Azores, (FPOB) Azores, (MPOB) Azores.
• US Census 1880 - Schedule 1. Inhabitants in New Bedford, in the County of Bristol, State (Commonwealth) of Massachusetts, enumerated by me on the 7 (th) day of June, 1880. M. C. Rodgers, Enumerator. Page No. 21, Supervisor’s Dist. No. 60, Enumeration Dist. No. 115. 181 Allen Street, New Bedford, MA

Howland, Joseph B. - M - 56 -(Hus.) - Clerk - POB Portugal (Flores, W. Isles)

(2nd wife) , Mary - F - 39 - wife - Housekpg - POB Ireland

Howland, Edgar J. - M - 20 - son - Barber - POB Mass

Howland, Willie A. - M - 12 - son - at school - POB Mass

Howland, Annie I. - F - 9 - daughter - - POB Mass