John Howland (1679 - bef. 1708)

Born 26 Jul 1679 in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony

Ancestors

Died before 14 May 1708 before age 28 in Bristol, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

This profile is part of the Howland Name Study.

Birth

John Howland, son of Jabez and Bethia Howland, was born on July 26, 1679, in Plymouth, Plymouth County, Plymouth Colony, British America.^[1][2]

Marriage

He was believed to marry Martha Wardell.^[3] However, the current research found that he had never been married.

John⁴ Howland (Bethiah³ Thacher, Antony,² Rev Peter¹), born Plymouth, Mass., July 26th, 1679; he died at ----; date of death ----; previous to May 15th, 1748, as his brother Samuel⁴ Howland administered on his estate on that date.

Davis' Landmarks of Plymouth, p. 150, states that this John⁴ Howland married Martha Wardwell. This statement I think is in error. First because at the date of the record of marriage, October 24th, 1736, John⁴ Howland would have been 57 years old, which, while not impossible, is rather improbable for a first marriage, and no other marriage of his has been discovered by me after a somewhat exhaustive search.

Secondly, because John⁵ Howland (son of Samuel⁴ Howland), who was born September 27th, 1713, was of a suitable marriageable age on October 24th, 1736, to be the John Howland who married Martha Wardwell, and moreover because this John⁵ Howland's three sisters, Phebe,⁵ Mary⁵ and Mehitable⁵ Howland all married brothers of Martha Wardwell, thus showing a strong tendency of this generation and family of Howlands and Wardwells to intermarry; and the entries of the record of the marriages of John,⁵ Phebe,⁵ Mary⁵ and Mehitable⁵ Howland occur also in the books in such a manner as to suggest them to have been of one family while not specifically so stating.^[4]

Death

John Howland died before May 14, 1708^[5] because his father, Jabez Howland made the will, mentioned by name only the wife Betheah and the son Jabez, but the agreement of the heirs showed that the four sons who were to receive the estate after their mother's death were Jabez, Josiah, Samuel and Joseph, all living at Bristol. It also showed that a daughter Elizabeth had married Nathan Townsend of Newport, Rhode Island, and died, leaving an only son, Nathan Townsend. It proves John Howland died before his father made the will on 14 May 1708. Also, he definitely did not survive his father, nor have children who would have shared in his father's estate on February 21, 1711/12.

Sources

1. ↑ 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, pg. 328.
2. ↑ The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume XLII (42), 1911, New York City, New York: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, page 155.
3. ↑ William T. Davis, Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth: Part I. Historical Sketch and Titles of Estates. Part II. Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families, Boston: A. Williams and Company, 1883, page 150.
4. ↑ Totten, John R. Thacher-thatcher Genealogy. New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1910, pg. 161.
5. ↑ Lainhart, Ann Smith and Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, v. 23 (Family of John Howland), Plymouth, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2006, pg. 12.

• James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, (Originally published Boston 1860-62, reprinted April 1873 and 1884, reproduced by Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore 1981, Vol. 2, page 479.