John How (1785 - 1816)

Descendants

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Biography

Name

John How Hunshaw

Note

John How, Yeoman farmer of Hunshaw Torrington. "Fell off horse" (killed in a kicking match). Dates 1780/90 - 1810/20? {Source 1}

Source 12 lists "Huntshaw", a parish in Devon since 1746, three miles NE of Great Torrington, population 312 in 1831. The parish of Great Torrington in Devon was established in 1616. It is 34 miles NW of Exeter. Population 3083 in 1831.

Dates 1785/1816 on tombstone. {Source 16}

John, born 1783, may have inherited the farm called Hunshaw from his father John. A portrait in miniature of his father shows a square-faced, worldly looking man of about fifty. He has large dark eyes and a fringe of grey hair. A miniature of his wife shows a worried looking little woman. She could be older than her husband. There are no dates or names on the miniatures.

Miniatures of John Howe of Hunshaw and his wife Maria (née Norman) could have been painted by the same artist at about the same time. The younger generation are obviously in their twenties, and as the younger John was dead by the time he was twenty-four [34? DBH], perhaps it was painted to celebrate his majority or his wedding to Maria or both. The miniature of John Howe of Hunshaw shows a young man with dark wavy hair, light eyes, a shapely nose and a sensitive, yet rakish expression.

There is a headstone for John Howe, Yeoman Farmer of Hunshaw. But it is not to be seen beside the other Howes in Little Torrington churchyard. It is leaning against an outside wall of the church, covered by several others. Could this be because John Howe came to an untimely end in a kicking match while under the influence of drink? In my [MPH's] branch of the family (descended from his younger son George), this story was softened into a version that made him die after a fall from a horse. But it is admitted that he was drunk at the time. The version handed down by descendents of his older son Thomas is more likely. Thomas and George [his sons] were both under five on that fatal night in 1817 when their father was killed. {Source 18}

Was he born 1780/90 {Source 1}, 1785 {Source 16} or 1783 {Source 18}?

Did he die in 1810/20 {Source 1}, "1812 probly" (pencilled in on {Source 1}, 1816 {Source 16} or 1817 {Source 18}. He could not have been "dead by the time he was twenty-four" if he was born in 1783 had a son in 1813.

Was his name How {Source 1} or Howe {Source 18}? What does the tombstone say?

Sources

Source 1

Typewritten tree photocopied from a photocopy owned by MGH. Original produced by MPH. Handwritten annotations by MGH and DBH. Three pages. I think the original copy of this is what {Source 13} refers to as "the 1962 one you have seen".

Source 12

Book of places in Britain. Family History Centre, Mormon church, Exhibition Road, London SW1.

Source 16

Letter, trees and notes returned by MPH. Dated 14 Sep 1993, 22 Sep 1993.

Source 18

Howe family history by MPH. Photocopied by DBH 1993 from photocopy made by MGH from original. MPH has since rewritten it (1993).

Acknowledgements

• UNKNOWN-231430 was created by Denis Howe through the import of Howe.ged on Mar 9, 2014.