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[Tentative] [Possible speculative daughter of Samuel Howland, Jr. and Hannah Franklin.] Request for a volunteer to take a mitochondrial DNA test for this unbroken female line to Freelove (Howland) Eldridge is fulfilled. Family Tree DNA has confirmed that Freelove (Howland) Eldridge's mtDNA haplogroup is T1a6.
The mitochondrial DNA results can benefit her descendants by determining whether Freelove Howland is the daughter of Samuel Howland and Freelove Seamans or the daughter of Samuel Howland, Jr., and Hannah Franklin.
This research requires a comparison of two or more descendants of a female ancestor, necessitating the need for volunteers as outlined below:
They need to match with the mtDNA haplogroup T1a6 of the female ancestor, Freelove (Howland) Eldridge.
The parents listed for this individual are speculative and may not be based on sound genealogical research. Sources to prove or disprove this ancestry are needed. Please contact the profile manager or leave the information on the bulletin board.
SPECULATIVE:
In 1885, the work of Franklyn Howland did not put Freelove Howland in the family of Samuel Howland and Freelove Seamans on pages 100–101. However, on page 128, the author included "Freelove M. Howland" in the family of Samuel Howland, Jr., and Hannah Franklin, but did not provide any additional details about her marital status or life outcomes.[1]
The identity of Freelove Howland had not been examined until about 61 years later, when a genealogist, Charles Roscoe Howland, had details on her and changed everything about her.[2] About 24 years later, another genealogist, Roberta I. Hendrix, agreed with his research.[3] They confirmed that Freelove Howland was indeed the daughter of Samuel Howland and Freelove Seamans.
In April of 1970, Roberta l. Hendrix, of Cazenovia, New York, published her article, "Parentage of Caleb Howland of Clarendon, VT," in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 124. She thought that Freelove Howland was the daughter of Samuel and Freelove Howland, but she was deceased and left no children before Samuel Howland‘s land was sold in 1797 because Freelove (Howland) Eldridge was not mentioned in the land record of the book. However, the exclusion of Freelove (Howland) Eldridge was never accompanied by an explanation.
If she was considered the deceased daughter as his heir and had any surviving children, they would still be considered Samuel Howland's heirs as his grandchildren and would be recorded on the deed of sale. In fact, Freelove (Howland) Eldridge was still alive because she gave birth to two girls sometime between 1797 and 1801, and two grandchildren would still be considered to be Samuel Howland's heirs, but the reason for their exclusion could not be explained.
It is possible that Freelove (Howland) Eldridge could be the daughter of Samuel Howland, Jr., and Hannah Franklin. In this case, she may not need to be included in the deed record as Samuel Howland, Jr., of Scituate, was already identified as the primary living heir of Samuel Howland.
If Freelove (Howland) Eldridge was thought to be the daughter of "Samuel Howland of Scituate," listed as the primary living heir in the 1797 deed, she could not have been the primary living heir because Samuel Howland, Jr. of Scituate had already been designated as the primary living heir of Samuel Howland. For example, only five living heirs were the grandchildren of the decedent, Samuel Howland, because Rhobe Place, Samuel Luther, and Stephen Kimball were the surviving children of the decedent, Mary (Howland) (Luther) Kimball, and Susanna Yates and Martha Aldrich were the married daughters of the decedents, Tabitha (Howland) and Laban Hopkins. Therefore, Mary (Howland) (Luther) Kimball and Tabitha (Howland) Hopkins were naturally the primary heirs of Samuel Howland, but they were already deceased, so his next heirs would become his only five grandchildren.
The research concludes that if Freelove Howland were alive, she would have to be Samuel Howland's granddaughter. This is because she was not listed in the deed record. If Freelove (Howland) Eldridge was not the next primary heir while Samuel Howland, Jr., and Hannah Franklin were alive, she could have been their daughter.
The recommended approach is to take an autosomal DNA test to check for matches with descendants from either Hannah Franklin’s or Freelove Seamans' siblings. To achieve the best results, it is essential to involve an older generation closer to either Hannah Franklin or Freelove Seamans within seven generations. We kindly request a volunteer to undergo the autosomal DNA test through Ancestry.com or Family TreeDNA. This process can assist in finding matches with descendants of either Franklin or Seamans through the DNA test. Please reach out to me if you discover a match with a descendant from the Franklin or Seamans family.
Samuel Howland and his wife, Freelove Seamans, lived and gave birth to their children between 1741 and 1748 in Swansea, Massachusetts Bay, Scituate, Rhode Island, or Barrington, Rhode Island (now part of Massachusetts); therefore, there is no record of Freelove Howland's birth in any of these locations. William Howland's birth was last documented in Scituate, Rhode Island, in 1748, since they had already relocated to Scituate, Rhode Island, in 1744. Following that, there is no further trace of Asahael, Caleb, or Freelove in Scituate, Rhode Island.
Freelove Howland's known daughter, Philinda Eldredge, was born in 1801. If Freelove (Howland) Eldredge's childbearing age typically ended between 40 and 44 in 1801, she would have been born between 1757 and 1761.
Mrs. Freelove (Seamans) Howland, the wife of Samuel Howland, was born in 1724, hence if she had given birth to Freelove Howland between 1757 and 1761, she could have done so within the range of 33 to 37 years old.[4]
However, the 1830 census record shows one unknown female child in her household who could potentially be her last child. Her age was marked in the column as age 10 through 15, so she would have been born between 1815 and 1820. If her childbearing should normally stop at her age range of 40 to 44, Mrs. Freelove (Howland) Eldredge would be born between 1771 and 1780.
Another possibility is that if she was born after Samuel Howland, Jr., and Hannah Franklin’s marriage on December 3, 1779, she would be about 16 years old when she married Caleb Eldridge on September 30, 1796. She might have followed the tradition of her grandmother, Freelove (Seamans) Howland, who married her grandfather when she was almost 16 years old. It is possible that she could have been the daughter of Samuel Howland, Jr., and Hannah Franklin.
The latest research reveals that Freelove Eldridge, age 78, born in Massachusetts, was found living in Burrillville, Rhode Island, on the 1850 federal census schedule on page 268b, and she was enumerated with other people in a poor house within the household of George W. Walling, age 46, who was a farmer and was born in Rhode Island.[5] It is consistent with her livelihood and the nearest residence of her younger daughter, Mrs. Philinda Eldredge.
This record may have suggested that Freelove Eldridge, age 78, could be the wife of the decedent, Caleb Eldredge, and the mother of two living daughters, Mrs. Orinda (Eldredge) Hicks and Mrs. Philinda (Eldredge) Smith.
Furthermore, her daughter, Philinda Eldredge, was already married to Randall Smith, a machinist, in about 1827. They were also listed with their eight children in Burrillville on the 1850 federal census schedule on page 236b.[6] They lived there from 1850 to 1874, but for unknown reasons, Freelove was placed in a poor house under the care of Mr. George W. Walling before 1850. However, her fate was unknown after 1850, suggesting that she passed away sometime after that year. She could have been buried in Burrillville or one of its neighboring towns.
Freelove Eldridge, who was 78 years old in 1850, would have been born in 1772. This means she was 24 years old when she married Caleb Eldredge in 1796. Therefore, she was born before the marriage of Samuel Howland, Jr. and Hannah Franklin in 1779. This would be five years before 1779. Thus, she could not have been their daughter.
Given that her mother would have to be 48 years old in 1772 to give birth to her, it seems improbable that she is the daughter of Samuel Howland and Freelove Seamans. Without modern fertility treatments, her fertility had decreased by the age of 48, making it impossible for her to have more children after turning 42. Her likelihood of getting pregnant decreased as fertility usually stopped with menopause, especially after reaching 42 years old.
In 1830, Freelove Eldridge was enumerated as the head of household in Mendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and her age was marked in the column of the age of 50 through 60. Also, in the household, there were 7 people, as the age/sex distribution and inferred attributions are as follows:[7]
Based on this record, it indicates that she was born between 1770 and 1780, while her husband, Caleb Eldridge, had passed away before 1830.
Although she is likely the daughter of Samuel Howland, Jr. and Hannah Franklin based on available records and sources, further research is needed to confirm her parentage.
The research finds two important signatures to attest the marriage record that provides the marriage date and marital status of the couple.
The entry in the vital records of Glocester, Rhode Island, read, "I Hereby Certify Mr. Caleb Eldridge and Mrs. Freelove Howland both of Glocester were lawfully Joined together in Marriag[e] on the 30th. Day September AD. 1796 by me the Subscriber William Bowen Elder. Reced. April 15th. AD. 1800 And Recorded by Richard Steere T. Clerk."[8][9]
Note that James N. Arnold published the vital records of Glocester in his book and printed two duplications of their marriage record with two different dates on pages 17 and 21, including a misprinted marriage date of 1769 on page 21. He misprinted the marriage date of 1769 on page 21, which did not match the original vital book of Glocester. The original marriage record revealed the actual marriage date on Book 1, page 185 of the vital records. The town clerk of Glocester confirmed that Caleb Eldridge and Freelove Howland were married on September 30, 1796.
Elder William Bowen of the Old Baptist Church wrote, “I Hereby Certify that Mr. Caleb Eldridge and Mrs. Freelove Howland both of Glocester were lawfully Joined together in Marriage on the 30th Day of September AD. 1796 by me William Bowen Elder.” He submitted the certificate to the town clerk to record it in the vital book.[10] (Mrs. is the feminine equivalent of Mr. It does not denote marital status but social position; a young girl coming from a higher-class family would also be called "Mrs.", even though unmarried.)
Either the Baptist minister or the Glocester town clerk had the marital status of the bride attached to her last name on the marriage record. The genealogists mistakenly believed that she first married a man and then became widowed, leading to a significant misunderstanding. Her maiden name would never have the marital status "Mrs." attached to it. Either of them, possibly due to being absent-minded or distracted, could have mistakenly made a significant error. Initially intending to do the right thing, he might have mistakenly entered the bride's marital status.
The autosomal DNA results show that she is genetically related to the Howland family, indicating that the name attached to her was her maiden name, and she was not a widow when she married him.
Children of Caleb Eldredge and Freelove Howland:
However, based on the 1810 and 1820 federal census records, it appears that Caleb Eldredge and Freelove Howland had at least two sons and one or two daughters in addition to their four known surviving daughters. The specific numbers and names of their additional children remain unknown.
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