John Howland
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John Howland (1674 - 1738)

John Howland
Born in Barnstable, Plymouth Colonymap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1704 [location unknown]
Husband of — married 18 Jun 1719 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Province of Massachusetts Baymap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 63 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts Baymap
Profile last modified | Created 12 Sep 2010
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Contents

Biography

This profile is part of the Howland Name Study.

The work of James Savage in 1860 discusses about the father of John³ Howland and his family.

"John, Barnstable, eldest s. of the preced. m. 26 Oct. 1651, Mary, d. of Robert Lee, and prob. Mary; Eliz. b. 17 May 1655 ; Lydia, 9 Jan. 1665 ; Experience, 18 July 1668 ; Ann, 9 Sept. 1670 ; Shubael, 30 Sept. 1672 ; and John, 32 Dec. 1674. He liv. first at Marshfield, but at B. spent most of his days, was lieut. and selectman."[1]

The work of William Thomas Davis in 1883 provides information about the family of John³ (John², John¹ Howland of Mayflower).

"John, Barnstable, son of above, by a 1st wife, had George Gill, 1705, m. Abigail Crocker; Hannah, 1708; Mary, 1711; Joanna, 1715. He m., 2d, 1719, Mary Crocker, and had John, 1721, m. a d. of Daniel Lewis of Pembroke; and Job, 1726"[2]

The work of Franklyn Howland in 1885 expands the information about the biography of John³ (John², John¹ Howland of Mayflower) and his issues.[3]

"John,³ (John,² John,¹) born 31, 12, 1764 [sic], in Barnstable; m. 1st, Abigail Crocker, writes one, another says Mary Walker;*{footnote: I have no doubt it was Abigail Crocker.} m. 2d, 11, 6, 1719. Mary Crocker,†{footnote: William and Mary Crocker had a son Job, b. 9, 3, 1644, who was probably the father of Mary.} b. 29, 6, 1681. John lived and died in Barnstable. His will, in which all his children are mentioned, was dated 8, 2, 1738, and proved 29, 3, 1738. The estate inventoried £1088 8s. His will says, "My will is that if my son John should fail of being brought up to college, then he shall become an equal partner with my son Job in the real estate." His son John graduated at Harvard. Children (from Barnstable T.R.):
i. George Gill, b. 30, 12, 1705: d. —; m. Abigail Crocker.
ii. Hannah, b. 2, 2, 1708; d. 1738, unmarried.
iii. Mary, b. 11, 8, 1711; d. 1738, unmarried.
iv. Joanna, b. 26, 1, 1715; d. —; m. 1st, 12, 4, 1750, James Lewis (his 3d wife); m. 2d, 28, 12, 1752, John Allen, of Hingham.
Children by second wife:
v. John, b. 13, 2, 1721: d. 4, 11, 1804.
vi. Job, b. 18, 6, 1726; d. 1, 5, 1794."

Identity of First Wife

The work of William Thomas Davis correctly provides information about the unknown identity of the first wife of John Howland because he probably has consulted the Barnstable Town Record to find out the identity of John Howland's wife.

The Barnstable Town Record Volume 1 Part B on page 417 says:

"John Howland Junr
his Son George Born 30 Decem 1705
his Daughter Hannah born 2 of Feb 1708
Mary August 11th 1711
Joannah Born ye 8th Day of Janury 1715"[4]

However, the work of Franklyn Howland on page 331 is in error to identify the first wife of John Howland to be Abigail Crocker or Mary Walker.[3]

The identity of the first wife of John³ Howland can be found in North Purchase and Proprietors Record.

"20 May 1714. Josiah Howland for what Land is due Joannah the wife of John Howland whose maiden name was Shove, Pitches to take it Joyning to what he hath already Pitch for that is due to his wife between the first Minister's Lot and Briant's Lott." (Vol. V, Page 20, North Purchase and Proprietors Records).

"17 May 1715. John Howland and Josiah Howland May the 17, 1715 Pitches for what Land that may conveniently Have Joyning to what they have already Pitcht for near the ministry Lott on the sixty acre division." (Vol. V, Page 34, North Purchase and Proprietors Records).

The above identifies Joanna Shove, a sister of Yet Mercy Shove, as the wife of a John Howland. This John³ Howland made his will Feb. 8,1737-8.[5] There were two daughters, Mary and Joanna, by his 1st wife, who were single. Concerning them, he made the following special bequest: "to my Other two Daughters Mary and Joanna all the household goods that came by their own Mother to be Equally Divided between them."

The above identifies Joanna Shove as the 1st wife of John³ Howland.

Identity of Second Wife

Both works of William Thomas Davis and Franklyn Howland are correct to identify the second wife of John Howland to be Mary Crocker. The Barnstable Town Record Volume I Part B on page 417 continues:

"By his 2nd Wife Mary Crocker
his Son John Howland born 13 of Feb 1720/21
his Son Job Howland in June 1726"[4]

Children

Children of John Howland and his first wife, Joanna Shove, all born in Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay:
  1. George Howland, b. 30 December 1705.
  2. Hannah Howland, b. 2 February 1708.
  3. Mary Howland, b. 11 August 1711.
  4. Joannah Howland, b. 8 January 1715.
Children of John Howland and his second wife, Mary Crocker, all born in Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay:
  1. John Howland, b. 13 February 1720/21.
  2. Job Howland, b. June 1726.

Burial

John Howland was buried at West Barnstable Cemetery in West Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts Bay.[6]

The stone is broken off at the base and is in very poor condition. The inscription on the stone is damaged as follows:

[HERE LYES] INTERRED
[Ye BODY OF] MR.
[JOH]N HOWLAND
[DEC'D] FEB'RY Ye
[14th 173]8
[IN Ye 63d YEAR]
[OF HIS AGE.]

Probate

John Howland signed his will on 8 February 1737/38, and his will was proved on 20 February 1737/[38] in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Bay.[7]

Sources

  1. Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register, in Four Volumes. Vol. II. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1860, p. 480.
  2. Davis, William T. Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth: Part I. Historical Sketch and Titles of Estates. Part II. Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families. Boston: A. Williams and Co, 1883, p. 151 - 152.
  3. 3.0 3.1 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, p. 331.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Barnstable Town Record, Volume I, Book B. 2003 transcription by Eben Lennart Johnson, Ph.D., p. 417.
  5. Probate Records, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Vol. V, pp. 326 - 328.
  6. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 20 December 2019), memorial page for John Howland (14 Apr 1687 – 14 Feb 1738), Find A Grave Memorial no. 5762154, citing West Barnstable Cemetery, West Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Kevin Murphy (contributor 46486461).
  7. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9069/images/007705401_00529.

See also:

  • The Snow-Estes Ancestry, Volume One: The Snow Family, by Nora E. Snow, compiled by Myrtle M. Jillson, Hillburn, New York, 1939.




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree: It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with John:

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Comments: 2

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Howland-168 and Howland-32 appear to represent the same person because: Why two profiles are having same birth date and death date? Please review them careful before merging them. Make sure to avoid the duplicating. Thank you.
posted by Anonymous Howland
Given what's described in the narrative, should we detach Abigail Crocker as spouse and mother of any children?
posted by Jillaine Smith

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