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Note: N14516 John Howland
ORIGIN: Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire.
MIGRATION: 1620 on the Mayflower.
FIRST RESIDENCE: Plymouth.
FREEMAN: In the 1633 list of Plymouth freemen John Howland is near the head of the list, among the Assistants [PCR 1:3]. In the 6 March 2636/7 list of Plymouth Colony freemen [PCR] 1:52]. In the Plymouth Colony freemen [PCR 5:274, 8:173, 197]
EDUCATION: His inventory included "1 great Bible and Annotations on the 5 Books of Moses" valued at £1 and "Mr Tindall's Works, Mr. Wilson's Works, 7 more books" valued at £1.
OFFICES: Plymouth Colony Assistant, 1 January 1632/3, 1 January 1633/4, 1 January 1634/5 [PCR 1:5, 21, 32].
BIRTH: By about 1592 (based on age at death), son of Henry and Margaret (_____) Howland of Fenstanton.
DEATH: Plymouth 23 February 1672/3 "above Eighty years" [PCR 8:34].
MARRIAGE: Plymouth by about 1624 Elizabeth Tilley, baptized Henlow, Bedfordshire, 30 August 1607, daughter of John Tilley [PM462]. She died at Swansea 22 December 1687, aged eighty [SwVR27]...
ASSOCIATIONS: Brother of Henry Howland [PM 275] and Authur Howland [NGSQ 71:84].
http://www.themayflowersociety.com/pilgrim.htm
Mayflower Compact 1620
Agreement Between the Settlers at New Plymouth : 1620
IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience.
IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620.
Mr. John Carver
Mr. William Bradford
Mr Edward Winslow
Mr. William Brewster
Isaac Allerton
Myles Standish
John Alden
John Turner
Francis Eaton
James Chilton John Craxton
John Billington
Moses Fletcher
John Goodman
Mr. Samuel Fuller
Mr. Christopher Martin
Mr. William Mullins
Mr. William White
Mr. Richard Warren
John Howland
Mr. Steven Hopkins Digery Priest
Thomas Williams
Gilbert Winslow
Edmund Margesson
Peter Brown
Richard Britteridge
George Soule
Edward Tilly
John Tilly
Francis Cooke Thomas Rogers
Thomas Tinker
John Ridgdale
Edward Fuller
Richard Clark
Richard Gardiner
Mr. John Allerton
Thomas English
Edward Doten
Edward Liester
JOHN HOWLAND'S WILL AND INVENTORY.
Transcribed from the original records,
BY GEORGE ERNEST BOWMAN
John Howland died at Plymouth, on the twenty third of February 1672 - 3 and his will and inventory were recorded in the Plymouth Colony Wills and Inventories, Volume III, Part I, pages 49 to 54.
[p. 49] The Last Will and Testament of mr John howland of Plymouth late Deceased, exhibited to the Court held att Plymouth the fift Day of March Anno Dom 1672 on the oathes of mr Samuell ffuller and mr Willam Crow as followeth
Know all men to whom these prsents shall Come That I John howland senir of the Towne of New Plymouth in the Collonie of New Plymouth in New England in America, this twenty ninth Day of May one thousand six hundred seaventy and two being of whole mind, and in Good and prfect memory and Remembrance praised be God; being now Grown aged; haveing many Infeirmities of body upon mee; and not Knowing how soon God will call mee out of this world, Doe make and ordaine these prsents to be my Testament Containing herein my last Will in manor and forme following;
Imp I Will and bequeath my body to the Dust and my soule to God that Gave it in hopes of a Joyfull Resurrection unto Glory; and as Concerning my temporall estate, I Dispose therof as followeth;
Item I Doe give and bequeath unto John howland my eldest sonne besides what lands I have already given him, all my Right and Interest To that one hundred acrees of land graunted mee by the Court lying on the eastern side of Taunton River; between Teticutt and Taunton bounds and all the appurtenances and privilidges Therunto belonging, I belonge to him and his heires and assignes for ever; and if that Tract should faile, then to have all my Right title and Interest by and in that Last Court graunt to mee in any other place, To belonge to him his heires and assignes for ever;
Item I give and bequeath unto my son Jabez howland all those my upland and Meddow That I now posesse at Satuckett and Paomett, and places adjacent, with all the appurtenances and privilidges, belonging therunto, and all my right title and Interest therin, To belonge to him his heires and assignes for ever,
Item I Give and bequeath unto my son Jabez howland all that my one peece of land that I have lying on the southsyde of the Mill brooke, in the Towne of Plymouth aforsaid; be it more or lesse; and is on the Northsyde of a feild that is now Gyles Rickards senir To belonge to the said Jabez his heires and assignes for ever;
Item I give and bequeath into Isacke howland my youngest sonne all those my uplands and meddowes Devided and undivided with all the appurtenances and priviliges unto them belonging, lying and being in the Towne of Middlebery, and in a tract of Land Called the Majors Purchase neare Namassakett Ponds; which I have bought and purchased of Willam White of Marshfeild in the Collonie of New Plymouth; which may or shall appeer by any Deed or writing that is Given under the said Whites hand all such Deeds or writinges Together with the aformensioned prticulares To belonge to the said Isacke his heires and assignes for ever;
Item I give and bequeath unto my said son Isacke howland the one halfe of my twelve acree lott of Meddow That I now have att Winnatucsett River within the Towne of Plymouth aforsaid To belonge to him the said Isacke howland his heires and assignes for ever,
Item I Will and bequeath unto my Deare and loveing wife Elizabeth howland the use and benifitt of my now Dwelling house in Rockey nooke in the Township of Plymouth aforsaid, with the outhousing lands, That is uplands [p. 50] uplands and meadow lands and all appurtenances and privilidges therunto belonging in the Towne of Plymouth and all other Lands housing and meddowes that I have in the said Towne of Plymouth excepting what meadow and upland I have before given To my sonnes Jabez and Isacke howland During her naturall life to Injoy make use of and Improve for her benifitt and Comfort;
Item I Give and bequeath unto my son Joseph howland after the Decease of my loveing wife Elizabeth howland my aforsaid Dwelling house att Rockey nooke together with all the outhousing uplands and Meddowes appurtenances and privilidges belonging therunto; and all other housing uplands and meddowes appurtenances and privilidges That I have within the aforsaid Towne of New Plymouth excepting what lands and meadowes I have before Given To my two sonnes Jabez and Isacke; To belong to him the said Joseph howland To him and his heires and assignes for ever;
Item I Give and bequeath unto my Daughter Desire Gorum twenty shillings
Item I Give and bequeath To my Daughter hope Chipman twenty shillings
Item I Give and bequeath unto my Daughter Elizabeth Dickenson twenty shillings
Item I Give and bequeath unto my Daughter Lydia Browne twenty shillings
Item I Give & bequeath to my Daughter hannah Bosworth twenty shillings
Item I Give and bequeath unto my Daughter Ruth Cushman twenty shillings
Item I Give to my Grandchild Elizabeth howland The Daughter of my son John howland twenty shillings
Item my will is That these legacyes Given to my Daughters, be payed by my exequitrix in such species as shee thinketh meet; Item I will and bequeath unto my loveing wife Elizabeth howland, my Debts and legacyes being first payed, my whole estate: viz: lands houses goods Chattles; or any thinge else that belongeth or appertaineth unto mee, undisposed of be it either in Plymouth Duxburrow or Middlbery or any other place whatsoever; I Doe freely and absolutly give and bequeath it all to my Deare and loveing wife Elizabeth howland whom I Doe by these prsents, make ordaine and Constitute to be the sole exequitrix of this my Last will and Testament to see the same truely and faithfully prformed according to the tenour therof; In witnes wherof the said John howland senir have heerunto sett my hand and seale the aforsaid twenty ninth Day of May, one thousand six hundred seaventy and two 1672
Signed and sealed in the John howland prsence of Samuell ffuller And a seale Willam Crow
Mayflower passenger John Howland died on 23 February 1672, which could also be recorded as 23 February 1672/73, and in New Style becomes 4 March 1673.
John Howland of the Mayflower Volume 3
The Descendants of John Howland of the Mayflower for Five Generations Volume 3 Through his Third Child Hope Howland, wofe of John Chipman John Howland and his wife, Elizabeth Tilley
John Howland of Fenstanton, England, was an adventurous young man who left his home before 1620, to seek fame and fortune in London. There he met a wealthy Londoner, Mr John Carver, who was about to sail on the famous ship Mayflower, which left Plymouth, England in the autumn of 1620, bound for far away North America. Mr Carver, who would be the first governor of New Plimoth Colony, hired John Howland as his indentured manservant. As the ship lay at anchor in Cape Cod Bay. 11 November 1620, after a long, tiring voyage, John Howland was the thirteenth man to sign the MAYFLOWER COMPACT, the agreement which laid the foundation for the new town which the able-bodied men on board the Mayflower planned to build when the group went ashore at what was to become Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.
Fenstanton, where John Howland, the son of Henry and Margaret Howland, was reared, is a town nine miles northwest of Cambridge, on the old Roman Road. No baptismal record has been found for John Howland but he was said to have been “above eighty years” when he died in Rocky Nook, now in Kingston but then in Plymouth, 23 February 1672. This would indicate that his year of birth was about 1592. His father Henry Howland, yeoman, died in Fenstanton, 17 May 1635, and his mother Margaret, was buried there 31 July 1629. The identity of this family is proved by the probate records of John’s brother, Humphrey Howland, a draper, who settled in St. Swinthin’s Parish in London. Humphrey Howland, in his will written in London 28 May 1646 and proved 10 July 1646 by his second wife, Anne, mentioned his brothers, Arthur, John and Henry, his sister Margaret, wife of Richard Phillips of Fenstanton, shoemaker, his “nephew,” Simon Howland, and his “niece.”Hannah Howland, Simon’s Sister. Additional information about John Howland’s family is found in the records of the intestate estate of another brother, George Howland, a merchant of St. Dunstan’s, East London, who had died two years earlier, 10 February 1643/4. His estate was administered by Humphrey Howland’s wife, Anne, 11 July 1646. Simon Howland was baptized in Fenstanton 19 August 1604, called “son of Henrye,” and was probably the Simon Howland who was apprenticed 19 March 1622, to Humphrey Howland. “Citizen and draper of London.”
Eventually, two of John Howland’s brothers followed John to Plymouth. When Henry Howland, the youngest brother, left Fenstanton, he first went to London where he was apprenticed to his brother, Humphrey Howland. Henry’s name is found there on the Roll of the Drapers Company, dated 1 October 1623. But less than ten years later, Henry is found at Plymouth where he was taxed 25 March 1633. Soon after, John’s oldest brother, Arthur Howland, followed his younger brothers to New England where he was listed by Thomas Lechford, 28 August 1640, as “of Duxbury in New England, Planter,” Thus the progenitors of three separate Howland families arrived in Plymouth Colony during the first twenty years of its existence, making it difficult to sort out and identify their many descendants.
John Howland of the Mayflower was called by Governor William Bradford “A lusty younge man.” He was one of the hired hands among the Mayflower company, being neither a “Saint,” as the Pilgrims were called, nor a “Stranger,” engaged for a specific duty, as was the soldier, Captain Myles Standish.” During the voyage across the North Atlantic, the Mayflower was buffeted by severe autumn storms during which she was forced to drop her sails and head into the wind, wallowing in the mountainous waves. John Howland ventured on deck and was washed overboard into the boiling sea. In Govenor Bradford’s words, “It pleased God that he caught hould of ye halliards which hunge over board, and rane out at length; bet he was held up…and then with a boat hooke and other means got into ye ship again.” It was this tenacity of purpose, perseverance, and the ability to deal with unexpected emergencies that helped John Howland to become a successful leader in the Plymouth community.
The Carver family with whom John lived, survived the terrible sickness of the first winter, during which many Pilgrims died. But the following spring, on an unusually hot day in April, Governor Carver, according to Bradford, came out of his cornfield feeling ill. He passed into a coma and “never spake more.” His wife, Kathrine, died soon after her husband. The Carvers had no children. For this reason, John Howland is thought to have inherited their estate. It has been said that he immediately “bought his freedom” but no record has survived.
On or about what was then New Year’s Day, 25 March 1623 (old style), John Howland married his fellow Mayflower passenger, Elizabeth Tilley. Elizabeth was baptized at Henlow, Huntingdonshire, England, 30 August 1607, the fifth and youngest child of a silk-weaver named John Tilley, and his wife, Joan (Hurst) Rogers. Elizabeth was the only child of her parents recorded as coming with them to America. At the time of her marriage she was not quite sixteen years of age.
The early records of the Colony of New Plymouth contain an account of the Division of Land in 1623, in which John Howland, as head of a household, received four acres “on the Southside of the brook to the woodward.” According to one researcher, John Howland was given one share (or acre) in his own right and three shares for his wife, Elizabeth Tilley, and her deceased parents, John and Joan Tilley. But Frankly Howland, author of The History of Arthur, Henry and John Howland and Their Descendants, states that Governor Carver’s family consisted of John Carver, himself, his wife, Kathrine, John Howland, Desire Minter, a man servant named Roger Wilder, a boy Jasper More, a boy, William Latham, and an unnamed servant maid. When Elizabeth Tilley’s parents, John and Joan Tilley, and her uncle, Edward Tilley, died during the first winter, Elizabeth became part of the Carver household. Roger Wilder, the man servant, died the first winter. Governor Carver died a few months later, in April 1621, and his wife died in May 1621. The Boy Jasper More, died 6 December 1621, and the servant maid died soon after. That left John Howland as the head of the household containing four people, the other three being Elizabeth Tilley, Desire Minter, and the lad, William Latham. This would give John Howland, as head of the household, four shares in the Division of Land in 1623.
Desire Minter, one of the members of John Howland’s household, had come in the Mayflower with the Carvers. Desire must have been no more than fifteen years of age when she arrived in Plymouth. She was the daughter of William and Sarah (Willet) Minter, members of the group of Separatists living in Holand. Her father, William Minter, died before 1618, and her mother, Sarah, married Roger Symondsen in Leiden, 18 August 1618. Roger was accompanied to his wedding by his friends, Daniel Fairfield and John Carver. It was this same John Carver in whose care Desire Minter sailed in the Mayflower for Plymouth in 1620. Desire’s mother was widowed a second time and, before 10 May 1622, she married her third husband, Roger Eastman. On that date Roger and Sarah Eastman signed an agreement with Thomas Brewer, the philantropist who had supported Elder William Brewster’s printing press in Leiden. In the agreement Thomas Brewer of Leiden was entrusted with 1,900 guilders to be invested, out of which he was to pay 120 guilders annually for the benefit and support of Desire Minter, Sarah’s child by her first husband. Payment was to continue until the child reached the age of twenty-one. The contract was drawn up in the presence of John Kebel and William Jepson
Thomas Brewer returned to England where he was arrested for his support of the Pilgrim Separatists. On 20 October 1623, Roger Eastman, Sarah’s third husband, authorized John Kebel and William Jepson to collect Desire Minter’s money from Thomas Brewer, who was in prison at this time. This would seem to confirm that Desire Minter was about fifteen years old when she traveled to Plymouth with John Carver and his wife, Kathrine, in 1620. She was still a minor when her mother and step-father, Sarah and Roger Eastman, signed the second contract in Leiden in 1623. Therefore she was still under twenty-one, when she was living in the household of the newly married John and Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland at the time the Division of Land was made in 1623.
A few years later, Desire Minter returned to England, perhaps to claim her inheritance. She may have rejoined her mother and stepfather there for, on 1 December 1623, Roger and Sarah Eastman obtained a notarized statement of good character from Thomas Nashe and William Jepson, when they were planning to leave Leiden. According to Bradford, Desire “proved not very well and dyed [sic] in England.” John and Elizabeth Howland were very fond of Desire Minter and named their first child “Desire,” in her honor.
When the division of Cattle was made 1 June 1627, (new style), only forty-two of the original group of ninety-nine people who reached Plymouth in the Mayflower in 1620 were still living there. All of the members of each family were listed in Bradford’s records, including John and Elizabeth Howland, who now had two children, Desire and John, Jr., Eight more children were born to them, named Hope, Elizabeth, Lydia, Hannah, Joseph, Jabez, Ruth and Isaac, making a total of ten children in all.
After the first difficult years, John Howland and his fellow settlers successfully raised good crops of grain and found they had enough left over to trade with the Indians and seafarers. As early as 1625. Governor William Bradford, in his account of the early years of Plimoth Plantation, said, “And so to blese ther labours, and they had corne sufficient, (and some to spare to others,) with other foode…After Harvest this year, they sende out a boats load of corne 40, or 50, leagues to ye eastward, up a river called Kenibeck; it being one of those 2, shalops which their carpenter had built them ye year before…But God preserved them and gave them good success, for they brought back home 700. of beaver besides some other furs, having little or nothing els [to trade] but this corne, which themselves had raised out of the earth. This viage was made by Mr. Winslow & some of ye old standards, for seamen they hand none.”
John Howland, Bradford’s “lusty younge man,” must have been one of the old “standards” who accompanied Edward Winslow to Kennebec on this first trading mission, for he was chosen the following year, in 1626, by William Bradford, Isaac Allerton and Myles Standish, as one of their partners, or undertakers, when they were granted a monopoly of Plimoth Colony’s trade. The purpose of the monopoly was to enable Plymouth Colony to pay off the debt of £1800 which the Colony owned to the Merchant Adventures of London. As a partner, John Howland was also one of the forty-two colonists who assumed that debt in 1626. Isaac Allerton, one of the partners, was sent to London to obtain a patent which would give them the legal right to the Kennebec trading post. This was described as being “far to the northward,” on the Kennebec River, which is now the location of Augusta, Maine. Even through official permission had not yet been obtained from London, John Howland was put in charge of the trading post and a brisk trade developed there in beaver, otter and other furs gathered by the Indians. With John Howland’s demanding responsibilities at the Kennebec trading post, he may have brought his family to Maine for short periods during these years, from 1627 until about 1633, and some of his children may have been born there.
Governor William Bradford, in his history, Of Plimoth Plantation, tells us that Isaac Allerton was sent to London with furs and commodities to pay some of Plymouth Colony’s debts and to purchase new supplies. When Allerton returned in 1628 he also brought back “a patente for Kenebeck but it was so straite & ill bounded, as they were faine to renew & enlarge it the next year.” Although the Pilgrims were dissatisfied with the patent in 1628, “they now erected a house up above in ye river in ye most convenient place for trade…both winter & somer, not only with corne but alsoe…coats, shirts, rugs & blankets, biskett, pease, prunes, &c, and what they could not have out of England they bought of the fishing ships and so carried on the business as best they could.” Later that year, in 1628, Allerton was again sent back to England with instructions to “enlarge” the Kennebeck Patent but he could not get a hearing with the Counsel in London and does not seem to have completed the assignment.
The patent which Allerton had obtained from the Counsel in 1628 gave William Bradford, “his heires, associates and assignes, All that tracte of land…which adjoyneth to ye river of Kenebeck, towards the western ocean, and a place called ye falls of Nequamkick in America, aforesaid; and ye space of 15. English myles on each side of ye said river, commonly called Kenebeck River…and to take, apprehend, seise, and make prise of all persons, their ships and goods, and shall attempte to inhibite or trade with ye savage people of that countrie within ye several precincts and limits.”
This patent lead to an unfortunate altercation in 1633 or early 1634, when John Hocking of the Plantation of Piscataway, in East Jersey, attempted to sail up the Kennebec River toward the Falls, to intercept the Indians coming down to Plymouth Plantation’s trading post. John Hocking and his friends anchored in the river and refused to leave. Governor Prence, in his report on the incident, dated Plymouth, 1634, stated that John Howland went up to John Hocking “with our barke and charged the said Hocking to waye his ankors and depart.” John Hocking refused. After a long argument, “Mr Howland bid three of his men goe cutt his Cable whose names were John Irish, Thomas Savory & William Rennoles.” The men, who were in a canoe, managed to cut one cable but, because of the strong current, had trouble with the other. John Howland asked Moses Talbott to go with them in the canoe. When they had reached the other cable, Hocking was on his deck with a carbine and a pistol. The tide swung the canoe near Hocking’s bow and Hocking pointed his gun “almost to Moyses Talbotts head, with mr Howland seeing, called to him desiring him not to shut his man but take himselfe for his mark saying his men did but that which hee commanded them and therefore deseired him not to hurt any of them…but Hocking…p’sently shooteth Moyses in the head,…but the lord stayed him from doing any further hurt [and] by a shot from our barke, himselfe was presently stroke dead being shott neare the same place in the head wher he had murderously shot Moyses,”
John Alden arrived at the Kennebec Trading Post from Plymouth soon after Moses Talbot and John Hocking had been killed. John Hocking’s companions had already left the Kennebec River, and had sent word home to the officials in Piscataway, in the Jerseys, and to Boston, in Massachusetts, USA Bay Colony, that Hocking had killed Moses Talbot first. When John Alden’s boat stopped at Boston on its return voyage to Plymouth, John Alden was arrested and held in Jail for some time. Capt. Myles Standish was sent to Boston by PlymouthColony “to give [the authorities] true information (and some letters),” to obtain Alden’s release. Capt. Standish was asked to produce a copy of the Kennebec Patent in court, 3 June 1634. the court then ruled that John Hocking had been at fault and that the Kennebec Patent was valid, allowing Plymouth Colony to have sole right to trade on the Kennebec River.
In 1633 John Howland was listed as a freeman of Plymouth, but was not yet listed as a member of the Board of Assistants. On 27 March 1634, he was chosen as a member of the committee to set the [tax] rates for Plymouth Colony, and one year later, 3 March 1634/5, he was named an Assistant, perhaps as a reward for the good work he had done at the Kennebec Trading Post. He “viewed” land in Plymouth, 2 March 1635/6, and represented Duxbury in a meeting, 14 March 1635/6, and again 7 June 1637. [Duxbury was formed from Plymouth in 1637.] On 5 October 1636, he bought the services of George Kenrick for one year, as an indentured servant.
In 1641, 1645, 1647 and 1648 “Mr. John Howland” represented Plymouth at the General Court. In August 1643 he and his son, John Jr., were both listed among the men in Plymouth, aged 16 to 60, who were able to bear arms. In 1641 and 1644, from 1647 to 1651, John Howland was one of the assessors of Plymouth. In 1650 he was a surveyor of highways. In 1652 and 1659, and from 1661 and 1644, and from 1647 to 1651, John Howland was one of the assessors of Plymouth. In 1650 he was a surveyor of highways. In 1652 and 1659, and from 1661 to 1668 he was a selectman in Plymouth. On 1658 he was again listed as a freeman of Plymouth.
John Howland’s business ventures had clearly been successful. On 2 February 1638/9, he paid John Jenny #82 for his dwelling house and land in the area of Plymouth called Rocky Nook. One year later, 2 April 1640, he sold his house and land in Duxbury to William Kemp. [Rocky Nook is now in Kingston, which was formed from Plymouth in 1726.] John Jenny’s house had been built in 1628. It was there that John and Elizabeth Howland lived until John’s death in 1672/3, as is proven by his will.
In 1639 the Old Comers were given a choice of several additional plantations for themselves and their heirs, around Yarmough, Dartmouth and Rehoboth. Part of the land which John Howland chose was in Yarmouth, out on Cape Cod, where his daughters, Desire (Howland) Gorham and Hope (Howland) Chipman, settled. He gave his son, John, Jr., land near by in Barnstable.
John Howland also owned a tract of land in Marshfield. Among the deeds that have survived the vicissitudes of time is one that settled an argument between John Howland, Sr., Thomas Bourne and John Dingley, concerning the boundaries of a “parcel” of marsh meadow there. It was agreed that the line sett by a compass to a homacke in the marsh where there Ives an Old Ceader tree there being noe other nor no more trees next to the great Iland but that onely And from the aforesaid west line to the Basse creek To which agreement all the aforesaid parties freely assented unto as aforesaid; alsoe that this agreement bee upon Record both att Marshfield and the court booke att Plymouth to avoid all further Diference for time to Come about the prmises; in witness whereof we the said John Howland Senir:Thomas Bourne and John Dingley have put to our hands this fourth of May 1655.” This document was signed in the presence of Myles Standish and recorded in 1656.
The following year, 1 March 1657, John Howland exchanged his one-half interest in Great Island in Green’s Harbor, Marshfield, for a “farme of land” commonly called “the Governor’s farme,” lying in the Township of Barnstable, owned by Christopher Winter. This was land which had been sold to Christopher Winter by Governor Bradford’s widow. It contained “fourscore and ten acres of upland according to the bounds be it more or less and twelve acres of meddow…lying next unto the land of William Crocker.” The exchange was acknowledged by Mr. John Howland and Christopher Winter in Plymouth. This same piece of land was given by John Howland “of Plymouth in the Govdernment of New Plymouth in New England in America, Gent.,” to his son, John Howland of Barnstable, yeoman, “in consideration of his great fatherly love and natural affection…and also for sundry other good…considerations,…[the land] being late in his possession.” This deed of gift was signed in Plymouth by John Howland, 28 December 1667, in the presence of William Crow and Samuel Sturtevant. It was acknowledged by “Mr John Howland, Senr, and Elizabeth, his wife,” before Thomas Southworth, Assistant, 10 January 1667 [1667/8], but was not recorded until 1677, after the death of John Howland, Sr.
On 1 April 1661, Thomas Howes of Yarmouth witnessed a deed made by the Indians to John Howland, Sr., of Plymouth, and others. On 5 June 1663, John Howland and John Alden gave their oaths that they had seen Francis Cook of Plymouth sign his will, 7th 10th mo. 1659.
John Howland, Sr., died in Rocky Nook, then in Plymouth, 23 February 1672/3. In his will dated 29 May 1672, probated 5 March 1672 [1672/3], John Howland, Sr., “of the Towne of New Plymouth in the Colloni[e] of New Plymouth in New England in America,” gave his eldest son, John Howland, in addition to lands he had already been given, one hundred acres of land “granted me by the Court, lying on the east side of Taunton River, between Titicut and Taunton bounds, and all the appurtenances and privileges thereunto belonging.” He gave his son, Jabez Howland, all of his upland meadow “at Satuckett and Paomet, and places adjacent, with all of the appurtenances,” and one piece of land lying on the southside of the Mill Brook in the Town of Plymouth, “on the Northsyde3 of a fei[ld] that is now Gyles Rickards senr.” He gave his youngest son, Isaac Howland, all of his uplands and meadows, with all of the appurtenances, “lying and being in the Town of Middlebery, and in a tract of Land Called the Majors Purchase neare Namassakett Ponds, which I have bought and purchased of William White of Marshfield,” and half of a twelve acre meadow :att Winnatucsett River within the Towne of Plymouth.” John Howland gave his dear and loveing wife, Elizabeth Howland, “the use and benefit of my now Dwelling house in Rockey nooke in the Township of Plymouth aforesaid, with the outhousing, lands, that is uplands, meddow lands and all appurtenances and privileges thereunto belonging in the Towne of Plymouth, and all other Lands housing and meddowes that I have in the said Towne of Plymouth excepting what meddow and upland I have before given To my sonnes, Jabez and Isacke howland, During her naturall life to Injoy make use of and Improve for her benifitt and Comfort.” He gave his son, Joseph Howland, “after the Decease of my loveing wife Elizabeth howland,” the dwelling house at Rocky Nook with all other housing, uplands, meadows, appurtenances and privileges in the Towne of Plymouth, excepting the lands and meadows given to sons Jabez and Isaac. Daughters Desire Gorham, Hope Chipman, Elizabeth Dickinson, Lydia Browne, Hannah Bosworth and Ruth Cushman were each given 20 shillings. John Howland also gave his granddaughter, Elizabeth Howland, the daughter of his son, John Howland, 20 shillings. These legacies were to be paid by his executrix “in such species as shee thinketh meet.”
As his final word, John Howland bequeathed “unto my loveing wife Elizabeth howland, my Debts and legacyes being first payed, my whole estate: viz: lands, houses, goods, Chattles, or any things else that belongeth or appertaineth unto mee, undisposed of, be it either in Plymouth, Duxburrow or Middlbery, or any other place whatsoever; I doe freely and absolutely give and bequeath it all to my Deare and loveing wife Elizabeth howland whom I doe by these pr[e]sents make, ordaine and Constitute to be the soile exequitrix of this my Last will and Testament.” This will was witnessed by Samuel Fuller and William Crow.
The inventory of John Howland’s personal estate was taken 3 March 1672 by Elder Thomas Cushman, Serjeant Ephraim Tinkham and William Crow, and amounted to #157-0808. It was presented to the court by Widow Elizabeth Howland and was accepted, 5 March 1672/73. In addition, the appraisers listed several parcels of land:
1) His dwelling house with the outhousing, uplands and meadow belonging thereunto, lying at Rocky Nook in the Town of New Plymouth.
2) A parcel of meadow at Jones River meadow.
3) One-half of a house and parcel of meadow and upland belonging thereunto lying at Colchester [now Plymptohn], in the Town of New Plymouth.
4) A parcel of meadow and upland lying near the Jones River bridge in the Town of Duxburrow.
5) One house and two shares of a tract of land and meadow lying in the Town of Middleberry that was purchased by Capt. Thomas Southworth from the Indian Sachem, Josias Wampatucke.
6) Two shares of a tract of land called the “Majors’s Purchase,” lying near Namassakett Ponds.
Also listed among John Howlands’s possessions were “one great Bible and Annotations on the five books of Moses,: as well as “Mr. Tindall’s workes. Mr. Wilson’s workes and seven more books.”
John’s widow, Elizabeth, died in Swansea on Wednesday, 21 December 1687 (old style). 31 December (new style), at 80 years of age, in the home of her daughter, Lydia the wife of James Browne. Three of her daughters, Desire Gorman, Hope Chipman and Ruth Cushman had already died, leaving heirs. In her will dated 17 December 1686. Elizabeth Howland “of Swanzey in ye colony of Plymouth in New Engl[an]d being Seventy nine years of Age but of good & perfect memory, thanks be to Allmighty God,” said that she was to be buried “in such place where it shall please my Execut[or]s.” She gave her eldest son, John, £5, and her book, “Mr Tindale’s Workes,’ one pair of sheets, one pair of pillowbeeres and one pair of Bedblanketts. She gave her son Joseph, her “Stillyards,” and one pair of sheets and one pair of “pillobeeres.” She gave her son Jabez, her featherbed and bolster that “is in his custody,” one rug, two blankets, and her great iron pot and pothooks. She gave her son Isaac, her book called “Willson on Ye Romanes,” and one pair of sheets, one pair of pillowbeeres, and her great brass kettle “already in his possession.”
Widow Elizabeth Howland gave her son-in-law, James Browne, her great Bible, and she gave her daughter, Lydia Browne, her best featherbed and bolster, two pillows, three blankets, her green rug, her small cupboard, one pair of andirons, her “lesser brasse kettle,” her small Bible, and her “book of Mr Robinson’s Workes called ‘Observations Divine & Morrall’ & also my finest pair of Sheetes and my Holland pillowbeeres.” Elizabeth Howland gave her daughter, Elizabeth Dickinson, one pair of sheets, one pair of pillowbeeres, and a chest. She gave her daughter, Hannah Bosworth, one pair of sheets and pillow beeres, the same bequest that she made to her granddaughter, Elizabeth Bursley, the daughter of her eldest son, John Howland. She gave her grandson, Nathaniel Howland, the son of her second son, Joseph Howland, “and to the heires of his own Body lawfully begotten,” her lot of land and meadow in the Town of Duxbury, near the Jones River bridge. She gave her grandson, James Browne, son of her daughter, Lydia Howland, “one Iron barr and on[e] Iron Trammell now in his possession.” She gave her grandson, Jabez Browne, one chest, and her granddaughter, Dorothy Browne, her “best chest & my Warming pan.”
Widow Elizabeth Howland gave her granddaughter, Desire Cushman, daughter of her deceased daughter, Ruth (Howland) Cushman, four sheep. Lastly, she gave her wearing clothes, linen and woolen, and “all the rest of my Estate in money, Debts, linen or of what kind or nature or sort soever it may be, unto my three daughters, Elizabeth Dickinson, Lidia Browne and Hannah Bosworth, to be equally divided amongst them.” She appointed her son-in-law, James Browne, and her son, Jabez Howland, as her executors. As a final item, Elizabeth said, “it is my Will & Charge to all my children that they walke in ye Fear of ye Lord, and in Love and peace towards each other and endevour the true performance of this my last Will and Testament.” Witnesses were Hugh Cole, Samuel Vyall and John Browne. Elizabeth’s will was proved, approved & allowed” for probate, 10 January 1687/8, by Nathaniel Byfield, Esquire., Judge, Office for Probate of Wills. Inferior Court of Pleas for Bristol County, who accepted James Browne and Jabez Howland, as Executors, as requested in the will. The will was recorded 26 January 1687/8.
Children (Howland) first three probably born in Plymouth, Mass., next two possibly born in Maine, last five born in Rocky Nook, which was then in Plymouth, now in Kingston, Mass.:
i. Desire, born probably in 1625; [see Vol.1],
ii. John, born 24, 2, 1627 [24 April 1627]; [see Vol. 2].
iii. Hope, born 30 August 1629.
iv. Elizabeth, born about 1631.
v. Lydia, born about 1633.
vi. Hannah, born about 1637.
vii. Joseph, born about 1640
viii. Jabez, born about 1644
ix. Ruth, born about 1646.
x. Isaac, born 15 November 1649
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JOHN HOWLAND
ORIGIN: Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire
MIGRATION: 1620 on Mayflower
FIRST RESIDENCE: Plymouth
FREEMAN: In the "1633" list of Plymouth freemen John Howland is near the head of the list, among the councillors [PCR 1 :3]. In the 6 March 1636/7 list of Plymouth Colony freemen [PCR 1 :52]. In the Plymouth section of the 1639, 1658 and 29 May 1670 lists of Plymouth Colony freemen [PCR 5:274, 8:173, 197].
EDUCATION: His inventory included "1 great Bible and Annotations on the 5 Books of Moses" valued at £1 and "Mr. Tindall's Works, Mr. Wilson's Works, 7 more books" valued at £1.
OFFICES: Plymouth Colony Assistant, 1 January 1632/3, 1 January 1633/4, 1 January 1634/5 [PCR 1:5, 21, 32]. Deputy for Plymouth to General Court, 1 June 1641, 28 October 1645, 1 June 1647, 7 June 1648, 8 June 1649, 4 June 1650, 5June 1651, 3June 1652, 7 June 1653, 7 March 1653/4, 6 June 1654, 1 August 1654, 8 June 1655, 3 June 1656, 1 June 1658, 4 June 1661, 1 June 1663, 1 June 1666, 5 June 1667 [PCR 2:16, 94, 117, 123, 144, 154, 167, 3:8, 31, 44, 49, 63, 79, 99, 135, 214, 4:37, 122, 148].
In charge of the fur trading post at Kennebec, 1634 [MD 2:10-11]. Committe on the fur trade, 3 October 1659 [PCR 3:170].
In the Plymouth section of the 1643 Plymouth Colony list of men able to bear arms (as “John Howland Sen.") [PCR 8:187].
ESTATE: In the 1623 Plymouth division of land John Howland received four acres as a passenger on the Mayflower [PCR 12:4]. In the 1627 Plymouth division of cattle John Howland, his wife Elizabeth Howland, John Howland Junior and Desire Howland were the first four persons in the fourth company [PCR 12:10].
In the Plymouth tax list of 25 March 1633 John Howland was assessed 18s., and in the list of 27 March 1634 £1 4s. [PCR 1:9, 27]. John Howland was a Purchaser [PCR 2:177].
On 4 December 1637 "forty acres of land are granted to Mr. John Howland, lying at the Island Creeke Pond at the western end thereof, with the marsh ground that he useth to mow there" [PCR 1:70]. On 5 November 1638 the "island called Spectacle, lying upon Green's Harbor, is granted to Mr. John Howland" [PCR 1:102, 110, 168]. Granted six acres of meadow "at the North Meadow by Jones River" [PCR 2:49].
In his will, dated 29 May 1672 and proved 6 March 1672/3, 'John Howland Seni[o]r of the town of New Plymouth ... being now grown aged, having many infirmities of body upon me," bequeathed to “John Howland my eldest son besides what lands I have already given him, all my right and interest to that one hundred acres of land granted me by the court lying on the eastern side of Taunton River"; to "my son Jabez Howland all those my upland and meadow that I now possess at Satuckett and Paomett"; to "my son Jabez Howland all that my one piece of land that I have lying on the southside of the mill brook"; to "Isaac Howland my youngest son all those my uplands and meadows ... in the town of Middlebery and in a tract of land called the Major's Purchase near Namassakett Ponds which I have bought and purchased of William White of Marshfield"; to "my said son Isacke Howland the one half of my twelve acre lot of meadow that I now have at Winnatucsett River"; to "my dear and loving wife Elizabeth Howland the use and benefit of my now dwelling house in Rockey Nooke in the township of Plymouth ... with the outhousing lands ... uplands and meadow lands ... in the town of Plymouth ... excepting what meadow and upland I have before given to my sons Jabez and Isacke Howland during her natural life"; to "my son Joseph Howland after the decease of my loving wife Elizabeth Howland my aforesaid dwelling house at Rockey Nooke"; to "my daughter Desire Gorum 20s."; to "my daughter Hope Chipman 20s."; to "my daughter Elizabeth Dickenson 20s."; to "my daughter Lydia Browne 20s."; to "my daughter Hannah Bosworth 20s."; to "my daughter Ruth Cushman 20s."; to "my grandchild Elizabeth Howland the daughter of my son John Howland 20s."; "these legacies given to my daughters [to] be paid by my executrix"; to "my loving wife Elizabeth Howland my debts and legacies being first paid, my whole estate," she to be executrix [MD 2:70-73, citing PCPR 3:1:49-50].
The inventory of "Mr. John Howland lately deceased" was taken 3 March 1672/3 and totalled £157 8s. 8d. [MD 2:73-77, citing PCPR 3:1 :51-54]. After the inventory, the appraisers noted that "the testator died possessed of these several parcels of land following:" "his dwelling house with the outhousing, uplands and meadow belonging thereunto lying at Rockey Nooke in the town of New Plymouth," "a parcel of meadow at Jones River meadow," "the one half of a house and a parcel of meadow and upland belonging thereunto lying and being at Colchester in the aforesaid township," "a parcel of meadow and upland belonging thereunto lying near Jones River bridge in the town of Duxburrow," "one house and 2 shares of a tract of land and meadow that lyeth in the town of Middle berry that was purchased by Captain Thomas Southworth of and from the Indian Sachem Josias Wampatucke," and "2 shares of a tract of land called the Major's Purchase lying near Namassakett ponds" [MD 2:77, citing PCPR 3:1 :54]. (See also PCR 5:108, 110, 127.)
In her will, dated 17 December 1686 and proved 10 January 1687/8, "Elizabeth Howland of Swanzey ... being seventy nine years of age" bequeathed to "my eldest son John Howland the sum of £5 . . . and my book called Mr. Tindale 's Works and also one pair of sheets & one pair of pillowbeers and one pair of bedblankets" to "my son Joseph Howland my stilliards and also one pair of sheets and one pair of pillowbeers" to "my son Jabez Howland my featherbed & bolster that is in his custody & also one rug & two blankets that belongeth to the said bed & also my great iron pot & pothooks" to "my son Isaack Howland my book called Willson on the Romanes & one pair of sheets & one pair of pillowbeers & also my great brass kettle already in his possession" to "my son-inlaw Mr. James Browne my great Bible" to "my daughter Lidia Browne my best featherbed & boulster two pillows & three blankets & a green rug & my small cupboard one pair of andirons & my lesser brass kettle & my small Bible & my book of Mr. Robbinson's Works called Observations Divine & Moral & also my finest pair of sheets & my holland pillowbeers" to "my daughter Elisabeth Dickenson one pair of sheets & one pair of pillowbeers & one chest" to "my daughter Hannah Bosworth one pair of sheets & one pair of pillowbeers" to "my granddaughter Elizabeth Bursley one pair of sheets and one pair of pillowbeers" to "my grandson Nathanael Howland (the son of Joseph Howland) ... my lot of land with the meadow thereto adjoining ... in the township of Duxbury near Jones River Bridge" to "my grandson James Browne one iron bar and one iron trammell now in his possession" to "my grandson Jabez Browne one chest" to "my granddaughter Dorothy Browne my best chest & my warming pan" to "my granddaughter Desire Cushman four sheep" "my wearing clothes linen and woollen" and the residue to "my three daughters Elisabeth Dickenson, Lidia Browne and Hannah Bosworth to be equally divided amongst them" "my loving son-in-law James Browne and my loving son Jabez Howland" executors [MD 3:54-57, citing BrPR 1:13-14].
BIRTH: By about 1592 (based on age at death), son of Henry and Margaret (__) Howland of Fenstanton.
DEATH: Plymouth 23 February 1672/3 "above eighty years" [PCR 8:34].
MARRIAGE: Plymouth by about 1624 Elizabeth Tilley, baptized Henlow, Huntingdonshire, 30 August 1607, daughter of JOHN TILLEY [PM 462]. She died at Swansea 22 December 1687, aged eighty [SwVR 27].
CHILDREN:
i. DESIRE, b. say 1624; m. by 1644 John Gorham (eldest known child b. Plymouth 2 April 1644 [MD 5:72]).
ii. JOHN, b. Plymouth 24 February 1626[/7] [Sewall 463]; m. Plymouth 26 October 1651 Mary Lee [PCR 8:13].
iii. HOPE, b. say 1629; m. by 1647 John Chipman (eldest known child b. Plymouth 24 June 1647 [PCR 8:4]) [THQ 60:2:8-13].
iv. ELIZABETH, b. say 1631; m. (1) Plymouth 13 September 1649 Ephraim Hicks [PCR 8:8], son of ROBERT HICKS [PM 243]; m. (2) Plymouth 10 July 1651 John Dickerson [PCR 8:13; THQ 60:3:13-19].
v. LYDIA, b. say 1633; m. by about 1655 James Brown, son of JOHN BROWN [GM 2: 1 :420-29].
vi. HANNAH, b. say 1637; m. Swansea 6 July 1661 Jonathan Bosworth [SwVR 23], son of JONATHAN BOSWORTH [GMB 1:187-91].
vii. JOSEPH, b. say 1640; m. Plymouth 7 December 1664 Elizabeth Southworth [PCR 8:2 5], daughter of THOMAS SOUTHWORTH [PM 437].
viii. JABEZ, b. about 1644 (deposed on 19 July 1680 aged 36 years [SJ C #1915]); m. by 1669 Bethiah Thatcher, daughter of Anthony Thatcher (eldest known child b. Plymouth 15 November 1669 [PVR 668; NYGBR 42:154-57]).
ix. RUTH, b. say 1646; m. Plymouth 17 November 1664 Thomas Cushman [PCR 8:25], son of Thomas Cushman.
x. ISAAC, b. Plymouth 15 November 1649; m. by 1677 Elizabeth Vaughn, daughter of George Vaughn [TAG 23:24-26].
ASSOCIATIONS: Brother of HENRY HOWLAND [PM 275] and Arthur Howland [NGSQ 71:84].
COMMENTS: In his list of passengers on the Mayflower Bradford tells us that John Howland was one of the "manservants" of JOHN CARVER [Bradford 441 ]. During a particularly bad storm on the crossing John Howland (characterized by Bradford as "a lusty young man") went above deck and was swept overboard, but “it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length. Yet he held his hold (though he was sundry fathoms under water) till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with a boat hook and other means got into the ship again and his life saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after and became a profitable member both in church & commonwealth” [Bradford 59].
In his 1651 accounting on the family of John Carver, Bradford reported that "[h]is servant John Howland married the daughter of John Tilley, Elizabeth, and they are both now living, and their eldest daughter hath four children; and their second daughter one, all living, and other of their children marriageable" [Bradford 444].
In an undated deposition we learn that in April 1634 John Hocking came to Kennebec and challenged the rights of the Plymouth men to their exclusive trade in that place. Mr. John Howland, in charge of the trading post, went out in their bark with several other men and warned Hocking off, but was taunted and defied. Howland "bid three of his men go cut his cable [Hocking's anchor]," but the flow of the stream was too strong and Howland called them back and added Moses Talbot to the crew. Hocking, seeing that their intent was to cut the cable, "presently put his piece almost to Moyses Talbott's head, which Mr. Howland seeing called to him desiring him not to shoot his man but take himself for his mark saying his men did but that which he commanded them and therefore desired him not to hurt any of them, if any wrong was done it was himself that did it and therefore called again to him to take him for his mark saying he stood very fair, but Hocking would not hear nor look towards our bark, but presently shooteth Moyses in the head, and presently took up his pistol in his hand but the Lord stayed him from doing any further hurt by a shot from our bark himself was presently struck dead being shot near the same place in the head where he had murderously shot Moyses" [MD 2:1011). BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE: Because of the multitude of descendants of John Howland, through all ten of his children, the publication of the first five generations of descent from John Howland will occupy many volumes. Elizabeth Pearson White has prepared the first two volumes in this series: John Howland of the Mayflower: Volume 1, The First Five Generations, Documented Descendants Through his first child Desire2 Howland and her husband Captain John Gorham (Camden, Maine, 1990) and John Howland of the Mayflower: Volume 2, The First Five Generations, Documented Descendants Through his second child John2 Howland and his wife Mary Lee (Camden, Maine, 1993).
In her first volume White argued that John Howland lived for several years in Maine, and that three of his children were born there. Robert S. Wakefield has gathered the evidence that this could not have been the case [MD 42:15-16].
http://mayflower.americanancestors.org/john-howland-biography
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