John HOWLAND1 was born2 in 1592 in Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England. He was christened on 16 Jan 1603 in Baptized at Cambridgeshire, Ely, England. He died3 on 23 Feb 1673 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was buried on 25 Feb 1673 in Burial Hill, Plymouth Massachusetts.
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| The John Howland Memorial Stone; Burial Hill, Plymouth, MA |
John worked as Yeoman. Fact: John Was an indentured
servant of of wealthy Londoner, John & Kathrine Carver. . Fact: John Was on the Mayflower that left
South Hampton, England on 5 Aug 1620.
He immigrated on 11 Dec 1620 to Plymouth, Massachusetts. Fact: John Ship
arrived at Cape Cod with 101 Passengers
on 21 Dec 1620. Fact: John Deputy
in 1652/1670. He had a will4 on 29 May
1672 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. His will was probated on 5 Mar 1673 in
Plymouth, Massachusetts. Fact: John 13th Signer of the "Mayflower
Compact" .
John Howland came over on the Mayflower as one of the indentured
servants of a wealthy couple named John and Kathrine Carver and they landed in
America in December of 1620. John Carver died in the spring of 1621 and his
wife Kathrine died in the summer of 1621.
John HOWLAND. Born in 1592 in Fen station, Huntingdonshire,
England. John died in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts on 23 Feb 1672; he was 80.
Buried in Burial Hill, Plymouth MA. Occupation:
yeoman
His was the 13th name of 41 persons who signed the memorable
compact in the cabin of the Mayflower in "Cape Cod Harbor" in Nov
1620. He signed on as a manservant Mr. John Carver. "A profitable
instrument of good; the last man that was left of those that came over on the
ship called the May Flower..." - Plymouth Col. Recs. __From "One
Hundred and Sixty Allied Families" by John Osborne Austin - 'A lusty young
man (called John Howland) coming upon some occasion above the grating was with
a seele (Sail) of the ship thrown into the sea, but it pleased God that he
caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard, an 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.' __When the Mayflower was yet in Cape
Cod Harbor, ten of her "principal men", including John, were sent out
in a boat, manned by eight sailors, to select a place to establish a longed-for
home for the weary band. A storm drove them into Plymouth harbor, and Plymouth
was selected as the place of settlement.
The Descendants of John Howland of the Mayflower for Five
Generations
Vol. 1: Through his First Child Desire Howland, and her husband,
Captain John Gorham. by Elizabeth Pearson White, Picton Press (Camden, Maine,
1990)
John Howland of Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England, a
passenger on the famous ship Mayflower, which sailed from Plymouth, England,
in the autumn of 1620, was the
indentured servant of Mr. John Carver, a
wealthy Londoner, who became the first governor of New Plymouth Colony
in Massachusetts. On November 11, 1620, as the ship lay at anchor in Cape Cod
Bay, John Holand was the thirteenth man to sign the Mayflower Compact, the
agreement which laid the foundation for the new town that the able-bodied men on
board the Mayflower planned to create when the group landed in what was to
become Plymouth, Massachusetts. The son of Henry and Margaret Howland, John
Howland was born about 1592 and grew up in Fenstanton, 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, Kingston, near Plymouth February 23, 1672. His father,
Henry Howland, yeoman, died in Fenstanton May 17, 1635, and his mother,
Margaret, was buried there July 31, 1629. Two of his brother, Arthur and Henry
migrated to Plymouth Colony within the first twenty years, and left many
descendants, making it more difficult to sort out and identify their many
descendants. John Howland was called by Governor William Bradford 'a lusty
younge man.' He was one of the hired hands amond 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, wollowing
in the mountainous waves. John Howland ventured on deck and was washed
overboard into the boiling sea. In Governor Bradford's words, 'It pleased God
that he caught hould of ye halliards which hunge over board, and rane ou at
length; yet he was held up. . . and then with a boat hooke and other mens got
into ye ship again.' 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. Since the
Carvers had no children, 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, March 25, 1623 (old
style), John Howland married his fellow Mayflower passenger, Elizabeth Tilley.
She was only fifteen years old. The early land 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.' As each settler was to receive one acre it is somewhat
puzzling why he received four acres. According to Franklyn Howland, in his
book, The History of Arthur, Henry and John Howland and Their
Descendants, Governor Carver's family consisted of John Carver,
himself, his wife, Kathrine, John Howland, a ward named 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 the first winter, Elizabeth became part of the
Carver household. Roger Wilder died the first winter. Governor Carver died a
few months later in April of 1621, and his wife died in May 1621. The boy,
Jasper More died December 6, 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.
Desire Minter was a ward of Governor Carver and was probably about 15 years old
when she sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. She was the daughter of her mother's
first marriage. Her mother was one of the separatists at Leyden, married first
in 1618 and was twice widowed before 1622. John and Elizabeth Howland were very
fond of Desire Minter and named their first child after her. In 1626 John
Howland became one of the forty-two colonists who assumed Plymouth Colony's
debt of L1800 owed to the Merchant Adventurers of London. In order to pay off
this mortgage, a monopoly in the Colony's trade was granted to William
Bradford, Isaac Allerton and Myles Standish, who chose John Howland as one
their partners, or undertakers, in the project. Later they established a
trading post far to the northward, on the Kennebec River, at the present site
of Augusta, Maine. John was put in charge of the trading post and a brisk trade
developed there in beaver, otter and other furs gathered by the Indians. John's
family may have spent some time with him in Maine, and some of his children may
have been born there. When the Division of Cattle was made June 1, 1627, (new
style), only fort-two of the original group of ninety-nine people who reached
Plymouth in the Mayflower were still living there. All of the members of each
family were listed in the records, including John and Elizabeth Howland, who
now had tow children, Desire and John, Jr. Eight more children were born to
them in the ensuing years, whom they named Hope, Elizabeth, Lydia, Hannah,
Joseph, Jabez, Ruth and Isaac. In 1633 John Howland was made a freeman of
Plymouth. During his lifetime he was appointed or elected to many public offices.
In 1641, 1645, 1647 and 1648 he represented Plymouth at the General Court. In
August 1643 he and his son, John Jr. were listed among the men in Plymouth,
aged 16 to 60 who were able to bear arms. In 1641 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, and again in 1670, he was
a Deputy to the General Court. In 1655 and 1666 he was a selectman of Plymouth.
IN 1639 the Old Comers were given a choice of several additional plantations
for themselves and their heirs, around Yarmouth, Dartmouth and Rehoboth. Part
of the land which John Howland chose was in Yarmouth, out on Cape Cod, where
his son, John Jr. and daughters Desire (Howland) Gorham and Hope (Howland)
Chipman, settled. it was also in the early part of 1639 that John paid L82 for
John Jenny's land and dwelling house at Rocky Nook,, now in Kingston but then
part of Plymouth, which had been built in 1628. And there he lived with his family
for the rest of his life. John Howland also owned a tract of land in
Marshfield, which he later exchanged for a farm in Barnstable (Cape Cod) and
gave to his son, John, Jr. When he died in 1672, the inventory of his estate
included his dwelling house in Rocky Nook, meadow at the Jones River, half of a
house and meadow in Colchester, a meadow near the Jones River bridge in
Duxborrow, a house and land in Middlebury, and land near Nemassakett Pond. Also
listed among his possessions were 'one great Bible and Annotations on the five
books of Moses,' as well as 'Mr. Tindall's works, Mr Wilson's works and seven
more books.'
John Howland's Will
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 William 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 thereof as followeth;
Item I Doe give and bequeath unto John howland my eldest sonne
besides what lands I have alreddy given him, all my Right and Interest To that
one hundred acres of land graunted mee by the Court lying on the eastern side
of Tauton River; between Teticutt and Taunton bounds and all the appurtenances
and privilidges Therunto belonging, T belonge to him and his heirs 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 Meadow 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 heirs
and assignes for ever;
Item I give and bequeath unto Isacke howland my youngest sonne
all those my uplands and meddows 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 near
Namassakett Ponds; which I have bought and purchased of William White of
Marshfeild in the Collonie of New Plymouth; which may or shall appeer by any
Deed or writinges Together with the aformentioned prticulares To belonge to the
said Isacke his heirs 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 and 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 uplands [sic] and meddow 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 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;
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 Medowes 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: vis: lands houses goods
Chattles; or any thing 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
witness whereof I 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
prsence of Samuel ffuller John Howland
William Crow And a seale
Came on the Mayflower 1620 as a servant to Dea and Governor John
Carver; wife Elizabeth Tilley also came on Mayflower with her father.
John married (MRIN:4338) Elizabeth TILLEY5, daughter of John TILLEY and Joan HURST
(MRIN:4340), on 14 Aug 1623 in Plymouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts. Elizabeth
was born on 30 Aug 1607 in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England. She died6 on 21 Dec 1687 in Swansea, Bristol,
Massachusetts. She was buried on 1 Jan 1688 in Buried in Brown Lot, Little Neck
Cemetery, Riverside, Rhode Island.
Elizabeth was baptized on 30 Aug 1607 in St. Mary the
Virgin Church, Henlow, Bedfordshire, England. Fact: Elizabeth Died at home of
her daugther, Lydia Browne in Swansea (Now Providence, Ri) . She had a will on 17 Dec 1686 in Swansea,
Bristol, Massachusetts. Her will was probated on 10 Jan 1688 in Swansea,
Bristol, Massachusetts.
Parents died the first winter. Brothers and sisters remained in
England. After her Husband John's death, she went to live with her Daughter
Lydia Browne. She is not buried with her husband, but in the Brown Family
Cemetery in Rhode Island.
Last Will & Testament of Elizabeth (Tilley)
Howland, 1686
In ye Name of God Amen I Elizabeth Howland of Swanzey in ye
County of Bristoll in ye Collony of Plymouth in New Engld being Seventy nine
yeares of Age but of good & perfect memory thanks be to Allmighty God &
calling to Remembrance ye uncertain Estate of this transitory Life & that
all fflesh must Yeild unto Death when it shall please God to call Doe make
constitute & ordaine & Declare This my last Will & Testament, in
manner & forme following Revoking and Anulling by these prsents all &
every Testamt & Testamts Will & Wills heretofore by me made &
declared either by Word or Writing And this to be taken only for my last Will
& Testament & none other. And first being penitent & sorry from ye
bottom of my heart for all my sinns past most humbly desiring forgivenesse for
ye same I give & Committ my soule unto Allmighty God my Savior &
redeemer in whome & by ye meritts of Jesus Christ I trust & believe
assuredly to be saved & to have full remission & forgivenesse of all my
sins & that my Soule wt my Body at the generall Day of Resurrection shall
rise againe wt Joy & through ye meritts of Christs Death & passion
possesse & inheritt ye Kingdome of heaven prepared for his Elect &
Chosen & my Body to be buryed in such place where it shall please my
Executrs hereafter named to appoint And now for ye settling my temporall Estate
& such goodes Chattells & Debts as it hath pleased God far above my
Deserts to bestow upon me I Do Dispose order & give ye same in manner &
forme following (That is to say) First that after my funerall Expences &
Debts paid wc I owe either of right or in Conscience to any manner of person or
persons whatsoever in Convenient tyme after my Decease by my Execrs hereafter
named I Give & bequeath unto my Eldest Son John Howland ye sum of five
pounds to be paid out of my Estate & my Booke called Mr Tindale's Workes
& also one pair of sheetes & one pr of pillowbeeres & one pr of
Bedblanketts, Item I give unto my son Joseph Howland my Stillyards & also
one pr of sheetes & one pr of pillobeeres Item I give unto my son Jabez
Howland my ffetherbed & boulster yt is in his Custody & also one Rugg
& two Blanketts yt belongeth to ye said Bed & also my great Iron pott
& potthookes Item I give unto my son Isaack Howland my Booke called Willson
on ye Romanes & one pr of sheetes & one paire of pillowbeeres &
also my great Brasse Kettle already in his possession Item I give unto my Son
in Law Mr James Browne my great Bible Item I give & bequeath unto my
Daughter Lidia Browne my best ffeatherbed & Boulster two pillowes &
three Blanketts & a green Rugg & my small Cupboard one pr of AndyIrons
& my lesser brasse Kettle & my small Bible & my booke of mr
Robbinsons Workes called Observations Divine & Morrall & allso my
finest pr of Sheetes & my holland pillowbeeres, Item I give unto my
Daughter Elisabeth Dickenson one pr of Sheetes & one pr of pillowbeeres
& one Chest Item I give unto my Daughter Hannah Bosworth one pr of sheets
& one pr of pillowbeeres, Item I give unto my Grand Daughter Elizabeth
Bursley one paire of sheets and one paire of Pillowbeeres Item I give &
bequeath unto my Grandson Nathaniel Howland (the son of Joseph Howland) and to
the heires of his owne Body lawfully begotten for ever all that my Lott of Land
with ye Meadow thereunto adjoyning & belonging lying in the Township of
Duxbury neare Jones River bridge, Item I give unto my Grandson James Browne One
Iron barr and on Iron Trammell now in his possession, Item I give unto my
Grandson Jabez Browne one Chest Item I give unto my Grand Daughter Dorothy
Browne my best Chest & my Warming pan Item I give unto my Grand Daughter
Desire Cushman four Sheep, Item I give & bequeath my wearing clothes linnen
and Woollen and all the rest of my Estate in mony Debts linnen or of what kind
or nature or sort soever it may be unto my three Daughters Elisabeth Dickenson,
Lidia Browne and Hannah Bosworth to be equally Devided amongst them, Item I
make constitute and ordaine my loving Son in Law James Browne and my loving son
Jabez Howland Executors of this my last Will and Testament, Item it is my Will
& Charge to all my Children that they walke in ye Feare of ye Lord, and in
Love and peace towards each other and endeavour the true performance of this my
last Will & Testament In Witnesse whereof I the said Elizabeth Howland have
hereunto sett my hand & seale this seventeenth Day of December Anno Dm one
thousand six hundred Eighty & six.
The mark of Elisabeth E H Howland
Signed Sealed & Delivd
in ye prsence of us Wittnesses
Hugh Cole
Samuel Vyall
John Browne
"In 1847 it was believed that Elizabeth was the Carvers'
daughter. In 1855 William Bradford's
long-lost journal was discovered, and a transcript was published in 1856. Entitled "Of Plimoth Plantation",
it is about the only written record of Plymouth Colony. It contained, among
much other information, the fact that the Carvers were
childless, and they had taken Elizabeth Tilley, then a young
teenager, into their home when her parents and her uncle and aunt all died
during the first winter at Plymouth. Her
father was John Tilley, her mother usually accepted to be Joan Hurst Rogers,
though some writers have said she was Elizabeth Comyngs. John Howland was the "servant" of
the Carvers. At that time, the term
"employee" had not been created;
employees were called "servants". When Both Carvers died in the spring of the
first year at Plymouth, John Howland inherited the Carvers' estate.
1620 - John Howland and Elizabeth arrive on the Mayflower.
1632 - They went to Maine.
1678/9 - Bought the Rocky Nook farm.
1670 - Jabez Howland bought the house at Plymouth. John and
Elizabeth winter there.
1672/3 - John Howland died in the Plymouth home of his son.
1675 - The Rocky Nook Farm house burned to the ground. Elizabeth
makes her home with Jabez' family.
1680/1 - Jabez sells the Plymouth house. Elizabeth signes the
deed and moved to Swansea to live with her daughter, Lydia Brown.
1687 - Elizabeth Tilley Howland died and was buried in the Brown
Family plot.
Elizabeth was 13 when she and her parents came across on the Mayflower.
Elizabeth's death date may also be February 2, 1687/88
John married Elizabeth on 14 Aug 1623 in Pawtucket, Rhode
Island.
Appendix A - Sources
1 Elizabeth Pearson White; Edwin Wagner Coles; Roberta Gilbert
Bratti, John Howland of the Mayflower (Camden, Me. : Picton Press,
1990-2008), Google Books - Digitized, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View,
CA 94043. "John Howland of the Mayflower Volume 1 THE FIRST FIVE
GENERATIONS Documented Descendants Through his first child Desire Howland and
her husband Captain John Gorham by Elizabeth Pearson White.
Picton Press,
Camden, Maine 1990."
2 Elizabeth Pearson White; Edwin Wagner Coles; Roberta Gilbert Bratti,
John Howland of the Mayflower, Page 17, 21 Jun 2012. "Google Books
Digitized:
http://books.google.com/books?ei=mI7kT-LUAYOq8ATbu7DRCQ&id=rnYZAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22John+Howland+of+the+Mayflower+Volume+1%22+Elizabeth+Pearson+White&q=1592#search_anchor."
3 Brøderbund Software, Inc., World Family Tree Vol. 13, Ed. 1,
Release date: August 14, 1997, Tree #0456. "Date of Import: Jul 25,
1998."
4 Clarke, Mary (Bosworth), Bosworth Genealogy: A History of the
Descendants of Edward Bosworth who arrived in America in the year 1634 (San
Francisco, 1926-), page 151, 5 Sep 2012, HathiTrust Digital Library, URL:
http://www.hathitrust.org, CS71.B748 1926 . " (original from University of
Wisconsin).". "URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89062853635
Page:
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89062853635?urlappend=%3Bseq=215."
5 Elizabeth Pearson White; Edwin Wagner Coles; Roberta Gilbert
Bratti, John Howland of the Mayflower.
6 John Gilmary Shea, Historical Magazine: And Notes and Queries
Concerning the Antiquities ..., Published 1860; H.B. Dawson, University of
Michigan.
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