John Howland

Male Abt 1592 - 1673


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  • Name  John Howland 
    Born  Abt 1592  Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • Birthdate calculated from age at death.
    Gender  Male 
    Will  29 May 1672 
    • 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
    Died  23 Feb 1672/73  Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    • "above eighty years"
    Notes 
    • John was in Scrooby, a center of Puritan thought and activity; in 1608 they went to Amsterdam, remained a year, then removed to Leyden, where they remained until migrating to New England. At the time of his coming to New England he was twenty-eight years old and, according to Prince, was a member of Governor Carver's family. While the "Mayflower" was yet in Cape Cod harbor, ten of "her principal" men were "sante out," in a boat manned by eight sailors, to select a place for landing. Among them was John Howland. A storm drove them into Plymouth harbor, and Plymouth was selected as the place of settlement.

      "In sundry of these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high, as they could not bear a knot of sail, but were forced to hull for divers days together. And in one of them, as they lay thus at hull in a mighty storm, a lusty young man called John Howland, coming upon some occasion above the gratings was, with a roll of the ship, thrown into the sea; 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."

      The first mention of John Howland on the records is on a list of freemen, and as third an the Governor's Council of seven. He was assessor in 1633; in 1636 he served on a jury, and in 1666 was selectman. He represented Plymouth in the Massachusetts General Court in 1652-56-58-61-63-66-67-70. On June 2, 1670, his name appears for the last time as a candidate for public office. At this time he was nearly eighty years old, and refused to serve any longer. He served often on committees to lay out and appraise land, to run highways, settle disputes, etc. He was a zealous worker for the good of the colony, not only temporarily but spiritually.

      He is recorded as a "godly man and an ancient professor in the ways of Christ." Governor Bradford notes that he was "a profitable member both in Church and Commonwealth." He was one of the men "appointed by the Church to join in the imposition of hands" at the ordination of John Cotton, Jr., in 1667. John Howland was for many years manager of the colonists' interests in a trading post on the Kennebec river in Maine. He lived at what was called Rocky Nook.
    Person ID  I19254  Bryant
    Last Modified  31 Dec 2005 

    Father  Henry Howland,   d. 17 May 1635, Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother  Margaret,   d. Abt Jul 1629, Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married  Y  [4
    Family ID  F1405  Group Sheet

    Family  Elizabeth Tilley,   d. 22 Dec 1687, Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married  Aft Aug 1623  Plymouth Colony Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • After the death of her parents she became the ward of Governor John Carver, when she was about fourteen years of age. She married John Howland, who was also a passenger on the "Mayflower."
    Children 
     1. Desire Howland,   b. 13 Dec 1623, Plymouth Colony Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Oct 1683, Barnstable Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
     2. John Howland,   b. 24 Apr 1627, Plymouth Colony Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1699
     3. Hope Howland,   b. 30 Aug 1629, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 08 Jan 1683/84, Barnstable Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
     4. Elizabeth Howland,   b. Est 1631, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 26 Jan 1682/83, Oyster Bay, Queens Co, Long Island Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. Lydia Howland,   b. Feb 1634/35, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 Oct 1710, Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
     6. Hannah Howland,   b. Est 1637, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1687, Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
     7. Joseph Howland,   b. Est 1640, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 01 Jan 1703/4, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
     8. Jabez Howland,   b. Abt 1644, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 07 Apr 1708, Bristol Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
     9. Ruth Howland,   b. Abt 1646, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Between 1673 and 1679
     10. Isaac Howland,   b. 15 Nov 1649, Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 29 Oct 1727, Marshfield, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
    Family ID  F1397  Group Sheet

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - Abt 1592 - Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - Aft Aug 1623 - Plymouth Colony Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 23 Feb 1672/73 - Plymouth, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Maps 
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Sources 
    1. [S386] Pilgrim Migration, Anderson, Robert Charles, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 2004), p. 282.

    2. [S260] GMB, Anderson, Robert Charles, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 1995), p. 1022.

    3. [S342] Sons & Daughters of Pilgrims, Compiled, (Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1988), 1:1.

    4. [S206] Roberts, Notable Kin 1, Gary Boyd Roberts, (New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1998), p. 183.


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