 Abt 1599 - 1673 (74 years) Has 2 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
John Howland |
| Birth |
Abt 1599 |
Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Burial |
25 Feb 1672 |
Burial Hill, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
| Death |
23 Feb 1673 |
Rocky Nook, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
| Initiatory (LDS) |
1 Mar 1895 |
SGEOR |
| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I50679 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Henry Howland, b. Abt 1564, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England d. 17 May 1635, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England (Age 71 years) |
| Mother |
Margaret, b. Abt 1567, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England d. Abt 28 Jul 1629, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England (Age 62 years) |
| Marriage |
1589 |
Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England |
| Family ID |
F18848 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Elizabeth Tilley, c. 30 Aug 1607, Henlow, Bedfordshire, England d. 21 Dec 1687, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States (Age ~ 80 years) |
| Marriage |
25 Mar 1623 |
Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
| Children |
| + | 1. Desire Howland, b. 22 May 1624, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 13 Oct 1683, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States (Age 59 years) |
| + | 2. John Howland, b. 24 Feb 1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 1 Jan 1704, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (Age 76 years) |
| + | 3. Hope Howland, b. 30 Aug 1629, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 8 Jan 1683, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States (Age 53 years) |
| + | 4. Elizabeth Howland, b. Abt 1631, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 26 Jan 1683, Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York, United States (Age 52 years) |
| + | 5. Lydia Howland, b. Abt 1633, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 11 Jan 1710, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States (Age 77 years) |
| + | 6. Hannah Howland, b. Abt 1637, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 1687, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States (Age 50 years) |
| + | 7. Captain Joseph Howland, b. 1640, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 1 Jan 1704, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (Age 64 years) |
| | 8. Jabez Howland, b. Feb 1644, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. Bef 21 Feb 1712, Bristol, Bristol, Rhode Island, United States (Age < 68 years) |
| + | 9. Ruth Howland, b. Abt 1646, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 23 Aug 1679, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (Age 33 years) |
| + | 10. Isaac Howland, b. 15 Jan 1649, Middleborough, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 9 Nov 1724, Middleborough, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (Age 75 years) |
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| Family ID |
F18842 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
3 Dec 2025 |
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| Event Map |
|
 | Birth - Abt 1599 - Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England |
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 | Marriage - 25 Mar 1623 - Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
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 | Burial - 25 Feb 1672 - Burial Hill, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
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 | Death - 23 Feb 1673 - Rocky Nook, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
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 | Initiatory (LDS) - 1 Mar 1895 - SGEOR |
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| Notes |
- Mayflower - Pilgrim
John Howland was born about 1592, in Fenstanton, Huntingtonshire Englan d . He came on the Mayflower in 1620 as a manservant for Governor John Ca rv er. During the Mayflower's voyage, Howland fell overboard during a sto r m and was almost lost at sea--but he managed to grab hold of the topsa i l halyards, giving the crew enough time to rescue him with a boathook.
John Howland was one of the settlers who helped found the Plymouth Colon y . John Carver, a Puritan minister who joined with William Bradford in b ri nging his congregation from Leiden, Netherlands to the New World. Howl and , formally considered a servant, was in fact Carver's assistant in ma nagi ng the migration.
Although he had arrived on the Mayflower as a servant to the Carver fami l y, Howland was a young man determined to make his mark in the new worl d , arriving as neither a "stranger" nor a "saint" as the Pilgrims terme d t hemselves.
The Carver family with whom John lived, survived the terrible sicknes s o f the first winter, during which many Pilgrims died. The following sp ring , on an unusually hot day in April, Governor Carver, according to Wi llia m Bradford, came out of his cornfield feeling ill. He passed int o a com a and "never spake more". His wife, Kathrine, died soon after he r husband . The Carvers had no children. For this reason, Howland is thou ght to hav e inherited their estate. It has been said that he immediatel y "bought hi s freedom" but no record has survived.
In 1623/24, Howland married Elizabeth Tilley, by then a young lady of se v enteen and the daughter of John Tilley and his wife Joan (Hurst) Roger s . Her parents had died the first winter and she had become the foster d au ghter of Governor Carver and his wife who were childless. By then he h a d prospered enough to also bring his brothers Henry, Arthur and Edwar d t o the colony as well, solidly establishing the Howland family in th e Ne w World.
The following year Howland joined with Edward Winslow exploring the Kenn e bec River, looking for possible trading sites and natural resources th a t the colony could exploit. The year after that he was asked to partici pa te in buying out the businessmen who had bankrolled the settlement o f Ply mouth ("Merchant Adventurers" was the term used at the time) so th e colon y could pursue its own goals without the pressure to remit profit s back t o England.
Then in 1626 the governor, William Bradford, selected him to lead a te a m to build a trading station on the Kennebec River, and in 1628, Howla n d was elevated to the post of Assistant Governor.
Finally, in 1633 Howland, then thirty-four, was admitted as a freema n o f Plymouth. He and Elizabeth had by then acquired significant landhol ding s around Plymouth and after his being declared a freeman they dilige ntl y acquired more. Howland served at various times as Assistant Governo r, D eputy to the General Court, Selectman, Surveyor of Highways, and mem ber o f the Fur Committee.
John and his wife Elizabeth had ten children, all of whom lived and ha d d escendants. Their four sons were officers of the Plymouth Colony Mili ti a and served in other capacities.
Howland died on 23 February 1672, and was "with honor interred". This w a s accorded only to the leaders of the Colony and meant that a squad o f so ldiers fired a volley over his grave. He is described in the record s a s a "godly man and an ardent professor in the ways of Christ. "
"The 23 of February 1672, Mr. John Howland, Senr, of the towne of Plymou t h, deceased. He was a godly man and an ancient professor in wayes of Ch ri st; he lived until he attained above eighty years in the world. He wa s on e of the first comers into this land, and proved a useful instrumen t of g ood in his place, & was the last man that was left of those that c ame ove r in the ship called the May Flower, that lived in Plymouth; he w as wit h honor interred at the towne of Plymouth on the 25 of February 16 72. (Pl ymouth Colony Records; page 34.)
Some of his descendants include President George H. W. Bush, George W. B u sh, and Alice Hathaway Lee, the first wife of one of President Theodor e R oosevelt.
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English
