Elder John HOWLAND Jr. ^3092,3397

  General Notes:

Pilgrim John Howland Society
John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley Biographies
John Howland
As there is no record of his residence in Leyden, he is credited to the London group of Pilgrims for the reason that John Carver was in England for some considerable time before the sailing of the Mayflower and undoubtedly obtained the services of Howland in that city prior to the departure from England. The Howland ancestry is probably of Essex origin. The will of Humphrey Howland, citizen and draper of St. Swithin's, London, in 1646, mentions his brothers, John and Arthur, which are known Christian names of this family in New England, at the date of the will. There was a John Howland taxed at Canfield Parva, Essex, 1623, and the name also occurs earlier at Newport Pagnall in the same county. In London a John Howland was living in the parish of St. Marys, Whitechapel, in 1596, and in 1600 another John belonged to the parish of St. Botolph, Billingsgate. Jeffrey Howland was taxed in 1625 in the parish of St. Botolph, Aldgate. These parishes are all close to or part of the Pilgrim quarter of London.
An original letter from a genealogist in England, in 1879, mentions "the extraordinary fact that I find the surname of Howland in no other county in England than Essex, and originally in no other locality in that county except at Newport and Wicken and their immediate vicinity. Wherever at later periods I have found Howlands in other counties, as Hertfordshire, Surrey, Berks, etc., I have invariably traced them back to Newport and Wicken. It is clear that several families of the name were living there contemporaneously and equally so that they were all in some way connected . . . at the period of the birth of John Howland of the Mayflower, there were living then no less than five John Howlands . . . " In two of these lines, the Howland name terminated in heiresses, one of whom, Elizabeth by name, bequeathed the Streatham Estates to her husband, the Duke of Bedford, who then acquired the additional title of Baron Howland.
John Howland of the Mayflower was born in 1592, the son of Henry Howland, of Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire (near Newport, County Essex). He had at least four brothers, Arthur, George, Henry and Humphrey. His brothers Arthur and Henry came to America about 1623/4 and later joined the Society of Friends. Early records reveal that Arthur, whose home was in Marshfield, was fined many times for "permitting of a Quaker's meeting in his house." When he refused to pay the fines, he was sent to jail. Henry was fined for entertaining Quakers, at the Court of March, 1658.
In mid-Atlantic, during a violent storm, John Howland was almost drowned when a mountainous wave swept him overboard. Grasping a halyard which was trailing astern of the Mayflower, although at first he was several fathoms under water, he finally managed to haul himself to the surface. He was then rescued, by means of a boathook along with the rope, etc.
By November 11, 1620, he had sufficiently recuperated from his oceanic adventure to be the thirteenth signer of the Mayflower Compact. And a few days later, December 6, he was one of the ten chosen to make the third exploration along the shore. On this occasion, they were attacked by the Indians at Eastham, Cape Cod. In Bradford's History, we learn that the mast of the shallop broke during a sudden squall, and the sail was lost overboard. "The weather was very cold, and it froze so hard...the spray of the sea lighting on their coats, they were as if they had been glazed."
John Howland was one of Governor Carver's household. Both Governor Carver and his wife were among the fifty Pilgrims who died during the first few months of the struggle for survival at Plymouth. It is believed that John Howland inherited John Carver's estate, as the Carvers had no children of their own.
About 1623 John Howland married Elizabeth Tilley. She had come on the Mayflower with her parents,who, like the Carvers, were victims of "the sickness" during the first winter.
In 1626, John Howland was one of those (including Bradford, Brewster, Standish, etc.) who assumed the Colony's debt to The Merchant Adventurers, £1800. At least as early as 1633-35, he was an Assistant or member of the Governor's Council, and from 1641 to 1670 was frequently a deputy or representative to the General Court. In 1634, he commanded the Pilgrim's Trading Post at Kennebec (Maine.)
"The 26th of February 1672 Mr. John Howland senir of the Towne of Plymouth Deceased: hee was a Godly man and an ancient Professor in the wayes of Christ hee lived untill he attained above eighty yeares in the world, hee was one of the first Comers into this land and proved a usefull Instrument of Good in his place & was the last man that was left of those that Came over in the shipp Called the May Flower, that lived in Plymouth hee was with honor Intered att the Towne of Plymouth on the 25 of February 1672." (Plymouth Colony Vital Records.)
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  Noted events in his life were:

• He has conflicting birth information of Abt 1599 and Fen Stanton, , , England. ³³⁹⁹

• He signed a will on 29 May 1672. ³³⁹⁷ names wife Elizabeth and daughter Ruth

• He immigrated on board the "Mayflower" on 11 Nov 1620 to Plymouth, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts, USA. ³³⁹⁷

John married Elizabeth TILLEY, daughter of John TILLEY and Joan HURST, on 4 Aug 1623 in Plymouth, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts, USA. (Elizabeth TILLEY was born about 1607, christened on 30 Aug 1607 in Henlow, , Bedfordshire, England ^3093,3400 and died on 21 Feb 1687 in Swansea, Bristol Co., Massachusetts, USA ³⁴⁰⁰.)