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John Howland
Back to the Mayflower Passenger List
| Birth: About
1599 (see notes below), the son of Henry and Margaret Howland of
Fenstanton, Huntington. |
 Mike
Haywood's painting, "Pilgrim Overboard," depicts John Howland near-death
experience when he fell overboard during a storm on the Mayflower's
voyage. This giclée print on canvas measures 32" x 22", and
is meant to be stretched like a traditional canvas painting. Every
Howland descendant should own a copy of this great piece of art! A
great gift idea.
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Marriage:
- Elizabeth Tilley, about 1624, Plymouth.
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| Death: 23 or 24
February 1672/3, Rocky Nook, Kingston. |
| Children:
Desire, John, Hope, Elizabeth, Lydia, Hannah, Joseph, Jabez, Ruth, and
Isaac. |
Biographical Summary
John Howland was born about 1599,
probably in Fenstanton, Huntington. He came on the Mayflower
in 1620 as a manservant for Governor John Carver. During the
Mayflower's voyage, Howland fell overboard during a storm, and was
almost lost at sea--but luckily for his millions of descendants living
today (including Presidents George Bush and George W. Bush, and Mrs.
Theodore Roosevelt) he managed to grab ahold of the topsail halyards,
giving the crew enough time to rescue him with a boathook.
It has been traditionally reported that John Howland was born about
1592, based on his reported age at death in the Plymouth Church Records.
However, ages at death were often overstated, and that is clearly the
case here. John Howland came as a servant for John Carver, which
means he was under 25 years old at the time (i.e. he was born after
1595). William Bradford, in the falling-overboard incident, refers
to Howland as a "lusty young man", a term that would not likely have
applied to a 28-year old given that Bradford himself was only
30--Bradford did call 21-year old John Alden a "young man" though.
Howland's wife Elizabeth was born in 1607: a 32-year old marrying a
17-year old is an unlikely circumstance. Howland's last child was
born in 1649: a 57-year old Howland would be an unlikely father.
All these taken together demonstrate that Howland's age was likely
overstated by at least 5 years. Since he signed the Mayflower
Compact, we can assume he was probably about 21 in 1620, so the best
estimate for his birth would be about 1599.
John Howland had several brothers who also came to New England, namely
Henry Howland (an ancestor to both Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald
Ford) and Arthur Howland (an ancestor to Winston Churchill). |
Additional Resources
 Mayflower
Families Through Five Generations
Volume 1: John Howland's Daughter Desire, for Five Generations
Volume 2: John Howland's Son John, for Five Generations.
The Five Generations series is the best
genealogical research available on the first five generations of the
descendants of John Howland. |
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