Edward Howell, Gent. (1584–1655),
born in
Marsh Gibbon
Marsh Gibbon is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is close to the A41 and the border with Oxfordshire about east of Bicester.
History
The village name comes from the English word 'marsh', describing the typical state o ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
,
was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
who settled at
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
in 1635.
He was known for the founding of
Southampton, New York
Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...
with Edward Howell, Edmond Farrington, Edmund Needham, Abraham Pierson the Elder, Thomas Sayre, Josiah Stanborough, George Welbe, Henry Walton, Job Sayre, and
Thomas Halsey in 1639/40.
Early life and immigration to New England
Edward Howell was baptized on 26 July 1584 at
Marsh Gibbon
Marsh Gibbon is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is close to the A41 and the border with Oxfordshire about east of Bicester.
History
The village name comes from the English word 'marsh', describing the typical state o ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, England.
He was son of Henry Howell, Gent. and Margaret Hawten (Hawtayne)
and heir to
Westbury Manor.
Howell and his family (see below) immigrated to Boston c. 1635,
where they first settled at
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
, where they were one of the four largest landowners.
In 1638, he sold Westbury Manor to Richard Francis.
On 14 Mar 1638/39, he took the oath as Freeman in Boston, Massachusetts
where he received 500 acres at Lynn.
Founding of Southampton, Long Island, New York
![Watermill-ny1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Watermill-ny1.jpg)
During the winter of 1638/40, a new settlement was projected on Long Island, New York, of which Edward was the leader.
The agreement, or term, of this new settlement, which is still in existence in the Southampton Town Clerk's Office, is believed to be in Edward's own handwriting.
In 1640 the Howell family removed permanently to
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Long Island, New York, first settling at "Old Town", and then in 1648, at what is now the current village of Southampton (New York).
The original founders, or "undertakers" as they were then called, of Southampton were: Edward Howell; Edmund Farrington; Josias Stanborouh; George Welbe; Job Sayre; Edmund Needham; Henry Walton; Daniel How; John Cooper; Allen Bread; William Harker;
Thomas Halsey; Thomas Newell; John Farrington; Richard Odell; Phiip Kyrtland; Thomas Farrington; and Thomas Terry.
He took a leading role in the affairs of Southampton, serving in many capacities there an in Connecticut, of which Southampton became a part following a request made by himself and two others 25 October 1644.
He served as magistrate in Southampton
until 1653 and Assistant of the
Connecticut Colony
The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...
from 1647 to 1653.
The original settlement, called "Mecox", was a name taken from the Shinnecock Indians for "flat or plain country."
Howell announced that he would build a mill for the grinding of grain, rye and wheat into flour. The colonists expected him to build a wind mill but Howell instead chose an area of land that allowed for a stream to power the mill (one which empties into the present Mecox Bay).
Nearly four hundred years later, Howell's
Water Mill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...
still stands in present-day
Water Mill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...
where it was listed on
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1983.
For one hundred and fifty years, the Howells were the most extensive landowners, the largest taxpayers and held the highest offices.
Family
Edward Howell married (1st) at
Odell, Bedfordshire
Odell is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, north Bedfordshire, England, approximately north-west of Bedford town centre, near the villages of Harrold, Felmersham, Sharnbrook and Carlton.
History Roman and Saxon peri ...
, England
Frances Paxton
on 7 April 1616 (d. 1630).
They had four sons and three daughters:
# Henry Howell
(bapt. 2 Dec 1618, bur. 29 Aug 1619)
# John Howell
(bapt. 24 Nov 1622)
# Edward Howell
(bapt. Sep 1626)
# Richard Howell (bapt. 1629, d. aft. 1698)
m. Elizabeth Halsey (dau. of
Thomas Halsey of Hertfordshire, England & founder of Southampton, New York)
# Dorothy Howell
# Margaret Howell
(bapt. 24 Nov 1622)
m. the Rev. John Moore of Southold, Long Island
# Margery Howell
(bapt. 1 Jun 1628)
He married (2nd) Eleanor (before 1632).
# Henry Howell
# Arthur Howell
(bapt. 1632)
# Edmund Howell
Death and legacy
Edward Howell died shortly before 6 October 1655
and was buried in the Southend Cemetery,
Southampton, Long Island, New York.
In 1657, his widow. Eleanor, was granted 20 shillings in compensation for her house being burned by a Native tribe.
She next married before 14 March 1663 Thomas Sayre.
Th
Edward Howell Family Association(EHFA) is a lineage society for descendants of Howell.
See also
*
Chauncey Howell
Chauncey D. Howell, Jr. (July 15, 1935 – September 20, 2021) was an American newscaster, radio journalist, and print journalist; he was a five-time Emmy Award recipient. Howell was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and attended Amherst College as ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Edward
English Puritans
People from Southampton (town), New York
People from Aylesbury Vale
1584 births
1655 deaths