John Howland b. 1599 Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England

1599 -

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Name John Howland

Born 1599 Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England

Gender Male

Arrival 21 Nov 1620 Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

on the Mayflower

Reference Number 4111

Siblings 5 Siblings

+	1. Henry Howland, b. Bef 1599, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England , d. 1 Jan 1670/71, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA (Age > 72 years) ▻ Mary Unknown, m. Bef 1628
+	2. John Howland, b. 1599, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England ▻
	3. Humphrey Howland, b. Aft 1599
	4. Arthur Howland, b. Aft 1599
	5. Simon Howland, b. Aft 1599
	6. George Howland, b. Aft 1599

Person ID I4111 FelsingFam

Last Modified 16 Feb 2024

Father	Henry Howland, b. Bef 1583, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England
Relationship	natural
Mother	Margaret Unknown, b. Bef 1583
Relationship	natural
Family ID	F549	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Children

1. Elizabeth Howland, b. 1633 [natural]

Last Modified 16 Feb 2024

Family ID F3204 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Event Map

Arrival - on the Mayflower - 21 Nov 1620 - Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

= Link to Google Earth

Notes

From MayflowerHistory.com:

John Howland was born about 1599, probably in Fenstanton, Huntington. He came on the Mayflower in 1620 as a manservant of 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 hold of the topsail halyards, giving the crew enough time to rescue him with a boat-hook.

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 a relatively 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 at least 18 to 21 years old in 1620.

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).