Hannah & Samuel Howse's Ancestor |
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Note: Before 1752 the year began on March 25th. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year, not the beginning. |
Reverend John Howse was born between 1560 and 1566, some researchers say in Eastwell, Kent, England, but show no documentation, and it is very unlikely. He is said to be a younger son of Thomas Hulse and Alice Hinton, but again there is no documentation that he is their son, although they did have a son named Thomas. Some researchers say he was born at Cossington, Leicestershire, some 95 miles northwest of London, in 1564, but again with no documentation. Other researchers believe he is from the Besthorpe Howse’s of Norfolk County, that Joshua Crowell Howes outlined in his book Genealogy of the Howes Family in America, but again shows no connection to our John. The Evans Family website states, “Indeed, this geography would be favorable in support of his education at Cambridge, his marriage in nearby Suffolk, and his probable Puritan sympathies, since the general region of East Anglia was a stronghold of Puritan sentiment. Moreover, due to the custom of primogeniture it was common for younger sons of country gentlemen to enter the service of the Church, since they did not inherit land. Nevertheless, although these coincidences are suggestive, they remain entirely unsubstantiated and the origin of John Howse and his wife must be properly regarded as unknown.” Thus his ancestry remains a mystery. Researchers say John married Alice, surname said to be Lloyd, on August 30, 1592 in Eastwell, but a marriage record for them can’t be found in the Eastwell church register. Others say they married in Lavenham, Suffolk County, which is a possibility. There is an entry for a Jn Howse & Alce Smith als Hubbard who married in 1588 in Yoxford in Boyd’s Marriage Index for Suffolk, which is also a possiblity. (Yoxford is about 94 miles northeast of London.) They may have been married in Egerton, as he was the curate there in 1592. Unfortunately, records for that church are missing from mid 1587 to mid 1593. So her surname and their marriage date are unknown. Some researchers go on to say she could have been a second wife.
John, called the “parson of Eastwell,” wrote his Nuncupative Will (filed in the Consistory Court of Canterbury, volume 49, fo. 306) on August 30, 1630. (Mouse over and click on the image of his will on left to enlarge it in a new window/tab.) In it he wrote, “To my wife Alice all my goods, and I make her my sole exectrix.” The will was witnessed by “Elizabeth Champion, one of the testators daughters, Drusilla Howes, and Mrs. Joane Wallis.” John died shortly afterward in Eastwell and was buried there in the St. Mary's churchyard on September 2nd as Mr John Howse.
St. Mary's (mouse over photo right) was an Anglican parish church in the hamlet of Eastwell, dating back to the 15th century that today in in ruins. In 1951 the roof of the nave collapsed, and the remaining shell of the church was demolished in 1956, leaving only the 15th century footings and tower, and the 19th century mortuary chapel. There is a churchyard cemetery that is next to the ruins, but it is not certain that John and Alice’s graves are still there. We do know that most of the monuments are in the care of the Victoria and Albert Museum which includes two chest tombs of nobility. |
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