Ancestor Birthday - October 1 - John Howe 1732

John Howe was my 5th gt-grandfather, born 1 Oct 1732, in Wallingford, the Colony of Connecticut. John's parents were Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Gaylord) Howe. The Howe Genealogies published in 1929 listed 11 siblings for John with at least 6 of his siblings living long enough to be married. It showed that 4 died as young children.

In the History of the town of Goshen, Connecticut a listing of marriages showed that John married twice: 1 Apr 1756 to Mary Wadhams and on 15 Apr 1766 to Lydia Norton. After he and Mary had 4 children: Mary, Experience, Anna and Deliverance, Mary died 30 Sept 1765.

John and Lydia had 7 children: John, Ichabod (my 4th gt-grandfather), Isaac, Luman, Daniel, Seth, and Lydia.

Since I had not found a death date for John, I checked some of the family trees on Ancestry.com. It was easy to see that one which said he died in 1736 was incorrect. But one gave a date of 1781 in Canaan Connecticut. The Howe Genealogies stated that John had moved to Canaan in 1766, apparently after his marriage to Lydia. The youngest child was born about 1779, so this date was plausible. Most researchers have left his death date blank, so I probably will also until I find some evidence about when and where he died.

Ancestor Birthday - September 15 - Jeremiah Howe - 1675 - 1749

It was in February when I wrote about ancestors who lived in Wallingford, Connecticut. Now it is time to write about it again.

Jeremiah Howe, my 7th gt-grandfather, was born 15 Sep 1675 in the town of Wallingford, Connecticut, the son of Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Peck) Howe. I have 4 Jeremiah Howes in a row on my pedigree chart and this Jeremiah is number 2 going back. Reading the Barbour collection of vital records for Wallingford can get quite confusing with so many Jeremiahs.

Between 1700 and 1710 there were a number of marriages and deaths of wives for Jeremiah and his father. I will call them Jeremiah Sr and Jr to try to help keep them straight. I am not convinced that the Howe genealogy written by Daniel Wait Howe and published in 1929 has all of them correctly identified, but I will use their record.

Jeremiah Sr's first wife Elizabeth died before Dec 1701 because he married Elizabeth Culver then. This 2nd Elizabeth died 17 Jun 1703. A year later, Jeremiah Jr married Judith Cook, daughter of Samuel and Hope (Parker) Cook 20 Jun 1704. It was 9 Apr 1705 when Jeremiah Sr married widow Mary Cook. Jeremiah Jr's wife Judith died 20 Mar 1708 and about six months later on 7 Sep 1708 he married a Mary Cook.

Jeremiah Jr and his wives had at least 5 children including one named Jeremiah. From the Barbour collection we learn that Jeremiah Sr died 22 Sep 1740 at age 90 and his son died 9 years later, 22 Sep 1749 "in the 75th yr of his age." My 7th gt-grandfather had just past his 74th birthday, so he was in his 75th year. They both died in Wallingford.

Ancestor Birthday - February 28th - Judith Cook - 1679-1708

Judith Cook was my 7th great-grandmother. It was over three hundred years ago that she lived. She was born in Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut on 28 Feb 1679 to Samuel and Hope (Parker) Cook. The Barbour Collection just gives the year a 1679. Comparing her birth date to others in the family I believe it was probably 1679/80. Another family researcher has listed eleven brother and sisters for her with at least seven living to be married. This is a family I need to do more research on. The original town record may show the correct birth year and show the others in the family. I suspect that Judith was named for her grandmother, Judith (Birdsall) Cook.

Judith married Jeremiah Howe 20 Apr 1704 in Wallingford. Sadly she lived only a few years more as she died 20 Mar 1708, probably 1708/09. Apparently she left two small children, Jeremiah and Judith, both named for their parents. I am sad to know so little of this woman who lived a relatively short life. 

Ancestor Birthday - February 17 - Jeremiah Howe - 1705-1783

Jeremiah Howe, my 6th great-grandfather, was born over 300 year ago, on 17 Feb 1704/05 in the town of Wallingford, Connecticut. I believe he was the son of Jeremiah Howe (born 1675) and Judah Cook. His father and mother were married 20 Apr 1704, ten months before Jeremiah was born. They had a daughter named Judah, who was born 22 Oct 1706. Jeremiah's mother died 20 Mar 1708 when he was only three years old. His father remarried about 3 1/2 months later to Mary Cook, a widow. In the next few years Jeremiah became the older brother to four half-siblings.

At age 25, Jeremiah married Elizabeth Gailor or Gaylord on 11 Mar 1730. They continued living in Wallingford for the births of their first eleven children, but between Oct 1746 and Oct 1748 they moved about 40 miles northwest to the fairly new town of Goshen. It had been settled about 1739 and soon after Jeremiah and Elizabeth moved there and their 12th child had been born the town was incorporated in 1749. Jeremiah lived in Goshen through the Revolutionary War times and died there 20 Nov 1783.

A family story has been handed down that our Howe family was related to the British General Howe from the Revolutionary War. However, Jeremiah's grandfather was born in the Connecticut Colony in 1650, a hundred twenty-five years before the War. If there is any relationship, it would be distant, so I won't worry about it now.