Staggs Family History

BIRTH: 1602, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England
DEATH: 23 FEB 1672, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
FATHER: Henry Howland
MOTHER: Margaret
SPOUSE: Elizabeth Tilley (1607-1686)

John Howland, a Mayflower passenger, was born in 1592 in Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire, England. He married Elizabeth Tilley, also a Mayflower passenger, in 1623. They had ten children in 24 years. He died on February 23, 1672, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, having lived a long life of 80 years, and was buried there.

His story

John Howland was a single man when he traveled on the Mayflower, as a servant of John Carver.

John was probably born at Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, circa 1598-99, the son of Henry and Margaret Howland. He died at Kingston, 23 February 1672/73. John married at Plymouth, circa 1623, Elizabeth Tilley. Elizabeth and her parents, John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley were also passengers on the Mayflower. Elizabeth was baptized at Henlow, Bedford, England, 30 August 1607; she died at Swansea, 21 December 1687.

Bradford relates that during the voyage, “in a mighty storm, a lusty young man called John Howland… [was] thrown into sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard…till he was hauled up…and then with a boat hook…his life saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth.”

John received four acres in the 1623 land division; in addition to himself, these shares would be for his wife Elizabeth, and her parents who died the first winter. In the 1627 cattle division he is listed with wife Elizabeth, and children John Jr. and Desire Howland.

From his beginnings as a servant, John rose quickly in status; he was the head of his group of 13 people in the 1627 cattle division and by 1633 he was serving as an Assistant to the Governor. He also served many times as deputy, surveyor of highways and land, grand juror and selectman.

Legacy of John Howland

Married

Married Elizabeth Tilley (1607-1686) 14 Aug 1623, at Plymouth

Children

• Desire Howland (1625-1683) married John Gorham Sr (1619-1676)
• John Howland (1627-1702) married Mary Lee (1632-1697)
• Hope Howland (1629-1684) married John Chipman (1621-1708)
• Elizabeth Howland (1631-1683) married 1st Ephraim Hicks (1624-1649) on 13 Sep 1649, married 2nd John Dickinson (1622-1683) on 10 Jul 1651
• Lydia Howland (1633-Aft. 1711) married James Brown (1623-1710)
• Hannah Howland (1637-1705) married Jonathan Bosworth (1636-1717)
• Joseph Howland (1640-1704) married Elizabeth Southworth (1642-1717)
• Jabez Howland (1644-1712) married Bethiah Thacher (1645-1725)
• Ruth Howland (1646-1679) married Thomas Cushman Jr (1637-1726)
• Isaac Howland (1649-1723) married Elisabeth Vaughan (1653-1727)

Documents

• Birth Records
  • Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775 > John Howland, Birth Date: 1592
  • North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 > John Howland, Birth Date: 1592
  • Find a Grave Birth Date: 1592
• Marriage Records
  • U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 Name: John Howland; Gender: Male; Marriage Date: 14 Aug 1623; Marriage Place: New England, USA; Death Year: About 1629; Spouse: Elizabeth Howland
  • Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775 > John Howland, Marriage Date: 1623; Spouse: Elizabeth Tilley
  • Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 > Howland, John, came on the “Mayflower” as a member of Gov. Carver’s family, d. 23 Feb. 1673; m. Elizabeth, d. 21 Dec. 1687, dau. John Tilley.
  • North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 > John Howland, Spouse: Elizabeth Tillie
• Death records
  • The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011 > Volume 009 (1855) > John Howland; Death Date: 23 Feb 1673; Death Place: Plymouth, USA
  • Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775 > John Howland, Death Date: 22 Feb 1672; Death Place: Plymouth
  • Plymouth, Massachusetts, Epitaphs from Burial Hill, 1678–1891 > Page 3 regarding John Howland > Transcription of the portion of page 3 regarding John Howland
  • Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 > Howland, John, came on the “Mayflower” as a member of Gov. Carver’s family, d. 23 Feb. 1673; m. Elizabeth, d. 21 Dec. 1687, dau. John Tilley.
  • North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 > John Howland, Death Date: 24 Feb 1672
  • Find a Grave Death Date: 23 Feb 1672
  • Burial: Burial Hill, Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA
• Other
  • Signers of the Mayflower Compact > John Howland
  • The Great Migration Begins > Name: John Howland; Gender: Male; Birth Date: 1592; Origin Place: Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire; Emigration Year: 1620; First Residence Place: Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Death Date: 1672; Ship: Mayflower
  • Lists of Passengers and the Ships Which Brought Them – 1620 > Mayflower > John Howard
  • The Howlands in America by William Howland > John Howland
  • The Howlands in America by William Howland > Children of John and Elizabeth Howland
  • The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgram Fathers > John Holand
  • A brief genealogical and biographical history of Arthur, Henry, and John Howland and their descendants, by Franklin Howland, 1885 > 10 pages regarding John Howard
  • John Howard’s will > A brief genealogical and biographical history of Arthur, Henry, and John Howland and their descendants, by Franklin Howland, 1885
  • Mayflower Deeds and Probates, 1600-1850 > John Howland
  • Massachusetts, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890 > Name: John Howland; Residence Place: Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts; Residence Year: 1632; Page number: 252
  • Mayflower Births and Deaths, Vol. 1 and 2 > Children of John Howland and Elizabeth
  • North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 > Children of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley

Relation of John Howland to Steven Barry Staggs: 9th great-grandfather

Page last updated November 24, 2025

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