So He’s That Brother
The wind was howling and the seas were treacherous when a horrendous wave struck and a calamity was barely averted. John Howland was swept overboard. William Bradford recorded this momentous event, stating, “In sundry of these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high, as they could not bear a know of sail, but were forced to hull for divers days together. And in one of them, as they thus lay at hull in a mighty storm, a lusty young man called John Howland, coming upon some occasion above the gratings was, with a seele of the ship, thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length. Yet he held his hold (though he was sundry fathoms under water) till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with boat hook and other means got into the ship again and 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 (Descendants of Henry Howland).”
And so, John Howland, became famous for falling off the Mayflower. In fact, you can read about this tragedy in the picture book, The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland’s Good Fortune by P. J. Lynch. Most likely John was actually in his late teens or early 20’s when this calamity occurred.
John Howland was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact which established “laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices for the good of the colony (History.com).”
John Howland was the more famous brother of my 9th great grandfather, Henry Howland. Henry and another brother, Arthur, followed John to Plymouth Colony. While John was a Pilgrim, both Henry and Arthur were Quakers. (Brothers Humphry and George stayed in England.)
Henry and his wife, Mary, were the 2nd great grandparents of Timothy Smith who I wrote about in my blog dated June 3, 2022 titled What’s a Pacifist to Do? (Coble). Timothy was also a Quaker.
(On the topic of Extended Family, my 9th great grandfather, Henry Howland, is supposedly a direct ancestor of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.)
Sources
Coble, Jacquelyn. “Conflict – Month 6 of 12 Ancestors in 12 Months.” Journeying with Jacque, 3 June 2022, https://journeyingwithjacque.com/conflict-month-6-of-12-ancestors-in-12-months/.
Descendants of Henry Howland, https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~smason/genealogy/howland5/aqwn02.htm.
FamilySearch.org, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MTDG-2WT/henry-howland-1600-1670.
“Henry Howland II (1604-1671) – Find a Grave…” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231207249/henry-howland?_gl=1%2Ad1acib%2A_ga%2AMjEzNDcwNTQxOS4xNjQ1MjA1MjE0%2A_ga_4QT8FMEX30%2AMTY1NzkxNzI1MC40MC4xLjE2NTc5MTgyMTAuMA..
History.com Editors. “Mayflower Compact.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/mayflower-compact.
“Howland.” MayflowerHistory.com, http://mayflowerhistory.com/howland.
“John Howland (1591-1672) – Find a Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6613808/john-howland.