(See the previous post for the life of William and Susanna.)

Children of William Howe and Susanna Shoop:1

Elizabeth, b. 1779, d. 1858, m. Henry Frank. In 1850 they were living in Oliver Township with an adopted son George Wright, George’s wife and three children. Henry wrote his will in January 1850, leaving half his estate to his wife Elizabeth, and the other half to George’s children. George was also the executor. It was probated on April 10, 1854.2 Elizabeth died in 1858. She and Henry are buried at the Frank’s Burying Ground, Howe Township.3

Abraham Howe, b. 1781, d. September 25, 1848, m. 1813 Rebecca Werntz.4 They lived in Oliver Township. He wrote his will in May 1845.5 He requested that tombstones worth at least $50 be erected over his grave and that of his wife. His wife Rebecca was to have the house and all the estate for her life, maintaining and educating their daughter Lydia Ann and their adopted daughter Elizabeth Forster. At Rebecca’s death Lydia was to inherit the property and Elizabeth was to have the house in Newport borough. He added a codicil the same day. After his death the house was to be rented out and the proceeds paid to Rebecca. In the fall of 1848 Abraham died, and Rebecca died a week later, on October 1. Abraham and Rebecca are buried at Old Newport Cemetery.6 Lydia later married Philip Bosserman.7

Mary Howe, b. 1783,  d. after 1850, m. Joseph McCollum, lived in Niagara County, New York. Joseph and Mary were living in Niagara County in 1850, where he was a farmer. He wrote his will in 1850, “being desirous of discharging that duty which every man owes to his family of making such disposition of my property as shall be just.” In it he named his wife Mary, making provisions for her comfort, including paying for a “suitable female” to live with her, also eleven children: Johanna (deceased), William, John, Abram, Sarah, Mary Ann, Matilda, Caroline, Catherine, Rebecca, and Amanda “whose husband’s name I do not recollect”.8 He died in 1851 and is buried at North Ridge Cemetery, Niagara County. Mary is not buried there; it is unclear where she lived after he died.

Catharine Howe, b. 1785, d. young.

Susanna Howe, b. 1787, d. 1855, m. Thomas Boyd, r. Perry County. According to family stories he was a weaver and had a fine home and a weaving studio.9 Susanna died in 1855 and was buried at the Gunderman Burial Ground in Bucks Valley, Buffalo Township, Perry County.10 Thomas went to live with children in Iowa, remarried, died there in 1871 in Madison County.11 Known children of Thomas and Susanna were: William, Joseph, Rebecca Ann, Clementine Susanna, Delilah, Mary E., Christiana, and Isaac.12

William Howe, Jr., b. 1789, d. 1860, b. York Co., PA, m. 1817 Catharine Yingst. Their oldest daughter Susannah wrote out the family names and dates.13 William was the most prominent of this generation. In addition to farming, he also owned a sawmill. He served as a director of schools, a commissioner to erect a bridge over the Juniata, a tax collector and president of the school board. In 1846 a frame school house was built on the land of his brother Abraham Howe.14 Howe township was named for him when it was created from part of Buffalo Township. He died in 1860, naming his nine living children in his will (Henry, Abraham, Jerome, Harrison, Elizabeth, Priscilla, Catherine, Susanna, Christiana), plus the heirs of his deceased son William. Catherine had died in 1852. She and William are buried at Old Newport Cemetery.15

John Howe, b. July 29, 1792, d. Aug 14, 1847, m. 1819 Hannah North. Moved to Milford Township, Juniata County before 1840. In addition to farming, he also worked as a plasterer. Two of his sons followed in his trade. John and Hannah had children Elizabeth, Lydia, John, Jesse, Levi, Caroline, and possibly Johanna.16  John died in 1846 and Hannah lived with her children until her death in 1887. John and Hannah are buried at Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery in Mifflintown.17

Edward Howe, b. 1794, d. Oct 1, 1863, m. 1823 Catharine Holopeter, moved to Ohio around 1832. In 1850 they were living in Miami County, Ohio with seven children, all born in Ohio except the oldest: Mary, Rebecca, William, Catherine, Elizabeth, Margaret, Adaline. Their neighbor in the census was Simon Hollypeter, probably a relative of Catherine’s.18 In 1860 three of the daughters were still living with them.19 Catharine died in July 1863; Edward died a few months after. They are buried at Beamsville Cemetery, Darke County, Ohio.

Anna Howe, b. 1796, d. Feb 1881, m. James Marshall, moved to Ohio. In 1850 they were in Sandusky County, Ohio, with daughters Letitia and Elizabeth, plus several grandchildren.20 He died in 1870; she died in 1881. They are buried at Beeler Cemetery, Lucas County, Ohio.21

Margaret Howe, b. 1799, d. 1880, m. William Brown, r. Perry County. William served in the War of 1812 and worked on the Juniata Canal, as well as being a farmer.22 They had children Robert, William, Abram, Susannah, and Margaret.23 William died in 1842; Margaret died in 1880. They are buried at Middle Ridge Presbyterian Churchyard, Juniata Township, Perry County.24

Esther Howe, b. 1802, d. 1878, m. David Mitchell. He died late 1849 or early 1850. In the 1850 census Esther was head of the house, in Greenwood Township, with five children living with her. David wrote his will in 1846.25 All his personal property was to go to his wife Esther, at her death to their son George. Esther was to stay in the house unless she remarried. He also named daughters Mary, Hannah, Martha, Susanna, Luisa, Esther and Margaret. Esther died in 1878; she and David are buried at the Mitchell Cemetery, Millerstown, Perry County.26

William Howe appeared in Warrington Township, York County, around 1779, when his name shows up in tax lists. The names of his parents are unknown. Some researchers list William’s father as Abraham Howe who died in 1766 in Menhallen Township, York County. This is a plausible assumption, since William named his eldest son Abraham. The older Abraham left his estate to “all my children”, without naming them. However the evidence seems to rule out William as a son.The Orphans Court records list seven minor children, but there is no William included.1 In addition William’s granddaughter Susanna Howe Humes wrote in 1890 that he was born on October 18, 1735, when Abraham was only fifteen and Abraham’s wife Elizabeth Mummert was not yet born.2 If William was really born in 1735, then he was twenty-five years older than Susanna and he was in his sixties when their last child was born.

Was William English or German? His name could be either one. York County was full of both English and Germans. His township, Warrington, was settled early by English Quakers who established Newberry Friends Meeting House.3  William was not a Quaker. The evidence of his wife’s family suggests that he was German, although Susanna Howe Humes wrote that he was born in England.4

William married Susanna Shoop some time before 1779, when their first child was born. Susanna was born in 1761, probably in York County, the daughter of Andrew Shoup of Warrington Township, York County. In 1790 Andrew died and left a tract of land in Penns Township, Northumberland County to William and Susanna. William was one of the executors of Andrew’s estate.5

William served in the York County militia from 1779 to 1783. He was part of the Fifth Company, First Batallion, and paid a fine of 16 shillings for some infraction, probably for missing drill or guard duty. He continued in the company when it was moved to the Sixth Batallion, and paid further fines. In 1781 he was listed as “infirm” and did not march with the batallion.6

William and Susanna owned 72 acres in York County, where they were taxed for land, two horses and two cows from 1779 through 1795. The property was about a mile north of Rossville, probably on the Old York Road.7 This was far from the largest holding in the township. Mathias Hollepeter, the other executor of Andrew Shoup’s estate, was taxed for 500 acres. By 1783 the township of Warrington had over 1,000 inhabitants. Rossville was a thriving community, with a nearby tannery and eleven mills.8

Land in York County may have become more expensive by the late 1700s. In 1790 William and Susanna moved north to Cumberland County, to a part that later became Perry County. They were probably living on the land inherited from Andrew. He described it as “All my Lands situated in Penns Township in the County of Northumberland Adjoining to the South and East of of Stophel Brunks Land”. Northumberland County had no Penns Township, whereas Cumberland County does. Stophel “Brunt” had 50 acres surveyed for him in Cumberland County in Aug 1755.9 In 1766 Stophel Brunk issued a caveat against a survey of a tract on the north branch of Middle Creek, Cumberland County, alledging that he had a prior warrant.10 All of this suggests that the land was in Cumberland County, probably in present-day Penn Township.

It is possible that William and Susanna moved with their family during the summer of 1790.They were  listed in the 1790 census in Cumberland County  with three males and four females, an accurate count of their family at the time.11, as William Howe.] In the same census they were also listed in Warrington Township, York County, with three males and four females, adjoining Amos Hussey, one of the witnesses of the will of Andrew Shoup.12 The most likely explanation of the two census records is that William and Susanna moved north during that year.13

In 1797 William and his wife sold their 74 acres in York County to Simeon Hutton for 350 pounds. William signed the transaction, while Susanna made her mark.14 They must have journeyed back down the river for this sale.

In 1800 they were living in Buffalo Township, Cumberland County, with ten people in the household.15 Because of township name changes it is hard to certain whether this is the land inherited from Andrew Shoup, but most likely it is further north, in an area that later became Perry County.16 They lived on the north side of the Juniata, on Bucks Valley Road.17 This area had been settled around 1762. There were three early ferries across the Juniata, plus taverns to accommodate travelers.18

By 1810 William and Susanna may have been living with one of their children, as they do not appear in the census.19 William died in 1814 in Buffalo Township.20 Their son Abraham was the administrator. In December 1816 he came into the Cumberland County Orphans Court at Carlisle to produce his account, showing a balance of $1414.44 in his hands, to be distributed according to law.21 The heirs were the widow Susanna and ten children: Abraham, William, John, Edward, Elizabeth married to Henry Frank, Mary married to Joseph McCollum, Susanna married to Thomas Boyd, Ann, Margaret and Esther. Earlier that year the three youngest daughters, Ann, Margaret, and Esther, had come into the same court to request a guardian for their affairs. The court appointed John Holopeter.22

At the time of his death William owned two adjoining tracts of land along the Juniata. Abraham came into Orphans Court in September 1816 and asked the court to make an inquest of the land and whether it could be divided for the heirs, for “separate enjoyment by them”.23 The court did so, and in mid-1817 each of the four brothers came into court to request confirmation on his share. The record sho. Cumberland County, Orphan’s Court Dockets 1815-1825, Vol. 6-7, page 230, image 142, September 10, 1816ws the acreage each one received, with the valuation, and the amount each had to pay yearly to their mother Susanna and their sisters. Strangely enough the four shares were nowhere near equal. Abraham got 104 acres, William 180, John 146, and Edward 88. But these lands, although adjoining, were valued at a range from over $17 per acre to only 77 cents per acre. So William’s share was worth $3189, John’s $1552, Abraham’s $432, and Edward’s only $68.24 Edward’s land fronted on the Juniata, so it would seem to have some value; perhaps his land was poor for farming.

Susanna lived for ten years after William. She wrote her will in November 1818, signed it by mark. In it she left her “household and kitchen furniture, my bed and my cow” to be divided among her three daughters Anna, Margaret and Esther.25 The interest due for her for her dower (one-third share of William’s estate), which her four sons had been paying to her, she left to them. Abraham and William were to be the executors. Several years later she added a bequest. Her son William and a man named George Frank came before the county register to depose that they were at the house of Susanna on the preceding December 18, during her last sickness, when she said that she wanted her son Edward to have her grey mare and the bell cow “for his trouble”.26 The will was probated on January 19, 1824.

She is buried with William in an old graveyard known as the Freeland-Long Graveyard.27 It lies in present-day Howe Township, off Red Hill Road and Gypsy Hollow Road, and close to Howe Run.28 According to Harry Focht, dean of the Perry County Historians, their house was nearby, further up the valley on Bucks Valley Road.29

In 1830 the four sons adjoin each other in the census, all in Buffalo Township. This would not last. Edward moved his family to Ohio before 1832, and the other sons and daughters gradually moved away.

(See the next post for more information on the next generation.)

Joshua North was born in 1745 in Providence Twp, Montgomery County, the third son of Roger North and Ann Rambo. Roger was a tanner and miller and Joshua would also become a tanner. In 1776 Joshua married Rebecca Cloyd, daughter of James Cloyd and Margaret Wilson of Charlestown, Chester County.1 Joshua and Rebecca settled on Wildcat Creek in Greenwood Township. The creek starts in Raccoon Valley, meanders through Wild Cat Valley and empties into the Juniata opposite Millerstown.2 Joshua’s land appears on an atlas of 1863 in Greenwood Township, on Wildcat Creek right where it flows into the Juniata.3 There Joshua and his brother Caleb built a tannery, in Millerstown, just north of the creek.4  Joshua operated it for sixteen years, then in 1816 sold it to Isaac McCord. Several owners later, it was bought by Charles Ripmann. The secret oak-bark recipe for tanning leather won several prizes for the Ripmann family.5 Joshua and Caleb also bought the island known as North Island, at the Rope Ferry Dam.6 There was a dam there, powered by a waterwheel and a rope ferry.7 The road there is still called Old Ferry Road.

From 1780 to 1782 Joshua served in Capt. David Boal’s second battalion, Col. James Purdy’s regiment of Cumberland County militia. Joshua came from a patriotic family with a tradition of military service; he would not have shirked this responsibility. This does not necessarily mean that he saw active duty in the Revolution, as several of his brothers did. Membership in the militia was compulsory for all able-bodied men of the right age, but only a few militia men were called for active duty.8

Joshua and Rebecca had four children together, born between 1777 and 1785. Rebecca died some time after 1785, and in February of 1796 Joshua married Mary Murray or Murphy in Mifflintown. Her family background is unknown.9 She was still having children in 1812, so she was considerably younger than Joshua. He was 67 when the youngest was born in 1812. Joshua and Mary had six children together before his death.

In his will, written in 1813 and proved in 1822, Joshua named his wife Mary and nine children, and referred to his first wife Rebecca. He directed that the farm and other property should be sold and the proceeds be divided into three equal parts: one part for Mary and two parts to pay for the other legacies. The three oldest sons—James, Caleb, and Joshua—were to inherit her third after her death. He left $70 to James, $210 to Caleb, and $10 to Joshua, $20 to his daughter Rebecca Doty, one dollar to Frederick, $100 to Hannah, $100 to John, $100 to Hiel, and $50 to Rodger. The uneven amounts probably show that they had already received part of their inheritance. The money for John and Hiel was to be held in trust until they turned twenty-one. The money for Rodger was to be used for “the most benefit of the said infant”. Roger and his wives were probably buried in the family burial ground off present-day Rt. 322-22. The old stones are gone now.10

Children of Joshua and Rebecca:11

James, b. 1777, d. 1828, m. 1) in 1800, Euphemia Davis, m. 2) in 1808, Rachel Jordan, dau. of Francis Jordan.12 Operated the tannery with Caleb and Joshua at Millerstown, Perry County13.  Children with Euphemia: Thomas, Lewis. Children with Rachel: Caleb, Sarah, Euphemia, Hannah, James, Amos, Rebecca, Elizabeth.

Caleb, b. 1779, d. 1825 in Millerstown, m. Abigail Lewis. In 1820 he was the Justice of the Peace for Perry  County.14 Children: William, Rebecca.

Joshua, b. 1782, m. — Van Camp; served in the War of 181215

Rebecca, b. 27 Mar 1785, d. 2 Feb 1855, m. 1) Daniel Lewis, 2) in 1811 Ezra Doty. All of her children were with Doty: Ann, Edmund, James, Horace. It is said that Ezra Doty, a young doctor from Connecticut, visited the area around 1790, was called upon to attend a patient, and decided to settle in the area.16 Rebecca is buried at Westminster Presbyterian cemetery with Ezra, who died in 1828.

Children of Joshua and Mary:

Frederick, alive in 1813 when Joshua wrote his will. No further record.

Hannah, b. 1796, d. 1887, m. 1819 John Howe, son of William & Susannah. In 1840 they moved from Perry County to Milford Township, Juniata County. John was a farmer and a plasterer. He died in 1847 and Hannah went to live with one of her children. She outlived John by 40 years. They are buried together at Westminster Cemetery in Mifflintown.17 Children: Elizabeth, Lydia, John, Jesse, Levi, Caroline.

John, b. ab. 1799, d. 1872, m. Jane Houston McAllister, r. McAllisterville; taxed in Fayette Township from 1842 to 1850 as a landowner and storekeeper; in the census in 1870 as an inn keeper. He kept the “brick house on the upper side of the square” as a hotel.18 Jane was the daughter of Hugh McAlister and granddaughter of another Hugh McAlister, a major in the Revolution.19 John and Jane are buried at Lost Creek Presbyterian.20 Children: C.B., Hugh, Thomas, Amelia, Samuel, Adolphus, Edmund, Eliza, Jenny, John, Alice.21

Hiel, b. ab. 1801, moved to Illinois, married Sarah Hutchinson or Hutchman in 1843 and had daughters Ann, Mary, Hannah.22 A farmer in the 1850 census in Northern District, Jackson County, Illinois, age 49.  He is said to have died in 1864, possibly in California.23

Ann, b. 1803, probably died young, not in Joshua’s will.

Oliver Rodger, b. 1812, moved to Illinois, d. unmarried in 1907 in St. Clair County.