Sorting Out All Those Daniel Howards

This blogger thinks that the untold story of how two Daniel Howards, the older and younger, influenced much of the democratic-republican voting of the 1830's and 1840's in Foster, Rhode Island - and Jeremiah Phillips and his family.  They were by all accounts of towering height, prodigiously long lived, somewhat resembling another hero - Andrew Jackson - and as honest as the day is long.  The people of Foster Center adored them, and they were each elected to office for more than 5 decades.  The son of Daniel Jr. was Horace, and he, too, was highly influential.

Here is a little extract I composed from a reference source.

Daniel Howard the younger.
Even he has that Andrew Jackson look.
His father, it was stated, more so.

The Real Andrew Jackson

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From a History of Isaac Howard of Foster, Rhode Island and his Descendants who have Borne the name Howard, by Daniel Howard, Windsor Locks, Conn., 1901.

In the beginning was Isaac Howard, birth year unknown, birth town unknown.  He came to America in 1722, and landed at Marblehead, MA.   In  afew years, he made it to Rhode island, and settled west of then-Warwick (the future Greene Station, of Coventry township).  Then he moved to Gibb's Pond, then to Rice City (Vaughn's Hill), then in 1752 settled on a plot of land south of the future Foster Center.  In 1755 he built a house, replaced years later (1831) by grandson Gorton Howard.

He married one Martha Rice of Coventry having eight known living children.  One of the youngest was named Daniel born in then-Scituate, later Foster.  Before discussing him, it must be noted the significant trait of the Howard family – their enormous height, and their proclivity to long life.

Isaac Howard died 4 November 1776,  leading guesses by his family that he was born about the year 1700.

Daniel was born 20 July 1752, though it is unknown why his first name was chosen.  Family history presents a curious coincidence that on 28 September 1753 Isaac purchased 20 acres of land on the Moosup River from a Daniel Abbot of Providence.

The original Daniel Howard married one Dorothy Clarke 14 February 1776.  He acquired 40 acres of Isaac's farm, and years later was the site of the so-called Howard Hill school house.  By all accounts he resembled President Andrew Jackson and was six-feet-five-inches tall.  He was justice of the peace for 15 years, and served in the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1790, the year Rhode island ratified the U.S. Constitution.  He was town clerk for 25 terms dying in office.  He died 14 September 1827.

Of this Mr Daniel Howard there were ten children, his namesake, Daniel, born 6th on 15 March 1787.

His education was in the local schools being taught by one Benjamin Dolton of the University of Dublin, Ireland.  Daniel was known by his outstandingly beautiful handwriting and was for most of his father's clerkship, his assistant.  Upon Daniel the elder's death, Daniel the younger took the town clerk's office and held it for 25 years.  It is this Daniel who married Jeremiah Phillips' sister.  This Daniel died in 1879.

He had one son, Horace born 31 January 1810.  He was elected as one of two delegates to the late summer 1842 state constitutional convention defending suffrage.

The Daniel Howard (A.M.) and writer of the Howard genealogy was born in Foster, R.I. On 15 December 1864.  This Daniel later became principal of Windsor Lock, Conn.

This Daniel Howard's father was Pardon Tillinghast Howard (born 2 August 1839, m. 3 May 1863, still alive in 1901); Pardon Tillinghast Howard was son of Horace Howard, who was son of Daniel Howard the younger, the son of Daniel Howard the elder, the son of the family founder Isaac..