The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: MA
Qualifying Service: Lieutenant / Civil Service
Birth: 03 Dec 1738 Barnstable / Barnstable / MA Death: 23 Feb 1802 Barnstable / Barnstable / MA
Qualifying Service Description:
DAR Note: TREAT AS NEW ANCESTOR
Captain Micah Hamlin, Colonel Nathaniel Freeman
Grand Juror and Warden
Additional References:
MA Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Volume 8, pg 402
Muster/Payrolls of the Rev War (MA and Rhode Island)
Volume 36, pg 50-53, 216 (images 31-34, 277)
Volume 55, File N, pg 95 (image 56)
Barnstable Town Records, 1640-1793, pg 405, 416
Spouse: Elizabeth Bodfish Children: Ansel; Jabez; Isaiah;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
Photo is displayed courtesy of David C. Schafer, MASSAR
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
From the Route 149 cemetery entrance, travel 8 yards on the cemetery road. Turn right and walk 81 yards to the gravesite of Captain Ansell Howland
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: David Crandall Schafer
Ansel Howland was born December 3, 1738, at Barnstable, Massachusetts, a son of Jabez Howland and Elizabeth Percival. He had six siblings: James, Jabez, Elizabeth, Mercy, Nathaniel and Mary.1
Ansel Howland married Elizabeth Bodfish, October 27, 1768, at Barnstable. She was a daughter of Robert Bodfish and Elizabeth Hadaway. They were the parents of three children, Ansel, Jabez and Isaiah.2
Ansel Howland served the Town of Barnstable as Warden in 1772 and again in 1781. He was chosen to “…take care of the burial ground near his house...” at a March 23, 1779 town meeting. In 1780, he was a member of a Grand Jury.3
Defense of the seacoast and shipping lanes was an ongoing struggle for the Colonies with its British adversaries, and frequently necessitating “calling out” of the militia. September 5, 1778 was such an occasion. A British fleet of 32 vessels commanded by Major-General Charles Gray was anchored at Clark’s Cove, at the southern coast of Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Ordered to destroy vessels, wharves, and warehouses utilized by “rebel” privateers, four thousand British troops swarmed the coastal communities of Bedford, Fairhaven, and Acushnet. In response, Massachusetts Colony Brigadier General Joseph Otis called an alarm at Dartmouth, Bedford, and Falmouth in September 1778.
The payroll for wages and mileage due to Captain Micah Hamlen’s Company of Matrosses in Colonel Freeman’s Regiment of the Militia lists Lieutenant Ansel Howland with 11 days of service and wages of three pounds and six shillings.4
The British Man of War Somerset was cast ashore at Truro, Massachusetts, November 2, 1778, by a Northeast Gale. Over 400 crew members were taken prisoner and guarded by local militia. The Somerset’s crew was marched to Boston under guard of the militia companies from each Cape town.
The Muster Roll of Captain Micah Hamlen’s Company of Matrosses in Colonel Freeman’s Regiment for guarding the prisoners of the Somerset lists Ansel Howland, Lieutenant, five days in service, ten pounds’ wages due.5
Continued attacks by British vessels to capture supplies and livestock from the seacoast communities of Buzzard’s Bay and Vineyard Sound necessitated calling out the militia in the spring of 1779, and again in September 1779. The Payrolls of Captain Micah Hamlen’s Company of Colonel Nathaniel Freeman’s Regiment lists Ansel Howland, Lieutenant, with a total service of 15 days.6
Howland continued his service to the Town of Barnstable. In 1783 and 1791, he was selected to take care of Sandy Neck. He was a fence viewer in 1784.
Ansel Howland died February 23, 1802, aged 63 years. He was buried at the cemetery of West Barnstable. Barnstable town records document Elizabeth Bodfish Howland died October 4, 1821.
References:
1. Barnstable Transcript of Records, 1713-1781, Vol. 2, Pg. 397.
2. Barnstable Town Records, Vol. 3, Pg. 200.
3. Barnstable Town Records, 1640-1793, Pg. 360, 397, 405, 416.
4. Muster/Payrolls of the Revolutionary War (Massachusetts and Rhode Island) Vol. 36, Pg. 216 (image 277).
5. Ibid, Vol. 55, File N, Pg. 95 (image 56).
6. Ibid, Vol. 36, Pg. 31, 32, 34 (images 50-53).
Author: Dr. Michael Bernard Gunn
HOWLAND, JOHN (Brown County) [38.8171997 -83.7350006]
Born February 16, 1755 at Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, a son of John Howland and Deborah Shepherd. He was a Massachusetts sergeant in the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Elizabeth Kirby (1760-1850); children: Ichabod b. 1782 and Thomas b. 1794. He died in 1841 at Decatur, Ohio, and was buried at Liberty Chapel Cemetery, Decatur, Brown County, Ohio 45168. References: Roster of Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Ohio. Wilbur R. Branthoover, compiler. Veterans Affairs, Ohio. Reprinted by OHSDAR, 1929. SAR Ancestor # P-186554. Gravesite unknown.
Cemetery number #- 41826. Find-a-Grave Memorial #- 111442203.
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