Howe Nehemiah

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Howe GenealogiesJohn Howe of Sudbury & Marlboroughhttp://content.ancestry.com/Browse/BookView.aspx?dbid=11748&iid=dvm_GenMono001261-00017-1&sid=&gskw=&cr=1Nehemiah Howe (1693-1747) (Samuel, John)...In the spring and early summer of 1739, he bought three full township rights in the new town called Great Meadows, N.H. the records of those deeds are found at Springfield, Mass. In 1739 or 1740 he became one of the early settlers of that town. The year 1744 broght an Indian war, with all its attending horrors, the settlers were obliged to seek safety and shelter in the forts. On the 11th of Oct 1745, as he was cutting wood a few rods from the fort, he was surprised by a band of Indians and taken captive before help could reach him. He was taken to Canada, where he was kept a prisoner in Quebec for a year and a half, when he died of prison fever 25 May 1747, just as he was about to be redeemed. His death was a severe blow to his family, and to the community where he was known, as one of his contemporaries wrote of him, "he was greatly beloved by all who knew him." ... (Recorded in ‘Howe Genealogies,’ by Daniel Wait Howe, p21)14. NEHEMIAH3 HOWE (Samuel,2 John1), born in Sudbury, Mass., about 1693. After his father’s death, he took the estate, and paid off the other heirs. In 1717 when he was 24 years old, he sold the estate in Sudbury, and moved to Framingham. In 1727 he was a petitioner for the town of Graf ton, to which place he moved, and the second town meeting was held in his house 19 April 1728. He was one of the original members of the church 28 Dec. 1731, and was one of the Selectmen 1735, school committee 1736, and was that year paid £4, is, 8d. for keeping the school. He was Town Clerk 1736-7-8, assessor 1737, and school committee 1738-9. In the spring and early summer of 1739, he bought three full township rights in the new town called Great Meadows, N. H., the records of those deeds are found at Springfield, Mass. In 1739 or 1740 he became one of the early settlers of that town. The year 1744 brought an Indian war, with all its attending horrors, the settlers were obliged to seek safety and shelter in the forts. On the i ith of Oct. 1745, as he was cutting wood a few rods from the fort, he was surprised by a band of Indians and taken captive before help could reach him. He was taken jo Canada, where he was kept a prisoner in Quebec for a year and a half, when he died of prison fever 25 May 1747, just as he was about to be redeemed. His death was a severe blow to his family, and to the community where he was known, as one of his contemporaries wrote of him, “he was greatly beloved by all who knew him.” He was possessed of cultivation and refinement far beyond the ordinary. He kept a journal during his prison life which was of inestimable value, for the many items therein recorded of other captives whose fate otherwise would never have been known. It is also a pricless legacy to his descendants, showing as it does, the beautiful Christian character of one who could endure the severest hardships with a grace and dignity rarely to be found.He married MARGARET WILLARD, daughter of Capt. Benjamin and Sarah (Larkin) Willard, and granddaughter of Major Simon Willard, of Colonial fame. Capt. Benjamin Willard commanded a company in an expedition against the Indians. After his death, his widow married for her second husband, 26 Jan. Ensign James Miller of Hopkinton and Graf ton, and died 25 Jan. 1758. The following was taken from the diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman of Westboro, bearing date of 25 Jan. 1758. “We had ye sorrowing tidings of ye wife of Ensign James Miller. She was heretofore ye wife of Mr. Nehemiah How of Graf ton, who was carried away captive frem ye grt Meadows. Her maiden name was Willard, daughter of Captain Benjamin Willard, a woman of many virtues; her death is not only a great loss to me and mine, but to all 22 JOHN HOWE OF SUDBURY AND MARLBOROUGHye place. May ye God of all Grace sanctifie it to me and mine to ye bereaved Ensign (who is under great sufferings by ye palsey) and to all ye Relatives and neighborhood.”

Family/Spouse: Willard Margaret. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]