b.Bef. 1636 England
d.30 Jan 1694/95 Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
m. 26 Mar 1657
Facts and Events
A Quick Analysis of Competing Theories of The Origins of Abraham How
Sources cited on this page present three versions of the origins of Abraham How/Howe who married Hannah Ward. Stearns and Martyn are somewhat in agreement that Abraham came from Roxbury. Cutter suggests (story 1) that Abraham How immigrated to Watertown, and, (story 2) he was a son of John Howe and came to Marlborough from Roxbury.
It may be that the son of John Howe version is the result of a misreading. Cutter never actually says Abraham is the son of John Howe. It is based on a statement in Cutter that a certain descendant is 8 generations from Abraham and 9 from John. But based on ages, they appear to be more likely to be brothers, since they are both having children in 1660s and 1670s. They both immigrated from England and settled in different towns. So perhaps the cited descendant is merely descended from two different Howes by paths of different lengths, and this statement wasn't meant to imply a father/son relationship.
The Roxbury version of Abraham's origins are more attractive, but closer inspection yields problems with it. Abraham and Hannah had daughters Sarah and Elizabeth recorded in Marlborough in 1672 and 1665, respectively. This is clearly the Abraham we are interested in since the birth records name the mother, Hannah. So the Abraham of Roxbury appears to be a different man, since he has daughters Sarah and Elizabeth born in Roxbury in 1676 and 1678. This appears to the Abraham who is baptized in 1653, the son of "Abram" of Roxbury. (Source:Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849, p. 187: How, Abram, s. Abram, bp. Sept. 25, 1653.) While this baptism is often attributed to the Abraham How of this page, that arrangement causes problems because this Abraham married Hannah four years later. On the other hand, it could be a normal infant baptism for an Abraham who had children in 1676 and 1678. So, it seems most likely that the records for Abraham How in Roxbury belong to this other man, while the Abraham How of this page did not have any connection to Roxbury.
The emigrated to Watertown, then to Marlborough version presented by Cutter makes more sense because Abraham's marriage occurred there as did the births of his first two children, prior to his relocation to Marlborough. Given the problems with the other two theories, this seems like the most likely scenario. However, there is no actual evidence presented to show anything other than that Abraham was in Watertown during a certain part of his life. This page has been modified to be consistent with this theory, but it must still be regarded as tentative. --Jrich 09:27, 26 January 2010 (EST)