|
Across the ocean |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
There
is no comprehensive list of everyone who has migrated from Britain. From
the records consulted so far, these individuals have been identified as
moving to overseas, either on a permanent or
temporary basis. I am reasonably sure that they were all members of the
Howcott/Howcutt family, except for some doubt in the case of George
Howkett.
On
25 May 1659, William Hawcott of Coventry, a pinmaker, was apprenticed at
Bristol to John Bridges, merchant for 4 years. His destination was given
as Barbados. In
1654, Bristol Corporation had ordained that, before embarkation, persons
bound as servants were to be articled and enrolled as were the city
apprentices. At that time, Bristol, had a monopoly of the Virginia trade
and it appears that the records of these indentured servants give the
names of practically every person who left England for Virginia, Maryland
and the other settlements on the Atlantic seaboard as well as for Barbados
from September 1654 to August 1679 (1). The
same list includes a total of seven other people who were apprenticed to
John Bridges ("Bridger" in one entry), three of these between 7
and 28 July 1659 and the remaining four between 6 June and 15 July 1660.
The destinations of five were given as Virginia and two as Barbados. From
this information, it is likely that John Bridges took these indentured
servants from England on two different ships and that William Hawcott left
England on or after 28 July 1659. On
20 September 1661, William Drummond was granted 4,750 acres in
Westmoreland County, Virginia, as he had brought 95 persons to the colony.
These included "George Howkett" (2). The records do not say
where this party came from but George Howkett was not apprenticed at
Bristol. Because of this and as the party included "8 negroes",
it is more likely that George had set out from the West Indies than that
he came direct from England. William Drummond was probably the person of
that name who was Governor of Albemarle Province (later known as North
Carolina) from 1664 to 1667. "John
Hawkiat" was one of 21 people imported into North Carolina by Mr
Cuthbert Phelps senior, as a result of which Phelps claimed 1,050 acres
there by applying to the General Court on 26 February 1695 (i.e. 1695/6) (3). This
John was probably the older of two brothers, John & Edward Howcott,
who are mentioned in numerous records in and around Edenton, North
Carolina during the early 18th century. The earliest of the references to
each of them in Chowan County are:
Edward's and John's origins are not certain. However, there is a considerable overlap between the christian names that they chose for their children and those in the family of Edward & Mary Howcott of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England:
CL
= child of Edward at Lichfield WL
= wife of Edward at Lichfield CJE
= child of John at Edenton CEE
= child of Edward at Edenton The
Lichfield population list, which was probably compiled in 1695, contains
Edward and Mary Howcott with children including John (aged 14) and Edward
(aged 8) (7). Therefore, if John Howcott of Lichfield did go to North
Carolina, he would have been about 14 or 15 years old at the time and
presumably followed by his younger brother at a later date. James, son of Thomas & Mary (Martin) Howcutt was christened at Brixworth in 1806. In 1827, he was convicted of breaking into and stealing from Edward Walton's house there. He and his two accomplices were all sentenced to death, which was commuted to transportation for life. James arrived at Hobart in December 1827 and remained in Tasmania at least until July 1852. By August 1853, he had joined the Victoria gold rush and was one of the miners who signed a petition there at that time. For more details, click here. John
Howcutt graduated as a veterinary surgeon at London on 3 July 1822 (8) and
is recorded as practising in Scotland in 1826 (9). John
was living at Buffalo, NY, by 16 January 1837, when he made a deposition
as a resident alien that he intended always to reside in the United States
and to become a citizen as soon as possible (10). The
1871 census of Trenton, Ontario, Canada describes John Howcutt as a
gentleman aged 70 who had been born in England (12). John
Howcutt's name was removed from the register of the Royal College of
Veterinary Surgeons in 1889. Evidence that the first John Howcutt who lived at Buffalo was the same person as John Howcutt who had moved from England to Scotland is found in records relating to his son of the same name. In 1870. John Howcutt aged 38 and born in Scotland, was living in Buffalo with his wife Josephine and two children (13). When the will of Josephine Howcutt of Buffalo was proved in 1896, her husband was identified as John Howcutt, aged about 65, of Silver Cliff, Custer county, Colorado (14). The 1900 census of Silver Cliff includes John Howcutt, aged 65, born in Scotland, and states that his father had been born in England and his mother in Scotland (15). Joseph
Howcott, a 30 year old agent of a pottery company, appears in the 1870
census at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is stated to have been born in
England but no suitable birth record has been found in the civil
registration indexes for England and Wales, which start in July 1837. The
census also said that both of Joseph's parents were
"foreign-born" (16). Sarah
Ann Clay was born at Brixworth in about 1841 and married William Howcutt
there in 1860. She emigrated to Australia in about 1880 and lived at
Melbourne. James
Howcott, born July 1831 in Ireland, is recorded as living at 1221
Chartres, New Orleans in 1900. He was said to have arrived in the United
States in 1860 and had become a naturalised citizen. Both of his parents
were said to have been born in Ireland (17). William
was born at Brixworth, Northamptonshire, a son of William and Sarah Ann
(Clay) Howcutt. He joined the
Army in March 1878 and served in the Royal Lancaster Regiment (4th
Regiment of Foot). This took him to Gibraltar (1878-1879), Jamaica (1879-1882),
India (1884-1890), (18). William was discharged from the Army in 1890,
apparently at Karachi and made his way to Australia, where he died at
Melbourne in 1892. Notes (1)
"Bristol and America", preface by N Dermott Harding, historical
introduction by William Dodson Bowman and "The Bristol Registers of
Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654-1686" by Peter William
Coldham (Baltimore 1988). (2)
"Cavaliers and Pioneers 1623-1666 - abstracts of Virginia land
patents and grants", by Nell Marion Nugent, Vol. I, p.403-404. (3)
"North Carolina Higher-Court Records 1670-1696", edited by
Mattie Ermie Edwards Parker (Raleigh, NC, 1968), quoted in "North
Carolina Headrights - a list of names 1663-1744" compiled by Caroline
B Whitley (Raleigh, NC, 2001). (4) For instance, Cuthbert Phelps was described as "of Paquimons precinct" on 20 June 1697, when he appointed his friend George Deare as his attorney. By a deed of sale dated 26 July 1704 Edward Phelps sold to his brother Cuthbert Phelps land on the south side of the Albemarle River that had lately been in the possession of his father Cuthbert Phelps, deceased. (see "The Colonial Records of North Carolina - Higher-Court Records", edited by Mattie Erma Edward Parker (Raleigh, 1971)). (5)
Deed recorded at Chowan Precinct on 29 March 1716 and referred to in
"Christopher Woodward of Virginia" by Frances Cullom Harper. (6) From "Hocut/Hocutt Timeline" by Helen L Zink http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~kithnkin/hocutt/timeline.html (7)
British Library Manuscripts Department: P52/2214 Harley 7022. (8)
Register of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 1889. (9)
The Old Parochial Register for Fordyce, Banffshire, Scotland records that
on 12 September 1826 "John Howcutt veterinary surgeon of Inverness
had a child by Mary Watson baptised and named John". (10)
"New York Alien Residents, 1825-1848" by Kenneth Scott &
Rosanne Courway. (11) Ancestry.com database of New York passenger & immigration lists, 1820-1850, microfilm serial number M237, microfilm roll number 26, list number 298A. (12)
Canada Census 1871: Ontario, Hastings 32, district 60, sub district B,
page 12. (13)
U.S. Census 1870: 10th Ward, Buffalo, dwelling 819, family 804. (14)
Erie county, New York probate records, LDS Family History Library film
0902745. (15)
U.S. Census 1900: precinct 5, page 243, dwelling 152, family 154. (16)
U.S. Census 1870: 2nd Ward Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge parish, page 51. (17)
U.S. Census 1900: volume 26, enumeration district 56, sheet 56, line 93.
LDS Family History Library film 1240572. (18) The National Archives: WO97/3098. |
