John Howe (loyalist)

John Howe was the son of Joseph Howe, a tin plate worker of Puritan ancestry, and Rebeccah Hart. John was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 14, 1754. He was a loyalist printer during the American Revolution, a printer and Postmaster in Halifax, the father of the famous Joseph Howe and eventually a Magistrate of the Colony of Nova Scotia.

A Loyalist Printer in the American Revolution

Margaret Draper contined to print the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News Letter until September 7, 1775, when she appears to have had some trouble as no issues were published from September 14 to Oct. 6, 1775. John Howe, although he had just completed his apprenticeship, became Margaret Draper's new partner, and he was listed as the publisher from October 13, 1775 to the paper's final issue on February 22, 1776.

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On March 5th, 1776, American forces seized control of Dorchester Heights, a hill to the south of Boston, with a commanding view of Boston harbour. Meanwhile, Henry Knox brought the cannon seized from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. Realizing that taking the hill would be too costly, and that the Americans would soon have cannon in place, the British decided to evacuate all of their forces and the loyalists from the town. The two sides agreed upon a cease-fire: the Americans because they feared the British would set fire to Boston as they left, the British because they didn't want to suffer the costs of evacuating under fire. On March 17, 1776, the last troops and loyalists boarded ships in Boston harbour and set sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Margaret Draper, John's partner in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News Letter, is listed as being amongst the loyalists evacuated from Boston to Halifax, and she was accompanied by John Howe.

Related Topics:
Dorchester Heights - Henry Knox - Fort Ticonderoga

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During the summer of 1776, the British assembled troops on Staten Island. On August 22, they crossed over to Long Island, and on August 27, they engaged and defeated the Americans at the Battle of Long Island. A series of battles continued the New York Campaign, which was concluded with the British victory of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776. On November 26, General Clinton and 6,000 troops were sent to take Newport, RI, which they succeeded in doing on December 1. After this victory, the British offered John Howe the position of Printer for the Provincial Forces. John Howe moved to Newport, RI, along with his fiancé, Martha Minns, and her brother, William Minns. He printed the first issue of the Newport Gazette on January 16, 1777, and he continued printing that newspaper until the final issue of October 6, 1779. During their stay in Newport, John Howe married Martha Minns on June 7, 1778. John Howe was named in the Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts, 1778, possibly as a result of his work as printer for the British forces in Newport, Rhode Island. During this period, John Howe took on John Ryan, a native of Newport, as his apprentice, who later became the printer of the first newspaper in New Brunswick and then the King's Printer in Newfoundland.

Related Topics:
Battle of Long Island - New York Campaign - Fort Washington - Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts

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On October 26, 1779, the British evacuated their troops and the loyalists from Newport, RI, to New York. On Christmas Day, 1779, John and Martha Howe's first child, Martha Howe, was born in New York. Sometime during 1780, John Howe and his young family, along with his brother-in-law William Minns, quit New York for Halifax, Nova Scotia. John Ryan remained in New York until 1783, becoming a partner with William Lewis in the New-York Mercury and General Advertiser.

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