Edward Howard, of Bertie, NC

“Francis Edward Howard (sic: Edward Howard) married Mary Chowan, and they had a son named James Obadiah Howard born in 1660 that married Sarah Titus."

Disputed Origins

FTDNA Y-DNA Study Haplogroup R1b - Lineage 02

The parentage of this Edward Howard is very dubious. Sir Henry Frederick and Elizabeth Howard already had a son named Edward (see profile), with excellent historical verification. It was not the Howard custom to have two living children with the same name and the the same mother.

" no new or further research has been done to verify any such line of descent from any Howard line back to the Dukes of Norfolk."

Accepted father of James but can't be 100% confirmed.

Please check this page (link to following text) before making any changes: http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/surnames.howard/3223.3272.3274.3276.1....

Hi Connie,

By any chance did you pick up that your Francis James HOWARD was a son of John HOWARD and Elizabeth LOCK from "Dr." Roland "Jack" HOWARD? He has many postings on the HOWARD page on Genforum. If not from him, then I imagine from someone who got it from him.

I and several other people tried to inform him of his errors in several different generations he lists for his HOWARD line, but he wouldn't listen.

Please also read the HOWARD-DOUGLAS theory on my page. Note that John HOWARD and Elizabeth LOCK had no sons named Matthew or Francis. About a year or so ago "Dr." Howard picked up this theory proposed by James E. Moss, and tried to combine it with the HOWARD-ARUNDELL theory, resulting in a complete mess of garbage he posted on Genforum. He also added his Francis James HOWARD as a brother to Matthew, even though both theories originally developed in regard to Matthew HOWARD only. There is no known relation between Matthew HOWARD and Francis.

Later, "Dr." Howard abandoned the HOWARD-ARUNDELL theory for his line, but still believes this is a valid line, only applying to a different Matthew. He believes there were 3 or 4 Matthew HOWARDs running around in VA in the 1620s and 1630s, even though the records show only one, and he did not appear until 1637 in Lower Norfolk County.

"Dr." Howard took the 6 names for children of John HOWARD and Elizabeth LOCK recorded at Brockdish, kept Matthew that Moss proposed in his theory, and then arbitrarily added his Francis HOWARD as an additional son.

He then changed his mind again, decided the Moss information was incorrect, and that Matthew, Francis and others were sons of John HOWARD who was killed in the 1622 Indian massacre in VA. There are no known extant records that show that John HOWARD had any children, and if so, they are not listed among the census taken of the survivors in VA.

"Dr." Howard claims stated that John HOWARD of Virginia was at Saffron-Walden, Essex, England, and had children baptized there. Those records are available on microfilm, and contain no such entries. The only place records exist of John HOWARD of VA having sons Matthew, Francis, and others born at Saffron-Walden are in Dr. Howard's imagination. This John he claims is of Royalty, but I won't bother going into that aspect. Read Genforum, especially the answers by Karen Repko if you are interested in the problems with that. His ideas are so preposterous, that they are not worth mentioning, other than to warn others away from any of his "research". You seem to have picked up "Dr." Howard's earliest version, where he listed your Francis as being a son of John HOWARD and Elizabeth LOCK.

"Dr." Howard claimed to have sources, although he refused to post them when repeatedly asked by numerous people. He says he will e-mail them to anyone who asks. When e-mailed, his "sources" are hyperlinks to his own postings on Genforum, and a number of rambling, incoherent sentences about the HOWARD family. Actually they are mostly incoherent phrases, not sentences. If you examine his postings, "Dr." Howard never writes a complete sentence.

If I were you, I would examine every generation in your line, and verify it through original records. I have no idea if "Dr." Howard may have done similar things in following generations of your line. One thing of which I would be wary, is that double names as "Francis James" HOWARD, are almost unheard of that time. I woud make sure that "Dr." HOWARD has not combined records of a Francis HOWARD and a James HOWARD into one person.

I have not researched your Francis James line, but as far as I know there is nothing to connect it to Royalty, and any earlier generations (as being a son of John) exist only in "Dr." Howard's mind.

As for your question about researching the Arundell line, if you are interested in that family, start with the book by Yeatman listed on my page, which is availabe on FHL microfilm 0,496,545, item 4.

Rick Saunders http://home.netcom.com/~fzsaund/howard.html

John Howard was born in England but sailed to Glouchester, Virginia, in 1635.