Dated November 10, 1841

This letter is written in response to an inquiry from Jerusha about John Howe, Jr. and his death during King Philip’s War in 1676.

Lucius R. Paige (1802-1896) was a minister, historian, writer, and town official in Cambridge, MA.

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Addressed:

Miss Jerusha How

Sudbury, Mass

Cambridgeport Nov. 10, 1841

Miss How,

I received your letter of Oct. 18. And am much obliged to you for the information it contains. I hope to see my brother this week, & send this by him; -- otherwise it goes by mail.

In regards to John How jr; I am inclined to think he was with Capt. Wadsworth, when he was killed; or rather, perhaps, he was killed a day to two before Capt. Wadsworth. There is some confusion in the dates, in histories of this affair. Mather, in his Magnalia, says that several were killed at Sudbury, April 18, 1676, & that Capt. Wadsworth , coming soon, (he does not say how soon) was killed, with his company. But Drake in his Book of the Indians, says Sudbury was attacked, April 20, 1676, & many killed; & that Capt. Wadsworth returned with his company the next morning (Apl. 21) & was defeated & killed. As Drake is generally more correct than Mather, in Indian affairs, I suspect the last date is the true one. And if this be true, then John How jr. was probably killed at the first attack, the day before Capt. Wadsworth; for his death is recorded to have occurred April 20, & it is expressly said of him, on the record, that he was “killed at Sudbury by Indians.”

There is one difficulty, however. Sudbury was attacked, & Wadsworth killed, in April 1676; whereas the recorded date of John How’s death is “20.(2)75”, that is 20 April 1675. But I am confident the record is wrong, and that 1675 was written by mistake for 1676, for several reasons.

1. The Indian war did not commence so early as April 1675, & there is no historical evidence that How, or any one else, was killed by Indians at Sudbury during that month. But many were killed there in 1676, on the very day of the month corresponding with the slaughter of John How jr.

2. In that time, it was customary to take an inventory of property, & return it to the Probate Office, very soon after the death of an individual. The inventory of the estate of John How jr. was returned to the Probate Office June 2. 1676. It is by no means probable that this was delayed almost 14 months from 20 Apl. 1675. The strong probability is that the death was 20 Apl. 1676, about 6 weeks before 2 June 1676. I have examined this record, since your letter came to hand.

For these reasons, I have no hesitation in believing that in the record of the death, the date is wrong, and that it should be 1676. And if so, then it seems certain that How was killed either with Wadsworth, or the day before him. I have never seen a list of Wadsworth’s company, or of the men killed on that fatal occasion. If such a document could be found, it would settle the question at once.

I shall be glad to hear from you further; & will very cheerfully render any assistance I can in tracing the history of the family. I have not forgotten my promise concerning the will of John How sen, the ancestor of us all, -- but I have not time, to-day, to fulfill it.

In haste, respectfully, your &c [etc.]

Lucius R. Paige