History of David Howell 17??-1818

Both David and Keziah were from Morris county, New Jersey. He from Chester[1] township and she from Roxbury township.[2] After they married, David, Keziah and their family lived on land that came to her from her grandfather Joseph Pierson's estate in the Upper Berkshire Valley, Jefferson township, Morris County, New Jersey.[3] These 25 acres bordered the Union Turnpike to the west and the Rockaway River to the east, not too far north of where the Berkshire Valley Road crosses the Union Turnpike in the village of Berkshire Valley.[4] [5]

More detail on the Howell Homestead in Jefferson Township can be found here.

David appears as a subscriber in the 1808 publication of "The Christian Remembrancer,"[6] subtitled "or Short Reflections Upon the Faith, Life, and Conduct, of A Real Christian." A popular book at that time and there were over 2000 subscribers, mostly in New Jersey, primarily from Essex, Union, Morris, Hunterdon, and Sussex Counties. The subscribers are all listed at the end of the book under the town in which they resided.

It is not known how David made his living, although farming his own land is a distinct possibility. There is also the possibility of mining, common in the area. His estate inventory at the time of his death in 1818 included a number of items which suggest he may have been a blacksmith and that might be expected in this area, especially for him as his property was literally on an important roadway. It should be noted here, that his eldest son Joseph, was a blacksmith when living in upstate New York.

David died in 1818, probably in May. It is not known how or why or even where David died but, because there was no known will, it is thought it may have been sudden and unexpected, perhaps an accident or illness. His estate inventory was made May 28, 1818.[7]

It is also not known where David is buried. The Berkshire Valley Church Cemetery would not have been established until about the time the church itself was built in 1820, which of course was after his death in 1818. Daughter Clarinda and her husband Charles Milburn are buried here and they appear to be some of the older marked graves in this cemetery (picture here) even though some suggest a few unrecorded tombstone inscriptions go back as far as 1812.[8] Although the place and conditions under which David Howell died in 1818 are not known but, assuming he died locally and not in some far away place it would be likely he was buried somewhere in the area, now unmarked and unknown, perhaps on his own property. This was common, especially in rural areas, in those times

David Howell's will [9] was presented May 22, 1818 and proven May 28, 1818. Keziah acted as administrator.

After David died in 1818, Keziah and the children apparently remained on the land until about 1828 when they sold the last of the property and most of the family moved away, at least Clarinda and her family (13 children) staying. Children Joseph, David and Abram were living in New York state and it was thought that Keziah lived with them at various times. She died at home while living with her son David William Howell on Sacket Road in Bergen, Genesee County, New York.