Howard's of Morchard Bishop

[rohancorea]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking into the Howard's of Morchard Bishop on behalf of a friend, who is descended from Philip Howard (baptised 1695) and his wife Mary Meadway. Philip and Mary were married 16 June 1719, and Philip's father was Henry Howard, according to his baptism record.

Many public member trees on ancestry.co.uk show that Philip and Henry are descended from the Duke's of Norfolk. However, I cannot find anything concrete to prove this just yet. According to these trees, Henry's parents were Eleanor Stanford and Francis Stafford Howard (son of William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford who was married to Mary Stafford). However, Journals of the House of Lords (Volume 46) states that Henry, son of Francis and Eleanor, married Mary Berkeley and died in 1743 with no children.

Is anyone familiar with this family? Would appreciate any info on Henry's background.

Many thanks in advance

[Elston1785]

Hi,

I am descended from Henry Howard and his first wife Mary by whom he had 5 children including Mary born 1696.  She married John Southcot and they are my 6 x great grandparents.  Philip is an older brother.  I first heard of this rumour some years ago and eventually contacted the Archivist at Arundel Castle about it as Henry was a pillar of the community in Morchard Bishop and took the Oath of Loyalty in 1723.

She advised me that at that time The Howard family were living in exile on the Continent, were staunch Roman Catholics and the fact that Henry Howard died in Padua in 1743 and Henry Howard died in Morchard Bishop he same year and was buried according to the rites of the Church of England was just coincidence.  She posed the question why would a staunch Catholic move to the West Country where they were predominately Protestant and Non Conformists?  It would make no sense at all.

Henry Howard of Morchard Bishop made a Will but as with so much else it was destroyed when the Cathedral in Exeter took a hit during one of the Baedeker raids and the archives stored for safety in the crypt was destroyed.

After Mary's death and burial in 1704 he married Grace Hosegood and had 6 children by her.  Both families lived around Morchard Bishop and I have their tree extended into the late 1800s early 1900s.

I am quite certain in my own mind that there is no connection to The Aristocratic Howard Family. Apparently it has been around for sometime and it has been proven to be false, but where the evidence is is another matter.

[Yukon Brat]

Elston 1785:
Thank you for debunking the Henry HOWARD nobility myth.    I have taken the liberty of copying your post (with credit) to my profile for Henry on my Ancestry family tree.  Sadly, the truth spreads much more slowly than a lie, but I hope at least that it helps those who care to know.

I am a also distant cousin of yours.  Henry HOWARD (b1664) of Exeter is my 8XGG, and his granddaughter Mary SOUTHCOTT (b1720) married Thomas ELSTON (b1727) at Morchard in 1749 and I am descended from their son , and my 5XGG, Joseph ELSTON (b1756).