| Administrative History | Thomas, second son of Thomas and Phebe Howitt, was born on 7 January 1789. When his son Tantum was born in 1810 he was no longer a Quaker. He left England for America hurriedly in 1819, with his brother Emanuel, and in suspicious circumstances. It appears that he reneged on a financial bond and, when his father refused to help, left to avoid a court case and to start a new life in America. He left behind his wife Ann and his children Tantum, Thomas, Fanny (later Smith), Ann (later McLatchie) and Jane (later McLure), who had to rely on the charity of his family. He died in New York in April 1823. |