{"id":88217,"date":"2022-12-06T12:01:43","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T17:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=88217"},"modified":"2024-05-03T11:18:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T15:18:17","slug":"mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-30-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-30-part-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Mayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who, Part 30 (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Introduction:<\/em><\/strong><em> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, focusing on the lineage of historian and author Harvey Hunter Pratt. <\/em><em>Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, <a href=\"http:\/\/americana-archives.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">americana-archives.com<\/a><\/em><em>, and a Facebook group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/HistoryGenNEFamilies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a><\/em><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Today I continue with my series \u201cMayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who\u201d with a focus on the lineage of prominent lawyer, politician, historian, and author Harvey Hunter Pratt (1860-1924), a descendant of <em>Mayflower<\/em> passengers John Tilley and wife Joan Hurst, John Howland and wife Elizabeth Tilley, and Richard Warren.<\/p>\n<p>Lineage:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Harvey H. Pratt<\/li>\n<li>Henry Jones Pratt and 2<sup>nd<\/sup> wife Maria Jones Hunter (1<sup>st<\/sup> wife Mary Noyes Brown)<\/li>\n<li>Martha Pulling and Seth Pratt<\/li>\n<li>Sarah Pulling and Isaac Reed<\/li>\n<li>Sarah Thaxter and John Pulling (married 1<sup>st<\/sup> Annis Lee)<\/li>\n<li>Abigail Smith and Samuel Thaxter<\/li>\n<li>Bethiah Chipman and Samuel Smith<\/li>\n<li>John Chipman and Mary Skiffe (daughter of Stephen Skiffe and Lydia Snow; granddaughter of Anthony Snow and Abigail Warren, daughter of Richard Warren)<\/li>\n<li>Hope Howland and John Chipman<\/li>\n<li>Elizabeth Tilley and John Howland<\/li>\n<li>John Tilley and Joan (nee Hurst) Rogers (widow of Thomas Rogers in England)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In Part 2 of this story, I will cover Pratt\u2019s historical publications and huge contribution to Pilgrim history, which includes some great scandal tidbits.<\/p>\n<p>But first I cover a few of his ancestor backgrounds as found in GenealogyBank\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/explore\/newspapers\/all?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;s_referrer=social&amp;s_siteloc=blog&amp;s_trackval=SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;kbid=69919&amp;pq=1&amp;prebuy=no&amp;intver=&amp;CCPRODCODE=\">Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I begin with Pratt\u2019s Pilgrim ancestor John Howland, who was a big feature during the Thanksgiving season in 2015 when he was the topic of a new book. Here is a review from the <em>Abilene Reporter-News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88221\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88221\" style=\"width: 946px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A14246216F7E89F7F%40GB3NEWS-17F64867DF5DA76F%402457354-17F3A89C952BDD66%4034-17F3A89C952BDD66\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88221\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/abilene-reporter-news-newspaper-1127-2015-john-howland.jpg\" alt=\"An article about John Howland, Abilene Reporter-News newspaper article 27 November 2015\" width=\"946\" height=\"619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/abilene-reporter-news-newspaper-1127-2015-john-howland.jpg 946w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/abilene-reporter-news-newspaper-1127-2015-john-howland-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/abilene-reporter-news-newspaper-1127-2015-john-howland-768x503.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88221\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas), 27 November 2015, page 35<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This article reported:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>John Howland may not be as famous as William Bradford, John Carver, and Myles Standish, notable passengers on the Mayflower that landed in Massachusetts in 1620.<\/p>\n<p>Yet Howland, who boarded the ship as Carver\u2019s servant, probably had a greater impact on the history of the United States than any of them. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will sit down for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday unaware that they owe their very existence to Howland, who almost didn\u2019t make it to the New World.<\/p>\n<p>Howland fell overboard in the middle of the Atlantic during a gale but grabbed a trailing rope and was hauled back aboard by sailors using boat hooks. His remarkable story is the subject of a new children\u2019s book, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Fell-Mayflower-John-Howlands-Fortune\/dp\/0763665843\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Boy Who Fell off the Mayflower, or John Howland\u2019s Good Fortune<\/a>\u201d by Irish illustrator P. J. Lynch.<\/p>\n<p>Howland and his wife, fellow Mayflower passenger Elizabeth Tilley, had 10 children and more than 8o grandchildren. Now, an estimated 2 million Americans can trace their roots to him.<\/p>\n<p>Howland\u2019s descendants include three presidents \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/nevada-street-sweeper-discovers-plymouth-colony-and-royal-heritage.html\">Franklin Roosevelt<\/a>, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush \u2013 as well as former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin; poets Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; actors Alec Baldwin, Humphrey Bogart, and Christopher Lloyd; Mormon church founder Joseph Smith; and child care guru Dr. Benjamin Spock [and <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2rN4Po6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Hopkins<\/a>, co-founder of the Central Pacific R. R.; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogymagazine.com\/pious-pilgrims-mayflower-misbehavior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sydney Biddle Barrows<\/a>, infamous <em>Mayflower<\/em> Madam; and actress Glen Close. You can read more at <a href=\"https:\/\/famouskin.com\/famous-kin-menu.php?name=9216+john+howland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Famous Kin<\/a>.]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea that the existence of all these people hinged on that one guy grabbing a rope in the ocean and holding on tight totally caught my imagination,\u201d Lynch said in a phone interview from his Dublin home. \u201cMany of these people have made America what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are so many Howland descendants that they have their own club \u2013 The Pilgrim John Howland Society \u2013 with about 1,200 members [and more today].<\/p>\n<p>Gail Adams, a Howland descendant and editor of the society\u2019s publication, \u201cThe Howland Quarterly,\u201d was thrilled when she first found out about her lineage two decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo think, if he hadn\u2019t made it, I wouldn\u2019t even be here,\u201d she said from her home in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>Lynch developed an interest in the story of the Pilgrims and Howland when he read Nathaniel Philbrick\u2019s book, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pioneerinstitute.org\/news\/award-winner-nathaniel-philbrick-on-the-mayflower-and-the-first-thanksgiving\/?utm_term=&amp;utm_campaign=Op-Ed\/Blog+Promotion+Dynamic&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_acc=3514612630&amp;hsa_cam=17749739173&amp;hsa_grp=136230485182&amp;hsa_ad=610450869825&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_tgt=dsa-1687036312263&amp;hsa_kw=&amp;hsa_mt=&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAyracBhDoARIsACGFcS4hDrpmNeiDVvRPPQqp3CpCFqpvZLvvz9N2FpWXbVcrPluBHSoBClQaAmb3EALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mayflower<\/a>.\u201d It was mostly new to him because he hadn\u2019t gone to school in the U.S., where the story of the Pilgrims is taught to every child.<\/p>\n<p>He acknowledges his book \u2013 written in the first person from Howland\u2019s point of view \u2013 isn\u2019t a 100 percent accurate account, and he has taken some liberties in telling and illustrating the story. For example, Howland was actually a young man on the Mayflower trip, not a boy as the book title suggests.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s OK with the experts \u2013 and Howland\u2019s very large extended family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s right on,\u201d Adams said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88225\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88225\" style=\"width: 498px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-howland-family-burial-plot.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-howland-family-burial-plot.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: John Howland family burial plot, Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts. Courtesy of Caleb Johnson\u2019s MayflowerHistory web site\" width=\"498\" height=\"647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-howland-family-burial-plot.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-howland-family-burial-plot-231x300.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88225\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: John Howland family burial plot, Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts. Courtesy of Caleb Johnson\u2019s MayflowerHistory web site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The historical marker in the Howland family burial plot was erected by the Pilgrim John Howland Society. It reads:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In Memory of the Children of John Howland and Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland<br \/>\nPilgrims of the Mayflower<br \/>\nLieutenant John Howland<br \/>\nCaptain Joseph Howland<br \/>\nLieutenant Jabez Howland<br \/>\nEnsign Isaac Howland<br \/>\nDesire (Howland) Gorham<br \/>\nHope (Howland) Chipman<br \/>\nElizabeth (Howland) (Hicks) Dickenson<br \/>\nLydia (Howland) Brown<br \/>\nHannah (Howland) Bosworth<br \/>\nRuth (Howland) Cushman<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>An account of Howland\u2019s experience is found in William Bradford\u2019s journal. Bradford believed \u201cit pleased God\u201d that Howland was spared, \u201cand though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another ancestor worthy of mention in the family tree is Pratt\u2019s great-great-grandfather, Captain John Pulling, who (with the help of Robert Newman) hung the light for Paul Revere in the belfry of the Old North Church at the time Revere took his memorable ride in April of 1775.<\/p>\n<p>According to an article published in the <em>Portsmouth Journal<\/em>, Capt. Pulling was a prominent merchant, warden and vestryman of the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts. His contribution to Revere\u2019s ride was of great significance and gravely dangerous. Here is the skinny on how the events unfolded that night.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88229\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88229\" style=\"width: 539px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A10C617B76CD6DDD8%40GB3NEWS-1324D2F96B9D40B0%402406486-1324879696AA4EA0%400-13C7B73AC35D6BC1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88229\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/portsmouth-journal-newspaper-0819-1876-john-pulling.jpg\" alt=\"An article about John Pulling, Portsmouth Journal newspaper article 19 August 1876\" width=\"539\" height=\"647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/portsmouth-journal-newspaper-0819-1876-john-pulling.jpg 539w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/portsmouth-journal-newspaper-0819-1876-john-pulling-250x300.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88229\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Portsmouth Journal (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 19 August 1876, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This article reported:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>At ten o\u2019clock Paul Revere was sent for by Dr. Warren, who informed him of the intended march of the British to Lexington and Concord, and begged him to proceed immediately to Lexington and acquaint Hancock and Adams of the movement. He left Dr. Warren\u2019s residence in Hanover Street, and then called upon a friend \u2013 his most intimate friend, John Pulling \u2013 and desired him to make the signals. This, of course, was the most crucial and hazardous part of the whole enterprise. It was full of difficulty and danger, and required of anyone who should undertake it the union of discretion and judgment, with a degree of courage and firmness which could contemplate certain death as the only alternative of success. Major Pitcairn\u2019s regiment was drawn up nearly in front of the church, and not only was there the risk of the light being observed in that quarter, but also, as Pulling said, \u201che was afraid that some old woman would see the light and scream fire.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You can read more from Cohasset Central Cemetery Preservation \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/cohassetcentralcemetery.com\/articles\/27-exiled-in-cohasset-the-lantern-hangers-story-what-happened-to-the-man-who-lit-the-lanterns-that-started-paul-revere-s-ride\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Exiled in Cohasset: The Lantern Hanger\u2019s Story<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is a historical marker in Boston to commemorate Pulling.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_88231\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88231\" style=\"width: 935px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-pulling-historical-marker.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88231\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-pulling-historical-marker.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: historical marker for Captain John Pulling Jr. in Boston, Massachusetts. Courtesy of the Historical Marker Database https:\/\/www.hmdb.org\/m.asp?m=115353\" width=\"935\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-pulling-historical-marker.jpg 935w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-pulling-historical-marker-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-john-pulling-historical-marker-768x524.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 935px) 100vw, 935px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-88231\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: historical marker for Captain John Pulling Jr. in Boston, Massachusetts. Courtesy of the Historical Marker Database https:\/\/www.hmdb.org\/m.asp?m=115353<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This marker reads:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Captain John Pulling Jr.<br \/>\nMerchant Vestryman and Compatriot of<br \/>\nPaul Revere<br \/>\non April 18, 1775 called<br \/>\nRobert Newman<br \/>\nfrom his house on Salem St. to Christ church and, lest the British disturb him, locked the church doors from outside while the lanterns were being displayed in the belfry. Later, Pulling escaped to Hull. In his memory and that of my grandmother, his great granddaughter Sarah Pulling Lane French, who often recounted the event, this tablet is placed by Winthrop Irving Perry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To be continued\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/sign-up\">Start a 7-Day Free Trial. <\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> Harvey Hunter Pratt (1860-1924), son of Henry Jones Pratt and his 2nd wife Maria Jones Hunter. From \u201cMassachusetts State Representatives Officials and Employees &#8212; Pictorial Works.\u201d Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Library.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Recent Articles in This Series:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-26.html\">Mayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who, Part 26<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-27.html\">Mayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who, Part 27<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-28.html\">Mayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who, Part 28<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-29.html\">Mayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who, Part 29<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, focusing on the lineage of historian and author Harvey Hunter Pratt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":88239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12557],"tags":[12,58319,5830,58321,8263],"class_list":["post-88217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-stories","tag-genealogy","tag-harvey-hunter-pratt","tag-john-howland","tag-john-pulling","tag-mayflower-pilgrims"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/photo-1206-2022-featured-graphic-harvey-pratt.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88217"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98872,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88217\/revisions\/98872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}