Should you have any questions or further information about these families or their associates, do please contact Mr. Dan R. McConnell, who will be pleased to hear from you, and whose email address is dan.mcconnell@comcast.net. Almost all the research, all the conclusions drawn, and the views expressed in the article, are naturally those of the author and my own input has been limited to the modest amount of research which he entrusted to me.

The family of Reverend John Howes (also House, Howse), whose children, kin, and friends were brought before the Royal Court of the High Commission in London, England in the 1630's, were persecuted and imprisoned for their religious beliefs. These beliefs also had political effects, which we will explain. Some fled to America, first to Scituate, then Barnstable, both of which were in Plymouth Colony, a place friendly to their Separatist beliefs. Others remained in England and played a key role in the emergence of non-conformist churches, the disputes in Parliament, and the English Civil War.

In the 17th Century, for ordinary people, a lengthy confinement in the London prisons of Newgate, Clink, Fleet or Bridewell was tantamount to a death sentence due to crowded, filthy, disease-ridden conditions. Such dangerous confinement, for religious non-conformity, under the arbitrary rules of the High Commission, became a driving force for like minded people to flee to America. English resentment to the many breaches of Common Law by The High Commission led to the rise of Parliament in opposition, and ultimately to the abolishment of the High Commission in 1641 and the Civil war of the 1640's. After the "Glorious Revolution" in 1688, the English Bill of Rights was enacted to specifically forbid such practices, echoed famously in our own Bill of Rights, the First Ten Amendments to the U.S Constitution.(1)

For the Howes family and their kin, the road to prison and to America began in Kent. The Reverend John Howes matriculated at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1590. He is listed in the Alumni Cantabrigienses, (2) as such, with the further note that he was Rector at Eastwell, Kent, in 1610. From the Bishop's Transcripts of Eastwell (held at Canterbury Cathedral Archives) and from his location at the times of the baptisms of his children, he seemed likely to have been Rector of Eastwell from 1603 until his death in 1630, and this has subsequently been confirmed from other sources. He performed the marriage ceremony for his daughter Hannah, in her marriage to Rev. John Lothrop (also Lothropp) in Eastwell, 16 October, 1610. In his will, dated 1630, he is described as Minister, Eastwell. Also, in his will, his wife's name is given as Alice.

In the Bishop's Transcripts of Egerton (again held at Canterbury Cathedral Archives), John Howes is shown as Curate between 1592 and 1596. Other sources confirm that he was appointed Curate there in 1592 and still held that post in 1599. He had presumably left by 1605, when a Mr. Austen was shown as Curate there. John Lothrop was appointed as Curate of Egerton in 1610.

Children of the Reverend John Howes: (3)

Elizabeth Howes, Bapt, unkn. Married, Eastwell to John Champion, of Little Chart, 28 September 1607

Hannah Howes, Bapt. Egerton, 5 May, 1594. Died between 1632 and 1634, London, while her husband, Rev Lothrop, was in prison. Married at Eastwell to Rev. John Lothrop, 16 October 1610.

Peninah Howes, Bapt, Egerton, 11 April, 1596. Died after 1669, Barnstable, Massachusetts. Married between 1632 and 1638 to Robert Linnell, probably in London. (The will of her brother Thomas Howes, in 1643 gives her name as Peninah Linnell) (also Lynell). In the High Commission proceedings in 1632, she is given as Peninah Howes. (4)

Druscilla Howes. Bapt., unkn. Married, Eastwell, to Simon Player 17 April 1637

John Howes. Bapt. Eastwell 19 June, 1603. Married Eastwell to Mary Osborn of Ashford, 18 September, 1623.

Priscilla Howes. Bapt Eastwell 25 August, 1605. Buried, Eastwell 28 Nov 1618

Thomas Howes. Bapt. Eastwell, 21 August, 1608. Died 1644 London. In his will, dated 18 October 1643, he lists his wife Elizabeth, his brother Samuel (of Scituate and Barnstable, Mass. See Great Migration Series, Vol. III, I634-5, page 424-428), (5) his sister Peninah Lynell, his sister Druscilla Player, and his son, Samuel Howes. He also lists as administrators, the famous Puritan, Praise God Barbon (influential Member of Parliament of the Commonwealth period, known as "Barebones Parliament"), and William Granger, who was brought up before the High Commission along with Barbon's wife Sara. The Barbons, Granger, Peninah and Samuel Howes (brother to Thomas), along with Robert Linnell, were members of Rev. Lothrop's congregation in London. This congregation is known to modern historians as the Jacob/Lothrop/Jessey church.

Samuel Howes. Bapt Eastwell, 10 June, 1610. Died 12 September 1667, Mass. Married about April 1636 to Ann Hammond of Watertown, Mass. He emigrated to America in 1634, joined Rev Lothrop's church in Scituate then Barnstable, and returned to Scituate. (See reference above) Henry Howes. Bapt. Eastwell, 28 June, 1612.

Note. There has been great confusion in the American record to the effect that Robert Linnell's first wife may have been Jemimah Howes, purportedly another daughter to Rev. John Howes. This has been compounded by an LDS record of the supposed marriage of a Jemimah Howes to Robert Linnell in 1621 in Ashford, Kent. There are no records to support this. The first wife of Robert Linnell remains unidentified.

John Lothrop, son of Thomas Lothrop, bapt, Etton, Yorkshire, 20 Dec, 1584, may have first entered Oxford, (6) then was matriculated at Queen's College, Cambridge, graduating with a B.A 1606, M.A. 1609. John Lothrop was Curate of both Egerton (see above) and Little Chart, Kent, appointed to both in 1610 and serving until his resignation probably in about 1621-1622. In 1625, he succeeded Henry Jacob as Minister to the first independent church in London, founded in 1616, and one of the five oldest independent (non-conformist) churches in England. The principles or covenant of the Jacob/Lothrop church were essentially Separatist and were very close to those of the Rev. John Robinson in Leiden (Mayflower, Pilgrims). During a period of exile before 1616, Henry Jacob resided with the Robinson congregation in Leiden. These churches were illegal in England, as the Church of England, under the King and his appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, was the only legal church. The Jacob/Lothrop church met in private, in the homes of congregants. These secret meetings for the purpose of praying, preaching and interpreting the Bible, were called "conventicles".

In 1632, Rev. Lothrop was arrested in the house of one of his congregants along with some 42 of his congregation, and was brought before the Court of the High Commission. He, and they, were charged with sedition and the holding of conventicles. The political nature of the charge of sedition ("an insurrection against established authority"), and the antique language of "conventicle" (a private meeting to hear illegal preaching) render the charges unclear to modern ears. The charges were, however, deadly serious and the court proceedings unimaginable to our experience. The accused had few of the rights of modern citizens. The court was an inquisition, where the accused were forced to testify against themselves, without counsel. The process was so intimidating that many people were driven to flee by the threat of capture. It was one of the driving forces in the Great Migration to New England. It was no dispute over prayer books and vestments. It was about life, death, and salvation.

First, what was the Court of the High Commission? It, along with the Court of the Star Chamber, was a Royal Prerogative Court (King's Rights), originally created in the time of Henry VII (1485-1509). These courts were separate from the Civil Courts, or Common Law Courts, which operated on the basis of precedent, and the rights of English people under the Common Law. Originally, these courts were established under the King's right to protect individuals from abuse in Common Law Courts. Under Elizabeth I and the early Stuart Kings (James I and Charles I), these courts were used by the Church of England to suppress those who sought to reform the church, or to seek a different path to salvation, using court rules that were a clear departure from the Common Law. They came down, with extreme severity, on Separatists in particular. Because of their covenant relationship, Separatists believed that every congregation could be a church unto itself, and could elect its own Ministers, by vote of its elders, based upon the model of the early Christian church (pre-Constantine). To do so meant they had no need of the Church of England, and did not accept the authority of the Bishops. This was anathema to the Crown. As famously said by King James I, " No Bishop, no King". Since the King was the head of the Church of England, and appointed the Archbishop, he wanted one church with order and conformity. To the King, the Separatists' position implied anarchy and chaos, and must be suppressed. As James I said further, " I will harry them out of the land".

Under Charles I and his Archbishop, William Laud, the screws were tightened much more. Laud was the Chief Judge of the High Commission, first as Bishop of London, then as Archbishop of Canterbury. In his zeal to suppress nonconformists, he rode roughshod over several principles of English Common Law, including protection against self-incrimination, the right to confront one's accusers, the right to produce witnesses in one's own defense, the right to a prompt hearing in court (so one did not languish in a dangerous jail without a trial), and cruel and unusual punishments. All of these rights were suspended for those, such as the members of Rev. Lothrop's congregation, who were brought before the Court of the High Commission in May 1632.

The Ministers and their flocks faced brutal treatment. For the "high crime" of the publishing of tracts critical of the Bishops, many ministers had their ears cut off, their faces branded and were confined to prison for life, which meant death within a few months or a few years at most. Repeat offenders were executed. When brought before the court, the accused were required to sign an oath of Allegiance to the Church of England, to forswear any contrary belief or practice and to answer any question posed by the judges, consisting of Laud and five other Bishops. To do so meant to abandon their right to choose their own Minister, to hear preaching and to attend Bible study with a Minister of their choice. They believed their own souls to be at stake. They were not allowed any of the basics of a fair trial, and certainly faced cruel punishment. So what did they do? They refused to swear the oath and were jailed. Some died in prison, some were released and fled to America, and some fought for Parliament in the English Civil War.

Now, hear the voices of Bishop Laud, of Rev. John Lothrop and of the Howes and their friends (from the Proceedings of the Court of the High Commission):

"5 May, 1632. This day were brought to the court out of prison diverse persons which were taken on Sunday last at a conventicle, met at the House of Barnet, a brewer's clerk, dwelling in the precinct of Black Friars: By name, John Lothrop, their Minister, Humphrey Barnard, Henry Dod, Samuel Eaton, William Granger, Sara Jones, Sara Jacob, Peninah Howes, Sara Barbon, Susan Wilson and diverse others"---

Statement by the Archbishop-"You show your selves to be unthankful to God, to the King and to the Church of England, that when, God be praised, through his Majesties care and ours that you have preaching in every church, and men have liberty to join in prayer and participation in the sacraments and have catechizing to enlighten you, you in an unthankful manner cast off all this yoke, and in private unlawfully assemble yourselves together making rents and divisions in the church.---You are unlearned men that seek to make up a religion of your own heads!"---"you are desperately heretical"

"Then came in Mr. Lothrop, who is asked by what authority he had to preach and keep this conventicle." Laud,-- "How many women sat cross legged upon the bed, while you sat on one side and preached and prayed most devoutly?" Lothrop. "I keep no such evil company" Laud "Will you lay your hand upon the book and take your oath?". He refused the oath.

Peninah Howes "I dare not swear this oath till I am better informed of it, for which I desire time"---"I will give an answer of my faith, if I be demanded, but not willingly forswear myself"

Sara Barbon "I dare not swear, I do not understand it. I will tell the truth without swearing"

Then they were then all taken to the New Prison.

"8 May, 1632. Laud to Sara Jones-" This you are commanded to do of God who says you must obey your superiors." Sara Jones "That which is of God is according to God's Word and the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain"

Lothrop. "I do not know that I have done anything which might cause me justly to be brought before the judgement seat of man, and for this oath, I do not know the nature of it" Laud "You are accused of schism."

To Samuel Howes 'Will you take your oath?' Howes "I am a young man and do not know what this oath is"

Peninah Howes is then asked to take the oath, but she refused. Laud "Will you trust Mr Lothrop and believe him rather than the Church of England?" Peninah " I refer myself to the Word of God whether I may take this oath or no"

Many of the congregants were deposed again and again, all the while held in prison, over several months. Some, like Henry Dod, died in prison, some like Samuel Eaton were released, then jailed again and again. The fortunate ones like Rev Lothrop, his brother-in-law Samuel Howes, his sister-in-law Peninah Howes, her husband to be, Robert Linnell, and others, were able to emigrate to America over the following six years, settling in Scituate, then Barnstable, Massachusetts, where they were again in congregation. In subsequent years countless others were arrested and imprisoned merely for holding private prayer meetings until, in 1641, Parliament ended the Court of the High Commission. As for Laud, he was arrested at the outbreak of the Civil War and executed.

Note: The complete record of the members of Rev Lothrop's congregation that were taken while in "conventicle" and brought before the High Commission, is as follows - John Lothrop, Humphrey Barnard, Henry Dod, Samuel Eaton, William Granger, Sara Jones, Sara Jacob, Peninah Howes, Sara Barbon, Susan Wilson, Mark Lucar, Elizabeth Sergeant, Tony Talbot, William Pickering, Mable Melbourne, William Atwood, John Egge, Henry Packer, John Woodwynne, John Melbourne, Elizabeth Melbourne, Thomas Arundell, Robert Reignolds, Ralph Grafton, Samuel Howes.

(1) William J. Dowell, "The Puritans and the Law. Part I, The Star Chamber", The Mayflower Quarterly, Plymouth, Mass. December 2001, P.326-336

(2) Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England

(3) The Bishop's Transcripts for Canterbury Diocese, Kent, England

(4) The Will of Thomas Howse, New England Historical Genealogical Record, Boston, Mass., July 1913, P.260-261

(5) Robert Charles Anderson, "Samuel Howes", The Great Migration, Volume III, 1634-1635, New England Historical Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 2003

(6) Samuel Rawson Gardiner, "Cases in Star Chamber, Easter 1631 to Trinity 1632 and High Commission, October 1631 to June 1632". Camden Society, Second Series, Volume 39, London, England, 1886,

Dan R. McConnell, Harwich, MA, USA

Email: dan.mcconnell@comcast.net

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