Family/Spouse: Mary [Otis] Gorham. Mary and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Capt. + Desire [Howland] Gorham. Desire (daughter of John Howland and Elizabeth [Tilley] Howland) was born on 22 May 1627 in Plymouth, MA; died on 13 Oct 1683 in Barnstable, MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

?John Howland is best remembered for having fallen off the "Mayflower" during a mighty storm, as recorded by William Bradford: "In sundry of these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high, as they could not bear a know of sail, but were forced to hull for divers days together. An in one of them, as they thus lay at hull in a mighty storm, a lusty young man call John Howland, coming upon some occasions above the gratings was, with a seele of the ship, thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length. Yet he held his hold (though he was sundry fathoms under water) till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with boat hook and other means got into the ship again and his life saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth."
The ancestry of John Howland is discussed in John Howland of the
Mayflower through Desire Howland for Five Generations", Vol. 1, by
Elizabeth Pearson White, available from Picton Press of Rockport, Maine,
or through the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. John Howland is
the son of Henry Howland and Margaret (----) of Fenstanton, Huntingdon,
England. Henry died on 17 May 1635 in Fenstranton, and Margaret was
buried on 31 July 1629. Besides son John, who came on the Mayflower, they
also had Humphrey, Arthur, Henry, George, and Margaret. Henry came to
Plymouth sometime before 1633, and Arthur came sometime before 1640. For
information on Arthur Howland, see NGSQ 71:84+.
SOURCES:
Elizabeth Pearson White, John Howland of the Mayflower through Desire
Howland for Five Generations, vol. 1
Susan Roser, Mayflower Increasings and Decreasings, (2nd ed)
Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony, Its History and Its People,
1620-1691, Salt Lake City, 1984
Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford, written c1630-1651


Henry Howland was apparently also the name of John Howland father. He was b. abt 1574, d. 17 May 1635. His wife was Alice Aires, b. 1567, d. 30 July 1629

Henry Howland and Arthur Howland were brothers of John Howland of the Mayflower.

John married Elizabeth [Tilley] Howland in 1626 in Plymouth, MA. Elizabeth (daughter of John Tilley and Joan [Hurst] [Rogers] Tilley) was born in 1607 in Henlow, Bedford, England; died on 21 Dec 1686-1687 in Swansea, MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She came over on the Mayflower also. She was 13 at the time and the daughter of John Tilley, a silk worker. Elizabeth Tilley's parents were John Tilley and Joan (Hurst) Rogers. Elizabeth was not Elizabeth the Younger's birth mother. Joan's parents were Rose and William Hurst. John Tilley's parents were Elizabeth and Robert Tilley. Robert's parents were William and Agnes Tylle (notice spelling change). Agnes died June 1, 1582. William was born c. 1519 at Henlow, Brfrds, England, and died Jan 1, 1578. His parents were Thomas and Margaret Tylle, and Thomas' parents were Johan (?) and Henry Tilly. Henry was born c. 1465 in Henlow, Bdfrds, England, and died Sept 1, 1520.

Henry + Margaret Howland. Margaret was born in 1567; died on 30 Jul 1629 in Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, ENGLAND Margaret was buried there 31 July 1629.

Notes:

John Tilley, his wife Joan (Hurst) Rogers, and daughter Elizabeth came on
the Mayflower. John and Joan died the first winter, but Elizabeth lived,
married John Howland, and had eleven children. John's brother Edward
Tilley came with wife Agnes Cooper on the Mayflower as well.
SOURCES:
TAG 52:198-208, "English Ancestry of Seven Mayflower Passengers: Tilley,
Sampson, and Cooper", by Robert Leigh Ward
Elizabeth Pearson White, John Howland of the Mayflower through Desire
Howland for Five Generations, vol. 1

Died:
Died the first winter along with his wife Joan.

John married Joan [Hurst] [Rogers] Tilley on 20 Sep 1596 in Henlow, Bedford, England. Joan (daughter of William Hurst and Rose Hurst) was born before 1566 in Henlow, Bedford, England; died in 1621 in Plymouth, MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Baptized March 13, 1567 in Henlow, Bedford, England