Devonshire, at Bristol, England, son of Evan Thomas of Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales, who died in 1650, is the earliest ancestor of this family of whom we have legal and documentary proof, although I have little doubt that the descent given in this genealogy is accurately taken from Sir
Rhys ap Thomas, KG, and will be confirmed by further investigations. The earliest
land patent in his name, dated February 19, 1651-2, conveys to him 500 acres of land called "Beakely" or "Beckley" on the west side of Chesapeake Bay, "inconsideration that he hath in the year 1651 transported himself, Sarah, his wife, Philip, Sarah, and Elizabeth his children, into this our province" He would appear to have come directly from Bristol to Maryland. The source for this is
The Thomas Book, by Lawrence Buckley Thomas, DD, published in New York City by The Henry T.
Thomas Company, 1896, pp. 27-55. Mary Howard was the daughter of Joshua Howard and Rebecca Owings. Joshua Howard was the son of Sir Henry Howard, born in England and came to the Province of Maryland in 1706, and married to Sarah Dorsey, daughter of John and Honor Elder. The Howards, Dukes of Norfolk, stand next to the blood royal at the head of the peerage of England, and are undoubtedly of Saxon origin. Howard, or Hereward, was living in the reign of King Edgar (957-973) and was a kinsman of Duke Oslac. His son, Leofric, was the father of
Hereward, who was banished by William the Conqueror. Hereward's grandson, Hereward,
or Howard, was granted land in Norfolk by Henry II. Sir William Howard (1297-1308) was Chief Justice of Common Pleas. It would be useless, however, to follow the intricate genealogy of the
Howards. John Howard was created Duke of Norfolk in 1483, and his direct descendants have retained that honor until the present day. Catherine, the niece of the second Duke, was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. The son of the third Duke, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was a famous poet. The house of Howard is
divided into numerous branches, the Earls of Suffolk and Berkshire, of
Carlisle, of Effingham, of Wicklow, Barons of Lanerton and many others. The third son of Sir Henry Howard married a Miss Rebecca Owings, immigrated to America and became the progenitor of the Howards of Maryland and Washington. To this family belongs Colonel John Eager Howard, who rose to distinction in the Revolutionary War, was Governor of Maryland for three terms and member of the first Senate of the United States. His son, George, was also Governor of Maryland and a friend of Henry Clay. (The source of this is
The Thomas Book, by Lawrence Buckley Thomas, DD, published in New York City by The Henry T. Thomas Company, 1896, panda newspaper clipping contained therein regarding the Howards of England) William Traverse Colston was the son of Capt. William Colston (1744-1777) and Lucy Landon Carter who were married in 1775. Lucy Landon Carter was the daughter of Col. Landon Carter (1710-1778) and his wife, Elizabeth Beal. Col. Landon Carter assisted in establishing American Independence while acting in the capacity of Enrolling the Militia to defend the colony. The source for this is
Schraaf's History & Archives of Maryland. See Nat. Nv. 8 to 727.
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