John Howell (1759–?)
John Howell was a marine in the 15th (Plymouth) Company. He arrived in Sydney in January 1788 aboard the Charlotte as part of the First Fleet. He was sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius on 4 March 1790 and received a 60 acre grant in February 1792. He had a daughter with Mary Shepherd in February 1793; the infant died the same year. The couple left the island by the Daedalus in November. They were married in Sydney on 30 June 1795.
Howell served in the NSW Corps in Norfolk Island from 1794 to 1799. He re-enlisted in June 1800 as a sergeant remaining at Norfolk Island until 1806. He was then based at Parramatta. In May 1810 he returned to England, with his wife Mary, and members of the NSW Corps, aboard the Hindostan. He was discharged on 13 August 1811. There is no record of any surviving children.
A grant of 200 acres at Evan, NSW, in May 1803 was cancelled in August 1804.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 180
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Howell, Mary (wife)
- Shepherd, Mary (daughter)
Citation details
'Howell, John (1759–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/howell-john-29892/text37005, accessed 28 June 2025.
Life Summary [details]
Birth
1759
Trowbridge,
Wiltshire,
England
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.