Misc. Notes
1. “...we are indebted today for some of the most vivid pen pictures of scenes in the Revolutionary war, during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777-8, of which she was an eye-witness. She recollected and narrated, long after, the personal appearance of Lafayette, Pulaska, as well as our Washington, and of General Howe, Clinton, Erskine, and Count Donop, on the side of the enemy. Her account of the march through Haddenfield, New Jersey, where she resided, of the Hessians under the latter named commander, in their attack on and retreat from Fort Mercer, was realistic in the extreme; strongly with their panic-stricken and demoralized appearance after their repulse. The raid of the British through New Jersey and their cruelty were all remembered, while the evacuation of the city across the River Delaware, as the troops crossed to Gloucester Point and marched on to Haddenfield, where they encamped two days, were accurately described. An extract at random, from family papers, reads as follows:
‘Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Cornwallis, Sir William Erskine road abreast at the head of the column as the troops marched out of town. The officers were resplendent in gold lace trimmings and facings, and the men made a splendid appearance in scarlet uniforms and white gaiters buttoned above the knee. I was much impressed, to see the appearance of the Scotch Highlanders, as a body of fine, tall, powerful men, dressed in their plaids, kilts, and bonnets. While the armyhalted in Haddenfield, a Scotch officer was quartered in my mother’s house. He made a great pet of me, being a little girl, allowing me to put on his velvet bonnet, with it’s handsome, drooping plumes, and danceup and down the room. I recollect that my mother had long discusions with this officer, and it is my impression that he greatly deplored the war. The horses of the army were turned into the field of standing grain, the wheat at the time being ripe for the sickle. Everything was conducted with the strictest military precision. After meals the pewter plates, knives, and forks were cleaned and scoured until they shone, and then packed away, ready for instant departure.’ ”
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Spouses
Birth19 Sep 1762, Woodbury,, New Jersey [48]
Death10 Jan 1818 [48] Age: 55
Misc. Notes
1. Named for his great uncle, Joshua Howell. Joshua Ladd Howell inherited from his father 1600 acres in Gloucester County, New Jersey, together with an interest in “Fanny Hill” and “West Point” fisheries on the Delaware, which were exceedingly lucrative. These fisheries had been inherited from the Ladd family, through John Ladd Jr., who was a prominent land owner in Gloucester County, New Jersey, leaving an estate of between 6,000 and 7,000 acres. In 1805, he erected a mansion upon a part of this land, within sight of the city of Philadelphia, on the ooposite side of the Delaware River. This property, a noted place of entertainment and hospitality, remained in the possession of the Howell family until toward the close of the nineteenth century, when it was sold, becoming the well known pleasure resort, Washington Park. A portion of it is now owned by the United States Government, having been purchased for an Immigration Station for the Port of Philadelphia. The old Howell mansion, however, was destroyed by fire, August 13, 1909.
Mr. Howell attained prominence in public affairs, in Gloucester County, and in the state at large. In 1798-9, he was a member of the New Jersey Assembly, and was identified with the militia of that state for nearly a quarter of a century. He was commissioned a Captain, June 5, 1793; Major, February 19, 1794; Lieutenant Colonel, November 12, 1793; and finally, Colonel, September 9, 1817, his command at Billingsport, on the Delaware, and later at Cape May. Among other organizations to which he belonged was the celebrated Gloucester Fox Hunting Club, founded in 1766, most of whose members were Philadelphians of wealth.
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