Jonas Holland Howe (1821-1898) was an antebellum abolitionist, civic leader and artist from

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis.The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota' ...

and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the Min ...

, serving in 1866 from the 5th Representative District in

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneap ...

.Edmund Rice (1638) Association, 2011. ''Descendants of Edmund Rice: The First Nine Generations,'' Edmund Rice (1638) Association. (CD-ROM)

Personal background

Jonas H. Howe was born in

Petersham, Massachusetts Petersham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2020 census. Petersham is home to a considerable amount of conservation land, including the Quabbin Reservation, Harvard Forest, the Swift Riv ...

on 28 April 1821 to

Jonas Howe Jonas Howe (1786–1854) was a farmer and school teacher from Petersham, Massachusetts and member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving in 1845.Edmund Rice (1638) Association, 2011. ''Descendants of Edmund Rice: The First Nine G ...

(1786-1865) and Arethusa (Negus) Howe (1789-1851). He was married on 10 June 1846, to Margaret Adele Swindell at

Barre, Massachusetts Barre ( ) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census. History Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The town was incorpora ...

, and they moved to Minnesota in 1854. Howe was trained as an artist in Massachusetts along with his cousin George Fuller and he was a proficient portrait and landscape artist.Geske, Norman A. 1950. ''A pioneer Minnesota artist.'' Minnesota History Magazine 31(2):99-104
web access
/ref> In Minnesota, Howe was a staunch

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and he served in a number of local offices including serving as an officer of the Plymouth Home Guard militia, a Justice of the Peace, and as a School Board member. Later, he was a first sergeant from 1864-65 in Company F of the

11th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 11th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was a Minnesota USV infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was the last infantry regiment to be raised by Minnesota during the war. Service The 11th Minnesota Infant ...

of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. In 1866 he was elected to a one-year term in the

in 1866 as a

from the 5th Representative District in

. He was a close political ally of

Ignatius L. Donnelly Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (November 3, 1831 – January 1, 1901) was an American Congressman, populist writer, and fringe scientist. He is known primarily now for his fringe theories concerning Atlantis, Catastrophism (especially the idea of an a ...

and was active in the formation and politics of the

Populist Party Populist Party may refer to: *Croatian Popular Party (1919), a Croatian right-wing party also known as Croatian Populist Party * Indonesian National Populist Fortress Party, an Indonesian populist party supportive of Pancasila ideology *Narodnik, a ...

. Howe worked closely with

Oliver Hudson Kelley Oliver Hudson Kelley (January 7, 1826 – January 20, 1913) was one of the key founders of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a fraternal organization in the United States.William D. Barns, "Oliver Hudson Kelley and the ge ...

in the founding of

The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...

, commonly known as the Grange, and he was a frequent contributing writer to ''Farm, Stock and Home,'' an agricultural newspaper popular in the 1870s. Howe died at his home in

on 1 October 1898 and was buried at Parker's Lake Cemetery in Plymouth.

Genealogy and family relations

The artistic talent of Jonas H. Howe was traced back as far as his maternal grandparents, Joel and Basmath (Gould) Negus. Of their children
Nathan Negus
was an artist who received some instruction from

John Greenwood John Greenwood may refer to: Sportspeople * John Greenwood (cricketer, born 1851) (1851–1935), English cricketer * John Eric Greenwood (1891–1975), rugby union international who represented England * John Greenwood (footballer) (1921–1994), E ...

and

John Ritto Penniman __NOTOC__ John Ritto Penniman (1782–1841) was a painter in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He created portraits, landscapes, and allegorical paintings, as well as designs for engravings, such as the official seal of the city of Boston in ...

. Nathan Negus worked in Boston for a short time, and later in Savannah and Mobile, but he died at Petersham at the age of twenty-four.Carpenter, Laura Howe ''Reminiscences of Pioneer Life''. undated pamphlet 64pp. The Hennepin County Historical Society, Minneapolis. Some of Negus's portraits are noted in ''Somebody's Ancestors'', a catalogue of an exhibition of paintings by primitive artists of the Connecticut Valley, held in the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts from February 7 to March 8, 1942. Joel Negus's daughte
Caroline
was also a professional artist, although she was perhaps better known as the wife of

Richard Hildreth Richard Hildreth (June 28, 1807 – July 11, 1865), was an American journalist, author and historian. He is best known for writing his six-volume ''History of the United States of America'' covering 1497–1821 and published 1840-1853. Historian ...

, the historian. Fanny Negus, another daughter of Joel Negus, married Aaron Fuller at

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachu ...

, and their son was George Fuller, who was a notable exponent of personal mysticism in painting. It was yet another daughter of Joel Negus, Arethusa, who married Jonas Howe, and Jonas Holland Howe was her second son. Jonas Holland Howe was a direct descendant of John Howe (1602-1680) who arrived in

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

in 1630 from

Brinklow Brinklow is a village and civil parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire, England. It is about halfway between Rugby and Coventry, and has a population of 1,041 ( 2001 Census), increasing to 1,101 at the 2011 Census. Geography Brinklow ...

, Warwickshire, England and settled in

Sudbury, Massachusetts Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,934. The town, located in Greater Boston's MetroWest region, has a rich colonial history. History Incorporated in 1639, the bou ...

. Jonas Holland Howe was also a descendant of

Edmund Rice Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings ...

, an early immigrant to

, as follows: * Jonas Holland Howe, son of :*

(1786-1865), son of :* Benjamin Howe (1759-1838), son of :* Mary Stow (1730-1794), daughter of :* Elizabeth Brigham (1700-1757), daughter of ::* Nathan Brigham (1671-1747), son of ::* Mary Rice (1646-1695), daughter of ::* Henry Rice (1617-1711), son of :::*

, (ca1594-1663)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Jonas H. Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 1821 births 1898 deaths People from Petersham, Massachusetts People from Plymouth, Minnesota Artists from Minnesota 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Minnesota politicians