Meredith Howland (March 31, 1833 – April 4, 1912) was an American soldier and clubman who was prominent in New York society during the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

Early life

Howland was born in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial ...

on March 31, 1833. He was the son of Louisa Sophia (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Meredith) Howland (1810–1888) and Gardiner Greene Howland (1787–1851), a prominent merchant with the firm G.G. & S.S. Howland (which employed Moses Taylor as a clerk). Among his siblings were Rebecca Brien Howland (first wife of

James Roosevelt I James Roosevelt I (July 16, 1828 – December 8, 1900), known as "Squire James", was an American businessman, politician, horse breeder, and the father of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. Early life Roosevelt was ...

) and Gardiner Greene Howland Jr. From his father's first marriage to Louisa Edgar, he was the younger half-brother of William Edgar Howland, Abby Woolsey Howland, and the Rev. Robert Shaw Howland. His paternal grandparents were Joseph Howland and Lydia (née Bill) Howland. His maternal grandfather was Jonathan Meredith. His first cousin was Union Army officer and New York State Treasurer Joseph Howland, the son of his uncle Samuel Shaw Howland, a co-founder of G.G. & S.S. Howland. The first American Howland ancestor was John Howland, one of the

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony at what now is Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. John Smith had named ...

and a signer of the 1620

Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of Separatist Puritans, adventurers, a ...

, the governing document of what became

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

Career

During the U.S. Civil War, Howland served as a paymaster under Colonel Marshall Lefferts in the Union Army's 7th New York Militia

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. The 7th Regiment was known as a "Silk Stocking" regiment due to the disproportionate number of its members who were part of New York City's social elite,

Society life

In 1892, Howland was included in Ward McAllister's " Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.

Personal life

In 1870, Howland was married to Adelaide Torrance (1846–1932), the daughter of Daniel Torrance and Sophia Johnson (née Vanderbilt) Torrance. Adelaide's maternal grandfather was Commodore

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

and her paternal grandfather was merchant John Torrance. Among her siblings were Marie Torrance (who married John A. Hadden Jr.), and Alfred Torrance (who married

Louise Post Louise Lightner Post (born December 7, 1967) is an American musician. She is best known for being a vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Veruca Salt, which she co-founded with Nina Gordon in 1992. Career Shortly after they me ...

and then divorced so Louise could marry Frederick W. Vanderbilt). The Howlands lived mostly in Paris and Cannes (at the Villa Dubosc), where his wife became known as a prominent hostess (befriending

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

) and "indefatigable bridgeplayer." Howland, who did not have any surviving children, died in Cannes, France on April 4, 1912, and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. After his death, his wife remained in France, where she died in 1932.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howland, Meredith 1833 births 1912 deaths Military personnel from New York City People from Flushing, Queens People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Howland family