[Index]
Robert HOWE (1795 - 1829)
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
Robert Charles HOWE (1820 - 1875)
Robertus Mansfield HOWE (1822 - 1824)
Annie Wesley HOWE (1824 - )
Alfred Australia HOWE (1825 - 1837)
Mary McLeay HOWE (1827 - 1827)
Robert HOWE (1795 - 1829)

+

Elizabeth LEE (1802 - 1878)

Ann BIRD (1803 - 1842)
George HOWE (1769 - 1821) Thomas HOWE









Mary MCLEAY ( - 1800)











Robert HOWE

Robert HOWE
b. 30 Jun 1795 at London, Middlesex, England
+. (1) Elizabeth LEE (1802 - 1878)
m. (2) 1821 Ann BIRD (1803 - 1842) at St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW
d. 29 Jan 1829 at Sydney, NSW, Australia aged 33
Near Relatives of Robert HOWE (1795 - 1829)
Relationship Person Born Birth Place Died Death Place Age
Grandfather Thomas HOWE

Father George HOWE abt 1769 St Kitts, West Indies 11 May 1821 NSW, Australia 52
Mother Mary MCLEAY 1800 At sea
Step Mother Elizabeth (HASTINGS) (HASTEN) EASTON 1828 Sydney, NSW, Australia

Self Robert HOWE 30 Jun 1795 London, Middlesex, England 29 Jan 1829 Sydney, NSW, Australia 33

Spouse/Partner Elizabeth LEE 17 Jun 1802 Sydney, NSW, Australia 17 Aug 1878 Sydney, NSW, Australia 76
Wife Ann BIRD 1803 1842 Sydney, NSW, Australia 39

Son Robert Charles HOWE 27 Feb 1820 St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW 14 Jul 1875 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 55
Son Robertus Mansfield HOWE 12 Nov 1822 Sydney, NSW, Australia 26 Feb 1824 Sydney, NSW, Australia 1
Daughter Annie Wesley HOWE 1824 Sydney, NSW, Australia
Son Alfred Australia HOWE 1825 17 Jan 1837 Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia 12
Daughter Mary McLeay HOWE 21 Apr 1827 20 May 1827 0

Step Sister Sarah WILLS 23 Apr 1796 England Dec 1876 St Giles, London, England 80
Step Brother Thomas WILLS 05 Aug 1800 Sydney, NSW, Australia 29 Jul 1872 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 71
Step Sister Eliza WILLS 10 Sep 1802 Sydney, NSW, Australia 30 Sep 1858 St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 56
Half Brother Thomas Terry HOWE 02 Apr 1803 Sydney, NSW, Australia
Step Brother Edward Spencer WILLS 16 Feb 1805 Sydney, NSW, Australia 1830 London, Middlesex, England 25
Half Sister Mary Ann Risdon HOWE 01 May 1805 Sydney, NSW, Australia 1832 Kawhia, Auckland, New Zealand 27
Half Brother George Terry HOWE 18 Dec 1806 Sydney, NSW, Australia 06 Apr 1863 Chippendale, NSW, Australia 56
Step Sister Elizabeth Selina WILLS 30 Nov 1807 Sydney, NSW, Australia 18 Jan 1811 Sydney, NSW, Australia 3
Half Sister Ann HOWE 06 Feb 1809 Sydney, NSW, Australia 10 May 1811 2
Half Sister Sarah Risdon HOWE 27 Sep 1810 Sydney, NSW, Australia 1879 Redfern, Sydney, NSW, Australia 69
Step Brother Horatio Spencer Howe WILLS 05 Oct 1811 Sydney, NSW, Australia 17 Oct 1861 'Cullin-la-ringo', Springsure, Queensland, Australia 50
Half Sister Jane HOWE 09 Nov 1816 Sydney, NSW, Australia 23 Nov 1880 Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia 64
Step Sister Elizabeth WINTERS 1821 1901 80
Step Sister Ann WINTERS 1823 1902 79

Daughter in Law Sarah BLOODWORTH 1822 NSW, Australia 1891 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 69
Son in Law John Randall MORRIS

Grandson Robert HOWE 1841 St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW 23 Oct 1930 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 89
Granddaughter Maria Elizabeth HOWE 1843 St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW 1913 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 70
Grandson George Alfred HOWE 1845 St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW 1910 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 65
Granddaughter Sarah Jane HOWE 17 Jan 1848 St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW 03 Mar 1922 Kandos, NSW, Australia 74
Granddaughter Mary Rebecca HOWE 1855 Pj NSW, 1860 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 5
Grandson Thomas John HOWE 15 Mar 1858 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 1924 Granville, NSW, Australia 66
Granddaughter Wiliam HOWE 1860 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 1861 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 1
Grandson James Bloodworth HOWE 1863 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 29 Jun 1908 Queensland, Australia 45
Grandson Charles HOWE 21 Feb 1866 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 14 Aug 1947 Rylstone, NSW, Australia 81
Granddaughter Frances E MORRIS 1844
Grandson John R MORRIS 1846

Nephew William Lachlan Macquarie REDFERN 1819 Australia 1904 Westminster, London, England 85
Nephew Joseph Foveaux REDFERN 1823 1830 Sydney, NSW, Australia 7
Niece Sarah Elizabeth ALEXANDER 1835 Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland 1905 Paddington, London, England 70
Niece Alice WILLS 06 May 1823 Camden, NSW, Australia 14 Apr 1824 NSW, Australia 0
Nephew William Henry WILLS 01 Dec 1827 abt 1828 1
Niece Catherine Spencer WILLS 24 Nov 1831 Ci, Sydney, NSW 27 Aug 1884 Geelong, Victoria, Australia 52
Niece Amelia WILLS 1854 Kensington, London, Middlesex, England
Nephew Arthur WILLS 18 Feb 1857 Hammersmith, Middlesex, England 14 Oct 1932 Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 75
Nephew Harry Spencer WILLS 13 Sep 1858 Brighton, Sussex, England 1914 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 56
Nephew Frederick WILLS 19 Jul 1860 St John's Wood, Middlesex, London, England
Nephew Charles Ernest WILLS 15 Nov 1861 St John's Wood, Middlesex, London, England
Niece Margaret Campbell ANTILL 27 Jun 1820 Sydney, NSW, Australia 22 Jul 1849 Camden, Oaks, Picton, Stonequarry, NSW 29
Nephew John Macquarie ANTILL 30 May 1822 Liverpool, NSW, Australia 1900 Picton, NSW, Australia 78
Nephew Henry Colden ANTILL 07 Apr 1826 Camden, NSW, Australia 1913 Parramatta, Sydney, NSW, Australia 87
Niece Alice Sophia ANTILL 1827 Liverpool, NSW, Australia 1920 London, Middlesex, England 93
Nephew William Redfern ANTILL 1828 Campbelltown, NSW, Australia 1905 Picton, NSW, Australia 77
Nephew Thomas Wills ANTILL 1829 Campbelltown, NSW, Australia 18 May 1865 Nelson, New Zealand 36
Nephew Edward Spencer ANTILL 20 Jul 1832 Picton, NSW, Australia 1917 Parramatta, Sydney, NSW, Australia 85
Nephew James Alexander ANTILL 1834 Cobbitty, Narellan, NSW, Australia 1920 Rockdale, Sydney, NSW, Australia 86
Niece Selina Elizabeth ANTILL 1837 Cobbitty, Narellan, NSW, Australia 1924 Chatswood, NSW, Australia 87
Nephew Loftus Cliff ANTILL 06 Dec 1839 Stonequarry, Picton, NSW, Australia 1840 Stonequarry, Picton, NSW, Australia 1
Niece Sarah Eclipse HOWE 1824 At sea 1905 Callan Park, New South Wales, Australia 81
Nephew George Risden HOWE 1825 01 Jul 1889 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 64
Niece Mary Ann Cowell HOWE 17 Jun 1827 Sydney, NSW, Australia 20 Feb 1905 NSW, Australia 77
Niece Marion HOWE 1829
Nephew John Kiwi HOWE 1830 1860 Kawhia, Auckland, New Zealand 30
Niece Ann Risden HOWE 1832
Niece Eliza Frances HOWE 1834 13 Oct 1914 80
Niece Elizabeth Jane HOWE 1836 15 Dec 1916 80
Niece Emily HOWE 1840 1880 Sydney, NSW, Australia 40
Niece Maria Elizabeth LEE 09 Nov 1891
Nephew Thomas Wentworth WILLS 1836 Molongolo Plains, NSW, Australia 02 May 1880 Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia 44
Niece Emily Spencer WILLS 25 Dec 1842 'Lexington', Ararat, Victoria, Australia 06 Dec 1925 "Molongolo", Kew, Victoria, Australia 82
Nephew Cedric Spencer WILLS 01 Dec 1844 'Lexington', Ararat, Victoria, Australia 23 Jan 1914 Springsure, Queensland, Australia 69
Nephew Horace Spencer WILLS 16 Jun 1847 Lexington, Victoria, Australia 08 Oct 1928 Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 81
Nephew Egbert Spencer WILLS 11 Nov 1849 Lexington, Victoria, Australia 11 Sep 1931 Kew, Victoria, Australia 81
Niece Elizabeth Spencer WILLS 07 Jan 1852 'Lexington', Ararat, Victoria, Australia 21 Nov 1930 Prahran, Victoria, Australia 78
Niece Eugenie (Duckey) Spencer WILLS 28 Jan 1854 Lexington, Victoria, Australia 08 Jul 1937 Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 83
Niece Minna Spencer WILLS 01 Mar 1856 "Bellevue", Geelong, Victoria, Australia 14 Feb 1943 Toorak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 86
Niece Hortense Sarah Spencer WILLS 16 Aug 1861 Geelong, Victoria, Australia 02 Jul 1907 Maidenhead, Berkshire, England 45
Nephew John Arthur HARRISON 1897
Niece Adela Ann HARRISON 11 Sep 1834 23 Jul 1910 Victoria, Australia 75
Nephew Henry Colden Antill HARRISON 16 Oct 1836 Cj, NSW, Australia 02 Sep 1929 Kew, Victoria, Australia 92
Nephew George Alfred HARRISON 1838
Niece Kate HARRISON 1840 1914 Minto, NSW, Australia 74
Niece Alice HARRISON 1842
Nephew Ernest HARRISON 1845
Nephew Horace Washington HARRISON 1848 Avon, Victoria, Australia 09 Feb 1869 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia 21

Brother in Law William REDFERN 1774 Canada 17 Jul 1833 Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland 59
Brother in Law James ALEXANDER 1797 Lanarkshire, Scotland 29 Jul 1877 80
Sister in Law Celia REIBEY 1802 Camden, NSW, Australia 28 Sep 1823 NSW, Australia 21
Sister in Law Marie Anne BARRY 21 Sep 1801 London, Middlesex, England 19 May 1870 68
Sister in Law Mary Ann MELLARD 1830 Peckham, Camberwell, London, Surrey, England
Brother in Law Henry Colden ANTILL 01 May 1779 New York, NY, USA 14 Aug 1852 'Jarvisfield', Picton, NSW, Australia 73
Brother in Law John COWELL 1786
Sister in Law Sarah BIRD 1801 1871 70
Sister in Law Tawariki Te KIWI
Brother in Law Frederick LEE
Brother in Law Edward LEE 1807 27 Jun 1842 Lithuania 35
Sister in Law Elizabeth (MCGUIRE) WYRE 1817 Sydney, NSW, Australia 28 Dec 1907 Geelong, Victoria, Australia 90
Brother in Law Capt. John HARRISON 1800 Cumberland, England 21 Jul 1869 Williamstown, Victoria, Australia 69
Events in Robert HOWE (1795 - 1829)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
30 Jun 1795 Robert HOWE was born London, Middlesex, England 55
1800 5 Death of mother Mary MCLEAY At sea Note 1 55
20 Nov 1800 5 Immigration Sydney, NSW, Australia Note 2 55
27 Feb 1820 24 Birth of son Robert Charles HOWE St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW Note 3 52, 55
1821 26 Married Ann BIRD (aged 18) St Phillips Church of England, Sydney, NSW Note 4 52, 55
11 May 1821 25 Death of father George HOWE (aged 52) NSW, Australia Note 5 52, 55
12 Nov 1822 27 Birth of son Robertus Mansfield HOWE Sydney, NSW, Australia Reg No V18221566 162A/1822 52, 55
1824 29 Birth of daughter Annie Wesley HOWE Sydney, NSW, Australia Reg No V18241567 162/1824 52, 55
26 Feb 1824 28 Death of son Robertus Mansfield HOWE (aged 1) Sydney, NSW, Australia Reg No V18241007 8/1824 52, 55
1825 30 Birth of son Alfred Australia HOWE Note 6 52, 55
21 Apr 1827 31 Birth of daughter Mary McLeay HOWE Reg No V1827154 11/1827 52, 55
20 May 1827 31 Death of daughter Mary McLeay HOWE 55
1828 33 Death of step mother Elizabeth (HASTINGS) (HASTEN) EASTON Sydney, NSW, Australia Note 7
29 Jan 1829 33 Robert HOWE died Sydney, NSW, Australia Note 8 52
Note 1: died on the voyage to Australia
DEATH OF MARY MCLEAY

An article written in the Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 23'd January

It is from the Journal of Missionaries from "Portsmouth" on the Royal

Admiral which arrived in Sydney 22.11.1800 by the Rev. T Hawes. His

entry for July1st stated "Last night died of fever Mrs Howe, a convict's wife

her case was peculiarly affecting being far advanced in a state of pregnancy.

She left behind her a fine boy about 5 years old whom we took under our

care until we arrive at Port Jackson. His father says that he considers it a

great favour. Her body was brought upon deck about half past 12 at night. J

Youl prayed, then her body was committed to the deep. He exhorted those

present, particularly her husband, to consider it as a call from God to prepare

to meet death and judgment as he also might shortly be summoned to appear at the bar of God."

Brother Youl gave no comfort to anyone. The text for his bleak burial

service was Revelations 20.15- "And whosoever was not found written in

the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

A lesser man than George Howe might have joined his wife in the deep. But

Howe, a printer who had received a life sentence for shoplifting under the

name of George Happy alias Happy George, escaped typhus and later

became publisher of Australia's first newspaper, the Sydney Gazette.
Note 2: arrived on the 'Rear Admiral' (or 'Royal Admiral'). Came with his father (convict) and mother. She died on the voyage.
Note 3: Reg No V18205043 1B/1820 OR V1820576 6/1820 - Robert Howe and Elizabeth Lee
illegitimate son with Elizabeth Lee
Note 4: Reg No V1821184 8/1821 OR V18212846 3B/1821 - St Phillips Church of England, Sydney
Note 5: Reg No V18215068 2B/1821 - George Howe - age 51
********************

Johnson, Keith A. Comp. Gravestone inscriptions, N.S.W. Volume 1. Sydney burial ground : Elizabeth and Devonshire Streets "The Sandhills' (Monuments relocated at Bunnerong) / compiled by Keith A. Johnson and Malcolm R. Sainty. n.p., the compilers, 1973
Text: Mr Edward WILLS died 14th May 1811 aged 32 years
Also George HOWE
a Creole of St. Kitt's
born 1769
died 11th May 1821 aged 52 years
He introduced into Australia the art of Printing
instigating the 'Sydney Gazette' and was the first Government Printer
(fourth oldest stone at Bunnerong).
*****************************************

OBITUARY of George Howe in Sydney Gazette
SYDNEY GAZETTE.
IT HATH at length fallen to the task of surviving friendship to announce, in a Column of the SYDNEY GAZETTE, the Death of its Printer, Mr. GEORGE HOWE ; which lamented event took place in the forenoon of Friday last, the 11th instant, at his house in George-street ; and in the sorrowing testimony of affectionate relatives, and sympathising acquaintances, we have traced the sincere regard and respect due to departed worth, and to the memory of an upright, liberal, and benevolent Member of Society. That such are the faithful attributes of the Character to which this humble tribute applies, will, we trust, be universally acknowledged ; and particularly in those circles where his philanthropy and urbanity were displayed; and which, retiring from public notice, ministered, unwitnessed and in private, the consolatory balm to indigence and affliction»

Mr. HOWE was a native of St. Kitt's, in the West Indies, where his Father and Brother conducted for many years the Government Press, which is still continued by his Family in that Island. As a Printer, Mr. HOWE is said to have attained distinguished preeminence in England, and was for a long time employed on some of the most respectable Journals in London. As the original Printer of this Gazette, he had to struggle, in the outset, with many difficulties incidental to such an undertaking, in a remote Colony ; but by perseverance, attention, and the liberal encouragement of the present Government, he at length surmounted them. Mr. HOWE was in his 52nd year.
**************************

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/howe-george-1600
Australian Dictionary of Biography
George Howe (1769-1821), printer, editor, publisher and poet, was born on the island of St Kitts in the West Indies, the son of Thomas Howe, government printer at Basseterre on St Christopher's Island. George and his brother were both apprenticed to the printing trade. His later work indicates that his education was thorough along the classical lines of the eighteenth century, and that he was well read in European literature.

In 1790 Howe went to London and worked on The Times and other newspapers. He married and his son Robert was born in 1795. In March 1799, together with a companion, Thomas Jones, and under the name of 'George Happy alias Happy George', he was tried at the Warwick Assizes for shoplifting at Alcester; he was sentenced to death but this was commuted to transportation for life. Robert Howe later referred to Alexander McLeay as 'the benefactor of myself and my poor mother', and it was probably McLeay who enabled Howe's family to embark with him in the Royal Admiral. He arrived at Sydney in November 1800, but his wife died on the voyage. Howe himself recovered from a serious illness in 1801 and attributed his survival to D'Arcy Wentworth.

Almost immediately Howe became government printer, and the range of his printing far exceeded the broadsheets and orders of his predecessor, George Hughes. In 1802 he issued the first book printed in Australia, New South Wales General Standing Orders, comprising Government and General Orders issued between 1791 and 1802. On 5 March 1803 he began the publication of the first newspaper, the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. Robert helped in the printing office when the paper began and 'had the honour, even in those infant days, of gaining the smile and eliciting the astonishment of the King's Representative when he saw us perched on a stool'. According to Robert the old printing press was worth only £2 and they had to manage with a mere 20 lbs. (9 kg) of type; but Howe was an 'ingenious man' and managed in spite of the inadequate press, a chronic shortage of ink and paper, and the refusal or inability of many of his subscribers to pay their debts. He was conditionally pardoned in 1803, and fully emancipated in 1806.

Howe formed an irregular alliance with Elizabeth Easton and between 1803 and 1810 she bore him five children, one of whom, George Terry Howe, later became the first newspaper editor in Launceston. To add to his income he opened a stationery shop and became a private tutor. He offered to teach reading, writing and mensuration and 'the Grammar of the English tongue upon the principles of Drs Lowth, Johnson, Priestly and other celebrated writers who have united their efforts in improving the Grammatical structure of their own beautiful and comprehensive language, which every Englishman ought to be acquainted with, but few attain that have not had the advantage of a classical education'.

Howe's shop and his tutoring enabled him to survive between 30 August 1807 and 15 May 1808, when because of the quarrel between Governor William Bligh and his enemies the Gazette ceased publication. The reason given was lack of paper, but Robert Howe later revealed that the government stores had large stocks of paper. After Bligh's arrest Howe had to threaten to publish the names of his debtors unless they paid him within a fortnight.

In 1810 Howe's printing office was almost destroyed by lightning, but the newly-arrived Governor Lachlan Macquarie renewed his appointment as government printer, and next year granted him a salary of £60. Howe's economic position improved still further when in 1812 he married Sarah, the widow of Edward Wills, who had inherited a profitable store from her husband. Of her five existing children, Sarah married Dr William Redfern in 1811 and Eliza married Major Henry Antill in 1818; a son, Horatio Spencer Wills, became editor of the Gazette and published the first paper edited by a native-born Australian, The Currency Lad, which first appeared in August 1832.

After his marriage Howe became more active in commerce. In 1813 he joined Mrs Mary Reibey in a speculation in sandalwood. In 1817 he became one of the fourteen foundation subscribers to the Bank of New South Wales. In 1813 he published the first natural history and art book printed in the colony, Birds of New South Wales with their Natural History, a collection of eighteen coloured plates of Australian birds with short descriptions of their habits and environment. The artist was John Lewin. In 1819 First Fruits of Australian Poetry, containing two poems by Barron Field, the first book of poetry published in Australia, came from his press. Howe was preparing to publish the first periodical magazine when he died on 11 May 1821. He left property worth £4000.

Robert Howe was dissipated as a young man and in 1819 fathered an illegitimate son. Next year, however, he experienced a spiritual awakening and, in his own words, was 'wonderfully and mercifully visited by God and snatched from infamy in this world and Hell in the next'. He joined the group of Methodists who were working in Sydney and their influence, particularly that of Rev. Ralph Mansfield, was apparent when he published The Australian Magazine; or, Compendium of Religious, Literary, and Miscellaneous Intelligence, the first periodical to appear in Australia. The first number appeared in May 1821 and the publication continued until September 1822. In the meantime, in 1821 Robert Howe had married the colonial-born Ann Bird, who finally agreed to rear Robert's natural son as her own. She bore him four more children, Robert Mansfield, Alfred Australia, Ann Wesley and Mary McLeay, whose names commemorated the strongest influences in Howe's life.

Although his education had not been thorough, Robert Howe continued to edit the Gazette which he had helped his father to publish, but the tone of the paper changed completely. Morality and religion became its main themes. Howe considered that to be 'Printer to Immanuel' was more important than being government printer. A plan to establish another press devoted exclusively to the aims of the Wesleyan mission did not eventuate; but the Gazette reflected Howe's conviction that religion was the only possible means of progress in Australia and the only way to rescue the colony from the 'depths of awful depravity to Righteousness in the Son of God'. This outlook, together with the Gazette's traditional policy of supporting the government, made it impossible for Howe to join the struggle for the freedom of the press between 1826 and 1829. Added to this was the fact that Alexander McLeay, his old benefactor, had become colonial secretary. Despite criticism, the Gazette prospered and for a short time in 1827 became the first daily newspaper in the colony. Robert Howe also continued his father's tradition as a publisher. In addition to religious tracts, in 1826 he published Wild Notes from the Lyre of a Native Minstrel, the first book of poems written by a colonial-born poet, Charles Tompson, whose work had already appeared in the Gazette.

Howe's own personal life was never really happy. On the night of 15 June 1822 he was attacked while returning from a meeting at the Methodist chapel. He could not avoid a number of libel actions arising from the strong denunciation of those who opposed his policy, and in 1827 Redfern publicly horse-whipped him. He wrote that he was 'debilitated through excessive fatigue, mental anxiety and unprecedented and unexpected domestic disquietude and grief to which I have for years submitted'. In 1827 he made a will in which he left most of his estate to his natural son and £100 a year to his wife. Next year he revoked this and left his wife an 'equal division' of his effects which amounted to over £10,000. Contemplating retirement, he installed Mansfield as co-editor of the Gazette; but on 29 January 1829 he was drowned while fishing near Pinchgut and his widow became the proprietor of the paper.

George and Robert Howe had performed important work. To have a newspaper as early as 1803 was of inestimable benefit to both government and settlers. A series of the New South Wales Pocket Almanack, issued in conjunction with the Gazette from 1806, supplemented the dissemination of news and knowledge throughout the colony. The Gazette kept the settlers in touch with home. News from England and excerpts from English literature kept loyalty to England alive. From the beginning George Howe encouraged education and published material calculated to aid both teachers and pupils. He also fostered literature and before 1810 printed more than forty poems, many of which he wrote himself. During Macquarie's administration he printed a further seventy poems including the patriotic odes of Michael Robinson. He has, therefore, a strong claim to the title of 'Father of Australian Literature'. The main difference between George and Robert was that, whereas George Howe advocated reason and common sense, Robert fostered religion.
Note 6: Reg No V18161022 148/1816 - this seems to be the wrong year, far too early - more likely 1826
Note 7: NSW bmd - WINTERS ELIZABETH. 1002/1828 V18281002 12 AGE 43
Note 8: Reg No V18298310 2C
Australian Dictionary of Biography - on 29 January 1829 he was drowned while fishing near Pinchgut
Personal Notes:
Colonial Times (Hobart)13 Feb 1829
Death of Mr. Robert Howe.
The arrivals this week from the sister Colony of New South Wales have conveyed to us the melancholy news of the death of the Editor and Proprietor of the Sydney Gazette, on the evening of the 29th of January last, Mr. ROBERT HOWE, eldest son of the late GEORGE HOWE, Esq. the Australian Franklin. We, more than the generality of his friends and the Public, have to deplore his untimely fate, by DROWNING (in the exercise of paternal tenderness, in attempting to rescue his infant child from a watery grave.) On the announcement, so sudden and unexpected, and scarcely to be credited, occasioned, from our long intimacy and private friendship (although for the last few years strong public controversionists) more deeply felt and grieved for—recalling to our minds, with painful regret that the awful estrangement of acquaintance should have happened, without a reconciliation of political ideas, that in a great measure so varied and disunited those ties of friendship which for many years subsisted between us. The unfeigned tear of sorrow and regret is all that is now left us to offer as tributary and appeasing to his memory. His sudden death was occasioned by attempting to save his infant from drowning. It appears, the child being indisposed, he was recommended to try sea-bathing, as an effectual remedy of the little one's disorder. He had adopted the plan of towing the infant in a wicker basket alongside his pleasure boat. By some accident the rope that was attached to the basket broke, upon which the deceased jumped overboard, to rescue the babe, and it is supposed, on rising from his sudden immersion, his head must have struck the keel of the boat, or his person become entangled with the ropes (which must have been the case, having been a very excellent swimmer), for he rose no more ! This unhappy accident having been witnessed by the second officer of a vessel in the harbour, he immediately plunged into the water, and rescued the infant from its wretched father's fate. The deceased was in the prime and vigor of his life, between 30 and 40 years of age ; and was possessed of a refined and animated understanding—the chief essentials of an Editor, As such, he was most zealous, active, and indefatigable, in an eminent degree, and, as a relaxation of his arduous and unwearying professional and editorial duties, he purchased the boat, only a few days previ-
ously, strange does it appear, that the friendly joke of his acquaintance was but too truly verified, when quizzing him on his purchase, that " He had bought his own Coffin !" With most heartfelt grief, do we condole his amiable relict and young family on this sad, unexpected, and heart-breaking loss. Let us trust, the molifying hand of time will sooth her sorrows, and recall to her mind to the imperative and double duties claimed by her rising offspring. We know not what offers of condolence to address to his sorrowing relations, at this sad catastrophe, but to rest their feelings upon the soothing help upon the powerful omolyents of religious and Christian fortitude. The soothing hand of time softens all anguish. Time, then, must be their anodoyne. In alluding to the sad loss the Sydney Gazette Establishment must for a while feel, by this paralyzing misfortune, we trust that all the inconveniencies will be obviated, and the zealous energy of his relative, Mr. GEORGE TERRY HOWE, and his co-adjutor, the Rev. RALPH MANSFIELD, will continue to publish the Journal in the same name—handing down to posterity the proof of an Australian and St. Kitt's, (a Leeward Island) FRANKLIN.
The body was picked up, and the Funeral was to take place on the 2d instant.

AUSTRALIAN DICTIONARY OF BIOGRAPHY
ROBERT HOWE was dissipated as a young man and in 1819 fathered an illegitimate son. Next year, however, he experienced a spiritual awakening and, in his own words, was 'wonderfully and mercifully visited by God and snatched from infamy in this world and Hell in the next'. He joined the group of Methodists who were working in Sydney and their influence, particularly that of Rev. Ralph Mansfield, was apparent when he published The Australian Magazine; or, Compendium of Religious, Literary, and Miscellaneous Intelligence, the first periodical to appear in Australia. The first number appeared in May 1821 and the publication continued until September 1822. In the meantime, in 1821 Robert Howe had married the colonial-born Ann Bird, who finally agreed to rear Robert's natural son as her own. She bore him four more children, Robert Mansfield, Alfred Australia, Ann Wesley and Mary McLeay, whose names commemorated the strongest influences in Howe's life.

Although his education had not been thorough, Robert Howe continued to edit the Gazette which he had helped his father to publish, but the tone of the paper changed completely. Morality and religion became its main themes. Howe considered that to be 'Printer to Immanuel' was more important than being government printer. A plan to establish another press devoted exclusively to the aims of the Wesleyan mission did not eventuate; but the Gazette reflected Howe's conviction that religion was the only possible means of progress in Australia and the only way to rescue the colony from the 'depths of awful depravity to Righteousness in the Son of God'. This outlook, together with the Gazette's traditional policy of supporting the government, made it impossible for Howe to join the struggle for the freedom of the press between 1826 and 1829. Added to this was the fact that Alexander McLeay, his old benefactor, had become colonial secretary. Despite criticism, the Gazette prospered and for a short time in 1827 became the first daily newspaper in the colony. Robert Howe also continued his father's tradition as a publisher. In addition to religious tracts, in 1826 he published Wild Notes from the Lyre of a Native Minstrel, the first book of poems written by a colonial-born poet, Charles Tompson, whose work had already appeared in the Gazette.

Howe's own personal life was never really happy. On the night of 15 June 1822 he was attacked while returning from a meeting at the Methodist chapel. He could not avoid a number of libel actions arising from the strong denunciation of those who opposed his policy, and in 1827 Redfern publicly horse-whipped him. He wrote that he was 'debilitated through excessive fatigue, mental anxiety and unprecedented and unexpected domestic disquietude and grief to which I have for years submitted'. In 1827 he made a will in which he left most of his estate to his natural son and £100 a year to his wife. Next year he revoked this and left his wife an 'equal division' of his effects which amounted to over £10,000. Contemplating retirement, he installed Mansfield as co-editor of the Gazette; but on 29 January 1829 he was drowned while fishing near Pinchgut and his widow became the proprietor of the paper.

George and Robert Howe had performed important work. To have a newspaper as early as 1803 was of inestimable benefit to both government and settlers. A series of the New South Wales Pocket Almanack, issued in conjunction with the Gazette from 1806, supplemented the dissemination of news and knowledge throughout the colony. The Gazette kept the settlers in touch with home. News from England and excerpts from English literature kept loyalty to England alive. From the beginning George Howe encouraged education and published material calculated to aid both teachers and pupils. He also fostered literature and before 1810 printed more than forty poems, many of which he wrote himself. During Macquarie's administration he printed a further seventy poems including the patriotic odes of Michael Robinson. He has, therefore, a strong claim to the title of 'Father of Australian Literature'. The main difference between George and Robert was that, whereas George Howe advocated reason and common sense, Robert fostered religion.


Ancestry - Currey Family Tree
Robert Howe was dissipated as a young man and in 1819 fathered an illegitimate son. Next year, however, he experienced a spiritual awakening and, in his own words, was 'wonderfully and mercifully visited by God and snatched from infamy in this world and Hell in the next'. In the meantime, in 1821 Robert Howe had married the colonial-born Ann Bird, who finally agreed to rear Robert's natural son as her own. She bore him four more children, Robert Mansfield, Alfred Australia, Ann Wesley and Mary McLeay, whose names commemorated the strongest influences in Howe's life.
In 1827 he made a will in which he left most of his estate to his natural son and £100 a year to his wife. Next year he revoked this and left his wife an 'equal division' of his effects which amounted to over £10,000. Contemplating retirement, he installed Mansfield as co-editor of the Gazette; but on 29 January 1829 he was drowned while fishing near Pinchgut and his widow became the proprietor of the paper.
Source References:
52. Type: Australia Birth Marriage Death Index 1787 - 1985 Record
- Reference = (Marriage)
- Reference = (Death)
55. Type: Book, Abbr: Edward Wills Family and Descendants, Title: Ancestor Treasure Hunt; The Edward Wills Family and Descendants in Australia 1797 - 1976, Auth: R.V. Pockley, Publ: Wentworth Books - Sydney, Date: 1976
- Reference = (Marriage)
- Reference = (Birth)
- Reference = (Name, Notes)