| 1. | [[Category: Old Graveyard, West Bridgewater, Massachusetts]] ==Biography==Ephraim Howard, son of [[Howard-701|John Howard]] and [[Hayward-769|Martha (Hayward) Howard]], was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts in 1667.<ref name="Howard"/><ref name="Mitchell"/> Ephraim married Mary Keith in Bridgewater in 1688/9.<ref name="Howard"/><ref name="Mitchell"/> According to Ziba Keith's ''Genealogy of the Keith Family'', Mary's father, Rev. James Keith (then 45), was initially opposed to Ephraim marrying his daughter: :[Mary Keith] was courted by Ephraim Howard, not much to the acceptance of the old minister. Notwithstanding his objection, they were secretly married, and were pursued by the irate father. Arriving too late to prevent their marriage, he returned, and, complying with the prevailing custom, preached the following Sabbath from Hosea 4:17- "Ephraim is joined to idols let him alone." Time, however, softened his spirit, and the reconciliation which followed inclined him to preach from Jeremiah 31:20 - "Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still."<ref name="Keith"/> Ephraim and Mary had the following children, all born in Bridgewater:# [[Howard-5037|Jane]], b. September 17, 1689, m. March 26, 1713 Nehemiah Washburn in Bridgewater, d. January 26, 1715 in Bridgewater#[[Howard-15677|Susanna]], b. March 8, 1692, m. December 22, 1720 Samuel Jacobs, d. September 4, 1766 at Pembroke, Massachusetts# [[Howard-5038|Martha]], b. August 7, 1695, m. December 26, 1714 Josiah Williams, d. September 2, 1746# [[Howard-5032|Ephraim]], b. March 25, 1697, m. by 1722 Abigail Tisdale# [[Howard-5039|Daniel]], b. October 3, 1699, m. January 16, 1723 Damaris Williams of Taunton, d. April 16, 1779 in North Bridgewater# [[Howard-16187|David]], b. March 3, 1703, m. 1st February 7, 1727 Bethiah Leonard of Taunton, m. 2d October 19, 1748 Elizabeth Oakman, d.June 4, 1751 in West Bridgewater# [[Howard-5040|Silence]], b. June 3, 1705, m. November 7, 1722 John Burr, d. May 6, 1773 in West Bridgewater# [[Howard-14991|Mary]], b. December 21, 1707, m. 1st November 15, 1726 John Field in Bridgewater, m. 2d April 29, 1738 Elisha Pierce Ephraim Howard was representative to the General Court in 1723.<ref name="Howard"/> He inherited the land on which his father's house stood.<ref name="Howard"/> Ephraim Howard died in Bridgewater, Massachusetts on August 11, 1750,at the age of 84.<ref name="BridgHist482"/><ref name="Howard"/><ref name="Mitchell"/> He was buried in the [[:Category: Old Graveyard, WestBridgewater, Massachusetts|Old Graveyard]] also called South Street Cemetery in Bridgewater.<ref name="Howard"/> His [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40440503/ephraim-howard Find-A-Grave memorial] has a photo of his headstone and links to those of family members.<ref name="FAG"/> == Sources == <span class="hidden"> <ref name="FAG"> {{FindAGrave|40440503}}</ref><ref name="BridgHist482">[https://archive.org/stream/vitalrecordsofbr021916brid#page/482/mode/2up "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916, p 482]</ref> <ref name="Keith">[https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=fEFWAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA13 Ziba Keith, "Genealogy of the Keith family," Goodall, 1889. pp 13-14]</ref> <ref name="Howard">[https://archive.org/stream/howardgenealogyd00howa#page/8/mode/2up Herman Howard, "The Howard Genealogy: Descendants of John Howard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, from 1643 to 1903," Standard Printing Company,1903, pp 8-9]</ref><ref name="Mitchell">[https://archive.org/stream/historyofearlyset00mitcch#page/192/mode/2up Nahum Mitchell, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater, in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts," 1840, p 192]</ref> Ephraim was born in 1687. </span> <references /> |