Manuscript Group 591, Cobb-Howell Family (Hanover Township, NJ) Papers, 1758-1885 (Bulk dates: 1758-1833)

Archive Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs

Manuscript Group 591, Cobb-Howell Family (Hanover Township, NJ)
Papers, 1758-1885
(Bulk dates: 1758-1833), 0.2 linear feet / 4 folders
Call Number: MG 591

Summary

• Biographical Note
• Provenance Note
• Scope and Content Note
• Related Collections
• Folder List

Summary:

Indentures, accounts, and legal documents pertaining to the Cobb-Howell family of Hanover Township in Morris County. Includes papers of Benjamin Howell, Jr. (1786-1852), an attorney.

Gift of John B. and Richard P. Howell, 1963.

Biographical Note:

Edward Cobb (1731-1813) was most likely a descendant of the Cobb family of Massachusetts.  He moved from Massachusetts to Morris County, New Jersey, where he established a farm in Hanover Township.  His granddaughter, Elizabeth Cobb, married Benjamin Howell, Jr. (1786-1852), a well-known attorney.  Howell was a direct descendant of Edward Howell, one of the first settlers of Morris County, who purchased land from Native Americans in 1640.

Provenance Note:

The collection was donated to The New Jersey Historical Society by John B. Howell and Richard P. Howell in October of 1963.

Scope and Content Note:

These papers consist of legal and financial documents that relate to several generations of the Cobb-Howell family.  It includes Hanover Township land deeds, 1758-1833, of Edward Cobb; a certificate appointing John Cobb and Benjamin Howell estate administrators for Ephraim Beach, signed by Governor William Franklin, 1768; an inventory of Benjamin Howell’s personal estate, 1799; and writs for the arrest of debtors, 1812-1825, two of which were initiated by Benjamin Howell, Jr. Some documents in this collection relate to Howell’s predecessor who had the same name – Benjamin Howell (1725-1798).

The collection is organized by document type and then arranged in chronological order.

Related Collections:

Manuscript Group 559, Benjamin Howell, Jr. (1786-1852) Docket
Manuscript Group 824, Smith Family Papers

Folder List:

Processed by Irina Peris, December 1999 as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

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