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Garroll,
I have no information on the possibility that you presented in your posting, of John How traveling as an indentured servant. I have a copy of the book "The Story of the Wayside Inn - As Ancient Is This Hostelry" (which I purchased through the Wayside Inn).
The following is an excerpt from that book concerning conjectures about where John may have come from and how he may have traveled:
Ch. VII, pg. 120 -
What evidence has been presented about John How's origins up to now? Search reveals that the discussion, ranging over almost one hundred and seventy years,about where this Sudbury settler came from in England, is founded almost entirely on a chapter written by the Reverend Joseph Allen in the Worchester Magazine and Historical Journal in the year 1826. In that chapter, Allen states:
" According to a tradition handed down in the family, the first English person that came to reside in Marlborough was John How, son of a How of Watertown, supposed to be John How, Esquire, who came from Warsickshire in England and who, as appears from a record in the possession of Mr. Adam How of Sudbury, also a descendant of John, was himself the son of John Hull of Hodinhull, and connected with the family of Lord Charles How, Earl of Lancaster in the reign of Charles I."
This reference to John How is part of a chapter in the history of Northborough and adjoining towns. Rev. Allen concludes the chapter with the following disclaimer:
"The preceeding sketches have been made up from material collected from various sources. The aged fathers of this and some of the neighboring towns have been consulted...several descendants of the early settlers of Marlborough have kindly furnished many valuable papers relating to the events of former days and which have been handed down from father to son for three or four successive generations...The writer has aimed for accuracy but fears, where so much rests on mere tradition, or memory no less treacherous, that many errors besides those of the press, have become incorporated in the history. For these,he craves the indulgence of his readers."
The important point here is that subsequent historians all take their information about John How from this one rather slim source, which the author himself admits is open to error.
(The book goes on to say on pg 121)...
"Several other historians of the nineteenth century, writing about ships' lists and known emigrants to the colonies, either do not mention John How at all, or say they cannot ascertain his point of origin. These include Hotten in 'Licenses to Go Beyond the Seas', Bond in his 'History of Watertown', and Ward in his 'History of Shrewsbury'.
Garroll, at least we can know that others have tried, without success, to come up with valid information on how John How arrived, and exactly where he came from. If you do come across further history, please do share with me.
Thanks.
Bonnie
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