Site of Lewis Howard's House

Lewis Howard resided at a home at approximately this location.

NPS Photo/Woods

Quick Facts

Location:

170 Cambridge Street

Significance:

Lewis Howard boarded freedom seekers in his home.

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

Freedom seeker and carpenter Lewis Howard boarded at 170 Cambridge Street in the early 1860s, after boarding at 1 Southac Court and 70 Southac Street in the late 1850s.¹ Enslaved in Richmond, Virginia, Howard escaped and settled in Boston.² Newspapers in 1858 record that he faced trial for bigamy charges since he had been married to one woman while enslaved and remarried in Boston. His lawyer Robert Morris “argued that there was legally but one marriage, as slaves were not allowed to make contracts of any kind without the written consent of their masters.”³ The results of this case remain unclear.

Between 1859 and 1861, the Boston Vigilance Committee reimbursed Howard for boarding three freedom seekers: Edward Allen, William Seymour, and Willis Rogers. Howard also bought shoes for Rogers, according to the Committee’s records.⁴

During this time, Lewis Howard and his wife Nancy adopted a formerly enslaved seven-year-old girl, Ellen Starr. While her parents remained enslaved in Savannah, Georgia, newspaper articles state Starr gained her freedom when her mistress brought her to New York.⁵ Dimmock Charlton, a man who claimed to be Starr’s grandfather, took her "upon a street in New York” and together they traveled to Canada and Philadelphia before landing in Boston.⁶ In this city, they boarded at Lewis Howard’s home. Charlton left Starr in the care of the Howards, who agreed to take care of her and support her schooling.⁷

This arrangement led to a case over Starr’s guardianship as Charlton claimed custody of Starr. According to newspaper reports of the case, Charlton “attempted to regain possession [of Starr] -- first by force and then by this process [the Court case]” in order to bring her with him to England.⁸ The Howards, represented by Robert Morris, refused to let her go, arguing Charlton wanted to take her “against her will” and that Charlton had “stolen” Starr in New York.⁹ After hearing witnesses’ and Starr’s statement, the judge ruled that Starr would remain in the custody of the Howards. The Boston Evening Transcript reported,

The Court was satisfied that a good and permanent home, such as was now offered to the little girl, and to which she clung with earnestness, was far better than any she had known while under the control of the claimant [Charlton], and decreed accordingly.¹⁰

Lewis and Nancy Howard adopted Ellen Starr after winning a court case for her guardianship.(Credit: The Liberator, March 16, 1860).

Footnotes

1. Boston Directory, 1857 (Boston: Published by George Adams, 1857), Boston Athenaeum, 183; Boston Directory, 1858 (Boston: Published by George Adams, 1858), Boston Athenaeum,190; Boston Directory, 1859 (Boston: Published by George Adams, 1859), Boston Athenaeum, 214 ; Boston Directory, 1860 (Boston: Published by George Adams, 1860), Boston Athenaeum, 226; Boston Directory, 1861 (Boston: Published by George Adams, 1861), Boston Athenaeum, 233.
2. “Another Charge of Bigamy,” Boston Traveler, November 13, 1858.
3. “A Singular Case of Bigamy,” Boston Evening Transcript, November 12, 1858; “Another Charge of Bigamy,” Boston Traveler, November 13, 1858.
4. Account Book of Francis Jackson, Treasurer The Vigilance Committee of Boston, Dr. Irving H. Bartlett collection, 1830-1880, W. B. Nickerson Cape Cod History Archives, 66, 70, https://archive.org/details/drirvinghbartlet19bart/page/n65/mode/2up. 
5. “Custody of a Child,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 10, 1860.
6. “Custody of a Child,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 13, 1860.
7. “Custody of a Child,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 10, 1860.
8. “Custody of a Child,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 13, 1860.
9. “Custody of a Child,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 10, 1860; “Custody of a Child,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 13, 1860.
10. “Custody of a Child,” Boston Evening Transcript, February 13, 1860.