Samuel Howard (1752)

(1752 – January 7, 1797)

Samuel Howard, a shipwright from Boston, Massachusetts, was mentioned in Francis S. Drake’s Tea Leaves as a Boston Tea Party participant.

He is described by Drake as having “resided at the ‘Mansion House,’ which stood on the site of the Mariner’s Church, North Square.” Drake goes on to state that Samuel Howard died in 1797, which corroborates Samuel Howard, the shipwright, as being the participant Drake is discussing. A family history from 1873 written by one of Samuel’s descendants describes a party held at the home of one of his granddaughters in 1873 in which they honored Samuel’s role in the Boston Tea Party. 

Other than these mentions of Samuel Howard the shipwright, little else is known about his life before or after the Boston Tea Party, or whether or not he served in during the Revolutionary War. Interestingly, there are two Samuel Howards who have been named as possible Boston Tea Party participants.