John Howland

Introduction to the John Howland Letter Series

Before he became a founder of Plymouth Colony, John Howland was simply a young Englishman in search of purpose—an indentured servant in the household of John Carver, quiet, capable, and steady of heart. History knows him best for one dramatic moment: the day he was swept overboard during a fierce Atlantic storm in 1620, only to grasp a trailing rope and be hauled back to life by the sailors. Yet the rest of his story—his thoughts, friendships, and the long path of faith that steadied him—remains largely unrecorded.

The letters that follow are historical fiction, shaped with care from the documented facts of his life but imagined to give voice to the man behind the legacy. Here, John writes to his trusted friend Samuel in England, sharing the trials and triumphs of the crossing, the hardships of the first winter, and the slow, stubborn building of a new community on unfamiliar soil. Though no letters of his survive, these pages honor the real man Bradford described as “a profitable member both in church and commonwealth”—humble, thoughtful, and grounded in quiet resilience.

As you break each wax seal, may you hear John’s voice carried forward through time: earnest, reflective, and tempered by the sea wind that once nearly claimed him. Through these imagined letters, he steps from the shadow of the history books and into vivid life again, offering his courage, his doubts, and his unwavering hope to those who read across the distance of four centuries.

In an age of uncertainty, Howland’s story reminds us that resilience often begins in the quiet storms of the heart.