Washington District of Columbia
Thomas Howard
June 21, 1779 - December 4, 1832
War of 1812 Veteran
Clerk of the Yard, Washington Navy Yard
Furnished by : John G. Sharp
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Thomas Howard was born in Charles County, Maryland on 21 June 1779. Thomas Howard lived in what was to become the District of Columbia
for most of his adult life. Thomas Howard went to work at the Washington Navy Yard perhaps as early as 1802, where he worked as overseer of
the laborers.1 Josiah Fox, the noted Naval Constructor (similar to a naval architect), was impressed with the young man and wanted to hire Howard
as his Constructor's Clerk. Washington Navy Yard Commandant Thomas Tingey recommended against Howard's appointment because
"he has behaved with diligence & sobriety -but is of a weakly constitution & much better adapted to the services required of him by Mr. Fox - Howard's wages has been 150 cents per day, therefore respectfully submitted for your approbation as the wages of Mr. Fox's former clerk was only 106-being the cause of his leaving his situation."Despite Commodore Tingey's reservations, Thomas Howard, eventually was raised to the coveted position of Clerk of the Yard, which he would hold until his death in 1832. During the War of 1812, Thomas Howard and other members of District of Columbia local and yard militia units were activated and spent part of the summer of 1814 in a futile attempt to halt British forces from entering the Nations capital. After his militia unit was activated, Thomas Howard's clerk salary was immediately stopped and he was forced to subsist on the comparatively reduced military pay and allowances. That same year, Thomas Howard with other Washington Navy Yard salaried employees petitioned the Secretary of the Navy stating their case: "When we the undersigned, are called out as volunteers to use our best exertions for the safety of this place, when menaced by the enemy and when we know too , that the business of the yard suffers but a partial if any inconvenience by an absence for a short time , we think it certainly hard that our pay should stop during that period"2The Secretary of the Navy, chose to deny their request, this denial would set a precedent for many years seriously hindering militia and reserve recruitment. But for Howard and other Washington Navy Yard employee's worse was to come for on the 24 of August 1814 the Secretary of the Navy gave the order to set fire to the Navy Yard. The resulting conflagration resulted in the near destruction of most of the yard property, material and many records but far worse was the subsequent loss of employment and further stoppage of pay for virtually the entire yard workforce for a year. The exact employment circumstances of Thomas Howard are not known but he probably was not back to his normal routine until late 1815 at the earliest .3 While the Washington Navy Yard Commandant, in theory, exercised almost unlimited authority over all matters related to naval officers, enlisted personnel, and the civilian workforce, in practice there were both institutional and customary checks on his decision making. At the top of hierarchy governing the civilian workforce were the yard clerks. Their jobs were primarily administrative in nature. A clerk such as Thomas Howard as the Clerk of the Yard , was near the very top of Washington Navy Yard civilian hierarchy and was paid a fixed or annual salary. The salary of the Clerk of the Yard was nearly $1,000 per annum over three times that of the average mechanic. As Clerk of the Yard, Thomas Howard had considerable authority and responsibility in a position which bears little relation to our modern clerical employees. Thomas Howard was responsible for the Washington Navy Yard's official correspondence, the conduct and recording of the daily musters, and the review of all official outgoing correspondence. Most importantly Howard and other clerks often acted for the Commandant on budget, contracting, and administrative issues; here they exercised wide discretion within their particular domains. Thomas Howard's steady salary rather than per diem wage meant he enjoyed a modicum of financial security and access to a wider social sphere than the mechanics and laborers. The clerks could often afford to rent or own a house, keep horses, employ servants, and in some cases own slaves. The 1830 census for the District of Columbia reflects that Thomas Howard owned his home, at corner of 3rd E street near Eastern Branch supported a large family, and owned four other slaves in including diarist Michael Shiner. Thomas Howard house and slaves reflect his growing prosperity as did his election to Grand master of the Masonic Naval Lodge No, 44 Another indicator of his success is his election in 1813 to the Common Council of the District of Columbia.6 Sometime before 1812 Thomas Howard married Nancy Bean and together they had at least two children who survived William Edwin born 15 July 1812 and Mary Ann Howard born 1820. One prominent factor for scholarly knowledge and interest in Thomas and Nancy Howard is that one of their slaves, Michael Shiner 1805 -1880, kept a Diary with 7 entries mentioning Thomas Howard, his wife Nancy m the Howard children and Howard's aged mother. According to Michael Shiner, Thomas Howard bought him in January 18286 . Howard possibly bought Shiner from Lloyd Pumphrey one of the apparent conditions of the sale was that Michael Shiner was sold as a "term slave" that is he was to be freed and legally manumitted with in 15 years of his agreement with Lloyd Pumphrey. To Thomas Howard's credit he kept to the provisions of this quasi contract and left specific instructions,"it is my will and desire and I hereby set free and manumit the said Michael Shiner, at the expiration of Eight years from the date of said purchase." Thomas Howard from Michael Shiner's perspective appears to have been a somewhat indulgent master, in once instance he apparently took no action when Shiner refused to comply with his instructions to return home.7 There is some evidence that with the diary that Thomas Howard used his position to secure Michael Shiner a more favorable position as a painter. Painting at Washington Navy Yard was considered a skilled, trade with better wages, conditions and prospects, than those available to the majority of enslaved workers especially those who worked in the Anchor Shop. The Anchor Shop was where the majority of WNY slaves worked performing heavy labor amidst constant noxious fumes and high heat. Michael Shiner is listed as a slave of Thomas Howard, Clerk of the Yard on various Washington Navy Yard documents.8 Howard like other slave owners (During the anti bellum era, most Washington Navy Yard naval officers and senior civilian employees owned slaves and many leased them to the Yard.) profited from the arrangement but in return Howard provided Michael Shiner some funds and a degree of independence.. Regarding the other slaves of the Howard family and their fate, all we know is that they apparently remained with Nancy Howard and her children. Thomas Howard died on 4 December 1832 while the cause of his death is unknown perhaps his demise at age 54 may have been as a result of the dreadful cholera epidemic that swept through the City of Washington from June through September of that year. In any case the cholera may have seriously weaken him and hasten his death. Sometime after the death of Thomas and Nancy Howard, Michael Shiner reflected: "Master Thommas houward and Mrs nancy houward they wher as finer a Misteress and Master that ever wher born may the lord Bless them and i hope they are at Rest and may the lord grant that i may see them [illegable] in peac"Thomas Howard is buried in the Congressional Cemetery Coombe Vault. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Acknowledgments | ||||||||||||||||||
My thanks to Dr. Stephanie Scott Secretary of the District of Columbia & Mr. Ali Rahmaan, Archivist, District of Columbia Archives , their help in locating and providing the copy of the Last Will and Testament of Thomas Howard and for other related documents. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bibliography | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Congressional Cemetery where Thomas and Nancy Howard are both buried has transcribed extracts of Thomas Howard's will online and
a short summary of contemporary obituaries.
Brown, Letitia W. Free Negroes in the District of Columbia 1790-1846 Oxford University Press New York 1972 Green, Constance McLaughlin. The Secret City: A History of Race Relations in the Nation's Capital. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967. ____. Washington: A History of the Capital 1800 -1950. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1962. _____. The Economic Position of Free Blacks in the District of Columbia in The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 58, No. 1. (Jan.1973), pp.61-72. Maloney, Linda M. The Captain from Connecticut: The Life and Naval Times of Isaac Hull. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1986.
Sharp, John G. History of the Washington Navy Yard Civilian Workforce 1799-1962. Stockton, CA: Vindolanda Press, 2005.
Shiner, Michael The Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard 1813-1869. Navy Department Library online,
transcribed with an Introduction and Notes John G. Sharp 2007. Tremian, Mary. Slavery in the District of Columbia: The Policy of Congress and the Struggle for Abolition. New York: G.B. Putnam's Sons, 1898. A Naval Encyclopedia: Comprising a Dictionary of Nautical Words and - Naval art and Science Phrases, Biographical Notices and Records of Officers by Officers and Others L.R. Hamersly & Co. Philadelphia 1880 The Washington Directory Showing the Name, Occupation, and Residence, of Each Head of a Family & Person in Business, Together With Other Useful Information. Washington, DC: S.A. Elliot, 1827. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Transcription | ||||||||||||||||||
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This transcription was made from a copy of the holographic manuscript of the Last Will and Testament of Thomas Howard. The source for this
document is : Archives of the District of Columbia District of Columbia Orphans Court (Probate) Court Records Group 2, Records of the Superior
Court 1832 Box 11. The spelling, punctuation and the use of ampersands is that of the original document. John G. Sharp | ||||||||||||||||||
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