Biography of John W. Howe
FROM OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
A DESCRIPTIVE AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK
PREPARED AND PUBLISHED UNDER THE
AUSPICES OF THE SARATOGIAN
THE BOSTON HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 1899
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JOHN W. HOWE. JOHN W. HOWE, general manager of the Daily and Weekly Saratogian, was born September 8, 1849, at Fortsville,
in the township of Moreau, Saratoga county, N. Y., a son of Thomas C. and Lurena (Betts) Howe. The family is of
English origin and its representatives were early settlers in America. Peter Howe, paternal grandfather of John
W. Howe, was born in the town of Ballston but lived for many years in the town of Morean where he died at an advanced
age.
Their son, Thomas C. Howe, was born in Baliston in 1817 and resided all his life in Saratoga county. When a young
man he learned the carpenter's trade and was also for a period of about seven years engaged in manufacturing builders'
supplies at South Glens Falls. The greater portion of his active life, however, was devoted to agriculture. He
joined the Methodist Episcopal Society when a mere boy and all through life held strictly to the teachings of his
sect. In politics he was a Whig and Republican and for over twenty years was a justice of the peace in the town
of Moreau. He died June 2, 1876, in the fiftyninth year of his age, honored and respected.
John W. Howe was educated in the common schools of the town of Moreau and village of South Glens Falls. When in
his eighteenth year he engaged in the milling business at Fortsville, being a member of the firm of Howe &
Griswold. As an individual enterprise he also conducted a general store there, giving early evidence of a business
ability that has since been appreciated in wider fields. During his residence at Fortsville he served as postmaster
three terms. In 1880 he disposed of his milling interest, ana two years later the stock in trade and good will
of his general mercantile business, removing to Saratoga Springs to take a position as manager and cashier in the
office of the Saratoga Journal, a daily and weekly newspaper published by Col. David F. Ritchie, with whom he remained
about five years. At the end of this period he became business manager and secretary of the Saratoga Union, a daily
and weekly, for the establishment of which, he, in association with others, had formed a joint stock company. After
a period of two years the paper was sold to Spencer, Trask & Co. Mr. Howe then engaged in the retail clothing
business at No. 466 Broadway, forming a copartnership with Ervin Palmer under the firm name of Howe & Palmer.
Owing to the business depression of 1892-93 the enterprise was unsuccessful, and in May, 1894, Mr. Howe organized
the Saratoga Press Association to publish a daily and weekly newspaper- The Saratoga Press-of which he became general
manager. The enterprise proved a signal success and in. the following year was merged into the Daily and Weekly
Saratogian. Mr. Howe became general manager of the Saratogian which position he still fills. It is no idle compliment
to say that under Mr. Howe's management this paper, the leading journal of the county, has not only largely increased
its circulation, but its influence as well.
In politics Mr. Howe has always been a staunch Republican and for years has been one of the recognized leader in
the county. He served as president of the Veterans' and Citizens' League of Saratoga Springs for five years, and
as a member of the Republican County
Committee for a period of six years. In 1894 he was nominated for president of the village, but after one of the
most exciting and closely contested elections ever known in this section was defeated by a close majority. As a
prominent member of the dominant political party and as manager of the leading newspaper in the county Mr. Howe
has wielded a substantial influence. He is a man who combines to a remarkable extent the qualities of energy, enterprise
and ability.
Mr. Howe married, in June, 1877, Miss Lucy A. Ryan, daughter of George Ryan of Moreau, who died April 20, 1898.
Their children are three daughters: Elizabeth M., Mabel I. and Ethel L.
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