Nathaniel was born in 1776. His parents were Capt. Nathaniel (1745-1819) and Anne Watson (1749-1833) Howard. Nathaniel ”of Windsor [CT]” married Nancy Vibbert of Hartford CT on November 30, 1800. A family genealogy, The Howard Family, found online, records that Nathaniel and Nancy had three children: Ann (b. 12/7/1801), Mary “(b. [d.?]” and Nathaniel (b. 8/7/1807, “d. at St. Louis, Mo, 1 [17?] Feb., 1809)”. The quoted information about son Nathaniel’s death is probably incorrect: St. Louis probably is a misprint or misreading of St. Lucia where his father died and the date of his death, the same as his father’s, suggests confusion between the two generations. Nathaniel (Jr.) died on the Caribbean islandof St. Lucia on February 16, 1809. A memorial stone for Nathaniel is in Palisado Cemetery in Windsor CT.
Nathaniel sailed as master for two voyages on one ship, DISPATCH (AS1218), in the early days of the New London whaling business. Decker’s record of New London whaling voyages records only eleven voyages prior to the 1802 voyage of DISPATCH. Little is known about DISPATCH other than she was a ship. She sailed under Nathaniel’s command in 1802 to St. Mary’s Island in the South Seas and returned in 1804, then sailed again in 1805, no return date found. Her registration was withdrawn in 1805 (AOWV). The ship registration files at Mystic Seaport Museum include files for other ships named DISPATCH but not Nathaniel’s ship. Colby writes (p. 3): “The ship Despatch [sic] was sent out in that year [1802] under Captain Howard and searched she South Seas for whales. She made another voyage in 1805, but the results of those voyages are not known”. Starbuck says only “Dispatch 1802 Withdrawn on her return”.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
April 2026