Dr. Richard Irvine Howitt was the last of 4 children born to Dr. John Howitt (1822-1870) and his wife Emily Rebecca Brewer Howitt (1838-1916). He graduated Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, California in 1891. On 26 Oct 1896 in Pasadena, California, he married Lois Hall (1867-1943), daughter of Rev. Wyllys Hall (1838-1908) & Eleanor Benedict Kellogg (1842-1896). Their 2 children were Richard Irvine Howitt (1898-1979) and my grandmother Eleanor Howitt (1905-1989). Lois, son and daughter are buried at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, near one another.
Per my grandmother: Dr. R.I. Howitt worked for "the" railroad and was in Minas Prietas, Mexico, as doctor to staff of the railroad before the revolution. He treated natives working in the mines as well. Story by Eleanor: when the revolution broke out, the family was placed into a reinforced rail car and transported out of Mexico. However, the natives attacked the train; when they saw Dr. Howitt and the bracelet given him by one of the chiefs for treating tribal members, they allowed the train to continue. They disembarked in San Diego, taking a ship from there to San Francisco- only to find it in flames, post 1906 earthquake. They continued to Canada, where Dr. Howitt's family lived. They moved to Canada after the revolution, then to San Francisco after their house was rebuilt. Dr. R. I. Howitt died of pneumonia, per EHZ Dr. R. I. Howitt's brother, Henry Orton, helped establish The Cottage Hospital, now San Rafael General. Daughter of H. O. Howitt was Beatrice, publised author and researcher.
Also per my grandmother: Dr. Richard Irvine Howitt, a physician, who was my father, was born in Guelph, Canada. He was the son of Dr. John Howitt and Emily Brewer (possibly spelled Brough). She remarried after his death and became Mrs. Charles Winstanley. My earliest memories are all of my father. He was a colorful personality, and now, I realize, one of historic interest. He spent much time with me, and I loved him dearly. He was of a family of physicians, Dr. John Howitt was his father, and an Uncle and cousin also of Geulph were Drs. Henry Howitt. "Papany", my father, was the youngest. Dr. John Howitt Jr., also known as "Fritz" was the eldest. Dr. Henry Orton Howitt, of San Rafael, California, known as "Uncle Harry" and Katherine, known as "Aunt Kate" of Toronto, Canada were brothers and sister. "Aunt Kate" married Reginald Capriol. Dr. Richard Irvine Howitt came to California in 1879. Beatrice Howitt, Uncle Harry's daughter, said that my father was the first of the three brothers to come. Harry worked in a bank in Canada to save the money to come. He crossed the Isthmus of Panama, when that was rugged and long before the Canal was built. It was the custom for early Episcopal ministers to invite home-town boys to live with them, to augment their income. The boys were recommended by the ministers where they lived. Dr. Richard Irvine Howitt came to Dr. A. G. L. Trew of the Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel. This is the church where the Wilson and Patton families worshiped. The memorial to Gen. George Patton of World War II fame is there. He asked to be brought back from Europe when he was killed. "Papany" (as we called him) came around Cape Horn where the vessel almost sank in the storms there. He steered "manned the wheel" altho he was only 14 years old. All hands otherwise pumped the water out, to manage to stay afloat. "Papany" decided to stay in California and later lived with the J. De Barth Shorbs of the Don Benito Wilson family. (Benjamin Wilson who with Kip Carson fought at the battle of San Pasqual, and managed to get to San Diego for reinforcements. This is the war that made us American.) The Shorb estate is the present Huntington Library and Museum of San Marino. Mount Wilson was named for him. Shorb was a son-in-law of Wilson and brother-in-law of General Patton's mother. Huntington acquired the property from Shorb. Dr. Richard Irvine Howitt came up from Mexico and was married from the Shorb Ranch, (Huntington Library, now.) In 1894 the Shorbs acquired a saddle of his, and it was later used in the Santa Barbara festivals. Actually, the Shorbs borrowed it and the saddle was not returned, altho Ethel Shorb made an effort many years later (1930's). My father and his brother (Uncle Harry) graduated from Cooper Medical College, in San Francisco. Papany in 1894 or possibly a year earlier. That became Stanford. The Medical Department was in San Francisco (Stanford-Lane) at Webster and Sacramento Sts. The building may possibly be there still, altho the Department has been in Palo Alto for many years, in the campus there. My father was the physician for the Southern Pacific of Mexico where he was known as "El Doctor". We lived in Mexico, in an adobe house, with walls that were 12 feet thick for insulation from the heat. Our Chinese cook, "Juan" had been in the employ of the Spreckles family here in California. When he went back to China, he could not get back into the United States (Chinese Exclusion Act). Hence, he came to us. We spent several years in British Columbia (Victoria), while waiting for conditions to recover from the earthquake of 1906, so that we could build the home. The house was completed in 1910. We left Mexico in an armored railroad car, because the Mexican Revolution (Pancho Villa) was in progress. My father (Dr. Richard Irvine Howitt) died on Feb. 13th, 1910- Ash Wednesday or the Sunday before. He had gone to the ground breaking of Grace Cathedral, in the cold weather in San Francisco. Between that and watching the building of the house, he caught the cold that developed into pneumonia. It was three days and caused his death. He was 44 years old having retired at 40, the Mexican investments being adequate. In Mexico, he became associated with many gold mines there. He acted as Secretary, Treasurer and various other offices. He invested heavily, and documents and artifacts of that era are still in our garage. The names of some of these were La Colorado, Juchlan Mining and Milling. We lived in Minas Prietas, Sonora (500 miles below the border) I was 5 years old when he died. My brother Irvine had the seal ring of the Coat of Arms of the Howitts. The oldest male in each generation passes this down to his oldest son, or the first born boy in the generation. We also have a pin for the women, showing that the Howitts are descended from royalty but the most interesting fact about them is that William and Mary Howitt, the Quaker poets, wrote "Will you walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly." One of the Howitts (Alfred) was a well known explorer of Australia. Beatrice Howitt, Uncle Harry's daughter, was a retired public health officer and scientist. She did the earlier research in poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) and encephalitis with the Hooper Foundation of the University of California at their medical department in San Francisco. She lived in Pacific Grove, California, after she retired. She died there Oct 20th, 1981 at the ripe old age of over 90 years. She traveled extensively and wrote the book on the wild flowers of Monterey County, for the Chamber of Commerce, there, and was active in Conservation movements thru various clubs. We have a picture of the first Howitt, dressed in a powdered wig and colonial clothers. His son was known as "Quaker Howitt" and he migrated to Canada about 1800. We have his picture dressed in "Daniel Boone" style, popular then. The house that he built there was called "The Grange". The property was a rock quarry, when we visited there in 1938. When I was young, I made the mistake of asking what Quaker Howitt (John Howitt), my fathers grandfather, did and was told, in no uncertain terms, as tho I had insulted the family by asking, that he did not work, as he was a "country gentleman" and above that. This amuses me. My how times have changed!