Master Surname Index



Elias Howe

Ancestry of
Elias Howe

Inventor, Lockstitch Sewing Machine


Who was Elias Howe?

Elias Howe was an American inventor. Although often credited with being the first to invent the sewing machine, this is not accurate. However, Howe did invent the first lockstitch sewing machine which is the first to have a needle with the eye at the point. Other features his design introduced include a shuttle operating beneath the cloth to form the lock stitch and an automatic feed.

Unfortunately, Elias Howe was unable to successfully manufacture and sell his sewing machine. He did eventually cash in on his invention after he found others had copied his design. Isaac Singer, founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company was one such culprit. Elias Howe defended the patent on his design and eventually prevailed and received significant royalties from Singer and others.

Famous Kin

Elias Howe’s family tree contains a few fellow inventors including Leatherman multi-tool inventor Timothy Leatherman, morse code inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney, physicist and inventor Sir Benjamin Thompson (aka Count Rumford), air conditioning inventor Willis Carrier, and liquid propelled rocket inventor Robert H. Goddard. A few former U.S. Presidents with kinship to Elias Howe include John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Franklin Pierce, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and both Presidents Bush.

Elias Howe has family connections to a number of celebrities including Walt Disney, actor Henry Fonda, actress Lucille Ball, actor Ben Affleck, TV’s Bill Nye the Science Guy, actress Raquel Welch, NBA All-Star Kevin Love, WWE wrestler and movie actor John Cena, Sports Illustrated cover model Kate Upton, and actor Mark Wahlberg. Other notable kinships to Elias Howe include Boston Tea Party participant Samuel Howard, Mormon church president Brigham Young, women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony, poet Emily Dickinson, and folk legend Johnny Appleseed (aka John Chapman).


Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for Elias Howe

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Henry Bass

Boston Tea Part participant

3rd cousin 3 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Matthew Modine

TV and Movie Actor

7th cousin 3 times removed
via Edmund Rice

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Kate Brown

38th Governor of Oregon

7th cousin 3 times removed
via Edmund Rice

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Israel Broussard

TV and Movie Actor

6th cousin 5 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Dana Carvey

Comedian, TV and Movie Actor

6th cousin 5 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Henry B. Quinby

52nd Governor of New Hampshire

7th cousin
via Edmund Rice

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Henry John Heinz II

CEO of the H.J. Heinz Company

9th cousin 3 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Henry John Heinz III

U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania

9th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Sidney Dillon Ripley

Secy. of the Smithsonian, WWII Spy

6th cousin 3 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Edward C. Johnson II

Founder of Fidelity Investments

6th cousin 3 times removed
via John Bemis

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George Plimpton

Sports writer, Humorist, and Journalist

6th cousin 4 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Oliver Ames

35th Governor of Massachusetts

6th cousin 1 time removed
via Samuel Bass

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Abigail Johnson

President and CEO of Fidelity Investments

6th cousin 3 times removed
via Edward Rice

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Edward C. Johnson II

Founder of Fidelity Investments

6th cousin 1 time removed
via Edward Rice

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Abigail Johnson

President and CEO of Fidelity Investments

6th cousin 4 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Oliver Ames

35th Governor of Massachusetts

8th cousin 1 time removed
via Edward Frost

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Abigail Johnson

President and CEO of Fidelity Investments

6th cousin 5 times removed
via John Bemis

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Ann M. Martin

Children's Author

9th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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George Plimpton

Sports writer, Humorist, and Journalist

8th cousin 4 times removed
via Edward Frost

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Andrew Card

21st White House Chief of Staff

6th cousin 4 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Samuel P. Goddard

12th Governor of Arizona

6th cousin 2 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Rob Cantor

Singer and Songwriter

4th cousin 6 times removed
via Nathaniel Richardson Jr.

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Taylor Lautner

TV and Movie Actor

7th cousin 6 times removed
via Edmund Rice

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John Howard Pyle

9th Governor of Arizona

8th cousin 3 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Parker Stevenson

TV and Movie Actor

8th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

View entire list of famous kin for Elias Howe

Please note: The ancestor reports on this website have been compiled from thousands of different sources, many over 100 years old. These sources are attached to each ancestor so that you can personally judge their reliability. As with any good genealogical research, if you discover a link to your own family tree, consider it a starting point for further research. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. FamousKin.com cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of these sources.