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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Ava Michelle

Model and Actress

6th cousin 5 times removed
via John Stone

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Alice French

(aka Octave Thanet)
Novelist and Short Story Writer

7th cousin 1 time removed
via Gregory Stone

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Ben Ames Williams

Novelist and Short Story Author

8th cousin 2 times removed
via Edward Frost

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Brewster H. Shaw

NASA Astronaut

9th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Timothy Hutton

TV and Movie Actor

9th cousin 5 times removed
via John Lawrence

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Charlie Day

TV and Movie Actor

8th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Timothy Hutton

TV and Movie Actor

6th cousin 4 times removed
via Samuel Bass

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Geena Davis

Movie and TV Actress

6th cousin 4 times removed
via William Ward

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George H. W. Bush

41st U.S. President

8th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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George W. Bush

43rd U.S. President

8th cousin 5 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Lucretia (Rudolph) Garfield

First Lady of President James Garfield

9th cousin
via John Lawrence

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Tennessee Williams

Author of A Streetcar Named Desire

9th cousin 1 time removed
via Henry Sherman

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Bill Belichick

NFL Head Coach

9th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Susan B. Anthony

Women's Rights Advocate

7th cousin 1 time removed
via Henry Sherman

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Sir Robert Laird Borden

8th Prime Minister of Canada

8th cousin 1 time removed
via Henry Sherman

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Edgar Rice Burroughs

Author of Tarzan and John Carter

9th cousin 2 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Sir Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

8th cousin 2 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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William Howard Taft

27th U.S. President

9th cousin 2 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Mamie (Doud) Eisenhower

First Lady of President Dwight Eisenhower

8th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Herbert Hoover

31st U.S. President

6th cousin 3 times removed
via John Barnard

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Roger Sherman

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

4th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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General William Tecumseh Sherman

Union Army - U.S. Civil War

8th cousin 1 time removed
via Henry Sherman

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Marilyn Monroe

Actress, Model, and Singer

8th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman

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Frank Nelson Doubleday

Founder of Doubleday & Co.

9th cousin
via Henry Sherman

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Charles Edward Merrill

Co-Founder of Merrill Lynch & Company

9th cousin 2 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.