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
Alice French
(aka Octave Thanet)
Novelist and Short Story Writer
7th cousin 1 time removed
via Gregory Stone
Sir Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
8th cousin 2 times removed
via Henry Sherman
Mamie (Doud) Eisenhower
First Lady of President Dwight Eisenhower
8th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman
Roger Sherman
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
4th cousin 4 times removed
via Henry Sherman
General William Tecumseh Sherman
Union Army - U.S. Civil War
8th cousin 1 time removed
via Henry Sherman
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.