Ancestor Accused of Skirting the Navigation Acts in New Castle, Delaware?
All,
William Howston isthe brother Anthony Howston (born before 1672 died 1724)who I believe is one of my Ancestors. I Just received a copy of the book "350 Years of New Castle, Delaware, Chapters in a Town's History", edited by Constance J. Cooper. Here is an extract from Chapter 2 you may find interesting,
" William Penn accused Jasper Yeates of involvement in the illegal trade with Curacao. Richard Halliwell, John Donaldson, William Howston, Robert French and James and Hercules Coutts took advantage of the royal laxity to participate in the tobacco trade, exchanging manufactured goods for tobacco in Delaware and on the Elk, Sassafras, and Bohemia rivers of Maryland's Eastern shore. To avoid detection and taxes, they portaged the tobacco forty miles to the Delaware River "at a place a little below Newcastle called Bumbo Hook", from which they shipped the contraband to Scotland or the West Indies."
Contact me at [email protected] if any of your ancestors might have similarly accused
Jim Houston