Senator Benjamin Howland

Benjamin Howland (July 27, 1755 – May 1, 1821) was a United States senator from Rhode Island and a Democratic-Republican officeholder whose public career spanned local, state, and national service in the early years of the American republic. He was born in Tiverton, Newport County, Rhode Island, on July 27, 1755, into a community that was then part of the British colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Details of his immediate family background and early upbringing are not extensively documented, but his life and work remained closely tied to Tiverton and the surrounding region throughout his career.

Howland attended the common schools of Tiverton, receiving the basic education typical of New England in the late colonial and early national periods. After his schooling, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, establishing himself as a farmer. His work in agriculture not only provided his livelihood but also grounded him in the concerns of rural Rhode Islanders, which would later inform his local and state public service. Remaining in Tiverton, he developed a reputation as a responsible and active citizen, which led to a series of appointments and elections to town offices.

By the opening years of the nineteenth century, Howland had become a significant figure in Tiverton’s civic affairs. In 1801 he served as collector of taxes, an office that required both administrative ability and the confidence of his neighbors. The following year, in 1802, he was chosen as town auditor, responsible for reviewing and overseeing the town’s financial accounts. In 1805 he advanced to the position of town moderator, presiding over town meetings and helping to guide local deliberations. These roles reflected his growing prominence in local governance and his alignment with the Democratic-Republican political tendencies that were gaining strength in Rhode Island and nationally.

Howland’s local service and political reliability led to his elevation to the national stage. Following the death of U.S. Senator Samuel J. Potter of Rhode Island, Howland was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the United States Senate to fill the resulting vacancy. He took his seat on October 29, 1804, and served until March 3, 1809. His term coincided with the administration of President Thomas Jefferson and the early months of President James Madison’s administration, a period marked by partisan conflict between Democratic-Republicans and Federalists, debates over the scope of federal power, and increasing tensions in foreign affairs that would eventually lead to the War of 1812. While the detailed record of his committee assignments and floor activity is limited, his service placed him among the Democratic-Republican majority that shaped national policy in these formative years.

After leaving the Senate at the expiration of his term in March 1809, Howland returned to Rhode Island and continued his involvement in public life. In 1810 he was elected a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, participating in the legislative affairs of the state and contributing to the governance of Rhode Island during a time of economic and political strain brought on by trade restrictions and deteriorating relations with Great Britain. His legislative service at the state level complemented his earlier national experience and reinforced his standing as a trusted public servant.

During the War of 1812, Howland further extended his public service into the military sphere. He held the rank of general in the Rhode Island State militia, a position that reflected both his leadership status and the state’s need for organized defense during the conflict with Great Britain. As a militia general, he would have been involved in the organization, training, and readiness of Rhode Island’s citizen-soldiers, contributing to the broader regional defense efforts in New England during the war.

Benjamin Howland spent his later years in Tiverton, remaining closely associated with the community where he had been born and where he had first entered public life. He died in Tiverton on May 1, 1821. In keeping with his lifelong connection to his home town and his family, he was interred in the family lot on his estate in Tiverton, Rhode Island, leaving a record of service that encompassed local office, state legislative work, national representation in the United States Senate, and military leadership in the State militia.