Built the public virtual cemetery Howarths of Westborough (my family) to track all descendants of US Civil War veteran James Howarth, Sr. who immigrated from, purportedly, "Bolton-le-Moors" in Lancashire, England and abode in Grafton, Mass. This is to differentiate from other Howarths not related on this side of the "pond", USA. Westborough, Mass., is chosen as the name because, when the Howarth family grew, that is where they went and generations continue to be buried in the St Luke's Cemetery there to this present day 2018. James is reported by Howarth family members to have been Protestant and converted to Catholicism to marry the Irish girl Bridget Higgins.

Genealogy sources put the Howarth name as originating in Rochdale, Lancashire, England that all Howarths are related. At the time of origination and the time of the birth of James Howarth, Sr., Rochdale was situated within Lancashire County. England had been reorganized in the late 1800s to where Rochdale is now part of Greater Manchester County.

As ship and census records are lost of the crucial mid-19th century England, it is tentative identifying the whereabouts of James Howarth, Sr., prior to arriving in New York City on 27 Mar 1851. Upon assessing indexed records compared to James' marriage and death certificates, no matching parents can be found in England except if you account for his purported brother John Howarth, also of Grafton, Mass. John enlisted a week apart as James in the same 15th MVI regiment during the civil war. Another point of significance is that the Howarth brothers were both assigned to a company designated for "Paroled Prisoners" indicating the unit had members exchanged as prisoners of war who were pledged as not to take up arms again until there has been an exchange of prisoners in their stead. John would be later reported as taken prisoner in the Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, VA BUT James Howarth's compiled record has the same notation on his compiled military record.

Another development came by way of the veteran archivist in Grafton, Mass., Andy Kjellburg who documents veteran burials in Grafton. The military records pulled there have down that James Howarth, Sr. enlisted in MVI 15 Co G as was the company Pvt John Howarth enlisted in. Andy Kjellburg was able to recount James Howarth, Sr.'s military service record in the MVI 15th word for word except for the listing as Co. G instead of Co. K. The records I have say Co K in agreement with Daug of the Regt findings; but a veteran archivist here in Grafton is reciting Co G. There can be a number of explanations such as mistaken identity with another James Howarth, cross identity with John Howarth when records were clean copied from original log books (something that happened often with Civil War era military record compilations), or that James Howarth was consequently transferred to Co K after it was found that John and James are brothers to reduce the likelihood of the two being killed in action. As speculative as all these scenarios are, each scenario gives some more credence to the presumption of Pvt John Howarth and James Howarth, Sr. in the 15th MVI were brothers. Also, the Westborough Historical Society accounts that Co K is the Westborough company. This suggests that James Howarth, Sr. may have moved his family to Westborough after the U.S. Civil War because he learned from his fellow soldiers what opportunities may be had there.

Further, James named his firstborn John who died as a toddler from a heart attack in 1856, and his second born son as James per the age order of these Howarth brothers' birth. When John Howarth was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg 1863, and suffered complications of gangrene, James named his next born son John once again who was born months before brother John succumbed to gangrene in 1864. James was then wounded in the Battle of Wilderness, about ten days before brother John died, in the Overland Campaign of the newly minted Commander of the Potomac Army, Lt. Gen Ulysses S. Grant's opening gambit to take Richmond, Virginia. James was then hospitalized in the burgeoning Union HQ port of City Point, Virginia (now Hopewell) likely in the Depot Field Hospital. City Point would climax to being the largest port in the world during the military campaign.

See: City Point during the Civil War, "https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/City_Point_During_the_Civil_War"

James was then discharged Jan 17, 1865 from service there and sent home to Grafton, Mass., in a journey yet to be accounted whether by train or ship.
He may have traversed by the outskirts of the embattlements, forts, and canon embankments defending Washington, D.C. in what would become the most heavily defended city in the world of that time. Other details by the online persona Daughter of the 15th Regiment found as F-A-G ID: 47891223 as DaurRegt

See also, for details of James and John Howarth of the Civil War:
"http://www.nextech.de/ma15mvi/Roster/p58.htm#i1620"

This apparent brother relationship between James and John Howarth is purported as having the same parentage upon analysis of the military death record by Daughter of the Regiment. But even if parental names are an exact match, parentage of James cannot be found in the indexed records of England barring any new information arising. But a baptism record found in Bacup, Lancashire, England 23 Oct 1814 at the correct age can be found for John with parents of George and Sarah Lord as "John Lord" when considering a marriage record found in Rochdale, Lancashire, Eng. 25 Sep 1806 of Samuel Lord using the alias of Howarth. James had listed Samuel as the name of his father in both of his marriage registers to Bridget Higgins first, then Frances Donnelley nee Hoey 2nd ; but his children, likely Sarah Ann Howarth Keating (spelled Keighton as found in the Westborough Marriage Register of 1888, and spelled Kating of her husband in the 1870 Federal Census), listed his father as George.

Original family tree drawn cerca 1980:
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/fg1z5lygkco9vlr/James%20Howarth%20et.al.%20Certificates.pdf?dl=0"

Built the public virtual cemetery Howarths of Westborough (my family) to track all descendants of US Civil War veteran James Howarth, Sr. who immigrated from, purportedly, "Bolton-le-Moors" in Lancashire, England and abode in Grafton, Mass. This is to differentiate from other Howarths not related on this side of the "pond", USA. Westborough, Mass., is chosen as the name because, when the Howarth family grew, that is where they went and generations continue to be buried in the St Luke's Cemetery there to this present day 2018. James is reported by Howarth family members to have been Protestant and converted to Catholicism to marry the Irish girl Bridget Higgins.

Genealogy sources put the Howarth name as originating in Rochdale, Lancashire, England that all Howarths are related. At the time of origination and the time of the birth of James Howarth, Sr., Rochdale was situated within Lancashire County. England had been reorganized in the late 1800s to where Rochdale is now part of Greater Manchester County.

As ship and census records are lost of the crucial mid-19th century England, it is tentative identifying the whereabouts of James Howarth, Sr., prior to arriving in New York City on 27 Mar 1851. Upon assessing indexed records compared to James' marriage and death certificates, no matching parents can be found in England except if you account for his purported brother John Howarth, also of Grafton, Mass. John enlisted a week apart as James in the same 15th MVI regiment during the civil war. Another point of significance is that the Howarth brothers were both assigned to a company designated for "Paroled Prisoners" indicating the unit had members exchanged as prisoners of war who were pledged as not to take up arms again until there has been an exchange of prisoners in their stead. John would be later reported as taken prisoner in the Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, VA BUT James Howarth's compiled record has the same notation on his compiled military record.

Another development came by way of the veteran archivist in Grafton, Mass., Andy Kjellburg who documents veteran burials in Grafton. The military records pulled there have down that James Howarth, Sr. enlisted in MVI 15 Co G as was the company Pvt John Howarth enlisted in. Andy Kjellburg was able to recount James Howarth, Sr.'s military service record in the MVI 15th word for word except for the listing as Co. G instead of Co. K. The records I have say Co K in agreement with Daug of the Regt findings; but a veteran archivist here in Grafton is reciting Co G. There can be a number of explanations such as mistaken identity with another James Howarth, cross identity with John Howarth when records were clean copied from original log books (something that happened often with Civil War era military record compilations), or that James Howarth was consequently transferred to Co K after it was found that John and James are brothers to reduce the likelihood of the two being killed in action. As speculative as all these scenarios are, each scenario gives some more credence to the presumption of Pvt John Howarth and James Howarth, Sr. in the 15th MVI were brothers. Also, the Westborough Historical Society accounts that Co K is the Westborough company. This suggests that James Howarth, Sr. may have moved his family to Westborough after the U.S. Civil War because he learned from his fellow soldiers what opportunities may be had there.

Further, James named his firstborn John who died as a toddler from a heart attack in 1856, and his second born son as James per the age order of these Howarth brothers' birth. When John Howarth was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg 1863, and suffered complications of gangrene, James named his next born son John once again who was born months before brother John succumbed to gangrene in 1864. James was then wounded in the Battle of Wilderness, about ten days before brother John died, in the Overland Campaign of the newly minted Commander of the Potomac Army, Lt. Gen Ulysses S. Grant's opening gambit to take Richmond, Virginia. James was then hospitalized in the burgeoning Union HQ port of City Point, Virginia (now Hopewell) likely in the Depot Field Hospital. City Point would climax to being the largest port in the world during the military campaign.

See: City Point during the Civil War, "https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/City_Point_During_the_Civil_War"

James was then discharged Jan 17, 1865 from service there and sent home to Grafton, Mass., in a journey yet to be accounted whether by train or ship.
He may have traversed by the outskirts of the embattlements, forts, and canon embankments defending Washington, D.C. in what would become the most heavily defended city in the world of that time. Other details by the online persona Daughter of the 15th Regiment found as F-A-G ID: 47891223 as DaurRegt

See also, for details of James and John Howarth of the Civil War:
"http://www.nextech.de/ma15mvi/Roster/p58.htm#i1620"

This apparent brother relationship between James and John Howarth is purported as having the same parentage upon analysis of the military death record by Daughter of the Regiment. But even if parental names are an exact match, parentage of James cannot be found in the indexed records of England barring any new information arising. But a baptism record found in Bacup, Lancashire, England 23 Oct 1814 at the correct age can be found for John with parents of George and Sarah Lord as "John Lord" when considering a marriage record found in Rochdale, Lancashire, Eng. 25 Sep 1806 of Samuel Lord using the alias of Howarth. James had listed Samuel as the name of his father in both of his marriage registers to Bridget Higgins first, then Frances Donnelley nee Hoey 2nd ; but his children, likely Sarah Ann Howarth Keating (spelled Keighton as found in the Westborough Marriage Register of 1888, and spelled Kating of her husband in the 1870 Federal Census), listed his father as George.

Original family tree drawn cerca 1980:
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/fg1z5lygkco9vlr/James%20Howarth%20et.al.%20Certificates.pdf?dl=0"