Eleanor Haven Howe

Eleanor Howe was born in 1792 to Daniel Howe and Nancy Haven Howe of Sunnyside. She married James Hoge in 1810 at about eighteen. 'Listen to the Mockingbird' explains their close family ties: James was Elizabeth Howe’s son, and Eleanor was her brother Daniel’s daughter, making them first cousins sharing Joseph Howe as grandfather.

Records reveal less about Eleanor’s daily life than her husband’s public career, but she was central to her family’s continuity. She managed Hayfield’s transformation into a large estate and raised children, including Eliza Hoge, who married George Tyler but died in 1846 giving birth to James Hoge Tyler.

Eleanor then played a crucial role by traveling to Caroline County to bring back Tyler’s two-week-old son, who she raised as her own grandson. This gave him his home, education, and land inheritance, shaping his future.

According to family records, Eleanor died of a heart attack on June 13, 1856. She and General Hoge are buried side by side at Sunnyside in the historic Howe-Hoge cemetery, overlooking their family lands.