{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Epenetus Howe | state_assembly = New York | district = Tioga County | term_start = 1894 | term_end = 1895 | predecessor = Edward G. Tracy | successor = Daniel P. Witter | image = | caption = | birth_date = December 6, 1836 | birth_place = Auburn, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1909|09|20|1836|12|06}} | death_place = Candor, New York, U.S. | spouse = Sarah Amanda Legg }} '''Epenetus Howe''' (December 6, 1836 – September 20, 1909) was an American farmer and politician from New York.
== Early life == Howe was born on December 6, 1836, in Auburn, New York, the son of Epenetus Howe and Emeline Cooper.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Osterdahl|first=Andy|date=2014-06-20|title=Epenetus Howe (1836-1909)|url=https://politicalstrangenames.blogspot.com/2014/06/epenetus-howe-1836-1909.html|access-date=2020-12-09|website=The Strangest Names In American Political History}}</ref>
When he was six months old, Howe and his family moved to New York City. He was educated in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
== Career == He then moved to Caroline, New York, where he worked on a farm. He bought a farm of his own in 1858.<ref name=":0" />
Howe was elected town supervisor of Caroline in 1876 and 1877, both times as an independent. In the 1878 United States House of Representatives elections, he ran as a Greenbacker for New York's 28th congressional district. He was the Greenback candidate in the 1881 New York state election for Secretary of State of New York and the 1882 New York state election for Governor of New York. In 1885, he moved to Candor.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ourcountyitspeop00king/page/n790/mode/1up|title=Our County and Its People: A Memorial History of Tioga County, New York|publisher=W. A. Fergusson & Co.|year=1900|editor-last=Kingman|editor-first=Leroy W.|location=Elmira, N.Y.|pages=723–724|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In Candor, he was elected to two terms as town supervisor. He was a master of the local Grange in both Speedville and Candor.<ref name=":0" />
In 1893, Howe was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican, representing Tioga County. He served in the Assembly in 1894<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murlin|first=Edgar L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8x80AQAAMAAJ|title=The New York Red Book|publisher=James B. Lyon|year=1894|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=137|via=Google Books}}</ref> and 1895.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Murlin|first=Edgar L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyI0AQAAMAAJ|title=The New York Red Book|publisher=James B. Lyon|year=1895|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=181|via=Google Books}}</ref>
== Personal life == In 1859, Howe married Sarah Amanda Legg. He was a member of the Congregational church. He was a member of the Freemasons and the Improved Order of Red Men.<ref name=":1" /> He was a prominent lecturer for the temperance movement.<ref name=":2" />
Howe died on September 20, 1909, in Candor, New York, after a long illness. He was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=23 September 1909|title=Death of Prominent Man|volume=XL|page=3|work=The Candor Courier|issue=12|location=Candor, N.Y.|url=https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn84035854/1909-09-23/ed-1/seq-3/|via=NYS Historic Newspapers}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* ''[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/howarth-howe.html#193.95.35 The Political Graveyard]'' * [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116088283/ Epenetus Howe] at ''Find a Grave''
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-ny-hs}} {{succession box | title = New York State Assembly <br>Tioga County | years = 1894-1895 | before = Edward G. Tracy | after = Daniel P. Witter }} {{s-end}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Epenetus}} Category:1835 births Category:1909 deaths Category:People from Auburn, New York Category:People from Tompkins County, New York Category:Farmers from New York (state) Category:Town supervisors in New York (state) Category:People from Candor, New York Category:New York (state) Greenbacks Category:National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry Category:Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Category:American Congregationalists Category:American Freemasons Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature