Revisiting My Roots: Tracing the Life of My 6th Great-Grandfather, Michael Howlett (Hulet, Hulett, Hewlett)

A peaceful colonial New England scene, evoking the rural landscape of 18th-century Connecticut where Michael Howlett (Hulet) once lived.

For the past three days, I’ve done something I don’t often get to do: focus entirely on my own family history. And not just any part of it—but a line I haven’t seriously worked on in over a decade.

What began as a quick revisit turned into a deep dive that consumed my every spare moment, and it reminded me why I love genealogy so much. So today’s blog post is a little different. It’s the first in what I hope will be an ongoing series documenting one ancestral line at a time, beginning with my 6th great-grandfather: Michael Howlett—a man whose descendants carried the name in many forms, from Hulet to Hulett, Hewlett, and back again.

🧬 Meet Michael Howlett (Hulet, Hewlett, Hulett, Hulet)​

Michael Howlett was born around 1677, likely in Newton, Massachusetts—though some sources point to Boston. His parents were John Howlett and Abigail (Powell), and in 1704, Michael married Experience Newton in Newton, Massachusetts.

Together, Michael and Experience raised a large family--nine children born over a 20-year span. Around 1708, the family moved to south Killingly, Connecticut, where Michael purchased land and helped shape the early history of that area. It is unknown when he died (as I have not found any record of it), but many have him passing away around February 1774 in Killingly at the age of 98, which would mean he lived an impressively long life (not likely for that time). 

🏡 A Man of the Land—and of the Covenant

One of the fascinating records I uncovered was Michael’s adult baptism at the Putnam First Congregational Church (then known as North Killingly Parish) on December 15, 1717. That same day, he entered into the church covenant and was officially admitted as a member. This detail—often overlooked in genealogies—offers insight into both his faith and community involvement.

That community, by the way, was not without its tensions. South Killingly, during Michael's time, was known for irreconcilable religious differences that made life there less prosperous and more turbulent. Yet Michael remained, raised his family, and contributed to the settlement’s development.

📜 Children of Michael and Experience (Newton) Hulet:

• (Unconfirmed) Michael Hulet – Often included in genealogies, possibly born around 1705 or between known sons John and Oliver. However, I have found no record to confirm his existence.
• Josiah Hulet – b. abt. 6 Jul 1707, Newton, MA 
• Daniel Hulet – b. abt. 7 Sep 1709, Newton, MA 
• Nathaniel Hulet – b. (Unconfirmed date, some have 1707 and some have about 1911, but I have yet to find a record confirming his birth )
• David Hulet – b. abt. 12 Jun 1715, Killingly, CT
• John Hulet – b. abt. 16 Sep 1716, Killingly, CT
• Oliver Hulet – b. abt. 15 Jan 1718/19, Killingly, CT (my 5th great-grandfather)
• Experience Hulet – b. abt. 28 May 1721, Killingly, CT
• (Unconfirmed) Nehemiah Hulet – b. abt. 1725, Killingly, CT. As with the elder Michael, many online genealogies include a Nehemiah, but I have yet to find a record confirming his birth or connection to this family.

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​*Note: Since all the vital records are abstracts of some kind, I will be using "about" for the dates found in them.

Josiah married a Lydia (Lydia Unknown at this time and no marriage record has been found) and had 12 children; although, they seem quite old to have had the later children, but records show these children to be born to a Josiah and Lydia and they are the only Josiah and Lydia in the area and are on the records with other family members. All of their children were born in Killingly CT. Impressively, he  d. after 1797, according to his sister, Experience's dated will.
Children of Josiah and Lydia:

• Abigail: b. abt. 10 Jan 1731
• Lydia: b. abt. 18 Feb 1731
• Michael: b. abt. 20 Apr 1734
• Obadiah: b. abt. 14 May 1736
• Jacob: b. abt. 23 Sep 1738
• Experience: b. abt. 8 Nov 1740
• Josiah: b. abt. 13 Mar 1743; Married: Elizabeth Whitemore on 16 Feb 1769 in Thompson CT
• John: b. abt. 10 May 1745
• Daniel: b. abt. 11 May 1748; Married: Abigail Paul on 3 Aug 1774/5 in Killingly CT
• Abigail: b. abt. 19 Jun 1751; Married: Eleazer Farman (Fairman) on 28 Dec 1775 in Killingly CT
• Eunes (*Eunice): b. abt. 31 Dec 1755
• Elim (*Elam/Elum): b. abt. 16 Jul 1758

Daniel married Abigail Unknown and they had one child (only 1 child listed in his will and the same child being the only one found in vital records) who was born in Killingly CT. Daniel d. 1789 Killingly CT, according to his probate (his will was dated: 7 Jul 1789 and inventory of his estate was taken in Sep).
Children of John and Sarah:

• Sabra/Saborah: b. abt. 10 Apr 1738: Married: Unknown Bassett

Nathaniel married Susannah Unknown and they had 5 children, the 1st being born in Killingly and the rest in Plainfied. He d. sometime between Jan-May 1790 (his will was dated 21 Jan 1790 and the inventory of his estate was taken 1 May 1790).
Children of Nathaniel and Susannah:

• Rachel: b. abt. 12 Feb 1744; Married: Elisha Reynolds on 27 Jul 1769 in Plainfield CT
• Dinah: b. abt. 25 Aug 1747, d. 16 Jan 1748
• Susannah: b. abt. 16 Dec 1748
• Nathaniel: b. Abt. 3 Dec 1751
• Aron: b. abt. 23 Jan 1755
• Phinehas: b. unknown

John married Sarah Searls on 4 Dec 1746 in Killingly CT. All of their children were born in Killingly CT.
Children of John and Sarah:

• Mary: b. abt. 14 Dec 1747; Married her cousin, Seth Hulet on 19 Jun 1764 in Killingly CT
• John: b. abt. 16 Jan 1749, d. 14 Sep 1750
• Sarah: b. abt. 16 Jan 1749
• Experience: b. Abt. 12 Feb 1754
• John: b. abt. 20 Mar 1756; Married: 1st Sara Unknown, 2nd Hannah Walker on 22 Oct 1797 in Lee MA; Resided in Lee MA, Nelson OH, and Brunswick OH
• Sylvanus: b. abt. 7 Nov 1758; Married: Mary Lewis and resided in Lee MA and Nelson OH
• Samuel: b. abt. 10 Mar 1761
• Asa: b. abt. 20 Feb 1763

Oliver (my 5th great grandfather) married 1st Sarah Bensley, who died 8 FEB 1759 in Killingly and had 5 known children (with a possible 6th that some others have but I have found no record of), and 2nd Elizabeth Searles (possibly a sister to his brother’s wife-still looking into it) on 15 Nov 1759 in Killingly. All of their children were born in Killingly CT. Impressively, he d. after 1797, according to his sister, Experience's dated will.
Children of Oliver and Sarah:

• Seth: b. abt. 12 Dec 1745: Married his cousin, Mary Hulet on 19 Jun 1764 in Killingly CT
• Nehemiah (my 4th great grandfather): b. abt. 18 Jan 1747/48; Married Esther (*possibly with the surname of Gray)
• Experience: b. abt. 21 Oct 1751
• Hannah: b. abt. 17 Dec 1754
• *Hannah #2 (many seem to have but I have found no record of this)
• David: b. abt. 22 Feb 1758

Children of Oliver and Elizabeth:

• Samuel: b. abt. 8 Aug 1760, d. 6 Mar 1813 in Lee MA; Married Susanna Wadsworth on 3 Jun 1789 in Tyringham MA
• Sarah: b. abt. 15 Feb 1763
• Oliver: b. abt. 4 Mar 1765
• Mary: b. abt. 18 Apr 1768
• Elizabeth: b. abt. 18 Apr 1768

​Experience married Ebenezer Kingsbury on 23 Feb 1743/4 in Plainfield CT and she died on 6 Nov 1803 in Plainfield CT. According to their wills, census records, and negative findings in vital records, they had no living children.

🔍 Research Tools and Resources

• FamilySearch Full Text Search – Great for obscure mentions in digitized books and collections.
• FamilySearch Catalog – Essential for place-based research in Newton, MA, and Killingly, CT.
• FamilySearch Wiki – Background on parishes, towns, and colonial records.
• Ancestry.com – Census, land records, vital records, and family trees (used with caution!).
• AmericanAncestors.org – Excellent for Massachusetts records and early colonial families.
• Killingly Historical & Genealogical Society – A must for local context and records.
• newtonma.gov – Helpful for understanding Newton’s early history and available town records.
• Books, books, books! – Especially local histories, church record abstracts, and compiled genealogies (cross-checked, of course).

I’ve also been evaluating secondary sources with caution. While many compiled genealogies list children like Michael or Nehemiah, I treat them as unconfirmed until supported by documentary evidence. These phantom ancestors are a good reminder that names in trees aren’t always facts—they’re hypotheses that need testing.

📜 Notes of Records Used

• ​Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Newton Vital Record Transcripts; Newton Births, page 104 (birth of Michael & Experience’s sons, Daniel & Josiah) (birth of Michael’s brother, John & Patience’s son, John)
• Massachusetts, U.S., Compiled Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1700-1850; Newton; Newton Births, page 104 (same record as above but different collection)
• Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Newton Register, Andrew Ward 1635-1846; page 26 (marriage of Michael Howlett & Experience, & birth of their son, Daniel) (marriage of Michael’s brother, John & Patience, & birth of their son, John)
• Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Newton Births, Marriages and Death; page 81 (birth of Michael & Experience’s son, Daniel) (birth of Michael’s brother, John & Patience’s son, John)
• Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920; Volume 093 Putnam; page 84 (baptism of Michael & Experience’s son, Daniel by Mr. Dwight) (baptism of Michael’s brother, John & Patience’s son, John by Rev. J. (John) Fisk)
• Connecticut, U.S., Town Death Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection); Plainfield Vital Records 1699-1852; Barbour Collection, page 172 (marriage of Experience & Ebenezer Kingsbury)
• Connecticut, U.S., Town birth, Marriage, and Death Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection); Killingly Vital Records 1708-1850; pages 272, 273, & 274 (way too much to list right now; will get on it)
• Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920; Volume 093 Putnam, page 79 (too much to list right now; will get on it)
• Early Connecticut Marriages; Book 2; Thompson, page 55 (marriage of Oliver & Sarah Seirls (Searles)
• Killingly, Windham, Connecticut, United States records; Killingly (Connecticut). Town Clerk.; Births, Marriages, Deaths, Volume 1; Record of Births, pages 60, (61 is a blank page), 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, & 68 (births of Michael & Experience’s son, Oliver) (births of John & Sarah’s children, Mary, Sarah, John, John #2, Sylvanus, Experience, Samuel, & Asa) (births of  Oliver & Sarah’s children, Seth, Nehemiah, Experience, Hannah, & David) (births of Oliver’s & 2nd wife, Elizabeth’s children, Samuel, Sarah, Oliver, Elizabeth, & Mary) (births of Josiah & Lydia’s children, Lydia, Michael, Obediah, Jacob, John, Josiah, Experience, Daniel, Abigail, Eunice, & Elim) (births of Daniel & Abigail’s daughter, Sabra) (births of Nathaniel & Susannah’s duaghter, Rachel) 
• Killingly vital record transcripts volume I by James N. Arnold: Killingly. Birth, Marriage, Death Records 1755-1835; Pages 413 & 415 (birth of Oliver & Elizabeth’s children, Samuel, Sarah, Oliver, Elizabeth & Mary)
• Killingly, Windham, Connecticut, United States records; Births, Marriages, Deaths: Killingly. Birth Records 1700–1835, Town Clerk; page 257 (birth of Oliver & Elizabeth’s children, Samuel, Sarah, Oliver, Elizabeth & Mary)
• Connecticut, U.S., Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934; Connecticut Headstone Inscriptions Vol 40; page 20 (Experience & her husband, Ebenezer Kingsbury)
• Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999; Plainfield District Probate Packets (Daniel, Nathaniel, Experience, & husband of Experience)
• The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011; Volume 071 (1917); Records of Deaths at Plainfield, Conn; page 135 (Experience)
• History of Windham County, Connecticut by Ellen D. Larned; Volume I, 1600-1760, Published 1874
• Boston Transcript Genealogy Columns: United States. Newspapers 1928, 1930, 1935
• Boxes of Clippings Boston Evening paper, January 1911-1941
• Boston. Miscellaneous Records, 1934-1936

A Note on Name Variations

In colonial New England, surname spelling was far from standardized. This line alone has appeared in records as Howlett, Hewlett, Hulett, and Hulet—sometimes even in the same family or generation. Don’t let spelling limit your searches!

📚 What’s Next?

In the next post in this series, I’ll shift the spotlight to Michael’s son and my 5th great-grandfather, Oliver Hulet, exploring his life, marriages, and their children—many of whom began to move into western Massachusetts and beyond.

This series is part research log, part narrative, and part resource guide. I hope it inspires you to revisit your own lines with fresh eyes or perhaps helps you discover a new connection. Feel free to follow along—and if you’re a descendant or fellow researcher on the Hulet/Howlett line, I’d love to hear from you.
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Stay tuned for the next chapter in this family story.

*Note: This post will be updated when there are new research findings, so it may constantly change.

Have you ever returned to an old family line after years away and found something new? Or are you working on early New England ancestors too? Share your thoughts in the comments below!