Howe family descendant W. DeWolf Fulton of Bristol provided an analysis of a poem written by his great-great grandfather, Rev. Mark Anthony DeWolfe Howe delivered on the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bristol in 1680. Click here for a 57-minute video of his presentation given at the Linden Place Ballroom on July 17, 2025.

Rev. Howe (above) served as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and was founder of the Howe family seat at Weetaoe in Bristol and became the patriarch of the family with three wives, 18 children and 31 grandchildren. Two books containing the original Bicentennial Poem were on display at the event.

(Above) Fulton began by going over the DeWolf Family Tree (click to enlarge), and later in his talk referred to American Progress, an 1872 painting by John Gast that depicted an image of “manifest destiny,” the prevailing attitude in the latter half of the 19th century that America was destined to occupy all of the land to the West Coast, despite it being the homeland of millions of Native Americans.

The audience responds to his reading and analysis that showed his great-great grandfather’s positive attitude toward the Pokanoket Tribe that was driven out of Bristol following King Philip’s War in 1676. Fulton then followed up with questions and comments from the audience.