J. Q. (James Quay) Howard

Born in Newark, Ohio, James Quay Howard was an American author and historical writer whose published work is linked to the years 1836 to 1912. A biographical sketch in A Glance at Ohio History and Historical Men describes him as a native of Newark and notes family ties to both the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary era.

Howard wrote for readers interested in American political history. His known books include The Life of Abraham Lincoln, The Life, Public Services and Select Speeches of Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), and History of the Louisiana Purchase (1902). Surviving Library of Congress records also show that he gathered biographical notes on Lincoln and corresponded in 1860 about publishing a Lincoln biography, suggesting that his interest in public figures was both early and serious.

He seems to have focused on turning big national subjects into readable narrative history rather than narrowly academic scholarship. That makes his work a useful window into how Americans of his time understood presidents, expansion, and the country’s political past.