The Proeger Family · Generation 8 — Earl's earliest known

Mary Risner Howard

Probable mother of John Covey Howard

Mary Risner Howard

Probable

Probable mother of John Covey Howard

Born
Not found
Died
Not found
Sources
2

Research status

Research status: PROBABLE — accepted by Earl 28 September 2026 pending more evidence. The same query column in Howards in Kentucky, p. 127, says John Howard of Virginia “Married Mary Risner, Scott County, Virginia”, and names “their second son John Covey” S864. Our John Covey Howard's 1850 Harlan household includes a Larkin and a Michael, brothers named in the query S865. What is weak: it is a compiled, unsourced query with nothing primary behind it; the middle name Ann and every date that online trees give her are not in any record read; and the Magoffin County marriage of James C. Howard and Mary Risner belongs to a later couple. An unread index of an 1827 Harlan County marriage of a Mary Howard to Gabriel Jackson may be her remarriage, or another woman.

Evidence: The query column in Howards in Kentucky (p. 127) names Mary Risner, married in Scott County, Virginia, as the wife of John Howard and mother of his second son John Covey. Weak or missing: A compiled, unsourced query with nothing primary behind it; her middle name and dates are tree-only, and the Magoffin County Risner marriage is a later couple. Not yet confirmed. Know more? Confirm or correct this →

Life in the order the records give it

Birth
Her birth and death dates are not in any record read

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Probable
Probable mother of John Covey Howard; wife of John Howard; their first child, Larkin, was born in Tennessee about 1802 S864
Cited on this card S864 S865 Card added 2026-09-28

In the record Generation 8 — Earl's earliest known

Mary Risner Howard · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

2 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S864Howards in Kentucky, p. 127 (query column). Ancestry U.S. Family History Books, collection 62282, record 4449409226 (image 85982_fl5042582_2449242-00132). Image examined, read 28 September 2026. Probable “Sudie F. Spillman, Harlan, Kentucky, is a Howard descendant and is trying to trace her line from John Howard of Virginia, born about 1774, d. 1822. Married Mary Risner, Scott County, Virginia. Their first child ‘Larkin’ was born in Tennessee about 1802. Their daughter Sarah married Rice Johnston. Their second son John Covey is Sudie's great-grandfather. The other sons were William, Michael, and Robert. Robert was born after his father's death. The other daughters were Elizabeth, Phoebe, and Catherine.” A descendant's query, not a sourced genealogy.
  2. S865FamilySearch index, 1850 U.S. census — John C. Howard household, Harlan County, Kentucky. FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:M657-CYX. Index only; no image read (checked 28 September 2026). Probable John C. Howard, born about 1805, Kentucky, with Michael, John, Larkin, Hiram, Nancy, Elizabeth, Mary, Paulina and Jacob. Index only; relationships are not stated. The names Larkin and Michael match brothers named in the Howards in Kentucky query (S864).

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Compiled for the Proeger family

Living adults appear by name and relationship, with the year only: no full date of birth and no home town on any page that search engines index, and a living person’s own page is kept out of search engines. Minors appear by name only — no date of birth, no birth year, no age, no school, no place, no address, no other identifying detail. A minor may be named and may appear in a family photograph; nothing further about them is published. Where it is not established whether someone is an adult or a minor, the minor rule applies.

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