Bezaleel Howard (November 22, 1753 – January 20, 1837) was an American Congregationalist minister.
[2] In the late 1780s, Howard criticized both the insurgents of Shay's Rebellion and local authorities, whom he saw as abusing their power.
[6] In February 1808, Howard bought a home on Elm Street, where he lived until his death.
[3] In 1809, Howard led a group of 18 other Springfield residents in raising money to purchase the freedom of a woman named Jenny, who had escaped from slavery in New York.
Howard had officiated the wedding of Jenny and a freeman named Jack Williams several years prior, in 1802.
[2][9] Two years after her death, he married Prudence Williams (d. 1853), from Wethersfield, Connecticut.