James Leland Howard (January 18, 1818 – May 1, 1906) was an American businessman and politician who was the 63rd Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1887 to 1889.

[2] His paternal ancestors came to this country from Swansea in Wales, England, and were among the original landowners of the town of Milford and Mendon.

[1] James' great-grandfather, Benjamin Howard, was born in Mendon in 1713 but spent the latter part of his life in Jamaica, Vermont, where he died in 1783.

[1] He received an academic education and started working as a clerk in New York City at the age of fifteen.

[1] Together, James and Anna were the parents of five children, of which three daughters survived to adulthood, Alice, Edith and Mary Howard.