Maternally, he was connected to Richard Smith, the first town clerk of Bristol, Rhode Island from the 1680s.

He left Middlebury to pursue education at Brown University, his father's alma mater.

In 1832, Howe was ordained deacon by Alexander V. Griswold, bishop of the Eastern Diocese, at Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church, South Boston.

Before the end of 1832, Howe became rector of Saint James' Episcopal Church, Roxbury, Massachusetts, serving until 1846, when he was called to Saint Luke's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he remained rector for 25 years.

That same year, Howe was elected bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.