William J. Howes, eldest son of James Howes, was born in the Seigniory of Longueuil, 9th July, 1855. His father came to West Hawkesbury when William was about two years of age; when eighteen years old he went to Wisconsin, and remained four years. On his return, hi worked at the carpenter's trade for some time, and then engaged in cheese making, working one season for Mr. C. McQuaig, and seven years for Mr. Soloman Grout. In April, 1893, he was married to Hattie, daughter of David Steele of Vankleek Hill. Mr. Howe's farm in in the 5th Concession. In 1891 he engaged to run the 'Golden Mill" cheese factory in East Hawkesbury for Mr. S. Stevens, but two years later, a joint stock company of farmers in the vicinity bought the latter out. Since then, Mr. Howes, alby assisted by Mr. Henry Gates of Riceville, has managed the factory for the company, giving them satisfaction and upholding his reputation as a cheese maker. {From the book by Cyrus Thomas 'History of the counties Argenteuil, Quebec, Prescott, Ontario', 1896 (republished Belleville, Ontario: Mika Pub. Co., 1981) Page 557}

Contributor Gary Milks (50126245) added the following:
His brother Samuel Thomas Howes, who was the informant for William's death, provided the wrong birth year (not entirely Sam's fault - William himself used "1855" on the 1901 census, and as the basis of his age on the marriage records. Also, the ages for the whole family are inconsistent from census to census indicating that none of the family had properly memorized the birth dates). The wrong date apparently carried over to the order for the headstone, and to the entry in "History ...". However, the Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register has William's birth date as 9 Jul 1853 (bap. 23 Mar 1855).