Harriet Converse Stevens was born on September 7, 1836, to Ezekiel Stevens and Fanny Converse. Her father was an innkeeper who owned $3,500 of real estate in 1850. Ezekiel died sometime in the 1850s, and in 1860, Fanny owned $1,200 in real estate and $100 in personal property. Harriet attended school in Brookfield. She married Elbridge Howe on May 3, 1866, and they had at least two children: Julia, born around 1868; and Harriet E., born around 1870. Howe worked as a provision dealer after the war, and he owned $3,100 of real estate and $2,200 of personal property in 1870. She died in Brookfield on February 19, 1902.