Arthur Otis Howe was born in Newfane, Vermont to Marshall Otis Howe (1832–1919) and Gertrude Isabel (Dexter) Howe (1845–1930). He was never married. He was a dairy farmer in Newfane, Vermont and as a trained electrical engineer, he served in his early adult years as the superintendent of the electric light works in Chelsea, Vermont.^[1] In 1931 he was elected to his first term in the Vermont House of Representatives, serving until 1933. He was reelected in 1937 and 1945. He was elected to the Vermont Senate, and served from 1947 to 1948.^[1] Howe died at his home in Newfane.^[3] Howe was a direct descendant of John Howe (1602-1680) who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 from Brinklow, Warwickshire, England and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Arthur Otis Howe was also a descendant of Edmund Rice, an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony, as follows:^[2]