Monday, November 20, 2017

Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell Part 6 from 1950 to death in 1960


  • 1955 husband died
  • 1952 residence Alexandria Virginia
  • 1954 Hurricane Hazel; Residence Goldsboro NC
  • 1958 Brother Jasper died
  • 1960 Mother died


1950, age 55 

death of  husband Fristus Haywood Howell, 23 June 1950, Goldsboro, Wayne NC

1950s


Katie Watkins Howell 1950s by Bill Vidunas (2)
She has her cane.  She has her handbag.  Don't mess with this gramma!





Katie Watkins Howell 1950s by Bill Vidunas (2)
I think this is the Elm Street address discussed in the previous post.


1950s Katie Watkins Howell
photo by William Vidunas
Whenever she went out, Katie always had her handbag with her.  The sign in the background says that Parking for C.H. Smith is 25 cents.

1951


Ida Warrick Watkins 1951 Howell Katie Watkins, Roland, Linda abt 5, Watkins Ida Warrick

1952, age 58 


Katie Howell 1952 residence
Alexandria Virginia city directory


605 South Fairfax Street, Alexandria Virginia
2014 Google Maps streetview

Unfortunately for me, Streetview shows only 605, 604, 603, 601 but not 602.  This is as close as I get.  It would have been on this side of the street, it is the even side.  it looks like a townhouse apartment complex.  I don't know if this is the building, or what.  She didn't live here very long.  Wonder what brought her out here in the first place?


1954, age 59 

Historical Insight -- Hurricane Hazel
In addition to information from Ancestry.com, I present for your viewing pleasure these photographs my father took in the aftermath of the storm.





1954 Hurricane Hazel dropped tree on
Blake and Ida Warrick house
on Daisy Street
photo by William Vidunas

While not technically for this page, it is sort of relevant when you want to talk about Hurricane Hazel of 1954.




1954, age 60 

Residence per City Directory -- Goldsboro NC


Katie Howell 1954
112 East Chestnut, Goldsboro, Wayne NC

This is the City Directory for Goldsboro NC in 1954.  You can see Katie, who is listed as the widow of "Fritz H."  Look down beside the small yellow arrow, and you see Lois Howell who is a waitress at Central Lunch, living at 246 Johnson Lane.  I believe this may be my Grandmother.

1954, age 60 







Katie Watkins Howell 1954 by Bill Vidunas







Katie Howell, 112 East Chestnut Street
Goldsboro NC (Red Circle)
2017 Google Maps

Above, we find Katie's 1954 address, the red circle.  The black circle on the left is Cecil and Lois Howell Vidunas Willoughby residence of 1956, and the black circle on the right is Fristus and Katie Watkins Howell residence of 1946.


Satellite View, 112 East Chestnut Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps, Satellite View

A closer view of this address.  I think this area changed a lot, I don't see anything that resembles a former residential area.  


Street View image capture of area
from 2017 Google Maps Satellite View
image from PDF printout

Again, not much to see here, move right along.  Actually, that little park looks quite pretty.


1955, Goldsboro NC

1955 view of Goldsboro NC
photo by William Vidunas


1956


1956 Bill Vidunas, age 17
409 something, Goldsboro NC

I think this is the house where the kids sat for a Christmas photo

1956 Living Room
photo by Bill Vidunas


1958, age 63 

death of brother Jasper Frederick Watkins, 15 December 1958, Richmond VA


1960, age 65 


death of mother Martha Ida Warrick Watkins, 15 August 1960, Goldsboro, Wayne NC

1960, age 65 

105 East Pine Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC

226-44-7862 ssn issued Virginia

death, 29 October 1960, Raleigh, Wake NC, buried Johnston County NC




Katie Watkins Howell 1960 Death Certificate



Katie died 2 months after her mother died, and 6 months before I was born.  She was only 64 years old, but died what must have been a sudden death.  She'd lived in Raleigh, Wake (?) County for the last four years.  Her death occurred within the city limits, and she was in Dorothea Dix Hospital at the time of death.  She usually lived at 105 East Pine Street, Goldsboro, Wayne County, NC, within the city proper.  She a housewife, and her social security number 226-44-7862 was issued in Virginia.  The information came from her Clinical records as well as from her daughter Mrs Pauline Edwards of Goldsboro, NC.

1962 Food Prices
The Mason City Globe-Gazette
Mason City Iowa
20 December 1962, page 21
downloaded September 2017
Newspapers.com
The cause of death was massive hemopericardium with cardiac tamponade.  A little anatomy lesson will help here.  The heart is a muscle that is surrounded by a protective sac called the pericardium.  "Peri" means around, and "Cardium" pertains to the heart.  Thus, the sac surrounds the heart.  It usually is filled with fluid which acts as a lubricant so the heart muscle can work without interference.  In Katie's case, she had some bleeding (the "hemo-" part of the word) into the pericardium, causing pressure to build up.  This build-up caused so much outside pressure on the heart that there was no more room to expand.  This is the "cardiac tamponade" part of the equation.  pronounced CAR-dee-akk TAM-poh-NOD.  Today, if it is diagnosed early enough, the Emergency room doctor can insert a large-bore needle to suck out (called aspirate) the excess blood, giving enough time for surgeon to find the leak and seal it up.

However, the cause of this bleeding was caused by "ruptured arteriosclerotic aneurysm of aortic arch."  The heart sends blood out to the body through a very large vessel called the aortic arch -- because it comes out from the top of the heart, arching down towards the rest of the body below -- it must withstand a lot of pressure.  She had an aneurysm of this aortic arch, which means that the layers of the aorta split apart causing a weakness and a bulge, and it then leaked between the heart and the sac.  She had advanced arteriosclerosis in most if not all of her arteries, which is also known as "hardening of the arteries."

Interestingly, she suffered from chronic pyelonephritis, and had had surgery to remove her right kidney at some time in the past.

She died at 0930 in the morning of October 29th at the hospital, and is buried at the family cemetery in Johnston County NC, 31 October 1960. In the next post, we will talk about Dorothea Dix Hospital.



1960 Katie Elizabeth Howell obituary


Smithfield Herald, Tue., Nov. 1, 1960
Death would have been October 29, 1960

Howell Funeral Service is Held

Goldsboro – Mrs. Katie Elizabeth Howell, 64, widow of F. H. Howell died Saturday.

The funeral was conducted Monday afternoon at 3 o’clock at Seymour Funeral Home.  The Rev. W. G. Batten officiated.  Interment followed in the Howell Family Cemetery in Johnston County.

Surviving are four sons, Garland and Haywood Howell of Alexandria Va., Thaddeus Howell of Springfield, Va., and Rowland Howell of Herndon, Va.; five daughters, Mrs. Earl Edwards of Goldsboro, Mrs. Harry Garris of Greensboro, Mrs. Cecil Willoughby of Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Eddie Wright of Eaton Rapids, Mich., and Mrs. Eula Leibert of Danboro, Pa.; 17 grandchildren; one brother, Frank Watkins of Enfield; four sisters, Mrs. I. I. Strickland of Halifax; Mrs. Aaron McGuin of Durham, and Mrs. Walter Buck and Mrs. Ernest Buck of Goldsboro.


  • "Mrs Earl Edwards" is Pauline Howell Edwards
  • "Mrs Harry Garris" is Letha Blanch Howell Garris
  • "Mrs Cecil Willoughby" is Lois Howell Vidunas Willoughby
  • "Mrs Eddie Wright" is Ida Alline Howell Wright
  • "Mrs Eula Liebert" is Eula Evelyn Howell Kiebert
  • "Mrs I. I. Strickland" is Lessie Myrtle Watkins Strickland, wife of Isaac Isaiah Strickland
  • "Mrs Aaron McGuin" is *** I don't have a name for this person ***
  • "Mrs Walter Buck" is Beulah Watkins Buck
  • "Mrs Ernest Buck" is Louise Watkins Buck

  • {Batten was Laurenda Batten Howell’s name, mother of Fristus Howell.  – J’Anette V. Scott}

Does anyone have which Watkins sister married Aaron McGuin?


Fristus and Katie Watkins Howell gravestone
photo by Amanda Price




In a previous post I noted that Katie is listed in the census as born in South Carolina.  Well, her Social Security application also says she was born in Dillon South Carolina.  So, maybe the records saying she's born in NC are the anomaly.  This is why is is important to get primary sources of information if at all possible.



The following article is one I stumbled upon, and I thought it was interesting, although it happened after Katie's death.

Nuclear accident[edit]

In 1961, two 3.8 megaton hydrogen bombs were dropped accidentally on the village of Faro, 12 miles (19 km) north of Goldsboro, after a B-52 aircraft broke up in mid air. The two Mark 39 weapons were released after the crew abandoned a B-52 bomber which had suffered mid-flight structural failure. Both bombs went through several steps in the arming sequence, but neither one detonated.[11] One bomb was recovered. Although much of the second bomb was also recovered, a missing piece containing uranium was believed to have sunk deep into the swampy earth and could not be recovered. The piece remains in land that the Air Force eventually purchased in order to prevent any land use or digging.[12] In 2013, it was revealed that three safety mechanisms on one bomb had failed, leaving just one low-voltage switch preventing detonation.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsboro,_North_Carolina



Katie Watkins Howell 3-gen Pedigree
from Ancestry.com






Monday, November 13, 2017

Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell Part 5 from 1940 to 1949


  • 1940 Census, 733 North Herman Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC
  • 1944 -- 916 East Elm Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC
  • 1946 -- 211 East Beech Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC
  • 1948 -- death of brother Clarence



1940s


Katie Watkins Howell 1940s Howell, Roland, Blanche, Katie Watkins

1940, age 45  Census

733 North Herman Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC.  Living with Fristus.
Fristus and Katie Howell 1940 Census


  • This family starts on line 14, where they rent the home at 733 North Herman Street.  Fristus is 65 years old, and Katie is 44 years old.  
  • This census says she was born in South Carolina, but I think that is an anomaly.  
  • This indicates that Katie engages in working at home, while Fristus is unable to work.  What happened that he can no longer work?  Is it his age?  Is it his knees?
  • At the bottom is some additional information.  Fristus' usual occupation is as labourer for the County Laundry
  • Several of their kids live with them, including 20 year old Lois.  Lois works in the City Laundry.  Did her father get her that job?
  • Interestingly, the last child, Alford is not actually a Howell child.  He is, instead, the child of Lois and Joseph Vidunas.  Joseph is in the Army, Lois lives with her parents and, I guess he went by the name "Alford?"


1940 Residence


Fristus and Katie Howell 1940
733 North Herman Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps Standard
Notice some of the places the Howell's lived.  Fairly close by, actually



Fristus and Katie Howell 1940
733 North Herman Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps Satellite View


Pretty little area as of 2017.  I don't think it would have looked that much differently in 1940.  Different trees, smaller trees perhaps.


Fristus and Katie Howell 1940
733 (almost) North Herman Street, Goldsboro NC
2012 Google Maps Street View

I can't find the exact street view spot for this address.  This is the closest I can get.  Nothing to see here, move along.




About 1942, USA.
Credit: Anthony Potter Collection/Archive Photos/Getty

1941, age 46 

Historical Insight -- The United States enters World War II

From coffee to panty hose to chicken wire fencing, most common foods and supplies were rationed during World War II. Each American family was issued a ration book that contained an allotted number of coupons to purchase staples at stores.
  




1944, age 50 

Residence 916 East Elm Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC, per draft registration for William Roland Howell.


1944 WWII Draft Registration William Roland Howell, age 18


I include, for your perusal, the Draft Registration for Roland.  While it isn't directly Katie, it does include her as a person who will always know where he is, and her address -- which is also his address.  I wonder why he mentioned his mother, Mrs. F.H. Howell, and not his father Fristus H. Howell?

Fristus and Katie Howell 1944
916 East Elm Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps


Fristus and Katie Howell 1944
916 East Elm Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps Satellite View





Fristus and Katie Howell 1944
916 East Elm Street, Goldsboro NC
2012 Google Maps Street View

I think this is the house in a certain photo.  My dad took a photo of his grandmother Katie in front of a house in 1950.  That photo will be in the next blog as tribute to her, but I include it in this blog to examine the house itself.



Close up of same photo

Katie Howell 1950s
photo by Bill Vidunas



























This is the original photo, and the next one is the detail I want to point out. If I use my imagination, I can see the porch of the house looks similar.  I checked out Trulia, found out this house was built in 1900, so it could, indeed, be the same house.  The current street view looks like a brick wall and I don't see that on this house.  In this photograph, Dad also pointed out the new convienience store in the background.  Sort of a dichotomy, the old and the new.  The street view doesn't give me that same store.  Does anybody know what this house address may be?  If so, let me know and I will correct this blog.





1945-1953
Harry S. Truman
33rd President






1945, age 50 


Historical Insight -- V-J Day

Impromptu outdoor displays of patriotism took place in
cities and towns across the United States on V-J Day.
August 14, 1945, UnitStates.
Credit: Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive/Getty Images




1946, age 52 

Residence per draft registration for Henry Haywood Jethro Howell -- 211 East Beech Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC.  Once again, we have extracted an address for Katie Howell from another son's Draft card.  Henry Haywood Howell registered when he turned 18.


Fristus and Katie Howell 1946 Residence

And, once again, we see his contact person is Mrs F.H. Howell, not Fristus Howell.  So, let's look at this address.

Fristus and Katie Howell 1946 Residence
211 Beech Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps, Standard view




Fristus and Katie Howell 1946 Residence
211 Beech Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps, Satellite View
Fristus and Katie Howell 1946 Residence
211 Beech Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps, Almost Street View
Fristus and Katie Howell 1946 Residence
211 Beech Street, Goldsboro NC
2012 Google Maps, Street View

Whelp, nothing to see here, move along.  It's all industrial, now.  NEXT!





Government-sponsored posters encouraged Americans
to stay positive and reminded them that the ration system
supported the boys fighting abroad.
About 1942. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

1946, age 52 

Historical Insight -- WWII Rationing in the United States.










1948, age 53 

death of brother Clarence Arthur Watkins, 30 January 1948



Katie Watkins Howell 3-gen Pedigree
from Ancestry.com
  1. https://www.trulia.com/homes/North_Carolina/Goldsboro/sold/1000427041-916-E-Elm-St-Goldsboro-NC-27530

Monday, November 6, 2017

Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell Part 4 from 1930 to 1939


  • 1934 Residence 207 North George, Goldsboro NC

  • Advertisement 1934
    Marshfield News-Herald, Marshfield WI
    31 January 1934 page 2
    downloaded March 2017
    from Newspapers.com
  • 1935 Residence 1935 North Herman Street, Goldsboro NC



The previous decade, 1920s, was one of working the farm, and having babies.  This is all covered under Fristus Howell's post "Fristus and Katie Howell part 2"





This post, while somewhat duplicate, still includes some new residence information which I didn't have available for Fristus' post.  I won't reiterate the births and deaths of the rest of her children.  Instead, we'll pick up in 1934 with their residence.  Enjoy.










1933 - 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President

1933

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected as the 32nd President











1934, age 40 

Fristus and Katie lived at 207 North George, Goldsboro NC, according to the city directory.  I think the indication "lab" means that Fristus was a labourer.


Fristus and Katie Howell, 1934
Goldsboro NC city directory



Fristus and Katie Howell 1934 Residence
207 North George Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps standard view






Fristus and Katie Howell 1934
207 North George Street
2017 Google Maps standard view, closer





Fristus and Katie Howell, 1934
207 North George Street, Goldsboro NC
2017 Google Maps Satellite View



Area where Fristus and Katie Howell lived
view of 207 North George Street, Goldsboro NC
2016 Google Maps Street View

There is no house here now, it is an insurance agent.



1935, age 41 

1935 North Herman Street, Goldsboro, Wayne NC Residence, per the 1940 Census.  Whether this is actually correct for this year, we will go ahead and say it is so.  We'll look at the census in the next post, as well as examine the address location


Katie Watkins Howell 3-gen Pedigree
from Ancestry.com

Links, just in case you want to print this page out.  It happens sometimes.

  1. http://howellfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/09/fristus-and-katie-howell-part-2-1920.html
  2. http://howellfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/09/fristus-and-katie-howell-part-3-1930.html



Garland Arthur Howell Part 6

Garland Arthur Howell Part 6 1960 -- Mother Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell died 1961 -- Historical Insight -- John F. Kennedy Inaugura...