1920 -- Sister Annie Lois is born 1920 -- Census Boone Hill, Johnston County NC 1920 -- Historical Insights -- Sears, Roebuck and Company; Nationalization of 4-H Program 1921 -- Brother Melvin Thadius is born 1924 -- Brother Paul Coolidge is born, died age 4 months 1926 -- Brother William Roland Howell is born
1920, age 5
The fifth child, sister Annie Lois Howell was born in Princeton RFD, Micro Township, Johnston County NC. She went by Lois, died in 1973. She is my grandmother.
1920, age 6
According to the Federal Census, he is living with his family in Boon Hill, Johnston County NC. Now, did they move back to Boon Hill? Did boundaries change even though they stayed on the farm? I haven't researched this yet. If you have any idea, be sure to let me know, using the communication form on the right.
1920 Census, Boon Hill, Johnston County NC
Historical Insight -- Sears, Roebuck and Company
Garland Arthur Howell most likely read or shopped from the Sears catalog.
1914-1930 Sears, Roebuck and Company
Ancestry.com's Historical Insight
"In 1918, the Sears catalog sold the plans and materials for homes like
Model No. 2094, 'The Verona,' for $4096. A number of these existing homes
have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
1918 Credit: Sears Roebuck & Co./Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Historical Insight -- Nationalization of 4-H Programs
Garland may have participated in a 4-H program while a youth in North Carolina. "Utah's Logan Republican reported in September 1914 that 200,000 youth around the country were participating in 'Industrial Clubs.'"
1930 The Nationalization of 4-H Programs
13 October 1921, Charleston, West Virginia.
Credit: Library of Congress
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight
1921, age 6
Birth of brother Melvin Thadius Howell was born 27 October in Johnston County NC. He went by Thad, died in 2009.
1924, age 9
Birth of brother Paul Coolidge 7 January 1924 in Johnston County NC. He died about 4 months later of IleoColitis lasting 8 days. This may be Crohn's disease, according to Medicine Net.
1926, age 11
Birth of brother William Roland Howell on 13 March in Wayne County NC. He went by Roland, and died in 2009.
Fristus and Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell
1920 NC Census
1920 Census, Boon Hill, Lower Precinct, Johnston County North Carolina. Dated 21 January 1920
Start at Line 70. Farm, owned free and clear.
Frrist (sic) Howell, Head, white male, age 46, married. Unable to read nor write. He was born in North Carolina as were both his parents. Speaks English, is a Farmer on his own General Farm.
Kattie Howell, wife, white female, age 24, married. able to read and write, born in NC, both parents born NC. Able to speak English, not employed.
Artie Howell, daughter, white female age 6, single. born NC. Able to speak English, not employed.
Garland Howell, son, white male age 4. born NC.
Pauline Howell, daughter, age 3. born NC.
Letha Howell, daughter, age 1. born NC.
Screenshot of Boon Hill NC. The lower precinct would be south of the highway, borders the Neuse River.
Boon Hill NC
from google Maps 2017
This is an 1896 newspaper article describing how the township was divided for voting purposes.
Upper_and_Lower_Boon_Hill_precincts_1896 (1)
from Newspapers.com
1920, age 47
Birth of daughter Annie Lois Howell, 26 February 1920, Princeton RFD, Micro Twp, Johnston County NC
This is a photo of Fristus and Katie Howell, with their son and granddaughter Henry Howell and Wilma Gray Howell in Gastonia NC. Wilma was in hospital for a long time, I think with an injured leg.
Update -- My dad tells me Wilma Gray had one leg longer than the other, and the surgery was to "balance things out." Her brother Joe had the same condition. Sounds like it is genetic?
Fristus and Katie Howell with
Henry Howell and Wilma Gray Howell
Gastonia NC, photo from Amanda Price
1921, age 49
Birth of son Melvin Thadius Howell, 27 October 1921, Johnston NC
1924, age 51
Birth of son Paul Coolidge Howell, 7 January 1924, Boon Hill, Johnston, NC
Death of sister Mary Catherine Howell, 28 April 1924, Johnston County NC
Death of son Paul Coolidge Howell, 27 May 1924, Boon Hill, Johnston NC
1926, age 53
Birth of son William Roland Howell, 13 March 1926, Wayne County NC
1928, age 58
Birth of son Henry Haywood Jethro Howell, 18 May 1928, Wayne NC
Fristus Howell 3 gen pedigree
from Ancestry.com
1929 Historical Insight -- The Great Depression
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 propelled the United States into the worst hard times: the Great Depression
Credit: MPI/Archive Photos/Getty Images
from Ancestry.com
October 24, 1929, was one of the darkest days in American history. On Black Tuesday, the hopeful, prosperity of the Roaring Twenties came to an abrupt end when the stock market crashed. Suddenly, the United States, and the world with it, was propelled into the Great Depression. Americans began withdrawing their money from banks, causing them to fail. Industrial production came to a standstill and unemployment skyrocketed. Unable to pay their bills, hundreds of thousands of Americans became homeless. By 1933, 15 million were without work and almost half of all U.S. banks had shuttered. To make matters worse, a historic drought caused widespread farmland erosion across the Prairie, precipitating the Dust Bowl. The “only thing we have to fear is fear itself” declared incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his 1933 inauguration. Immediately he set to work rebuilding the country. Through a series of federal programs, he launched the New Deal, which revived banks, created millions of jobs, and helped Americans from going hungry. Slowly, the economy picked up, and with the outbreak of World War II in 1939, factories across the United States kicked into high gear, propelling the country out of the worst economic depression in its history.
Media Gallery
Hundreds of thousands of Americans relied on soup kitchens and charity for meals during the Great Depression. February 1931, Chicago, Illinois. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Dust storms wreaked havoc on farms across the American heartland, caused the closure of entire towns, and prompted hundreds of thousands to flee their homes for greener pastures along the West Coast. Many became migrant farmers in California. April 1936, Cimarron County, Oklahoma. Credit: Arthur Rothstein/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Because so many Americans were unable to pay their bills, evictions became widespread. Many built makeshift homes, dubbed “Hoovervilles” because of the outgoing president’s inability to combat the growing poverty. Condemned as unsightly, some like this shantytown in the nation’s capital, were burned to the ground. 1932, Washington, D.C.. Credit: Signal Corps photographer/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Though the vast majority of the jobs created by President Roosevelt during the Great Depression were for unskilled laborers, he also employed artists to document life across the country. This photograph of a migrant family escaping the Dust Bowl was shot by Dorothea Lange and has become an iconic work from the era. 1936, Nipomo, California. Credit: Dorothea Lange/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
The first person I will blog about is my grandmother, Annie Lois Howell. She was one of many children born to Fristus and Katie Watkins Howell. The photo below is Lois with two of her sisters about 1940s perhaps?
photo by A.Price
Below is her birth certificate. It appears to be a delayed certificate, or at least it says her name was added to the report in 1945, and was witnessed and sealed in 1970. Not exactly sure why . Her father, Fristus Haywood Howell was 48 years old, and her mother Katie Watkins Howell was 26 years old. She was the fifth child out of a total of 13 children born.
