Garland Arthur Howell Part 2

Garland Arthur Howell Part 2

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.

Resources

• Medicine Net -- https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3898

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Garland Arthur Howell part 1

1914 Garland is born
1916 -- Sister Pauline Melissa is born
1918 -- Sister Letha Blanch is born

Garland Arthur Howell, 1914 - 1961

1914

Johnston County North Carolina
from Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

Garland Arthur Howell's birth, 22 December, Johnston North Carolina.  He was the second child born out of 13 children total.  Mother Katie was age 20, father Fristus was age 42.

Mini Pedigree from Ancestry.com

Birth Index for Garland Arthur Howell's birth
from General Index to Births in Johnston County NC
"B.H." is for Boon's Hill

1916, age 1

Sister Pauline Melissa was born, 4 October, Johnston NC.  She was the third child born, and is listed as Malissa, and she died in 1993.

1918, age 3

Sister Letha Blanch Howell was born in Princeton NC.  She was the fourth child born, and she died in 2000.  At first glance it looks as if the family moved, but when we look closer, Princeton is in Johnston County NC.  The family did, however, move from Boone Hill where Garland was born to Princeton where Blanch was born.

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Resources

• Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness -- map of Johnston County NC -- https://www.raogk.org/states/_images/states/nc/townships/Johnston-township.PNG

I did a research on the Johnston county historical website, link below.  Here are three or four things I have found.

Name:	Howell, Jethro H.
Rank / Company:	Pvt. / D
NC Regiment:	13th Battalion, NC Infantry,

http://www.johnstonnc.com/heritage2/hc_soldier_search.cfm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This looks like it would be for Fristus H. Howell.  The age is about correct.  The place is certainly correct.  But I have absolutely no idea who Ancestor Joe Howell would be.  Does anybody have any ideas?
http://erec.johnstonnc.com/recorder/eagleweb/customSearch.jsp?pageId=DeedRecords&searchId=0

Record ID: 2667 Name: Howell, F.H. Age: 26 Ancestor: Joe Howell State: NC Date of Application: October 22, 1902 Township: Boon Hill

Same thing for this entry.  Again the dates are approximately correct, but again I don't know who this Jno is ... Jonathan?

1902 Johnston County Voter Registration  Record ID:	2689
Name:	Howell, J. Henry
Age:	50
Ancestor:	Jno. Howell
State:	NC
Date of Application:	October 7, 1902
Township:	Boon Hill

http://www.johnstonnc.com/heritage2/hccontent.cfm?PID=voter

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Arlie Virginia Howell 1913 - 1934

• 1913 -- birth in October
• 1914 -- brother Garland is born
• 1916 -- sister Pauline Melissa is born
• 1918 -- sister Blanch is born
• 1920 -- sister Lois is born
• 1920 -- residence Boon Hill, Johnston, North Carolina
• 1920 -- Historical Insight, Sears, Roebuck and Company
• 1920 -- Historical Insight, Nationalization of 4-H programs
• 1921 -- brother Thad is born
• 1924 -- brother Paul Coolidge is born and died
• 1926 -- brother Roland is born
• 1928 -- brother Haywood is born
• 1930 -- residence New Hope, Wayne, North Carollina
• 1931 -- sister Alline is born
• 1933 -- sister Eula Evelyn is born
• 1934 -- untimely death and burial

She was on this earth for only 20 years.  She was the eldest of 13 children born to Fristus and Katie Howell.  Fristus was 41 years old and Katie was 18 when she was born.  I don't really have much information about her life, but what I have is here.

Arlie Virginia Howell
Mini Pedigree from Ancestry.com

1913 -- birth in October, the first of 13 children

I don't have a birth certificate for Arlie Virginia.  I suspect she was called by her middle name, since it seems that everyone else went by middle names.  I think they used the first name in formal instances, and the middle name was the more familial and informal name.
According to North Carolina Vital Records, birth certificates are available in 1913.  I tried to access a birth certificate, but am unable to at this time.  It isn't available for a Great Niece online, I have to fill out a form and send in a check (what? nobody uses checks anymore?).  If I do this, I will update this post, or create a new post.

1914 to 1920 

Brother Garland is born, and sisters Pauline, Blanch and Lois are born.  I don't have much information about this bit of time.

1920 -- residence Boon Hill, Johnston, North Carolina

1920 Census, Boon Hill Lower Precinct, Johnston North Carolina

In this census, which I covered in detail when I wrote about Fristus and Katie Watkins Howell here, we find the family of six living on a farm outside of Princeton, Johnston NC.  Arlie is six years old.

1920 -- Historical Insight, Sears, Roebuck and Company

Credit: Historic Catalogs of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
1896-1993/Ancestry.com

1920 -- Historical Insight, Nationalization of 4-H programs

October 7, 1921, Marlinton, West Virginia. Credit: Library of Congress
from Ancestry.com Historical Insights

Youth who participated in 4-H programs learned skills related to farm animals, soil, tools, cookery, and housekeeping. 

Did Arlie participate in 4-H programs?

1921, 1924, 1926, 1928 

Brothers Thadius, Paul Coolidge, Roland and Haywood are born in this decade.  She was aged 8, 10, 12, and 14 years old.  She was just 10 years old when her baby brother Paul Coolidge was either stillborn or died just after birth.  He is buried in Johnston County North Carolina.

1930 -- residence New Hope, Wayne, North Carollina

1930 Census, New Hope, Wayne County, North Carolina

Again, I covered this census in great detail in the blog about Fristus and Katie Watkins Howell, here. Be sure to check it out.  Arlie is 16 years old, here.

1931, 1933

1930 ad, Ford Tudor Sedan
Gasconade County Republican, Owensville MO
11 September 1930, page 5
Downloaded 21 March 2017 from Newspapers.com

Sisters Alline and Eula Evelyn are born when she was aged 17 and 19 years old when these little sisters were born.

1934 -- untimely death and burial

Nurse image, source unknown

No social security death index, it seems she didn't have a social security card.  It was a bit early for that.  She was only 20 years old when she died on a cold February day in Goldsboro, Wayne County North Carolina.  She is buried on the family plot in Johnston County NC.

1934 death certificate for Arlie Virginia Howell

• She died at Goldsboro Hospital in Goldsboro NC
• She lived at 609 Simmons street in Goldsboro
• Her birth date is 2 October 1913, Johnston County NC, age 20
• Occupation is worker in the Cotton Mill
• parents F.H. Howell born NC, Katie Watkins born NC
• Informant was Miss Louise Watkins who lived in Goldsboro NC.  This would be the Aunt Lou that my dad talked about.  She was Katie's sister, who was married to Ernest Buck.
• She is buried 2 February 1934 in Princeton, Johnston County, NC
• the cause of death is acute diffuse purulent peritonitis caused by an abortion.  This means the infection spread throughout the membranes of her abdomen and which then spread to her blood, she went into septic shock, her organs shut down causing death.  Apparently an autopsy was performed.  I cannot decipher the answer to the question "What test confirmed diagnosis?"

Gravestone for Arlie Virginia Howell
from FindaGrave
photo by A.Price

Later in 1934, there was a major strike at the cotton mill in Gastonia NC.  This is about a four hour drive from Goldsboro, today.  The National Guard got involved, using tear gas.  Here is one of several photos of that event.  Now that I've had a chance to peruse the photographs, there seems to have been several mills involved.  I can't include the photos here, but this is the first page of a search for this subject, check it out!

Arlie Virginia Howell 1934, 609 Simmons St
Google Maps view

Note the proximity of her parents who lived a few blocks away (toward the mid-upper right of the screenshot).  The Cotton Mill, known as Borden Cotton Mill, or Goldsboro Cotton Mill, or Wayne Cotton Mill, was a few block the other direction on Ash street, in the lower right corner of the screenshot.

Arlie Virginia Howell 1934, 609 Simmons St
Google Maps Satellite View

Arial view of the same house

Arlie Virginia Howell 1934, 609 Simmons St
Google Maps Street View

It looks like a cute little house, perhaps abandoned today, by the looks of it.  According to Realtor.com, it is 1800 square feet with 3 beds and 2 baths on a lot less than 8,000 square feet.

I checked the Goldsboro City Directory for 1934, and I did not find Arlie Virginia Howell.  I searched and found 119 Howells, both related and unrelated, but nothing for Arlie nor Virginia.  So, when I ran a search for the house number, it came up with two hits.  The first one, on page 120, is for Jason W. Herring and his wife Maggie T, a sheet metal worker for Roscoe G. Shipp.  His house is listed as 609 Simmons.  The second one on page 233 at the bottom is for Ruth W. Wilson who is renting the same address.  Hmmm.  the line above is Ruth W. Wilson renting another address on S. Herman.  Am I wrong in assuming that they are renting this place to live in?  Or, since she is renting two places, maybe SHE is the owner and is renting the places out?


I did find, in the same directory, page 307, that the Goldsboro Hospital was on 307 N. Herman in Goldsboro.  Let's check that address out.  My goodness, that hospital was only a block or three from Arlie's house.

Goldsboro Hospital 1934
Google Maps street view, image April 2017

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Resources

1. FindaGrave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46234901
2. Millican Pictorial History Museum, Textile Strikes 1934 North Carolina http://millicanpictorialhistorymuseum.com/product-category/textile-mill-events/1934-strike/
3. The General Strike of 1934 http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newcentury/5165
4. Borden Cotton Mill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borden_Manufacturing_Company
5. Realtor.com https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/609-Simmons-St_Goldsboro_NC_27530_M53617-63130
6. Goldsboro City Directory 1934 http://www.ancestraltrackers.net/nc/wayne/hills-goldsboro-city-directory-1934.pdf
7. 
   

Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell Part 3 from 1910 to 1919

• 1910 Census -- Boon Hill, Johnston NC
• 1910  -- Historical Insight, The Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus.
• 1912 -- Marriage with Fristus Haywood Howell, Johnston NC
• 1913 -- birth of sister Beeles Watkins, North Carolina, and daughter Arlie Virginia Howell. 
• 1914  -- birth of brother Clarence Arthur Watkins, and son Garland Arthur Howell
• 1916  -- birth of sister Blanche Mozelle Watkins, and birth of daughter Pauline Melissa Howell
• 1917 -- Historical Insight -- America Enters World War I.
• 1918 -- birth of daughter Letha Blanch Howell
• 1919 -- Historical Insight -- Women Gain the Constitutional Right to Vote.

1910  Census

 Boon Hill, Johnston, North Carolina.  Boon Hill Census

1910 Census, Lower Boon Hill Precinct, Johnston County NC
from Ancestry.com

Katie's family starts on line 54.  Her father is more formally listed as Henry B. Watkins, age 46, renting the farm.  He can read but is not able to write.  Ida is 34, has had a total of 8 children born, so far, with only 6 still living.  She is able to both read and write.

Jasper works on the farm and attends school.  Katie is 14 years old, also works on the farm and attends school.  Lelia, age 10, is also working on the farm, as well as attends school.  The other children, Marty age 8, Frank age 3, Louise age 4/12 are also listed.

A couple of points.  

1 -- Henry Blake Watkins, went by the name of Blake.  Sometimes the census is indexed as WADkins because the handwriting may seem like this.  He couldn't write, but he could read.  

2 -- it looks like two children died in the last 10 years. 

3 -- It is unusual for a girl of 14 to have an occupation listed like Katie does.

1910 age 16 

from Ancestry.com Historical Insight
30 March 1902.  Credit: The New York Times/Newspapers.com

Historical Insight, The Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus.  "People flocked to the circus as wild and exuberant advertising announced the exciting acts that had come to town."

1912, age 18 

Marriage with Fristus Haywood Howell, Johnston NC.  I would love to have a photo of their wedding.  I wonder how they met?  Did they live close by?  Did they go to the same church?  Meet in the General Goods Mercantile?

Woodrow Wilson, President
from Wikipedia

1913, age 18 

birth of sister Beeles Watkins, North Carolina.
birth of daughter Arlie Virginia Howell. 2 October 1913, Johnston NC

both her sister Beeles and her daughter Arlie were born on this year.

Woodrow Wilson is elected President

1914, age 20 

1914 It's a Boy

birth of brother Clarence Arthur Watkins.  9 July 1914, North Carlina
birth of son Garland Arthur Howell, 22 December 1914, Johnston NC

Once again, her brother and her son are born the same year.  I wonder if they all visited frequently, and played together much?

1916, age 21 

birth of sister Blanche Mozelle Watkins, 1 April 1916, Johnston County NC
birth of daughter Pauline Melissa Howell, 4 October 1916, Johnston County NC

Third time, sibling and child are roughly the same age.

1917, age 22 

Historical Insight -- America Enters World War I.

1917.
Credit:  Underwood Archives/Archive Photos/Getty Images
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight

The American entrance into the First World War was a relief to the exhausted Allies.  Troops were inspected by foreign officers and trained by their British and French comrades in the trenches.

1918 advertisement
Salina Evening Journal, Salina Kansas
3 October 1918, page 8
downloaded March 2017 from Newspapers.com

1918, age 23 

birth of daughter Letha Blanch Howell, 23 May 1918, Princeton, Johnston County, North Carolina.

1919, age 24 

Historical Insight -- Women Gain the Constitutional Right to Vote.

September 1920
Credit:  Harris & Ewing, Inc/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight

Alice Paul shifted from suffrage to general equal rights as she led the National Woman's Party for half a century.

Katie Watkins Howell 3-gen Pedigree
from Ancestry.com

Fristus and Katie Howell part 2, 1920-1929

• 1920, Lower Boon Hill Census
• 1920, birth of daughter Annie Lois Howell
• 1921, birth of son Melvin Thadius Howell
• 1924, birth and death of son Paul Coolidge Howell
• 1924, death of sister Mary Catherine Howell
• 1926, birth of son William Roland Howell
• 1928, birth of son Henry Haywood Jethro Howell
• 1929 Historical Insight -- The Great Depression

1920 Census

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

 

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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

 

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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

 

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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

 

Census Sunday part 1 -- Fristus Howell before 1912

Fristus Howell 3-gen Pedigree from Ancestry.com

Below is the 1880 Federal census, with Fristus living with his parents Jethro and Laurenda Batten Howell in Boon Hill, Johnston Co. NC.   Later on, we'll explore the different name variations for his mother, but for now note it is spelled Lorinda. Their record starts at the bottom of the page, line 49.  This is a typical farming family.  Wonder what they farmed?

Jethro and Laurenda Howell census 1880 part 1

Next page lists the children of this family.  Nellie is the oldest age 18, Fristus here is written as "Pristus" and he is 6 years old.  His grandmother Sophia LNU Howell lives with them, probably because she's been a widow since 1858.  Also living with them is an 18 year old servant/laborer John Britton.  As far as I know he is unrelated.

Jethro and Laurenda Howell 1880 Census 2

They live in Boon Hill Township of  Johnston County, North Carolina.  Some names of their neighbors that I find in my corollary research are Raines, Sasser,  and Creech.  My great uncle told me once that the young men found their girls within walking distance of their home.  Because they didn't have cars, then.  They had to finish their farmwork, walk to the girls' home to visit for a while, then walk back home.  This information is valuable when looking for your ancestors.

Boon Hill Twp from Mapclick Johnston Co NC

This is the location of Boon Hill Twp as of 2017.  This information was obtained from Mapclick Johnston Co.  The link is below, and it is a fun site to play with.

There is no 1890 census due to a major fire.  Easy enough to find this information, so I won't belabour the cause.

The 1900 census is below.  He is living with his mother Laurenda, his sister Tilithia, and his nephew Millard G. Lane.  The family starts line 4.  This is a cool census because it provides the month and year each person was born.  I have to point out that Millard is NOT a Howell child.  He is listed here as Laurenda's grandson.  Research shows that Tilithia married Millard Lane, and they had at least this son.  Point of research -- find out why Millard Sr is no living with them right now.  It is too early for WWI.

Their home is still in Boone Hill Township, but also in the Lower Boon Hill Precinct, all of Johnston County NC.  Still a farming family.  Fristus is still a farmer labourer, and he cannot read nor write.

Laurenda Howell 1900 Census

His name is indexed as Faistus, but again, if you look carefully you can make out the "r" and see where it is closed at the bottom.  But you have to squint your eyes and hold your nose to the left a bit.  Well ... hmmm ... maybe not.  I checked the other "r" words like Corra and Robert and Charley.  The enumerator wrote in something like a Palmer method of handwriting, see the sample below --

Sample of Palmer Cursive
http://writeanalog.com/learning-cursive-handwriting/

So, perhaps his name really IS written down as "Faistus."  Anyway, this is the last census we will find Fristus in as a single fellow.  He marries Katie two years after this census was taken.  Neighbors include Raines, Sasser, Daughtry, all corollary names.

This family, in the 1910 census, begins on Line 31, with Cain Nawell (according to Ancestry.com).  However, if you look closely, you can see the proper spelling in the large handwriting, with the large tilted "H" and the cross-member.  The first name "Cain" is actually London King.  He went by his middle name (but of  COURSE he did, because everyone in North Carolina did).  I asked one of King's brothers why he got that name.  Uncle said it was because his parents ran out of names by that time and they wanted something BIG.

Line 38 is Fristus.  But -- his name looks like and is indexed as Cris.  MAYbe Fris.  The only way I knew this was Fristus is because of the other people in King's family.  I missed this one for years because of the horrible misspelling.

Fristus Howell 1910 Census

Fristus is a 35 year old who is farming on his own account.  I still wonder if this is where he was living when he met Katie?  I think so, it almost looks like he has a portion of farmland that is his own, but he doesn't have a house of his own yet?  This part is all imagination at this point.

I tried to find out what exactly Upper and Lower Boon Hill precincts looked like.  All I could find was a newspaper article in 1898 where they divided Boon Hill into two voting districts.  Same thing for Beulah, divided into voting districts.

Upper and Lower Boon Hill Precincts
The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, North Carolina)
Thu, Sep 24, 1896 ·  Page 2
Downloaded on Jun 9, 2017

• Johnston County North Carolina MapClick -- an interactive map of the county