Garland Arthur Howell Part 6

Garland Arthur Howell Part 6

1960 -- Mother Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell died
1961 -- Historical Insight -- John F. Kennedy Inauguration
1961 -- Garland's sudden death

1960 age 45

Mother Katie Elizabeth Watkins Howell died 26 October in Raleigh NC at the age of 65.  Part of her life is covered in this post here.

Garland was living with Lena at 601 Graydon Avenue apartment B3, Norfolk VA.  He apparently works as a "dept city clk" (Department of the City Clerk? or Deputy City Clerk?) City Police Court II.

Garland and Lena Howell, Norfolk Virginia

1961 age 56

Historical Insight -- John F. Kennedy's Inauguration

Garland Arthur Howell may have tuned in to the inauguration of John F. Kennedy on television or radio while living in Norfolk VA

Americans across the nation watched on television and
listened to the radio as President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in January 1961
Credit: Getty Images, from Ancestry.com Historical Insight

Garland died 12 March 1961 when he was only 46 years old, living in Alexandria, Fairfax VA. 

Death Certificate for Garland Arthur Howell

He was buried in Selma, Johnston County NC at the Parrish Memorial Cemetery, Johnston County NC.  He had three children and at least seven grandchildren.  Interesting to note that he is back at 376 West Lee Street in Alexandria Virginia and is working as a Fuel Oil Distributor.  He apparently died at home of a heart attack and cardiovascular disease.  Because it happened suddenly and at such a young age, it was possibly what is commonly called the Widow-maker.    

There are two Find a Grave memorials.  The first has photos of the grave, and is owned by Georgia  Bristol who has herself passed away.  The citation for this memorial is as follows

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 April 2018), memorial page for Garland A Howell (22 Dec 1915–11 Mar 1961), Find A Grave Memorial no. 84093696, citing Parrish Memorial Baptist Church Cemetery, Selma, Johnston County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Georgia (contributor 46502812) .

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84093696

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Garland Arthur Howell Part 3

Garland Arthur Howell Part 3

1930 -- Census, 10 Bissell Mill Road, New Hope, Wayne County NC
1931 -- Sister Ida Alline is born
1933 -- Sister Eula Evelyn Howell is born
1933 -- Historical Insight -- Social Impact of the First "New Deal"
1934 -- Sister Arlie Virginia died
1934 -- Sister Julia Elizabeth is born, dying about 6 weeks later
1935 -- Married Lena Estelle Parrish
1935 -- residence Micro to Parrish Memorial Road per 1940 census
1935 -- Historical Insight -- The Great Depression
1936 -- Sister Sadie was born, dying less than a month later

1930, age 16

Federal Census, he lived with his family on 10 Bissell Mill Road, New Hope, Wayne County NC.

1940 Census
10 Bissell Mill Road, New Hope, Wayne, North Carolina

I covered this census and the family's farm in this blog about Fristus and Katie Howell.  Take a look, let me know if something is missing.

1931, age 16

Birth of his sister Ida Alline on 3 February in Wayne County, NC.  She died 2008.

1933 age 18

Sister Eula Evelyn Howell was born 2 May in Wayne County NC.  She died 1999.

1933, age 19

Historical Insight -- Social Impact of the First "New Deal" 

The government programs started by the first "New Deal" in 1933 may have assisted Garland Arthur Howell from Micro NC.

The first "New Deal" brought economic relief to many Americans in 1933
through programs that addressed banking, farming and unemployment.
Credit:  Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
from Ancestry.com Historical Insight

By the spring of 1933, working class and rural Americans were tightly in the grip of the Great Depression.  Forty percent of the nation's banks failed between 1929 and 1933, and almost 4 million manufacturing jobs were lost as consumption and production became locked in a downward spiral.  The first "New Deal" created by President Franklin Roosevelt and his cabinet was aimed at providing relief and recovery to those hit hardest by the depressed economy.  A farmer wrote in her diary in 1933 about the impact of the "New Deal" in rural areas:  "Well, the national farm strike ... set for May 13 has been postponed, for which we are all thankful.  They came to that decision after Roosevelt signed the farm bill, which makes it possible for the loan companies to refinance mortgages.  ... Well, it gives us more courage to go on.  We had about given up ever trying to keep up anymore."

1934, age 19

Sister Arlie Virginia Howell died in Goldsboro, Wayne County NC.

1934, age 19

Sister Julia Elizabeth Howell was born 13 July in Goldsboro, Wayne NC.  She died about 6 weeks later of "dehydration and anemia of inanition."

1935 age 20

married Lena Estelle Parrish in Johnston County NC on 7 November.  She died in 2009.  Her parents were General Washington "Jim" Parrish and Callie Creech Parrish.  She was also born in Johnston County NC.  I wonder how they met?

Johnston County 1935 Marriage Index

1935 Marriage Certificate for
Garland Arthur and Lena Estelle Parrish Howell

Ottis Lane is the Minister or Justice of the Peace.  I have a photo somewhere of Otis Lane in his WWI Army uniform, I suspect he is related to the Howell family somehow.  I suspect he is quite old by 1935, his signature is pretty shaky and uncertain.   They were married at the Smithfield Court House, and the witnesses were Mrs. Paul Creech and Miss Thelma Parrish.  Since they both are from Selma, they most likely were friends or relatives of the bride.  This certificate does not include signatures of the Bride and Groom.

1935 age 21

According to the 1940 Federal Census, he lived on Micro to Parrish Monorial Road, Micro, Johnston County NC.  I am pretty sure Ancestry.com has mis-labeled the road.  The index says they live on "New to Parrish Monorial Road" but the writing is actually "Micro."  Then, the actual writing seems to say "Micro to Parrish Memorial Road."  So many people in Ancestry copy the same misspelling.  There is no actual road by that name, although there is Parrish Memorial road south of Micro.  See the map.

Micro to Parrish Memorial Road
Google Maps 2018

He indicates in the 1940 census that he and his wife were living there together in "same place."  Yet, they were married in November, so it is highly unlikely they were actually living in the same place in May.  But people are human, and to think back to five years in the past, it would certainly be easy enough to just tell the census taker that they lived in the same place.  We will look at the census in five years, so stay tuned!

Historical Insight -- The Great Depression

During the Great Depression, Garland Arthur Howell likely faced hardships like joblessness and scant resources while living in Micro NC

1929 The Great Depression Historical Insight
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 Historical Insight

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. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight

1936 age 21

Sister Sadie was born 17 August in Goldsboro NC.  She died the next month of GastroEnteritis, malnutrition and Otitis Media.  Gastroenteritis is a serious infection of the gut that causes dehydration, vomiting and diarrhea.  The ear infection was a secondary finding, I am sure, although both the ear infection and the stomach stuff started about the same time.  Sad day.

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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

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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. 
   

Fristus Howell, Sheriff of Wayne County?

1930s

The story as I have heard it from my father, is that his grandfather Fristus Howell was a Sheriff in the 1930s.  While he worked in that capacity, he carried and used this rifle.  This blog is about my attempt to get official corroboration.  It's not that I don't believe my dad, nor other Howell kin, but that there is a lot I don't know, and I am curious about.

Rifle belonging to Fristus Howell
photo by Bill, rifle in his possession

Is the title of Sheriff for the county?  Was his job some other position that carried the convenient title of Sheriff, perhaps a deputy law enforcer?  I ask this, because in the past those women who cared for any invalid was called a nurse even though they had no training in that field.

Did he go out on raids to knock down moonshine stills?


What was going on in this area of the country in the 1930s?  Cotton was the primary cash crop for Johnston county, with over 85,000 acres of cotton and only 10,000 acres of tobacco.  However, after the great depression of the 1930s, the cotton cash flow died out.  

"And today, not a single cotton or textile plant remains in oepration in either Selma nor Smithfield."  In the early 1940s, the economy was such that farmers still used mostly mules to work the land and get the produce to market. -- excerpted from About Johnston County History  

"... law-enforcement officials [were] in a constant battle with alcohol producers, sellers and consumers [from 1908 to 1933]."  

"...farmers in the 1920s were suffering under a postwar agricultural depression that brought dramatic fluctuations in cotton and tobacco prices. According to the US Census Bureau, the number of mortgaged farms in the county [nearly doubled in five years]. Cotton farmers tried to make up for their losses by overproducing -- a practice that only served to drive market prices even lower."

"The stock market crash of 1929 and Great Depression that followed intensified the hard times farmers were already experiencing." With Federal crop controls and the boll weevil infestation, cotton was no longer the king.  Many farmers turned to tobacco growing even though it was not quite profitable. -- from Johnston NC Heritage 

Moonshine then and now

Johnston County officials pose with confiscated illegal liquor 
outside the courthouse in Smithfield in 1951
The News & Observer

According to this article in the NewsObserver website, Johnston County deputies were aided by township constables, and cut down about 10 stills per month.  That would be 2-3 every week.  But the interesting part is the "Township Constables." Could this be the position Fristus held?

Apparently, moonshinin' is still a thing (see what I did there?)

143 gallons of non-tax paid alcohol
from JoCoreport.com

Illegal

in 2016, a local Johnston County man was arrested for selling illegal moonshine.

... reportedly found a large moonshine still, 4402 gallons of mash and 143 gallons of moonshine. The moonshine had an estimated street value of $20 per gallon or a total of $2,860.  from JoCo Report website 

Legal

It is now legal for some licensed people to create their own moonshine to sell.  According to Johnston County blog, 

Distilleries were outlawed in North Carolina in 1909, 11 years before Prohibition went into effect.  After Prohibition ended in 1932, the state permitted breweries and wineries to operate, but continued to ban the manufacturing of spirits. That ban was lifted in 1979. Before Prohibition, North Carolina had more distilleries than any other state.  
-- Johnston County NC blog

So, although prohibition ended, moonshine was still illegal, which meant that local law enforcement would recruit men like Fristus Howell to help track down and confiscate the illegal booze.

Is it legal to make moonshine?

Moonshine law, legality and home distilling laws vary from state to state and each has its own implications for home distillers.  Obtaining the correct state and federal permits for your distillery is essential before assembling or operating your still.  Unlawful distilling can result in heavy fines and even imprisonment. 

Due to tax laws, alcohol distribution laws and some statutes left over from Prohibition, distilling without proper permits is illegal under Federal law.  Some states offer small-time distillers, such as those producing spirits for their own consumption, special permits which supersede Federal law.  Other states require Federal permits before offering additional state permits.  Every state requires additional licenses before selling spirits, as there are heavy tax implications and special rules and guidelines for alcohol sales.  While some states will enact penalties simply for owning or a still, other states allow stills to be owned and used for non-alcoholic purposes, such as the production of essential oils.  from HillBilly Stills website

I have tried to look up a list of past sheriff's in Wayne county, and found an account of the origin of the office of Sheriff, found here.

An old illustration of a depiction of an old Sheriff -- the Shire Reeve
from History of the Sheriff

Below is one email I received when I inquired about Fristus Howell as Sheriff of either Wayne County or Johnston County in 2005.

Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 4:52 PM
To: heritagecenter@johnstonnc.com
Subject: Sheriff
I was told that my great grandfather was Sheriff in the 1930's.  I think
it would have been in Johnston County.
Where should I go to find any record of Fristus Haywood Howell working
as Sheriff?
Thank you,
J'Anette
You may be able to confirm that your ancestor was a sheriff in Wayne County by calling the office of the Sheriff (919-731-1007).

From: Wingate Lassiter <mailto:wingate.lassiter@johnstonnc.com>

Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 11:08 AM
Subject: RE: Sheriff
Checked our various files and came up empty. Couple of sheriffs who did
serve Johnston County during the 1930s had the last names of Barber and
Rose. Also, the name of Fristus Haywood Howell did not come up in our
Smithfield Herald obituary database. Perhaps your great-grandfather
lived and served in another county.

Below is the email I just recently rec'd from Johnston County when I again inquired about the office.

There is not a Howell on our sheriff list, so your great-grandfather was probably a deputy sheriff. I’d be interested in knowing about any stories handed down in your family about still raids, prohibition, etc. We are in the process of putting together a moonshine exhibit to open in mid to late February. Do you know his full name? I checked Fristus Howell in our databases, and absolutely nothing came up.  Best wishes,Todd Johnson

K. Todd Johnson Executive Director Johnston County Heritage Center PO Box 2709/241 E. Market Street Smithfield, NC 27577919-938-4708 todd.johnson@johnstonnc.com

What I deduce from this email is that there was prohibition, some moonshine distilling and raids.

Johnston and Wayne Counties
Family Search website

Map of Wayne County North Carolina with
Municipal and Township Labels
Wayne County Wikipedia

Law office, Goldsboro, April 1938

Sites of interest from Wikipedia

• Cliffs of the Neuse State Park is a state park located near the city. It covers 751 acres (3.04 km²) along the southern banks of the Neuse River. It has a swimming area, several hiking trails, fishing areas, a nature museum, and picnic areas. The cliffs rise 90 feet above the Neuse River.
• Waynesborough Historical Village is a reconstructed "village" located near the original site of the town of Waynesborough. It is home to historical Wayne County buildings ranging from various periods of time. These buildings include a family home, a medical office, a one-room school, a law office, and a Quaker Meeting House.
• Herman Park includes a recreational center, miniature train, tennis courts, picnic shelters, a turn-of-the-century park house, gazebo, goldfish pond, fountain, and children's playground.
• The Oheb Shalom synagogue's Romanesque Revival building is one of fewer than a hundred nineteenth-century synagogues still standing in the United States, and the second oldest synagogue building in the state.^[16]

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Resources

History of the Sheriff -- https://www.waynegov.com/374/History-of-the-Sheriff

Joco Report Website -- https://jocoreport.com/moonshine-still-busted-in-southern-

johnston-county/

Johnston County NC blog --  https://www.johnstoncountync.org/blog/post/moonshine/

HillBilly Stills website -- https://www.hillbillystills.com/distilling-resources/moonshine-law-

legality-home-distilling-laws/

NewsObserver.com -- http://www.newsobserver.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/past-

times/article10290320.htm

Goldsboro Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsboro,_North_Carolina

Wayne County Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_County,_North_Carolina

Digital North Carolina Blog  https://www.digitalnc.org/blog/historic-images-goldsboro-

available-digitalnc/

About Johnston County History  https://www.johnstoncountync.org/about-johnston-county/

history/

Johnston NC Heritage http://www.johnstonnc.com/heritage2/hccontent.cfm?PID=history

Goldsboro Sites of Interest from Wikipedia  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Goldsboro,_North_Carolina