- 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.
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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
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| 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
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.
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| 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?"
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!
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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.
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Arlie Virginia Howell 1934, 609 Simmons St
Google Maps Satellite View |
Arial view of the same house
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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.
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