My Great Great Grandfather Samuel Howell, born 5/5/1833 near Hamilton, Ontario.
This is such a fun photograph for me for two reasons: 1) it is the oldest photograph of a direct ancestor that I have, and 2) it is the artifact that cleared a major road block to further genealogical research.
No More Word of Mouth
By the 1990’s, only one person of generation 7 or earlier was still living. Aunt Ruth, the wife of Uncle Lee, the brother of my father’s father, was still alive and had several conversations with my dad about family history, but she did not know who Victor’s father was. In the summer of 1994 while she was cleaning out and organizing some of her belongings, Aunt Ruth called my dad and said she had a box of old “stuff” that probably only my dad would be interested in. After a quick trip to Gladwin, Michigan, he had a nice visit and took the box. It was a fortuitous meeting since Aunt Ruth’s health was declining and she passed away the next year in November, 1995.
The Box
In the box was the photograph above. On the back was written, “Samuel Howell – Victor’s Father”. That was breaking news! Our first real clue before chasing after official records. This sparked a renewed interest in our family tree and figuring out who this Samuel was and where he came from. At the bottom of the photograph is some revealing information. The medallions show five years in a row as award winning years; 1883-1887. My first thought was this was taken in 1898 but could be later. On the bottom right can be seen the town of the photography studio: “Brantford, Ont”. This gave credence to a story my dad had heard from his father; that our family migrated to Canada from New Jersey on the way to Michigan. Not proof positive, but it made us wonder what event would cause a 65 year old man to travel 7 days by horseback from his home in Columbiaville, MI, get dressed in a suit and tie, and have a photo taken? More on that later in this post.
In the box was a composite of seven people in oval photos attached to a cardboard backing. The seven were my Grandfather and his 6 surviving siblings. Unfortunately, there were two sets of twins and one of each twin died very young. Note: One of the best features of Facebook is sharing photos — years later after connecting with a 2nd cousin, I found out that she had the exact same composite. (I will share this photo in my Generation 7 post)
In the box was a bible that belonged to my Great Grandmother. It was dated 1884 and really showed its age. The leather binding was disintegrating and the back was separated and had water damage. The cover was about half an inch thick with grooves that created a middle section with a cross on it. I took the book to the Bessenberg Bindery in Dexter, Michigan to see if it could be repaired. Unfortunately, the leather was shot and had too much damage. The pages were in great shape however, so for $450, I had it rebound with a spine that looked similar to the original, but it wasn’t leather per their recommendation and it wasn’t nearly as cool. It’s still pretty cool though. (I will share a photo in my Generation 6 post)
A death certificate can be an amazing source of information. My dad went to Lapeer County, Michigan to get a copy of Samuel’s death certificate (above). I added the 3 boxes around some of the information.
1) This shows he was married at 19 years old and had 5 kids; 4 survived him. Further research reveals he was married 10/12/1855 in Blenheim, Ontario, to Louisa Ford. According to that date, he was 22. It’s hard to know why the informant, Victor, my Great Grandfather, thought he was 19 years old when he got married.
2) We thought we knew what year Samuel was born in by reviewing census information, but depending on when the census data is recorded, it’s hard to pinpoint. This confirms the actual year.
3) Confirmation! My dad was pretty excited to see the information in box #3. Samuel was born in Canada from parents who were born in New Jersey. The story he had heard from his father was confirmed here. Unfortunately, the mother’s name is not known by Victor; and there are a lot of John Howells we would need to check out.
Samuel is 36 in 1870?
The snippet above is from the 1870 US Census. This is a classic example of how inaccurate the age on any census can be. It shows Samuel is 36 years old. For that to be true in 1870, the census data would have been taken prior to his birthdate. If it was after, he would have been 37 years old. In addition, Lucy’s age is listed as 35, but she was born in the same year as Samuel (May for him, July for her), so the only way for that to be accurate is if the census gathering happened somewhere in between. But in 1870, the ages listed are one year lower for those ages to be correct. Finally, their last of 5 kids, Margaret Melissa was born on 7/18/1870 (in Michigan), but the census doesn’t reflect that event.
According to Wikipedia, the 1870 census took place between 6/1 and 8/23 of that year, so it makes sense that it occurred after Samuel’s birthday in May, but before Margaret Melissa’s or Lucy’s birthdays in July — but with that, someone must have calculated their ages incorrectly. Census data is nuts!!!!
Samuel Immigrated when?
This data show that Samuel and family were in Michigan (Columbiaville) for the US Census and in Canada as early as 1865 when Mary was born. According to his son Victor’s death certificate, he was in the country for 74 years at his death in 1940. That would imply 1866 was the year that Samuel moved his family to Michigan.
I wanted to confirm the immigration year, so I thought I would go (this week) to the Register of Deeds in Lapeer County to see when Samuel purchased the family farm (this isn’t fool proof since he might not have bought land right away, but worth a look). I spent half a day looking at the deed books; hand-written in cursive, line by line, looking in the Grantor column for Samuel Howell. These ledger books are bigger than standard sheets of paper, three inches thick, and are organized by last name, thankfully! Even so, I looked through six books covering the period from 1858 to 1906 and didn’t find anything. I know there has to be a record in there somewhere but I missed it. I did find one record of a purchase by Victor in 1882 for 40 acres for $300.
Quick story: When I lived in Royal Oak, Michigan back in the 1990’s, I went to the Farmer’s Market downtown. There was a lot more for sale than just farm goods. I happened upon a guy in a booth selling old county maps. These maps showed land owners, land marks, and other city/county features. I was surprised to see that one of them was of Lapeer County and it showed 2 plots of land off of Howell Street north of the town of Columbiaville: S. Howell owned 40 acres, and V. Howell owned 40 acres right next to it. I was so excited I had to have it! $75!!! Whaaat? I’m not paying that much I said to myself and walked away. A couple of hours later I fought my general cheapness and went back to buy it but found out that it was sold. Ugh! I still regret not buying it, more so all the time since I can’t find anything like it online. I did confirm with my dad that that was the location of the family farm and that the name of the road is named for our family.
Samuel’s Wife Louisa
According to the census, Louisa (who went by Lucy) was born in Scotland. Further research reveals that she was a daughter of John and Elizabeth Ford of Perthshire, Scotland and was born on 7/24/1833.
Samuel and Louisa were married on October 12, 1855 in Blenheim, Ontario. They had 5 children: Elizabeth, Katherine, Victor, Mary, and Margaret Melissa.
Louisa died just short of her 39th birthday in 1872, due to an inflammation of the stomach. Her youngest daughter Margaret Melissa wasn’t quite 2 years old yet. I’m guessing that with three older sisters in the house ranging in ages from 16 down to 7, Samuel got help from them for the care of Margaret. Victor was 11 at that time and was most likely working the farm with his father.
Samuel’s Wife Mary Jane
Samuel married Mary Jane Tower (nee Miller) on September 15, 1880. The marriage certificate listed her age as 50 and his at 45 (although his would have been 47, so who knows who comes up with these things.) They did not have any children and at this point in time, I don’t know how long they were married. The 1900 US Census shows Samuel living with his daughter Mary Wheeler and is a widower. Samuel’s death certificate identifies him as a widower – maybe twice so.
One interesting tidbit is that Samuel’s eldest daughter Elizabeth married George Tower in 1874. In the 1880 US Census, Samuel is listed in the household of George and Elizabeth along with Samuel’s youngest daughter Margaret who would have been ten at the time. Were they just visiting when the census taker arrived? Or were they living with them? I’m guessing they were just visiting since I believe that Samuel still owned 40 acres of land in Columbiaville. Additionally, is Mary Jane the mother of George? I have yet to do the research on the Tower connection, but certainly it seems like the perfect place for a widow and a widower to meet.
Samuel became a US citizen on April 24, 1876.
I found this document in the State of Michigan archives in Lansing, Michigan. The “RENOUNCE FOREVER” language is interesting and I know it changes by the time Victor becomes a citizen 20 years later. The “Queen of Great Britain” language is interesting as well since it names the title and not Queen Victoria herself.
I would love to know what happened for Samuel to decide to become a citizen at this point in time. He had already been in the country for 10 years, owned land, and was a productive member of society. Could it have been that the US centennial was only a couple of months away and a patriotic fever was in the air? I’ll never know but I like how dramatic that sounds.
This picture is of William Howell and his family. William had eleven children but only ten are in this picture. Assessing the youngest boy’s age, most likely Frank Ellsworth Howell born 1866, at 3 or 4 years old, the youngest sibling, Henry M. Howell born 1871, wouldn’t have been born yet.
William was the ninth of eleven children, 12 years older than his brother Samuel who was the youngest. He died May 26, 1898 in Ancaster Twp., Ontario. I am guessing that his funeral is the event that Samuel returned to Canada for and had a picture taken. What looks like a black suit and tie in the picture of Samuel at the top of this post would be appropriate for a funeral for sure.
At the time of their parents deaths in October 1849 & February 1850, William was 28 years old, living with his wife Mary, two children, and one on the way. William inherited the family farm and I suspect that Samuel, at age 16, resided with his brother for at least some of the time before he met Louisa and got married in 1855. In the first census of Canada in 1852, Samuel was listed as a servant in the household of the farmer next to William’s farm.
Summary
I’m sure being a farmer in rural Michigan isn’t all that glorious and most likely not very easy. His personal life had some serious setbacks too! But what an interesting life! I’m sure he had some financial means to survive the hardships. He was able to own his own farm, raise five kids, and afford travel back to Canada at least for one of his brother’s funerals. Of course I would like to know everything, but this little bit is all I’ve gleaned:
- Born near Hamilton, Ontario in 1833, the youngest of eleven children
- Parents died in 1849/1850, when he was sixteen
- Married in 1855, Louisa Ford, when he was twenty-two
- Had five children between 1856 and 1870
- Immigrated to the US (Michigan) in 1866
- Farmer
- Widower in 1872
- Became a citizen of the US in 1876
- Married in 1880, Mary Jane Tower, when he was forty-seven
- Widower again sometime before 1900?
- Died, April 17, 1905, just short of 72 years old
- Left enough bread crumbs for his great great grandson to follow the story of a man who was born nearly 190 years ago
Wow! You’ve been busy since your Lapeer trip! This is certainly one of your true passions!
It took longer than I thought it would to put together!! I had all the material, I just had to dig it out of my completely messy folder system and wrap some words around it :-). Definitely one of my passions!!!
Very interesting. I still would love to find an obituary for Samuel Howell. Every now and then I check newspapers.com. I hope some day we find one and it has more information.