Colonial
and Pre-Civil War
The Howell family history begins
with Joshua and Benjamin Howell in the early 18th century. Benjamin Howell’s will states that Joshua
was his brother. As late as 1850 all Floyd County Howells descended from these
two brothers.
Floyd County was created in 1831
from Montgomery and Franklin Counties.
So it is from these two (primarily Montgomery County) that the early
Howell records are found.
Daniel Howell, the eldest son of
Benjamin, gives us the clue to the Howell family origin. On his pension application as a soldier in
the Revolutionary War, he states that he was born in 1759 in Philadelphia Co.,
Pennsylvania. This places Benjamin in Philadelphia
Co., PA in 1759 and allows one to estimate Benjamin’s birthdate as about 1735.
Pennsylvania is actually the
expected place of origin for the Howell family. Whereas the east coast of Virginia was settled by Englishmen
arriving directly in Virginia, the western mountainous regions of Virginia were
settled by pioneers coming into the state from Pennsylvania. The reason for this is geographical. Coming from the east, Virginia settlers were
confronted with the Blue Ridge Mountains.
However coming south from Pennsylvania into Virginia, there was a
natural highway now known as the Shenandoah Valley. The Shenandoah Valley and its rich farmlands was a natural lure
for the pioneers. Settlement of this
area from the north began in the 1730s & 1740s.
The Shenandoah Valley however was
also widely used by the Indians and this migration trail is also called the
Great Indian Warpath. After 1744, “The
Six Nations” of Indians gave up any claim to all of Virginia, however for
decades Indian and settlers continued to clash in the Shenandoah Valley.
Benjamin and his brother Joshua, as
shown by the 1850 Census records of their children, moved from Pennsylvania to
Virginia sometime between 1763 and 1767.
In 1782, Joshua and Benjamin as well as Benjamin’s son Daniel can be
found in Botetourt County, VA. David
Howell, Sr. was still in Botetourt County when he married Jane Allen in 1785
but by the time his father died in 1799, the family was in Montgomery County.
So
the time line for the Howell move south to Montgomery in the area that became
Floyd County is (1)1759-Pennsylvania, (2)1763/67-the move into Virginia,
(3)1782-Botetourt County, VA, and (4)1799-Montgomery County, VA. When Floyd County was created in 1831, the
Howells it is seen in the 1840 Census were in that part of Montgomery that
became Floyd.
The
Howells then date back to pre-Revolutionary War, Colonial America. The first Howells we know of lived through
the Revolutionary War Era. Though this has not been researched thoroughly, at
least one Howell fought in the war.
This was Daniel Howell, son of Benjamin and brother of David Howell, Sr.
David
Howell, Sr., of the direct line to the Elbert Howell family, was born while
Benjamin Howell still lived in Pennsylvania, however by the time he married
Jane Allen in 1785 both David and his father Benjamin were on the tax lists in
Botetourt County, Virginia. David, Sr.
moved later to Montgomery County (later Floyd County) where he died in 1851. David, Sr. as the next several generations
of Howells were farmers.
There
are two direct ancestors in the David Howell, Sr. family, his son David A.
Howell and also his son James Howell.
James
Howell, b. 1811, married Catherine Russell in 1829. They had 2 daughters, Martha and Elizabeth. Martha Howell, b. 1834, married Ishmael
Pratt in 1854 and they in turn had three children, Asa, Rosabell and Mary.
Rosabell
Pratt, b. 1856, married back into the direct line of ancestors of Elbert Howell
in 1878 when she wed George Washington Howell.
Returning
to the David Howell, Sr. family, when they moved from Botetourt into Montgomery
County, a Howell family line was established there that remained in Montgomery
(Floyd) County for over 100 years when Elbert Eden Howell moved to Radford, VA.
David
A. Howell, David Sr.’s son, was the first of the direct ancestors of Elbert E.
Howell, that was born in Floyd county where he remained for 86 years until his
death in 1887. He is now buried in the
Duncan cemetery in Floyd County. David
A., like, his father was a farmer. He
married Charlotte Pratt in 1822 and they had at least 10 children.
Other
descendents of Benjamin Howell stayed in the area. Benjamin Howell, Jr. was a Justice of the Peace for the
county. Descendents of Joshua Howell
were also still in the area when the Civil War began.
The
Civil War
The
Civil War was a tragedy for the Howells as well as the country. Nine descendents of Joshua and Benjamin Howell have been
identified as Civil War soldiers. To
see how they are related, see the Outline Descendent Trees for Benjamin and
Joshua Howell. There are as many as seven more thought to be Civil War soldiers
but these have not been positively identified.
Five Howells
enlisted in 1861 during the initial enthusiasm for war that enveloped the
country when it was still believed the war would be a short one. Three brothers, Asa, Joseph, and Mazarine
Howell enlisted in the 24th Virginia Infantry while Peredine T. and
Anderson T. Howell enlisted in the 54th Virginia Infantry.
Asa
and Joseph both enlisted on the same day, May 16, 1861 but less than three
months from the time of his enlistment, Asa Howell was dead at Manassas,
VA. It is not stated whether this was
as a result of the 1st Battle of Bull Run the month before or, just
as likely, a result of disease. There
is an indication in Joseph’s service record that Asa probably did die of
disease because Joseph Howell was absent from the summer of 1861 to February
1862 because of typhoid fever.
Thirty-eight deaths in the 24th VA were attributed to typhoid
fever and twenty-five more to pneumonia and “disease.”
The
54th VA Infantry was used during the first part of the war in the
southwest section of Virginia. They
were involved in small unit actions not only in Virginia but also in Kentucky
and Tennessee. The 24th VA
Infantry, however, became part of Robert E. Lee’s famed Army of Northern
Virginia in James Longstreet’s First Corps.
The
fall and winter of 1861-2 passed with the north strengthening their army for
what they now saw would be a longer than expected war. This in turn allowed the south time to
strengthen their army and plan their defense.
Joseph Howell returned to his unit
at the end of February. In March
brothers Lorenzo D. Howell and Dillard C. Howell enlisted at Floyd C. H. Interestingly, Lorenzo enlisted March 13,
1862 in the 4th VA Infantry already famous as “The Stonewall
Brigade;” while Dillard, perhaps inspired by his brother’s action, enlisted the
next day but in the 24th VA.
Dillard’s service record notes that he was 5’ 10” tall with a fair
complexion and light hair and grey eyes.
Anderson T. Howell, with the 54th
VA in southwest Virginia, grew sick and had to be left at Temple Hill,
according to the February 28, 1862 muster.
On April 2, Anderson Howell died at his home in Floyd County.
Lorenzo D. Howell with Stonewall
Jackson’s army in the Shenandoah Valley now became part of The Valley Campaign
which frustrated the north and won world-wide acclaim. The 4th VA fought March 23rd
at Kernstown then later at Winchester and Port Republic. Darting back and forth, hitting first one
Union army and then another, Jackson marched his troops so far and so fast they
became known as “The Foot Cavalry.”
Following the Valley Campaign,
Jackson slipped out of the Shenandoah Valley and re-united with Lee where the
Army of Northern Virginia was facing down George B. McClellen’s army a mere 5
miles from Richmond.
McClellen had moved his army from
Washington, D. C. down the Potomac and onto the Virginia Peninsula and fought
his way toward Richmond. Joseph,
Dillard and Mazarine Howell participated in the battles on the Peninsula but in
May, 1862 Mazarine was wounded and captured in a rear-guard action at Williamsburg,
VA. He died July 26 at the Chesapeake
General Hospital. The Howell family
never knew his fate and many years after the war in a family history, they
could only say Mazarine was captured and never heard from again.
Joseph and Dillard in the 24th
VA and Lorenzo in the 4th VA were part of the Seven-Days fighting
which drove McClellen from the Richmond area.
Lorenzo as part of Stonewall Jackson’s Division was then sent north
where he was in the battle at Cedar Mountain.
McClellen was ordered from the Peninsula and Lee, with Joseph and Dillard
Howell as part of the 24th Virginia, then moved north precipitating
The Second Battle of Bull Run/Manassas.
Lorenzo was part of the famous
flanking movement in which Stonewall Jackson moved his corps around John Pope’s
left flank and behind the union’s army.
This led to a vicious fight at Groveton which involved two of the most
famous units of the Civil War, The Stonewall Brigade and the union Iron
Brigade. Stonewall Jackson then held
off the union army in the Second Battle of Bull Run until Longstreet, including
Joseph and Dillard Howell, could arrive and together defeat the union
army. Joseph was wounded, probably in
the fighting on August 30th and was, as a result, detailed for light
duty with the home guard at Floyd. The
only further record of Joseph notes that he was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital
in Richmond on 3/13/1865.
The brothers Lorenzo and Dillard
were now the only two left with Lee’s army which moved from the Manassas area
into Maryland where, in September, the Army of Northern Virginia faced George
McClellan’s army in the bloodiest day of the war. There were 23,000 casualties.
In November of 1862, Beredine
Tolliver Howell enlisted at Floyd C. H. in the 54th VA
Infantry. His brother Peredine was
already a member of that unit. Both
brothers became officers in the 54th. Peredine was listed as a 3rd Sargent while on a
re-enlistment furlough on May 1, 1862 and by the end of the year he was
promoted to 1st Sergeant.
Beredine would have to wait until 1863 to be promoted, ending 1862 as a
private.
The fighting was not yet over for
1862. Lorenzo and Dillard Howell fought
in the battle of Fredericksburg in December before finally building winter
quarters.
The stress of 1862 was perhaps too
much for Dillard Howell. Since his
enlistment on March 14th, the 24th VA Infantry had fought
at Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Frayser’s Farm, Malvern Hill, 2nd
Manassas, South Mountain, Sharpsburg or Antietam, and Fredericksburg. The unit
had sustained 425 casualties out of 1150 enlistments. There were 155 deaths from diseases, primarily typhoid fever but
also pneumonia, diphtheria, measles and dysentery. Fully 50% of the unit were casualties or died from diseases.
On February 20, 1863 Dillard Howell
deserted. He was arrested and returned
to his unit on February 25 so it is possible he was just foraging on his own
for food. Dillard should be given the
benefit of the doubt because after his return, he fought on for more than two
years including one moment of glory at Gettysburg in 1863.
Lorenzo and Dillard Howell’s
brother, Rutherford, was conscripted on April 6, 1863 into the 24th
VA but was unable to do much active service because of his health. He was not on the unit’s roster for the
battle of Gettysburg and on September 28, 1863 was admitted to Chimborazo
Hospital in Richmond with “debility.”
In October he was furloughed. In
February, 1864 he was detailed for light duty in Floyd and finally discharged
from service in October of 1864.
General
James Longstreet and two of his divisions, including Dillard Howell, were not
at the Battle of Chancellorsville. They had been detached to southeast
Virginia, primarily to gather supplies.
Lorenzo
Howell again was part of a famous flanking movement, the climax of Stonewall
Jackson’s military career. The union
army, now under General Joseph Hooker, had opened the fighting smartly with a
flank march of their own that left the Army of Northern Virginia trapped
between Hooker on their left and General John Sedgwick’s forces on their front. When Robert E. Lee did not retreat towards
Richmond but instead sent Jackson to the left to confront Hooker's army, Hooker
seemed to become confused and hesitant.
The next day, May 2, 1863, Jackson’s last flanking movement took place. Marching westward, Jackson’s corps including
the 4th VA totally surprised the union right flank. Slamming into the union 11th
Corps, Jackson routed the union right before darkness set in. That night, Stonewall Jackson rode ahead of
his front line to do some reconnaissance and upon his return was mistaken for
the enemy and shot. He was only wounded
and expected to recover but he developed pneumonia and died several days
later.
General Lee took
his army northward into Pennsylvania a movement that led to the battle of
Gettysburg in July 1863. Lorenzo Howell
fought with the 4th VA in a vain attempt to take Culp’s Hill in a
fight that lasted two days, July 2nd and 3rd. The regiment lost 53.3% percent of their men
trying to take Culp’s Hill.
Dillard
Howell, with the 24th VA, took part in the most famous charge of the
Civil War. Pickett’s Charge is
considered by many the high-water mark of the South’s attempt to win its
freedom. The 24th VA was a
part of Kemper’s brigade and Pickett’s Virginia division of Longstreet’s
Corps. Mere good fortune allowed
Dillard to survive this desperate charge in which fully 53% of Pickett’s
division became casualties.
Kemper’s
brigade formed the extreme right flank of Pickett’s charge. As Pickett’s and Pettigrew’s men closed with
the union forces, the Confederate right was attacked by the 13th and
16th Vermont regiments. To counter this, General Kemper detailed
some companies to face right and hold off this attack. It is possible that Dillard Howell was part
of this movement. As a result, not all
of the 24th Virginia moved into the worst position that a unit can
find itself in, a double envelopment.
On the right, the Vermont soldiers formed a wall while the center was
held for the union by General Webb, and on the Confederate left the 8th
Ohio and 126th New York formed the third wall creating a “killing
zone.”
While
some of Kemper’s men continued ahead into the union line, the others who were
detailed to fight the Vermont troops on their right were not in the worst of
the double envelopment. As a result,
Kemper’s brigade suffered 43% casualties instead of the 65% and 62% casualties inflicted on Garnett’s and Armistead’s
brigades which drove straight into the union line and briefly broke it in the
area of the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry.
For
the Howell family, the war now shifted to the west and the 54th VA
Infantry. Peredine Howell had continued his rise through the ranks in 1863 when
he was elected 3rd Lt. on February 9th. The unit had been in many small actions in
western Virginia and Kentucky but January 30, 1863 was an indication of heavier action to come. The 54th Virginia that day was in
its heaviest action thus far at Kelly’s Store, VA. They only had 13 casualties but it marked the first time this
regiment had more than 10.
The
54th Virginia in 1863 moved into the state of Tennessee to cooperate
with the Army of Tennessee but after several small fights it became a part of
General Braxton Bragg’s Army as the south concentrated its forces. This brought the Howell brothers, Peredine
and Beredine, to the Chickamauga River area in
Georgia where the Army of Tennessee achieved its greatest victory. After the battle of Chickamauga, Beredine
was appointed 4th Corporal for Company B. Then for the next several months, the 54th VA Infantry
was a part of the battle for Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In 1864 then the
Howells were fighting in both the eastern and the western campaigns. Lorenzo and his brother Dillard Howell were
serving in Lee’s army and Peredine and his brother Beredine were in Joseph
Johnston’s army.
Tragedy
struck the Howell family again when the fighting in Virginia began in the
Wilderness area. In fierce fighting on
May 5th Lorenzo D. Howell was captured. Three months later, on Aug. 21, 1864, Lorenzo died at Point
Lookout Prison in Maryland.
In the western
theater, the 54th Virginia now entered into a period of almost
continuous fighting as General Johnston tried to keep the union out of
Atlanta. Peredine and Beredine Howell
were in battles at Dalton, Cassville, New Hope Church, Dallas, Mt. Zion Church,
Marietta and then finally the climactic battle at Atlanta, Georgia.
In
November Beredine Howell was ordered home to Floyd County by the medical board
due to illness at which time he had risen to 2nd Corporal.
Peredine
Howell remained with the 54th VA participating in the battles of
Franklin, Murfreesboro and Nashville, Tennessee. As of the February 28, 1865 muster Peredine was present and no
doubt fought in the last battle in Bentonville, N. C. on March 17-19,
1865.
In
Virginia, Dillard Howell fought on with his unit through all the many battles
of 1864. Following Gettysburg, the 24th
Virginia had been sent to North Carolina to recover. They fought there at Goldsboro in January and Plymouth in
April. Returning to Virginia and the
Richmond area, the unit was in the battles at Drewry’s Bluff, Cold Harbor and
the siege of Petersburg. The war continued on into 1865 and Dillard too fought
on at Hatcher’s Run, Dinwiddie C. H. and Five Forks until finally Dillard
Howell, the one-time deserter, was captured at Burkeville, VA only three days
before the surrender at Appomattox.
Post
Civil War
William A. Howell was David A.
Howell’s son. He and his first wife
Lucindia Duncan are buried in the Duncan Cemetery on the Uriah Turpin Farm win
Willis (Duncan), Virginia. They lived
at least part of the time in Burk’s Fork in Indian Valley in Floyd County. He
and Lucindia had 9 children. After
Lucindia’s death in 1884, William married Elizabeth (last name unknown).
George Washington Howell continues
the direct line to Elbert Eden Howell, who was his son. George Howell was born in 1853 and married
Rosabell Pratt in February 1878. They
also spent their entire lives as farmers in Floyd County. Rosabell was buried in the Duncan Cemetery
with others of the Howell family however George was buried elsewhere. They only had two children, Elbert Eden Howell
and Flora A. Howell. The 1890 Census
shows Rosabell died early. Whereas George
and Rosabell Howell are living in their own household in 1880, by 1890 Rosabell
is gone, probably dead, and George, with his children Eden and Flora are living
with George's father William A. Howell.
Interestingly George's brother, Elisha is also living with William A.
Howell though Elisha's wife Catherine is still alive.
Elbert Eden Howell was born December
25, 1878 in Floyd County. Elbert's name
is listed several different ways in the census and county records, including
Eden E., Eden L. and Elbert. Though by
his death he was known as Elbert E., the earliest records are the ones naming
him Eden Howell. When he married Bertha
Burnop in 1901, the wedding took place in Radford, VA where he and Bertha spent
the rest of their lives. Elbert was the
first Howell of this line to move off the farm and into the city. He worked at the extract plant and then
later in life ran a shoe repair shop on Radford’s main street.
They
lived at 4th and Ingles Street for many years. After their deaths, their daughter Byra
Howell continued to live in this house for about 20 more years. The lot had a large back yard which
contained many plants and trees, including several apple trees. Elbert Howell had a coin collection which he
kept in a cabinet on the ground floor and from which he would give visiting
grand-children silver dollars.
Christmas was always a family get-together as it was also Elbert’s
birthday. The family would gather for
dinner which Bertha Howell with the assistance of her daughters would
make.
Bertha and Elbert Howell were
married for 55 years before Bertha’s death in 1956. Elbert was the first Howell of this line to move off the farm and
into the city. He worked at the extract
plant and then later in life ran a shoe repair shop on Radford’s main
street.
ROSEBERRY-SUTTON
/ KEISTER-FOSTER
/ HOWELL-BURNOP
Major
Surname Index / Complete
Index