Joseph Howcott of New Orleans (married 1865)

The earliest records found of Joseph Howcott at New Orleans were both written in 1865. He married Hattie Kirby at St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church on 2 March of that year and on 30 March was recorded in the draft registration records of the United States Army. The latter source describes him as being aged 27 (as at 1 July 1863), 5 ft 7 in tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a light complexion. He was a bookkeeper living at 179 Gravier. Joseph was not actually conscripted, as he was "exempt by desertion from the Rebel Army" and so would have faced execution as a deserter had he joined the Union Army and then been captured by the other side. No other details have been found of Joseph's previous role in the Confederate Army.

There is conflicting evidence about the birthplace of Hattie Kerby’s husband and also about the year when he was born. The 13 sources below offer a choice of no fewer than five different states.

Information from records when Joseph was alive

• 1865 Draft registration – born in Mississippi (indicates born in 1835-1836)

• 1870 census – born in Tennessee (indicates born in 1839-1840)

• 1880 census – born in Ohio (his father stated to have been born in Ireland and his mother in England) (indicates born in 1831-1832).

Joseph's birthplace as given by his sons in later censuses

NB In 1910, Joseph Howcott junior appears with his wife at New Orleans and also as a lodger at Birmingham, Alabama.

The section of the marriage certificate for the parents of Joseph and Hattie is not completed. No entry that could have related to Joseph has been found in the 1860 census, but the census taken in 1850 includes “Jo Howcott”, a boy aged 11, as one of four Howcott children (aged from 17 to 1) in the household of Nathaniel and Adeline Howcott at Memphis, Tennessee. The census says that “Jo” was born in Mississippi.Only the two youngest children are named in the will that Nathaniel signed on 8 October 1856, at which time “Jo” would have been about 17 years old. This may mean that he had died by then. Alternative possibilities are that he had already been provided for or, possibly, that he was not a son of Nathaniel but another relative who happened to be staying with him in 1850. On balance, there is a strong, but not certain, case for saying that Hattie’s husband was the boy who lived at Memphis in 1850 and that, like Nathaniel, he was descended from the Howcott family of Chowan county, North Carolina.

Joseph & Hattie in the census

Further references to Joseph, Hattie and their children are set out below. 

Household of Amelie Kerby in 1870 census of 6^th District, New Orleans

Evidence from subsequent censuses indicates that, apart from Amelie, the correct surname for the members of the household was “Howcott”.

Household of Joseph Kirby in 1880 census of Laurel Street, New Orleans

The New Orleans marriage records index includes the wedding on 1 July 1889 of Albert E Weatherby and Hattie A Kerby (widow of J K Howcott), confirming that Joseph Howcott senior had died before that date.

In 1900, Hattie Howcott (a widow born in January 1847) was living with her son “Ratio” (i.e. Horatio) at 1200 Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans. The census record states that all of Hattie’s five children were alive at that time. Horatio was described as a 31 year old widower and other members of the household were Theodore Howcott (born November 1879) and George Howcott (born March 1890). Theodore and George were both described as Horatio’s sons, evidently in error. Theodore was only about  ten years younger than Horatio, so it is most likely that he was Hattie’s son.  The births index for New Orleans includes that of George Weatherby, son of Albert E Weatherby & Hattie Howcott on 30 March 1890, which accounts for the parentage of the younger boy.

No other record has been found of Theodore or George.

“Hattie A Kirby Weatherby” died at New Orleans on 7 July 1931, aged 84.

Joseph & Hattie’s sons

Later records of the three children who were recorded with the surname “Kerby” or “Kirby” in 1870 and 1880 census are:

Joseph Kerby Howcott

• 1900 census of New Orleans – Joseph Howcott, born October 1870 in Louisiana

• 1910 census of New Orleans – Joseph Howcott, aged 43, born in Louisiana

• 1910 census of Birmingham, Alabama – Joseph K Howcott, aged 43, born in Louisiana

• 1920 census of New Orleans – Joseph K Howcott, aged 53, born in Louisiana

• 1930 census of New Orleans – Joseph Howcott, aged 63, born in Louisiana

• October 1937 – Joseph Kerby Howcott died in New Orleans

Horatio Howcott

• 1900 census of New Orleans – Ratio Howcott, aged 31, born in Louisiana

• 1910 census of New Orleans – Harry Howcott, aged 41, born in Louisiana

• 1920 census of New Orleans – Horatio Howcott, aged 51, born in Louisiana

• 1930 census of New Orleans – Harry H Howcott, aged 61, born in Louisiana

• 1954 – Harry Howcott, aged 86, died in Orleans parish, Louisiana

Frank Howcott

• 1900 census of New Orleans – Frank Howcott, aged 31, born in Louisiana

• 20 April 1907 – Frank B Howcott, aged 38, died in New Orleans

The mysterious James Howcott

The 1900 census includes two Howcott households at 1221 Chartres, New Orleans – Frank & Louise and also James Howcott with his family. James was recorded as having been born in Ireland in June 1831 to parents who were also born in Ireland, that he arrived in the United States in 1860 and had been naturalised as an American citizen.  No other reference has been found to this James Howcott and it is not known how he was related to Frank. It is, of course, possible that as James and Frank were living at the same address the enumerator mistakenly recorded them as having the same surname.

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