Miles Howcott (about 1830-1905)

Miles was born at Duplin, North Carolina, which is a county about 120 miles southwest of Chowan county (1). The available records do not entirely agree about his precise age but indicate that he was born around 1830 (2). The 1880 census states that both of Miles’ parents were born in North Carolina, however no record of their names has yet been found. 

By 1845, Miles was living in Chowan county, where he is included in a list of 18 slaves held by the estate of Charles R Howcott, who had died on 13 April of that year. Charles’ will does not refer to Miles by name but, by implication, bequeathed him to Charles’ two sons, only one of whom (Charles H Howcott, 1837-1876) survived to adulthood.

In 1849, Miles married Adeline Walker. The 1880 census records that Adeline and both her parents were born in North Carolina. Many marriages of slaves that took place before the end of the Civil War were not formally registered until afterwards. The records of Washington county include a register of acknowledgements of Freedmen’s marriages, including that of Miles Howcott and Adeline Walker, which was recorded on 11 August 1866. Miles and Adeline were the parents of these known children:

• John C Howcott (born about 1850)
• William Henry Howcott (1855-1932)

At the time of the 1850 census, Charles and Clinton Howcott were living at Plymouth with their guardian, Joseph C Norcom. The slave schedules for that census do not record any slaveholders with Howcott or a similar surname in either Chowan or Washington county, so it is possible that Miles may have been included in the list of Joseph Norcom’s slaves. 

1860 census of Washington county includes 22 slaves of “Charles A Hocott” (i.e. Charles H Howcott, who was still living at Plymouth at that time). There were two slave houses. 

North Carolina was the last of the 11 states that seceded from the United States and did not do so until 20 May 1861. The United States occupied the area around the Albemarle Sound early in 1862 and, apart from a brief period in December 1862, remained in control of Plymouth until April 1864. President Lincoln abolished slavery in the states that were then in rebellion with effect from 1 January 1863, so it was presumably around that date that Miles obtained his freedom. 

Miles’ military record spells his surname as “Hookett”. On 8 July 1863, he enrolled in company H, 2^nd regiment, North Carolina colored infantry (later called 36^th regiment, US Colored Infantry). Miles enlisted for a term of 3 years’ service (3). The company description book states that Miles was a farmer, 5ft 7.5 inches tall with dark complexion, dark eyes and black hair.

The record of Miles’ military service includes these incidents: 

• 25 January 1864       mustered at Norfolk, Virginia
• 1 February 1864       suffering from rheumatism at Portsmouth, Virginia
• March & April 1865    at near Petersburg, Virginia
• May & June 1865      at White’s Ranch, Texas
• 1 July 1866              promoted from private to sergeant
• 8 July 1866              discharged at Brazos Santiago, Texas

Further details of the history of Miles’ regiment can be found at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncusct/forgot3.htm

From the time of his discharge until January 1868, Miles lived in the town of Plymouth, after which he continued to reside in Washington county (4). Plymouth had been badly damaged during fighting that took place from 17 to 20 April 1864, which resulted in the town falling to the Confederates.

The first census in which former slaves were identified by name was taken in 1870. The schedule for Lees Mill township includes the following household: 

Miles, Adeline and John were recorded at that time as not being able to read or write. 

1880 census of Plymouth township records Miles Howcott as a farmer aged 50 and Adeline as being aged 45 (an age that does not accord with the age noted ten years earlier). The previous household on the census list was that of their son John with his family and the household before that was of their son William with his family, so they presumably all lived near to each other.  

Most records of the 1890 census do not survive. However, a special enumeration was taken in June of that year of civil war veterans who had served in the Union Army. These records escaped destruction and include Miles Howcott at Plymouth township. 

On 23 March 1888, Miles had been granted a military pension of $4 per month because of rheumatism resulting from the effect of exposure in February 1864. This pension was increased to $6 from 8 April 1891 and to $8 from 6 February 1895, by which time he was also suffering from resultant disease of the heart. During the 1890s, Miles also reported partial deafness and failing eyesight. Although these ailments were not all accepted as reasons to increase his pension, by the time of his death it amounted to $12 per month. 

Adeline Howcott died on 9 March 1895 in Washington county (4). Miles’ second marriage was to Roxanna Hassell, who was 44 years old. The ceremony was conducted by C M Billip, minister of the Colored Missionary Baptist Church, and took place on 16 June 1895 at the home of the bride.

There is some doubt about whether Roxanna Howcott passed away in 1902 or 1904 (5). 

Miles’ third marriage was to Mary Allen. The ceremony took place “at home” and was conducted by Rev M Linyear, an AME Zion minister, on 20 April 1905. Mary had been born at Plymouth on 22 December 1851. This union was short-lived, as Miles died at Plymouth on 17 May 1905; he was buried on the following day (6).  

On 30 January 1922, Mary Allen Howcott applied for a widow’s pension because of Miles’ military service.

Mary (Allen) Howcott died at Plymouth on 4 October 1930. The death certificate gives her usual residence as “8 E Water” and her date of birth as 22 December 1851.  

On 4 August 1898, Miles stated that William Henry Howcott was his only child still living. Details of the families of Miles and Adeline’s known children appear below.

John C Howcott (about 1850-

The 1880 census of Plymouth includes John C Howcott, a farmer, living with his wife Ellen (aged 29) and children Charles E (aged 8), Henry (aged 6), Miles F (aged 3) and Daniel A (aged 4 months). The list of known children in the family is:

John’s widow was Ellen Howcott of Plymouth township (aged 44) who married Henry C Gregory of Chowan county at Plymouth on 17 January 1897. In 1900, Henry and Ellen were living at West Church Street, Edenton, along with her son, who was recorded as “James Hogart”. Ellen was still alive at the time of the 1910 census, when she and Henry were living at Church Street, Edenton. However, Henry was a widower by 1920, when he was living with his stepson James Howcott and his family at Carteret Street, Edenton.

The 1900 census says that Ellen had bourn a total of three children and that they were all still living. This is not consistent with the list of six children set out above.

William Henry Howcott (1855-1932)

William Henry Howcott was born on 12 June 1855 (7). He married Catherine McRae (8). The marriage licence records of Washington county state that Benjamin J Bonner, minister of the Gospel of Zion’s Church, at Macedonia AME church, Lees Mill, performed the marriage on 10 February 1876. The husband was described as Henry Howcott aged 21 and the wife as Catherene McRae aged 20.

In the 1900 census, Catherine is recorded as having been married to “Henry W Howcott” for 24 years and having had 8 children (4 still living). However, a total of 11 children of the family have been identified:

Catherine Howcott was alive at time of 1900 census but dead by May 1910, when her husband was described in the census as a widower residing in Lees Mill township

William Henry Howcott died of influenza and pneumonia at Lees Mill township on 30 January 1932. The certificate gives his occupation as a school teacher and his residence as Macedonia (9). He is commemorated by a tombstone at Macedonia cemetery, where he was buried on 2 February 1932.

Notes

Much of the information about Miles comes from the files about his military service and the pension applications that he and his widow submitted in later years. These are held by the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC.   

(1) The army descriptive book compiled in 1863 records Miles’ birthplace as Duplin. The death certificate for William Henry Howcott says that both he and his father were born in Roper, NC. However, the much earlier military record presumably rests on information that Miles himself had provided and so is more reliable.

(2) Records that give an age for Miles are as follows: 

(3) On 29 June 1902, Miles stated he had been enrolled at New Bern, North Carolina but his military record says that Miles was enlisted at Plymouth by Captain Jones.

(4) As stated by Miles on 4 August 1898.

(5) On 31 July 1922, Samuel Wiggins (aged 80) and W H Howcott (aged 67) testified that Roxanna Hassell, Miles Howcott’s second wife, died in May 1902. On 25 January 1923, other witnesses testified that Roxanna had died in or about 1904. When Mary Allen Howcott applied on 1 July 1905 to receive the pension accruing until Miles’ death, she said that Roxanna had died in January 1904 at New York.

(6) Evidence in the pension application by Mary Allen Howcott.

(7) Miles confirmed his son’s date of birth date in a statement that he made on 4 August 1898.

(8) The 1900 census of Plymouth states that Catherine was born in December 1857. This source also recorded that 4 of her 8 children were then living. When she married, her surname was given as McRae but other records have it as Davis.

(9) Date of death from William Henry’s death certificate. However, the death certificate inaccurately says that he was aged 65 years 7 months 18 days and gave his birth year as 1866. The certificate identifies Miles as his father.