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Nathaniel Howcott – from Edenton to Memphis |
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Nathaniel
Howcott was a man of many parts – clockmaker, minister, dentist, banker,
freemason, inventor and slaveholder. His story reflects the expansion of the
United States during the early 19th century both in a southern and a western
direction. He was a son of Nathaniel and Sarah (Norcom) Howcott and probably
spent his early years at their plantation on the west side of Greenhall Road,
about five miles north of Edenton. The year of Nathaniel’s birth is not
certain. His mother's will, which was made in 1823, gave her sons Nathaniel
and John
bequests that were to be paid as soon as Nathaniel arrived at the age of 21
years - this establishes that Nathaniel must have been born after 1801. The
1850 census gave his age as 45, pointing to the years 1804 or 1805, but his
death record indicates that he was born in 1806 or 1807. Nathaniel’s father died between signing his will
on 13 May 1820 and June of the same year, when it was proved. In addition to
a share of the proceeds of sales that are set out in the text of the
will, the bequests to Nathaniel were as follows: “Item. I give and bequeath to my two Sons
Nathaniel Howcutt and John Howcutt Six Negroes, to be divided equally between
then when they shall arrive to lawful age, namely, Wallace, young Daniel,
Toney, Hardy, Fan & Charlotte to them and their heirs forever.” On 12 March 1821, James Howcott
was appointed guardian to his younger brothers Nathaniel, John and Charles.
[1] On 14 December 1824, James Hoskins was appointed to the same guardianship.
[2] During the 1820s, James Hoskins made various payments to H. Wills for
Nathaniel’s tuition. [3] H. Wills was probably Henry Wills, a noted printer
and newspaper editor at Edenton who also dealt in school books, or his son of
the same name. [4] Nathaniel’s mother made her will
on 15 March 1823 but did not die until 23 August 1827. It left a gun to
Nathaniel and the residue of her estate was to be shared between him and his
brothers John and Charles. Sarah’s specific bequests included: “Item, I give and bequeath to my two sons
Nathaniel Howcott & John Howcott four Negroes viz Negroe woman Pleasant, Girl Maria, Boys Freeman and Donalson
to be equally divided as soon as Nathaniel Howcott arrives to the age of
Twenty One years.” Scanned copies of original records
for the administration of the estates of Nathaniel
Howcott senior (120 images) and his
widow Sarah
Howcott (5 images) are freely available
online. These include confirmation that on 10 March
1828, five of the slaves mentioned in his parents’ wills were allocated to
Nathaniel, i.e. two men named Toney and Hardy, a boy named Freeman and a girl
Charlotte & child. [5] At some stage before Nathaniel married Adaline
Meredith, he lived at Raleigh, about 140 miles to the west of Edenton. Their
marriage licence was issued in Chowan county on 14 April 1828, following a
bond that had been posted ten days previously. [6] The marriage of “Mr
Nathaniel Howcott, late of this city (i.e. Raleigh) to Miss Adeline Meredith”
took place at Edenton on 15 April 1828. [7] These children of the marriage
have been identified:
The first record found of Nathaniel’s
business activities is when N Howcott was hired to work on the Edenton Court
House clock for $1 in October 1828. [8] His clock-making shop was in part of the James Iredell junior house
which still stands in West King Street. The household of Nathaniel Hocut appears in the
1830 census of the town of Edenton. This source does not feature the names of
the individuals listed. Among the free white members, the one male and one female
were both in the 20-30 age range and would be Nathaniel and Adaline. The one
female aged under 5 was presumably a daughter. A male aged between 15 and 20
was also resident; it is not clear who this person was but he may well have
been Nathaniel's brother John. The household also included two male and four
female slaves. The 1850 census of Memphis states that Mary
Howcott, who was then aged 17, had been born in North Carolina, so Nathaniel
and his family were probably still living at Edenton in 1833. During the following four years, Nathaniel moved
almost 1,000 miles to Copiah county, Mississippi. Nathaniel resided in or
near Gallatin, which is a few miles to the west of Hazelhurst, about 60 miles
south of Canton where Nathaniel’s brother John B Howcott has moved in 1835.
Returns from the Gallatin masonic Lodge No. 25 record Nathaniel’s admission
in 1837, as a member in 1839 and 1840 and being suspended in 1841. [9] These
dates accord well with an advertisement published in “The Daily Appeal” on 7 February
1852 where Nathaniel said he had been in Memphis for 12 years, indicating he
arrived there in 1839 or 1840.
Nathaniel has not been located anywhere in the
1840 census but he was definitely in the vicinity of Memphis, some 250 miles
north of Gallatin, by 5 September 1841, when "N Hawcott" witnessed
the will of Dudley Dann of Shelby county. Although it had been founded as early as 1819,
Memphis still had an extremely small population when the Howcotts arrived;
only 1,799 people lived there at the time of the 1840 census. However,
enjoying a key position for trade and transportation, Memphis grew rapidly
during the following decades. There were 8,841 inhabitants in 1850, a figure
that ten years later had risen to 22,623. In 1843, Nathan Howcott and John
Brown organised the society that formed Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church in
Memphis. [10] N Howcott was also recorded in December 1851 as a minister of
the Methodist Episcopal Church South. [11] That denomination was formed
following a conference in 1844 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as a result
of which it split over the issue of whether ministers should be allowed to
hold slaves. [12] Nathaniel evidently combined his christian
ministry with dental work, as the 1849 edition of Twyman's directory of
Memphis includes Rev. N. Howcott, dentist at Main Street, between Washington
and Poplar. The 1850 census recorded N. Howcott and his family in the 2nd
Ward of Memphis. He was described as a dentist, aged 45 and born in North
Carolina, owning real estate valued at $4,000. The census named the various
members of the family but did not state their relationship. Nathaniel’s wife
was included as "Ad.", aged 36 and born in Pennsylvania. The
following Howcott children were listed in the household and presumably all
were their offspring:
A student, Thomas Coleman, was
also then living with the family, as were Robert and Grace Sneed, who were
both free mulattos, born in North Carolina. Nathaniel was recorded in that
census as owning one black female slave who was aged 30. She was presumably
the “negress of Dr Howcott” who died of enteritis on 3 June 1852 at the age
of 30. N Howcott was elected a director
of the Farmers and Merchants’ Bank of Memphis on 27 January 1851. [13] Early in 1852, Nathaniel placed
the following advertisement in a local newspaper, aptly illustrated with a
set of false teeth: Twelve Years
in Memphis During which
time I have been constantly engaged in the practice of Dentistry. By this
time the community are prepared to judge of my claims in the line of my
profession. After returning my thanks to those who have heretofore favored me with their patronage, I would respectfully say
to them and to the public generally, who may require any attention in my
line, that I have recently associated with me as a partner Dr E H Leake, who
has long been my student, and is fully prepared to perform any and all
operations in the profession, creditably to himself and satisfactorily to the
patient. In thus
tendering their services to the citizens of Memphis and the public, they do
not pretend, nor will they promise to equal nature – nor have they leisure or
inclination to write a book (they know all about some books!) but in all that
pertains to practical dentistry they have entire confidence in their ability
to give general satisfaction to such as may favor
them with their patronage. [14] Mary L Howcott married John C
Lanier at Shelby county, Tennessee on 15 December 1852. The 1850 census indicates that she would
have been aged 19 or 20 at the time of the marriage. In 1855, Rainey's Directory
"M." Howcott, dentist" is recorded at "52 Adams,
residence on north side of Beal, near Washington". B. Howcott also
appears in this source at 52 Adams.
Whilst he was at Memphis, Nathaniel invented at
least one item of dental equipment – a machine for winding gold wire. [15] Nathaniel was already in feeble health when he
made his will on 8 October 1856. His dental equipment was left to his nephew
Benjamin Howcott. Nathaniel named his wife Adeline as residual legatee and
executrix, providing that if she did not leave a will the things he had
bequeathed to her should pass to his daughters, Estelle Howcott and Emma
Howcott. Nathaniel's will was proved in the December Term of 1856 and
recorded on the 6th day of that month. He died of dropsy on 8 November 1856,
his death being registered at Shelby county as that of "Dr. W
Howcott”. Obituary notices for Doctor N Howcott appear in “The Daily Appeal”.
[16] Adeline did not survive her
husband for long. “The Commercial Appeal” includes obituary notices for Mrs A
Howcott, aged 46, who died of inflammation of the bowels on 31 March 1857.
Her funeral was held on the following day at South Memphis Methodist church,
Hernando Street. [17] On 2 October 1860, John C Lanier
was appointed guardian of Estella Howcott and Emma Howcott, the minor heirs
of N Howcott, deceased. He along with James E Pitts and Sylvester Bailey
entered into a bond with the state of Tennessee that John would fulfil his
duties in that role. [18] Some details of the later lives of the two
daughters are:
Benjamin Howcott
The Memphis City Guide and Business Mirror (1860)
includes B. Howcott, dentist at 133 Main, Woodruff Buildings. B Howcott
(male, aged 27) also appears at Shelby county in the index to the 1860
census, but the reference given is to a part that has not been filmed
legibly. [21] Benjamin was presumably the B Howcott who married Mrs. Sue A
Speckernagle at Shelby county on 31 December 1860. It is not certain which of Nathaniel’s brothers was Benjamin's father. Benjamin does not appear in the
wills of Nathaniel's brothers Frederick and Charles, so they are unlikely to
have been his father. He might have been a son of John B Howcott, but this is
unlikely, as no suitable young male was living in John’s household in the
1840 census. It is much more probable that Benjamin was a son of James
Howcott, as James had married in 1818 and would have had ample time in which
to produce a son old enough to set up in business as a dentist by 1856. "B. Howcott" served as a private in the
Confederate Army during the Civil War in these units:
No later record has been found of
Benjamin - maybe he was a wartime casualty whose death does not appear in the
indexed records. Notes TDA = “The Daily Appeal” - a
newspaper at Memphis. [1] "North
Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23039-3817-25?cc=1911121 : 21 May 2014), Chowan County > H > Howcott,
Nathaniel (1820) > image 14 of 120; State Archives, Raleigh. [2] "North
Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23039-3770-16?cc=1911121 : 21 May 2014), Chowan County > H > Howcott,
Nathaniel (1820) > image 20 of 120; State Archives, Raleigh. [3] North
Carolina State Archives: C.R.024.510.2 – Chowan county guardian accounts. [4] Henry
Wills 91764-1827) is the subject of an article in “Dictionary of North
Carolina Biography”, 6 volumes edited by William S. Powell, the text of which
can be seen at NCpedia. [5] "North
Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23039-3750-15?cc=1911121 : 21 May 2014), Chowan County > H > Howcott,
Nathaniel (1820) > image 7 of 120; State Archives, Raleigh. [7] From
a newspaper account included in “Abstract of Vital Records from Raleigh NC
newspapers 1820-1829”, compiled by Lois Smithers Neal (Spartenburg, SC,
1980). [6] "North
Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register", Vol. 1, page 560. [8] "The
Courthouse at Edenton" by Marc D Brodsky (Edenton NC, 1989) page 43. [9] “Abstradex
of Annual Returns – Mississippi Free and Accepted Masons, 1819-1849” by
Jeanne Hand Henry (New Market, Alabama, 1969). [10] "History
of the City of Memphis & Shelby County, Tennessee" by O F Vedler,
Vol. II, pages 125-126 (Syracuse, NY, 1888). [11] “Shelby
county marriage bonds and licences, 1850-1865”, compiled by Bettie B Davis
(Memphis, 1983). [12] “History
of the Great Secession from the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Year 1845:
eventuating in the organization of the new church, entitled the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South" by Charles
Elliott. Swormstedt & Poe, for the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1855. [13] TDA,
30 January 1851. [14] TDA, 7
February 1852. [15] “The
principles and practices of dental surgery”
by Chapin Aaron Harris & Philip Hiss Austen, page 700 (Philadelphia,
1858). [16] TDA -
9 November 1856, p.3, col.2 and 16 November 1856, p.3, col.1. [17] TDA, 1
April 1857, p.3, col.2 and 5 April 1857, p.3, col.1. [18] Bond
dated 2 October 1860. [19] "Bible
Records of Early Edgecombe" by R S Williams & M G Griffin (Rocky
Mount, NC, 1958), page 143. [20] "Tennessee,
County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-26799-25814-82?cc=1619127 : 20
July 2016), Shelby > Marriage bonds, 1866-1871, vol
5-6, D7 > image 179 of 942; citing Tennessee State Library and Archives,
Nashville and county clerk offices from various counties. [21] The
index reference is that a handwritten number = “17”; number stamped on upper
right hand Fcorner of schedule = “70”. |
