He served as Justice of the peace for Edgecombe County in 1746 and 1749. He petitioned for land in Edgecombe County in 1739 and again on March 21, 1743. On November 27, 1744, he petitioned for a warrant of three hundred acres of land in Edgecombe County, and on April 6, 1745, for two hundred acres of land in Bertie County, North Carolina. Joseph Howell was named as a Representative of Edgecombe County in 1746-47, and was promoted to Assemblyman for the years 1744-1748.

Mr. Joseph Howell was named among the speakers of the Assembly held in New Bern, North Carolina, June 12, 1747. He was also mentioned in connection with the “Act for better ascertaining the number of members to be chosen for the several counties, etc.”

His will reads as follows:

“In the name of God Amen. I, Joseph Howell of Edgecombe County, being sick and weak of body, but of good sense and memory, this Tenth day of January, 1949, do make this my last will and testament in the manner following:

First, I bequeath my soul to God that gave it, and my body to the earth from whence it came, and as for my worldly goods I dispose of in the manner following, that is to say:

“Imprimis: I give and bequeath to my loving wife, Margaret, my Negro woman called Mooland, and her increase forever, the labor of my Negro girl, Jude, during her widowhood, the use of the old or home plantation during her life, with all appurtenances thereunto belonging and also the still.”

“Item: I give and bequeath to my son, Joseph, my Negro man, Jack, and my Negro girl, Jude, after his mother’s death, and her increase forever, the plantation I now live on with two hundred acres of land all appurtenances thereunto belonging to the old plantation, with three hundred acres of land and appurtenances thereunto belonging after his mother’s death, and desire he may be of age at eighteen and receive his estate.”

“Item: I give and bequeath to my son, Thomas, my Negro man Dick, my Negro boy, James, the plantation that goes by the name of “Raton’s” with four hundred acres and all appurtenances thereunto belonging, and a tract of land lying and joining on Herricks Creek, containing three hundred acres, with a grist mill standing thereon and all the appurtenances thereunto belonging, and desire he may be of age at eighteen and receive his estate.”

“Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter, Martha, my Negro girl, Mool, and her increase forever. And after my debts are paid and legacies herein, the remainder of my estate what nature or kind soever, to be equally divided at the discretion of my executors, between my five children, and I hereby make and appoint my loving wife and son, Joseph, Colonel Dawson, Samuel Ruftin, Thomas Howell and Joseph Henderson, full and sole executors of this, my last will and testament.”

Hereby revoking, disannulling and making void all former wills and bequests by me made, and declaring this only to be my last will and testament, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year written.

J. Howell
Signed, sealed and (Seal)
Acknowledged in the presence
Of Witnesses-
Joseph Williamson, Jurat
James Barron, Jurat
Thomas Barron, Jurat

Edgecombe County, N.C. May Court, 1750. The above written will was exhibited in court and Margaret Howell, relict of the deceased, and Thomas Howell, qualified for the office of executor and executrix.

Teste. Benjamin Wynnes,
Clerk

In the inventory of his estate taken August 17, 1750, he was styled “Major” Joseph Howell and was said to have possessed a large number of slaves, one hundred twenty-nine head of cattle, a large number of other farm animals, and a great variety of personal property.

Major Joseph Howell married Margaret, who outlived him and removed with her son, Joseph Howell, Jr. to Cabarrus County, North Carolina, where she died, age about one hundred years and is buried in the Ham’s Churchyard.

Joseph Howell, Jr. was born in Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1733, and died in DeKaIb County, Georgia, (now Campbell County), at the age of 102 years old. He died in 1835.

He was not quite eighteen years of age at the time of his father’s death, but was appointed with his mother as executor of his father’s will. Joseph Howell, Jr. was named on a committee to examine and allow public claims in March and April 1753. On April 13, 1762, he was chosen to represent Edgecombe County in the Assembly and again in 1764, and for the last time in 1765. He apparently moved out of the county about 1765, as he did not represent Edgecombe County again.

An act for establishing a town on the land of Joseph Howell on Tar River was passed and one hundred fifty acres of land were purchased by the government for 2,000 pounds proclamation money of the Province of North Carolina. “Captain Joseph Howell retaining only a graveyard plot when he passed title to the trustees named in the deed.” A second act was passed to encourage Joseph Howell to build a bridge over the river at or near the place called Howell’s Ferry at Tarborough in Edgecombe County, and he was given authority to collect tolls on men, horses, carriages and cattle passing over it.

In the room of the North Carolina Historical Commission at Raleigh are the original minutes of the commission appointed to lay out the town of Tarboro. Joseph Howell’s name appeared many times in those minutes in connection with the sale of town lots, up until 1764, but after that year his name ceased to appear.

It seems evident that Joseph Howell removed westward with the general trend of migration to the newer and more fertile lands and settled in Mecklenburg County in 1765-66. Mecklenburg County was taken from Anson County and in turn part of it became Cabarrus County. On August 16, 1768, Joseph Howell was one of the petitioners from Anson County to Governor William Tryon, saying: “We conceive that no people have a right to be taxed but by consent of themselves or of their delegates.” Again on October 9, 1769, he signed a paper requesting: “That Dr. Benjamin Franidin or some other known patriot be appointed agent to represent the unhappy state of this Province to his Majesty and so solicit the several boards in England, etc.”

Joseph Howell was among the signers of the “The Petition of the Inhabitants of Anson County, being part of the Remonstrance of the Province of North Carolina to Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the assembly.” In the original land entry book of Anson County of 1778, we find that: “Fifty acres of land are entered in the name of Joseph Howell, including the vacant land between his own old tract and John Flower, and a tract that John Garman, now lives on.”

Joseph Howell, who was 43 years old when Independence was declared in 1776, saw active service during the Revolution in the militia of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, as a foot soldier in Captain Adam Alexander’s Company, having enlisted June 6, 1766, and fought in the battles at Guilford Court House and King’s Mountain. His service is recorded in the collection of the North Carolina Historical Commission. He also furnished supplies and money to the Continental Army.

Records indicate that Joseph Howell, Jr. bought land in Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1762, 1764 and 1765, He also purchased land in Cabarrus County, North Carolina on Rocky River in 1765, and sold the land to John Reed on January 7, 1784, whose son Conrad found, on this land, the first gold nugget ever found in America. The mine that John Reed built is now a North Carolina State Park.

Joseph Howell, Jr. married twice. His first wife was Esther Sugg.

He married the second time in Anson County, North Carolina according to family records in 1768. He married Margaret Eleanor Garmon, who died after 1795.

Joseph Howell raised his large family of eight sons and four daughters, all of whom except one reached advanced life. Joseph died in DeKaib County, Georgia, at the age of 102. From his long and eventful career, he must have been a very remarkable man. So far as is known, he never came to Haywood County, nor did any of his sons or daughters except John and Henry. The others cast their lots in communities’ farther south, some of them, or their descendants, rising to prominence and influence in the states of their birth, or adoption.

Evan Howell, son of Joseph Howell and Margaret Garmon, married (first) in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, on April 19, 1805, to Martha Love. He married (second) to Mary Elliott; (third) to Harriett Hines; (fourth) to Jane Brooks, and (fifth) Teziah Bromelow. Evan was the principal proprietor of the Atlanta Constitution Newspaper in 1895.

The following account of Clark Howell’s life was taken from an editorial published in the Atlanta Constitution on May 16, 1882, following his death.

Clark Howell, son of Evan and Mary Elliott, was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina on December 28, 1811, and died in Atlanta, Georgia on May 14, 1882. At about nine years of age he moved with his father to Gwinnett County, Georgia. When 21, he married Miss Winn of Lawrenceville, Georgia, who died with a baby, named Archibald, soon afterwards.

On December 4, 1838, Clark Howell married Miss Effiah Jane Park, who had moved to Lawrenceville, with her mother and family from Greensboro, Georgia, following the death of her father. Effiah Park was the daughter of James Park, who was a Revolutionary soldier from Virginia, who moved to Georgia and took up government lands in Greene County in about 1786 and reared 16 children.

Her mother was Phoebe Hogue of Wilkes County, Georgia. Phoebe was the daughter of Jonathan Hogue, who settled in Wilkes County in 1781. They were a happy couple. The Hogues were of French descent. Effiah Park Howell died at her husband’s home in Warsaw (then in Forsyth, now Milton County) Georgia, on November 22, 1850.

From this union was born Evan P., Albert, William, Clark, Charles and two daughters.