 1902 - 1948 (45 years)
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| Name |
John Edward Howell [5, 6] |
| Suffix |
"Jack" |
| Birth |
21 Aug 1902 |
Demorest, Habersham, Georgia, United States  [7, 8, 9, 10, 11] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Lived in |
Mexico City, Mexico [12] |
| Calle Colima No. 125 |
| Lived in |
Vienna Austria for a short period after marriage. |
| Passport issued |
8 Feb 1928 |
Havana, Cuba [12] |
| Place |
1939 |
San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| lived in Puerto Rico |
| Place |
1947 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| lived in Buenos Aires |
| Travel |
Mexico City, Mexico |
| from Europe, via steamship to |
| Occupation |
Engineer & Manager for I.T.T. |
| Occupation |
Sr. Executive for I.T.T. |
| FamilySearch ID |
LDJ9-9LG |
| FamilySearch URL |
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LDJ9-9LG |
| Death |
11 Jun 1948 |
Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States [8, 13, 14, 15] |
| Burial |
New York & New Jersey Crematory [16] |
| Person ID |
I45 |
Main |
| Last Modified |
3 Sep 2020 |
| Father |
Henry Alonzo Howell, b. 19 Feb 1866, White Plains, Greene County, GA d. 29 Jan 1958, Burke County, GA (Age 91 years) |
| Mother |
Ellen Minora Davison, "Nellie", b. 9 Nov 1880, Bridgewater, New Dublin Twp., Lunenburg Co., Nova Scotia, Canada d. 25 Dec 1942, Vienna, Austria (Age 62 years) |
| Marriage |
3 Apr 1900 |
Pancras District, London, MIddlesex, England |
| Family ID |
F39 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Elizabeth Louise Stone, b. 28 Nov 1905, Chatham, Ontario d. 29 Mar 1972, St. Catharines, Ontario (Age 66 years) |
| Marriage |
4 May 1928 |
"Little Church around the Corner" New York City, N.Y. [12, 17, 18] |
| Notes |
Married:
- The Church of the Transfiguration
"The Little Church Around the Corner"
One East 29th Street
(Between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue)
New York, New York 10016
|
| Children |
| + | 1. John Spencer Howell, "Spencer", b. 29 May 1929, Lady Cowdray Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico d. 5 Sep 2017, Philadelphia, PA (Age 88 years) |
| + | 2. Edward Davison Howell, "Ned", b. 3 Aug 1930, Mexico City, Mexico d. 7 Feb 2002, Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States (Age 71 years) |
| + | 3. P.S. Howell |
|
| Family ID |
F8 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
30 Sep 2009 |
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| Documents |
 | John Edward Howell sails from Puerto Rico to New York.
The Passenger manifest of S.S. Borinquen sailing from San Juan PR Nov 18, 1937, arriving at Port of New York, New York November 22, 1937 shows John Edward Howell on it's list of United States Citizens, age 35, born Demorest, Georgia 8/21/02, Address in United States: 67 Broad Street, New York City. (Dad remembers the ship name and thinks on this occasion his father was on a business trip to ITT headquarters) |
 | John E. Howell, Obituary
John Edward Howell, Obituary from June 12, 1948 New York Times. |
 | John Edward Howell - Obituary
John Edward Howell, Obituary published June 12, 1948 New York Times |
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| John E. Howell to Helen C. Richardson 1942
John E. Howell writes to Helen C. Richardson in 1942 Air Mail letter from San Juan, PR thanking her for the visit to Atlanta and family reunion. Mentions Betty Howell Traver, William Richardson, fear of infantile paralysis (apparently epidemic in PR at the time.) Also see audio commentary by Spencer Howell. Source: Betty Howell Traver. |
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| John E. Howell letter to his father dated 8 Jan 1914.
Spencer Howell notes: "I consider these two letters from my Dad and from Aunt Atze to Henry Howell extraordinary considering the fact that I have always been under the impression that there was no contact made by Henry with his children after leaving them in Vienna." |
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| John Edward Howell letter to his son Spencer at Kent.
John Edward Howell (Jack) letter to his son - J. Spencer Howell (Spencer). 15 Feb, 1945 from Buenos Aires. A gem, providing much insight to Jack's exceptional personality and intelligence.
Jack and family are now living in Argentina, but Spencer, now age 16, has been sent to the Kent School in Kent, CT to receive a proper education. Kent's motto: "Simplicity of Life, Directness of Purpose, and Self-Reliance"
The letter is a response to Spencer's complaints about the bad behavior of the other boys at Kent, the bad food and lack of attention exhibited by the staff toward an injured boy named Peter. (I assume this is not Spencer's younger brother Peter, age 10)
The third paragraph begins "There comes a time in everyone's life when one begins to realize that things are not really either completely black or completely white and that, on the contrary, the truly black and truly white things are the exception rather than the rule."
Jack closes with "Spencer, old boy, this has been a long letter but it had to be, because I had a lot of things to tell you. Keep a stiff upper lip and your hand straight and remember 'bien faire et laisser dire'."
Its literal meaning: Do well and let (them) speak. What it really means: Do your work well and never mind the critics.
To clarify some of the references in the letter: "Granny" is Jack's mother in law Flora Maude Campbell (a.k.a. Granny Stone.) "Chatham" is Chatham, Ontario, Canada - home of Flora Maude. "Father Chalmers" is the headmaster of Kent School.
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 | John E. Howell - Passport application.
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 | John E. Howell - Passport application P.2
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 | J.E. Howell Passport application 2
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 | J.E. Howell - Passport application 2 - p2
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 | J.E. Howell - Brazil immigration card
With photo. Son: John Spencer Howell age 17 |
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| 1940 Census for Howell Family in Puerto Rico
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 | John E. Howell - Draft Card
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 | John E. Howell - Draft Card (p2)
|
 | John E. Howell - Obituary
The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) · 12 Jun 1948, Sat · Page 12 |
 | John E. Howell - Ocean Arrivals
Entry / sailing document into Canada. Attending the University of Toronto. |
| Histories |
 | Ancestors of William Clopton
Selected pages of "Ancestors of William Clopton" by Lucy Lane Erwin. Corrections made by Betty Howell Traver. |
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| Notes |
- When he was about age 3, he moved with his mother and his sister to Vienna, Austria.
He would have little or no contact with his father for the rest of his life.
In Austria, he grew up with his mother and her second husband, Dr. Gruenberger, whom he called "Pappas". The language spoken at home was mostly German.
He went to boarding school in Davos, Switzerland. As a youth he spoke English poorly, and because of this, Nellie's half brothers (Edward "Ned" and Budd Davison) convinced Nellie to send John to school in Canada.
In Canada, John studied engineering at the University of Toronto. He was in the DKE fraternity. Thomas Stone (his brother-in-law to be) was in the same fraternity house.
Elizabeth L. Stone and John met in Paris when on holiday - introduced by Thomas Stone in about 1925.
John and Elizabeth were married in New York City at "The Little Church Around The Corner". Shortly after they were married they spent a short time in Austria visiting John's mother Nellie.
John's career started with an engineering position at the International Telephone and Telegraph (I.T.T.) Company. He ultimately became President of I.T.T.'s Puerto Rico operation about the time of WWII. He also served in other executive positions for I.T.T. in Cuba, Mexico and Argentina.
ITT Puerto Rico is interesting because it was the first venture of nearby Virgin Islands-born entrepreneur Sosthenes Behn, who aquired the Puerto Rican phone company early in the century, as a run down indebted mess, and then grew it from there into a multi-national giant. The controversial history of ITT is reviewed in a book by Anthony Sampson, "The Sovereign State of I.T.T.", (New York: Stein & Day, 1973) John had a close and trusted relationship with Sothenes Behn.
John liked sailing in San Juan harbor. On one expedition he was left stranded outside the harbor overnight with his son Spencer, because calm winds prevented their return before the submarine nets that protected San Juan harbor during WWII were raised.
He showed a facility with languages. He was fluent in German and English and also spoke Spanish and French.
He died at age 45 from a brain infection that was diagnosed only weeks prior to his death.
Obituary - New York Times, June 12, 1948 - "John E. Howell, an executive of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation who had been active in company affairs in Latin America and Europe for twenty years until he joined the local headquarters about a year ago, died yesterday in the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center after a brief illness. Mr. Howell's office was at 67 Broad Street and his home was at 231 West Eleventh Street. His age was 45. Mr. Howell was born in Demorest, Ga., and was graduated in 1927 from the University of Toronto. He then joined the I.T. & T. system as an engineer. He served I.T. & T. in Austria and then in Cuba, after which he was traffic manager and general plant supervisor of the Mexican Telephone and Telegraph Company, vice president and general manager of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company, assistant general manager of the United River Plate Telephone Company of Argentina and vice president and general commercial manager of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, South America. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Louise Howell; his father, Henry Howell; three sons, Spencer, Edward and Peter Howell, and a sister, Mrs. Alma M. Howell."
Forty-four Families notes: p. "John Edward Howell, (called Jack) who married Miss Betsey Stone, daughter of Ambassador Stone to Canada Ambassador Stone is . Jack graduated from the University of Toronto, Canada. He was a vestryman at St. John the Divine in New York City." [JSH note: "Ambassador Stone" was Thomas Archibald Stone. Thomas is actually the brother of Elizabeth Louise Stone. Her parents wereArchibald Stone and Flora Maude Campbell] [2, 19]
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| Sources |
- [S2] John S. Howell, Jr., JSH Feb 13 2003 gedcom.
- [S192] John Spencer Howell, Jr., J Spencer Howell - Interviews with JSHJr., (Personal interviews with Dad.).
- [S1347] Lucy Lane Erwin, Clopton Ancestors by Lucy Lane Erwin, (c 1939), p. 211 #816 b. 22 Aug. 1902 Demorest, GA; mar. at Toronto, Canada in 1929 , Elizabeth Stone [incorrect marriage place should be New York City].
- [SAuth] John Spencer Howell, Jr., John Spencer Howell, Jr., (http://www.jhowell.com/ jhowell@jhowell.com).
- [S1125] Emily Campbell Price, Emily Campbell Price, (Manuscript. 71 pp. Extensive research. Includes maps and transcripts of letters describing family relationships. 10 original copies produced and circulated by the author in 1970. PDF copy available at jhowell.com.), p.20 "John Howell".
- [S1210] Charles Donald Davison, Charles Donald Davison's Tree, (Copy of tree provided to John Howell by Stuart Davison upon our visit at his home on 23 Jul 2005.), Chart page "D" ' John Edward aka Jack".
- [S697] J. Spencer Howell - Birth Certificate, J. Spencer Howell's birth certificate cites his father born, "Demorest, Georgia".
- [S1701] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 15 Jul 2017), entry for John Edward Howell, person ID LDJ9-9LG.
- [S1046] J. Spencer Howell, "b. August 1903".
- [S1210] Charles Donald Davison, Charles Donald Davison's Tree, (Copy of tree provided to John Howell by Stuart Davison upon our visit at his home on 23 Jul 2005.), b. 21 Aug 1902 - Chart page "D".
- [S1330] New York Passenger Lists, Arrives from San Juan PR on SS Borinquen 18 Nov, 1937 "Howell, John Edward, Age 35, Married, born Demorest , Georgia, 8/21/02, residing 67 Broad St. NYC".
- [S697] J. Spencer Howell - Birth Certificate.
- [S1046] J. Spencer Howell, New York City - Grace Church.
- [S1465] New York City Death Index, New York City Death Index: Howell John, Age 45, 11 Jun 1948, Certificate #13500, born: 1902-1903.
- [S1290] New York Times, Obituary, June 12, 1948.
- [S1712] New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795 - 1949, https://familysearch.org/tree/person/LDJ9-9LG/details.
- [S1127] Italian Genealogical Group, New York City Grooms Index, (Italian Genealogical Group
http://www.italiangen.org/NYCMarriage.stm), "Howell, John E, May 4, 1928, Manhattan, Certificate no. 12201" http://www.italiangen.org/NYCmarriageresults.asp?kind=sounds&Esurname=howell&Efirst=John&CertNbr=12201&StartYear=&EndYear=&County=M&B1=Submit.
- [S1127] Italian Genealogical Group, New York City Grooms Index, (Italian Genealogical Group
http://www.italiangen.org/NYCMarriage.stm), "Elizabeth L. Stone, May 4, 1928, Cert 12201".
- [S1685] Florence Howell Pollard, Forty-Four Families, (This book is a history of the Pollard Family researched and written by Florence Howell Pollard, wife of Clarence Owens Pollard. Published circa 1975), p. 104.
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