Edited by
Wally Howerton
Contributing Editors
John F. Howerton
Bryan R. Howerton
Volume Seven, Issue 4 Fall 2003
FROM THE EDITOR
Greetings Cousins:
In this edition we are fortunate to have an article which I asked Hunter Howerton to write. I have had the great pleasure of spending several hours with Hunter on the golf course. I look forward to his visits, his stories, and most of all the camaraderie we share chasing the white ball around. His article is unedited and in his own words.
My little brother, John R. Howerton recently retired from the USCG. I just had to give him a plug!
After speaking with Bryan and John, it was decided that an article should be written concerning the Howerton Heritage database. It seems no matter how we say it or write it access to the database still raises a bit of confusion mostly with new Howertons who are starting their own research. Bryan has spent a great deal of time putting the finishing touches on the article and I hope all of our readers, old and new, peruse it.
I'm sure most of you have noticed that we have several current Howerton news in the newsletter. Please spread the word that we need our readers to submit newsworthy items, obituaries, reunions, pictures, etc. Everything that is submitted does not "automatically" get into the Howerton Heritage Newsletter. Once an article is received, I place it in a draft newsletter and send it on to Bryan and John to peruse and approve. If any one of us decides an article does not meet the criteria that we have established among ourselves then the article is not published.
Peace to all of you! Have a great Holiday Season from all of us at Howerton Heritage.
Wally
Howerton Heritage Database * Important - All Howerton researchers should read
Hunter Howerton: Secret Service Agent
Chief Petty Officer John R. Howerton, USCG Retires
Obituary: Thomas Earl Howerton
HOWERTON HERITAGE DATABASE
Bryan R Howerton
Those who contact us for assistance in determining their direct Howerton lineage often ask questions regarding how the database was established, source of the information recorded, and why the information is provided without charge.
It appears that some of those seeking assistance fear there is some sort of hidden charge for the service we provide.That fear may result from unpleasant experience with today's society in which attempts are more commonly made to take advantage of others. Such fear is unfounded so far as interaction with the Howerton Heritage Team is concerned. In our efforts to seek out and record data pertaining to the lives of our Howerton ancestors we have come to realize our good fortune and feel obligated to establish a database devoted to the family. We assume that the family historical interest of those contacting us for assistance is as great as our own; the only difference being that we had the opportunity to find the data. We also recognize that giving the information to those interested in their family history may just possibly enhance the chances of survival of at least a part of the information we have worked to gather and assemble. We do not ask or expect any payment for our help, unless one can so construe our request for historical type information pertaining to individuals in the family and lineage of the person requesting help.
The reason for this is two-fold:
1. To enable us to accurately identify the lineage of the person requesting assistance and,
2. New and useful information is often gained in this manner and added to the database, which increases our ability to help others.
Our intention has never been to sell or profit from the database in any way, nor will the data be knowingly passed to anyone using or intending to use it for commercial purposes. Our experience has well-acquainted us with the difficulty in searching out information about generations of people who enjoy little mention in history books, but have proudly contributed to the establishment, maintenance and survival of our great country.
Probably the best way of answering those questions that are frequently asked is to quote the introduction of the project and its history as it appears at the beginning of the database documentation, which reads as follows:
FOREWORD
The information contained herein, from the beginning up until about 1880, has been obtained by personal examination and copying of the original source documents; the majority of which contain references to those sources for the convenience of those who may wish to conduct additional research pertaining to the greater Howerton family.
Material following 1880 has been obtained from the same sources and from other Howertons who have provided information relative to their direct ancestors when those data appeared accurate and did not conflict with data known to be factual. Inclusion of post-1880 source data is not always accompanied by a reference to the source; particularly where those data were obtained through correspondence with individual persons. Our overriding concern (some correspondents have termed that obsession rather than concern) during the gathering and compilation of data found on our Howerton ancestors has been ACCURACY. Having been led down numerous false trails by well-intentioned people citing oral family history, etc., which resulted in a tremendous waste of time and resources; therefore, none of that type information was included herein after it failed to agree with known facts and conditions. In short, our attitude has been and remains that false genealogy or that based upon guesswork is an absolute waste of time that resulted in useless information, both to the compiler and the user, as it proves absolutely nothing.
Readers will find many spelling and grammatical errors; particularly, in the older data included herein. That is because every effort has been made to copy data EXACTLY as it appeared in the source document. Of course, I have undoubtedly made some errors of my own when transcribing data from original sources to this summary of my research. Personally-made errors are more likely to have occurred after about 1975, when the use of a tape voice-recorder was employed rather the former slow and expensive method of photocopying original source documents and/or manually copying from those documents.
It should also be made clear that we could not have efficiently began or maintained this undertaking without the encouragement, guidance, assistance and efforts of numerous people; primarily a group that had worked for many years through correspondence; some of whom worked with the renowned Josiah Dowling Howerton of Pasadena, TX. This group, who worked so long and hard were Warren Joseph Vaughn, New Albany, IN; Ernest Hunter Howerton, Logan, WV; Mrs Idros Roberts of Pasadena, CA; Mrs Ruth Pace Stevens, Greensboro, NC; William Dayton Howerton, Carbondale, IL and Mrs Doris Eleanor Haradon Walton, Stillwater, OK sadly, all except Mrs Walton are now deceased. (Bryan R and Imogene (Jean) Freeman Howerton)
PURPOSE
To obtain and record in the database as much data as possible on all Howertons. These data are maintained for posterity and also provide the source of information contained in replies to those Howerton descendants requesting assistance in the determination of their Howerton lineage, which is provided at no cost to the requesting individual.
BACKGROUND
This file contains data on all Howertons who are known to be directly descended from the only two male Howertons known to have migrated to America from England shortly before 1663. Those two Howertons were the brothers Thomas and John who were born in England in about 1640 and 1645, respectively. Thomas settled in tidewater Virginia and John settled across the Potomac River in Maryland. In 1965 Bryan R Howerton was transferred to the Pentagon, Washington, DC, where he served his terminal assignment in Headquarters, U S Air Force. Prior to that time he had gathered minimal information on his ancestors and recognized the research possibilities that existed in the Washington area. In addition, he was aware that distant ancestors had once resided in the area of Howertons, Essex County, VA. Immediately, he and his wife, Imogene "Jean" Freeman Howerton began searching through the facilities of the National Archives and the Library of Congress. Initially, the objective had been to document Bryan's direct lineage; however, it soon became apparent that a wealth of untapped information existed and the decision was made to copy all data found on anyone bearing the surname, Howerton. As the search progressed, the mammoth size of the task undertaken became apparent; however, as circumstance had provided the opportunity it was determined that the work should continue as such providential opportunity might never again be found. Numerous trips were made to county courthouses, libraries and other record repositories in Virginia and Maryland, following leads developed during basic research in the federal facilities in Washington. Leads in those counties often led to locations in other states, which were pursued. Late in 1965 Bryan was contacted by Warren J Vaughn, New Albany, IN; who was the junior member of a loosely organized team of aging individuals who had worked on the Howerton family genealogy for many years, primarily through correspondence with other Howerton descendants. Warren proposed that Bryan join the group and share his findings with him. He would then farm out data to other individuals working on the family history and provide relevant data back to Bryan. This partnership proved mutually advantageous and continued until the untimely death of Warren in 1976.
Upon retirement from the U S Air Force, having served in World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War, Bryan and Jean established an objective to visit about 400 courthouses, libraries, archives and cemeteries in the south and midwest that possibly had information pertaining to individual Howertons. This project resulted in extensive travel for over twenty years and was extremely productive. Data gathered in this manner was included in the database together with appropriate references to enable Howerton descendants to visit the areas where their ancestors had visited or resided and learn more about them.
During the first thirty years of searching for information on the greater Howerton family, Bryan had documented information on several thousand individual Howertons and had assisted hundreds of individual descendants of Howertons in determining and documenting their Howerton lineage and the workload was such that a large backlog had developed (partly due to the fact that Bryan had established the policy that no bona fide Howerton descendant would be monetarily charged for any data provided).
In 1993, John F Howerton of Phoenix, AZ contacted Bryan R Howerton of Searcy, AR; expressing an interest in the history of the Howerton family which Bryan had been researching for over thirty years. Correspondence and telephone conversations resulted in a meeting of Bryan and John in Searcy, AR. It was learned that John had served in the U S Marine Corps during the Korean War and had participated in the amphibious landing at Inchon.He was also a member of the "Frozen Chosin" having participated in the withdrawal from Chosin reservoir which was successfully executed despite extremely frigid weather and constant attack by Communist Chinese forces. At the time of that initial meeting, John was preparing to retire from a college history teaching career. He was well qualified to share in the effort to research, document and record data relevant to the Howerton family, and to assist Howerton descendants seeking help with their Howerton lineage.
Late in 1994, following John's retirement, another meeting between Bryan and John was conducted and general guidelines for a team operation were agreed upon, which were intended to help without charge those seeking information about their direct Howerton lineage; coordinate team member efforts to avoid duplication, and each member of the team would inform the other of any new information found on any and all Howertons; a copy of the database containing known information on all known descendants of the first Howertons (Thomas of Virginia and John of Maryland) to have arrived in America was given to John. Bryan assumed responsibility for maintenance of the master database.
John undertook the task of searching the Soundex formatted microfilm of the 1900 through 1920 U S Census. The results of this significant effort were added to the database, which included the 1790-1880 census data already copied by Bryan The result enabled them to assist a large number of Howerton descendants who knew little about their lineage and heritage. John also established a Howerton Family Newsletter which contained relevant data written by Bryan and John. He also personally bore the expense of printing and mailing the newsletter quarterly when voluntary contributions were inadequate.
In 1998 Walter S "Wally" Howerton, a retired member of the U S Marine Corps volunteered to join the team.Wally had served in Vietnam as well as other trouble spots around the world. He brought internet expertise to the team in addition to his interest and ability in genealogy. Upon joining the team, a copy of the database was given to Wally.
Wally's major contributions to the effectiveness of the team have been demonstrated by his service as master of the website www.howertonheritage.com ; which is the primary point of contact for Howertons seeking assistance in finding their direct lineage from one of the first two Howertons to arrive in America. Wally also suggested and assumed responsibility for assembly and on-line publication of the quarterly newsletter, which eliminated the time and cost of printing, assembling and mailing.
The team insists that these data will not be used commercially or passed to any entity which might use the material commercially. Each team member freely assists individual Howerton descendants who request help in finding their connection back to one of the two Howerton brothers who settled in America shortly before 1663.
HUNTER HOWERTON
SECRET SERVICE AGENT
The following article was written by Hunter Howerton who I met via the internet and e-mail messages. Hunter is an avid golfer and we have had the chance to play a couple of times since we first met eye to eye this past spring. I look forward to his visits, his stories, and most of all the camaraderie of chasing that elusive white ball around.. . . . . . . Wally
"I’m flattered that Cousin Wally asked me to write this article about my career and also a little worried that I won't do his expectations justice. Most of my anecdotes fall into two categories: 1) Not very interesting or 2) Things I ought best keep my mouth shut about.
I’ve met a lot of Secret Service agents from places like Chicago and New York, but as near as I can tell, I’m the only one from Stepto Bottom, WV. From my earliest memories, I wanted to be an agent, since I grew up around the Service. My mother, June Howerton, was the Charleston Field Office Manager from the time I was two until she retired in 1982. When I was very young the Service was a much smaller agency than today and the clerks, agents and their families spent a great deal of their off-duty hours socializing: everything from mass picnics to the Charleston Senators baseball games. Then there were only 200 agents in the Service. After the Kennedy assassination, the Warren Commission suggested the Service either be absorbed by the FBI or doubled in size.
Hoover had just seen the harsh scrutiny we fell under by the press and Congress after November 22 and told President Johnson he wanted nothing to do with the protection business. So, over the next few years, the Service grew until its own bulk made it a less chummy place to work – still, much smaller and to me, anyway, a better place to work than any of the other agencies I’ve worked with over 25 years. So I was about four or five when I started idolizing agents.
That’s all I recall ever seriously wanting to be. I received a BA in theology and philosophy from Morris Harvey College in 1977, but I knew after only one semester that I had no business in the pulpit. That was another thing that greatly appealed to me about the Service – while other agencies had specific educational requirements; the Service required only a bachelor’s degree in any field for application. The IRS was full of accountants; the Bureau was up to its hips in lawyers and CPAs but when I went to SS School in 1980 I found myself in a classroom with former cops, teachers, musicians and one honest-to-God cowboy – the Service felt that our responsibilities were so varied that we’d need varied backgrounds and approaches to fulfill both our protective and investigative missions.
I took the Treasury Enforcement Exam – the hardest four hours of my academic career— at the beginning of my last semester in college. At about the same time I became a policeman in Marmet, WV, my hometown. My father, Charlie Howerton, was quite proud and a little relieved that I graduated in four years. I’d had five majors at three colleges by then and he remarked that he found it odd to be getting bills from three colleges when he had only one child. Being a full-time policeman and a full-time student really didn’t harm my mediocre GPA. Midnighters on the police department of a town of 2000 have time to study.
Two and a half years later the Secret Service sent me a “good news/bad news” letter: The good news is that you’ve been hired; the bad is that you start in Detroit. Detroit for four years was an education that shouldn’t be missed by anyone who’ll make his daily living in the constantly contentious field of law enforcement. I never imagined there could be so many ill-tempered people in one place. Michiganders definitely did not care for my accent. I learned that during the coal union unrest of the 1920s, thousands of West Virginians and Kentuckians migrated north looking for work in the auto plants. They were and still are just as unwelcome as the Okies who moved west during the Depression.
Michigan was a tough place to live for a southerner – the winters alone scared me silly trying to drive on ice for six months of the year – but it was a great place to work. Most agent-applicants see themselves jogging alongside the limo in an inaugural parade, but I had always looked forward to chasing counterfeiters and Detroit had a bumper crop. After a year spent in training and investigating stolen government checks I was moved to the Counterfeit Squad. The first day in the squad, my boss asked if I’d ever worked undercover so I lied and said I had. It’s a lot like an actor claiming to be an expert horseman to get a part in a movie. Working undercover is a terrific experience. It’s like working a puzzle every minute of the day that never gets completely solved. Constantly aware of the real world but acting a fictitious part in someone else’s real world, it certainly teaches one to think on his feet.
After four years (about average for a “permanent” assignment – that’s what they’re called but they never are.) I moved to our Western Protective Division where I protected President Reagan’s family. It was just the opposite of Detroit, a great place to live but miserable duty.
I spent four years in LA: three on protection and rounding the LA experience out with a year in the LA Field Office. More undercover and a great boss who had 20 years in the Service and taught us a lot every day. Mike was a devout Jew and wanted all his undercover agents to have Jewish UC names. His reasoning made sense. As he put it: How many Jewish cops do you know? Not one suspect ever suspected I was an agent. I was above reproach as Howard Goldblum. I always used Howard or Hunter or George as a UC name because they either are or sound like my true name. It can be more than awkward when you’re pretending to be Fred Jones and you absent-mindedly don’t recognize your own name when the villain is talking to you.
About that time an opening came up in my hometown of Charleston, WV and I moved there for an atypical ten-year assignment. It felt great to settle in and become part of a community. This was also where I had my “career case”, a case that pretty well defined my time there. I was brought in as a counterfeit specialist in an FBI/WV State Police case. It seems robbing banks wasn’t exciting enough for one of four gang members and he began counterfeiting US and Canadian dollars. He and his partner feared a third robber would implicate the group with his spendthrift ways – all the money he was spending was either stolen or fake – and they killed him. The wife of one of the killers squealed on him, something he never thought she’d do since he knew where the body of her murdered previous husband was buried. She didn’t care since she had gone back the next day and dug up hubby and moved the body. Meanwhile, the other robber/murderer and his family cooked up a plan to kill five witnesses and break out of jail. It took most of the ten years just to do the paperwork on this case. We arrested 18 people, two of whom were sentenced to Life Plus.
Most agents do one protection assignment and one big field office. I was lucky to have two of each: Detroit and LA, along with Western Protection and my next assignment, the Ford Protective Division. It was a terrific way to spend four years, summers in Colorado and winters in Palm Springs. We make a practice of not telling tales out of school about our “protectees”, an artificial word invented by the Secret Service. Most of our war stories come from investigations, but almost all our photos come from protection assignments. I’ve been very lucky to travel every place I’d ever wanted to, except Nepal. Our protectees are like trout, most aren’t found in ugly locations.
I’ve been told the military has a similar policy to the Secret Service: If you get caught being happy, you’ll be transferred. Something about happy employees making their bosses look bad to their boss. Four years is all you’re allowed in Paradise, er, Palm Springs and I rounded out my tenure in Riverside, CA. When I looked at the list of available retirement dates I couldn’t help noticing one of those dates was 25 years to the day from being sworn in as a policeman and it seemed like karma. The photo with President Bush was taken on a trip he made to Riverside County just before my retirement date and the LA bosses were nice enough to put me in the line with a bunch of local bigshots getting their picture taken.
The work was wonderful – just as good as the retirement – because each was correct to its own time. I do a (very) little consultant work but mostly read, tend the fruit trees, take clarinet and flute lessons and fight the ongoing battle with my fairway woods.
Thanks again to Wally. I hope I haven’t bored you too badly."
Chief Petty Officer
JOHN R. HOWERTON
USCG, Retired
by Wally Howerton
Beth,
John, & Randy Howerton
Sept 12, 2003
My little brother, John Randall Howerton, retired from the United States Coast Guard this past September. I was fortunate to be able to attend the ceremony held at Portsmouth, VA.
John was born in Detroit, Michigan, June 24, 1964. His childhood residences include Waycross, GA, Parkersburg, WV, and Greensboro, NC, where he graduated from high school. Prior to joining the United States Navy he attended East Carolina University.
After graduation from boot camp, John was
trained as an Operations Specialist and served on the
USS Brumby (FF-1044). When his four year enlistment was up he
made a career choice to join the United States Coast Guard.In the
Navy, promotion was very slow in his field.
Upon graduation from basic training in Cape May, NJ, John was assigned to Vessel Traffic Service in Seattle , WA where he spent the next 5 years. He was transferred to Vessel Traffic Service in Houston, TX where he served until 1994. From 1994-1998 he served on the USCGC Gallatin (WHEC-721). His next assignment was shore duty from 1998-2000 at Yorktown Training Center as an instructor (Radarman School). In 2000 John was promoted to Chief Petty Officer where he served aboard USCGC Northland (WMEC-904) as the Chief Radarman and the Command Chief.
After retirement, John took about a month break before starting his new civilian employment. He works for Allied Technology Group as a contractor for the Coast Guard at the Lantarea District Command Center in downtown Portsmouth. He operates and maintains the Tactical computer for the east coast, keeping track of all Coast Guard assets and suspect vessels that Homeland Security is monitoring.
John is married to the former Beth Dunphy of Arizona. Beth is employed by Internal Veterinarian Services as a receptionist. She is also attending Thomas Nelson College where she will have her Associate Degree next summer and plans on transferring to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for the Physical Therapy program.
Their son, Randy, is a sophomore at Bruton High School. He is on the soccer team and belongs to the Key club and the UN club. Randy plans to attend Virginia Tech pursuing a field in engineering.
The Howertons and their two dogs Chelsea, (Cairn Terrier) and Savannah, (Springer Spaniel) reside in Williamsburg, VA.
Chief Petty Officer John R. Howerton (L)
receives a gift from guest speaker, brother Wally Howerton, USMC,
Ret (R)
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