Herbert Doyle Howie (1925 - 2002)

Born 15 Jan 1925 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States

Died 30 Dec 2002 at age 77 in Thomson, McDuffie, Georgia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dwight Childers [send private message]

Biography

Herbert Doyle Howie was born 15 January 1925 near Swannanoa, Buncombe County, North Carolina, a son of Chorum Murray Howie^[1] and Flonnie Jerusa Burnett Howie^[2].

The federal census of 1930, listed for the Swannanoa township of east Buncombe County, North Carolina on 7 April, found Herbert Doyle Howie among this family residing on Bee Tree Road: C. Murray Howie (head), age 36, a laborer on a farm; wife Flonnie J., 34; son Chorum M., 11; son William L., 10; son Doyle H., 5; and son Monroe, one year and five months. All were born in North Carolina as were their parents.^[3]

The federal census of 1940, listed for the Swannanoa township of east Buncombe County on 23 April, found this family in the Bee Tree area: Murray Howie (head), age 47, a farmer on his own farm; wife Flonnie, 45; son Doyle, 15, laborer on the farm; son James M., 11; son William L., 20, employed as a card tender in a blanket factory; daughter-in-law Beulah, 20; and a grand-daughter, two months old.^[4]

Within the next year or two, Doyle Howie met his future wife Phena Beatrice Shepherd while she was visiting her Aunt Inez (Shepherd-1694) near the Howie family, on Bee Tree Road, Swannanoa, NC, in east Buncombe County. Later, Doyle traveled to north Buncombe County to court Phena where the family then lived on Hobson Branch Road. The young couple took a walk down Hobson Branch Road toward the Forks of Ivy. Near the end of their walk, they sat on the edge of the porch at Metcalf Mill (Space:Metcalf_Mill) for a rest. There, Doyle proposed marriage, Phena Beatrice accepted, and after due scrutiny and caution (see the video -- link below -- for details) both families were agreeable to the plan ^[5]

Doyle Howie and Phena Beatrice Shepherd were married on 7 August 1942 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. At the time of marriage, Doyle was employed at Beacon Manufacturing Company, in Swannanoa.^[6]

Doyle Howie registered for the military draft of World War II at age 18, which would have been in 1943. He was then employed by Maple Spring Dairy. (Note that he was not required to register until age 21.)^[7] See an image of the document.

In their early years, living near the Howie family on Bee Tree Road, both Doyle and Phena Beatrice worked at the Beacon Blanket factory in Swannanoa. ^[8]

Their son Herbert Doyle Howie, Jr, was born 4 December 1944.

During World War II, Doyle Howie served in the U. S. Army (an Air Force Unit), at Miami, Florida, from 15 June 1944 until 11 May 1946, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of PFC AC. He was awarded an American Theater Service Medal; a Good Conduct Medal; and a World War II Victory Medal.^[9] During his service, Phena Beatrice moved to Miami with their baby son Herbert, to be near Doyle^[10].

By 17 April 1950, when the federal census was listed for Wayne County, Michigan, the Howies were residing on Williams Street, in Taylor (then unincorporated but now a city). Herbert D. Howie (head) was age 25, born in North Carolina, and employed as a press operator in an auto factory; wife Phena B. was 23, born in North Carolina; son Herbert, Jr., was 5; and there was an infant daughter, born in Michigan. ^[11]

Later, they moved eastward to Wyandotte, Michigan, where Doyle worked at Ford Motor Company. Eager for a familiar setting in which to worship, they soon joined a small new Southern Baptist congregation meeting temporarily in an old dry-docked ship. Quickly the group pooled resources to acquire land and build a new church at the corner of Haskell Street & Caroline Street, on the west side of Wyandotte. The Howies purchased a window for the new church, called Glen Eden Baptist Church (Space:Glen_Eden_Baptist_Church.^[12]

Their son Kenneth Boyd Howie was born 30 Jul 1952.

When jobs became more plentiful back home, they returned to Buncombe County, North Carolina. They both worked for a time at the Kearfott factory in Swannanoa. Then a better opportunity came for Doyle to use his mechanical skills in bowling-alley maintenance. They moved east to Wilson, North Carolina for that job, and soon Phena Beatrice joined Doyle in that business, handling the bowling alley reception desk. Eventually she became an avid bowler herself. (See the image of an article about her bowling career -https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Shepherd-1751-6.) Later, both sons Herbert and Kenneth entered that same business, working in Arkansas. ^[13]

After retirement, Doyle and Phena Beatrice came home to live for a time with her aging mother in north Buncombe County. ^[14]

Then, by 1993 they had moved to Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia,^[15], to be near their daughter and grandchildren.

Herbert Doyle Howie, Senior, died in December 2002.^[16]

Obituary: Mr. Herbert Howie Sr. (THOMSON, Ga.) Major League Bowling Corp., Retiree Thursday, January 02, 2003

Sources

1. ↑ "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHK8-YZ2 : 8 December 2014), Herbert Doyle Howie, 15 Jan 1925; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 13, p. 2146, Buncombe, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
2. ↑ Marriage of C. Murry Howie and Flonnie Jerusa Burnett, 24 April 1915, Buncombe County, North Carolina, Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1930", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X391-81Q : Fri Mar 08 19:00:10 UTC 2024), Entry for C Murray Howie and Flonnie J Howie, 1930.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KW9G-JW9 : Sun Mar 10 19:08:20 UTC 2024), Entry for Murray Howie and Flonnie Howie, 1940.
5. ↑ Her own account to her cousin Dwight Childers.
6. ↑ Publication Date: 11/ Sep/ 1942; Publication Place: Asheville, North Carolina, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/198717057/?article=468b59fa-318f-4e23-a6fa-c00dea4bc513&focus=0.37965003,0.84076416,0.5028627,0.9306174&xid=3398. Ancestry.com. U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2020.
7. ↑ The National Archives at Atlanta; Atlanta, GA; WWII Draft Registration Cards For North Carolina, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 179. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
8. ↑ Her own account to her cousin Dwight Childers
9. ↑ "North Carolina, Discharge and Statement of Service Records, 1940-1948", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WK-XXVM : Sun Mar 10 03:28:47 UTC 2024), Entry for Herbert Doyle Howie, 11 May 1946.
10. ↑ Her own account to her cousin Dwight Childers
11. ↑ National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Taylor, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: 2458; Page: 26; Enumeration District: 82-362A. Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022. Original data: Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. 1913-1/1/1972. Population Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 - 1950. Washington, DC: National Archives at Washington, DC.
12. ↑ Her own account to her cousin Dwight Childers
13. ↑ Beatrice Howie’s own account to her cousin Dwight Childers
14. ↑ Beatrice Howie’s own account to her cousin Dwight Childers
15. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.Original data: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings.
16. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JPJ2-M6K : 8 January 2021), Herbert D Howie, 31 Dec 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).