#1 Joshua Howard

Joshua Howard

Joshua Howard, born July 10, 1832, was the eldest child of John Henry and Mary (Elder). He apparently lived his entire life in the area that is now the northern part of Spalding County, Georgia. He was old enough to remember all four grandparents and at least two great-grandparents. March 30, 1852 he married "Milisa Cathen" Reeves as one descendant spelled her name. They had the following children:

Louise Ann b. April 22 (or 28), 1853

Martha C. b. Sept 2, 1854 d. Sept 1856

Mary Elizabeth b. Aug. 11, 1857

John Henry b. Jan. 31, 1859

William David b. Aug. 12, 1861

Effie Lee b. Feb 17, 1867

Leathey Lenora b. Dec. 1867 died Sept 24, 1870

Tinnie Penny b. Aug. 28, 1871

Ben F. b. May 6, 1876

Joshua died May 25, 1892 and is buried in the County Line (United Methodist Church) Cemetery. According to his tombstone, he joined the M. E. Church July 1844.

Although nothing found within JH Family.pdf identifies the writer, it probably was either Mrs. Ed. Starr or John Henry Starr. The reasoning: Found within a letter dated January 7, 1941 from Willie to his grand-nephew J. Fred Starr: "It is quite remarkable how correct Mrs. Ed Starr's mind is, as she gave us all the data that you gave except the ages of your Fred and Jon Larry." But the 1934 letter from John Walter Starr corrects his father's data. J.Walter.pdf

William David moved west to Oklahoma three different times according to Edd Starr.pdf. By 1915 the family had settled near Magnolia, Arkansas. It was Helen (Starr) Wade of Dallas that Edd shared his family data with for many birth and marriage dates are into the mid-1960s. For that reason only the few pages with dates ending before 1930s are seen here.

William's son, J. Fred Starr, had an interesting career. He lists teaching in public schools as his main occupation, but he also served in the Arkansas Legislature. However he is now best remembered as an author. The first books were simple collections of his newspaper columns, but he later turned to semi-fictional accounts of life "as it was" in the Ozarks. Titles include: Gifts From the Hills, Hillside Adventures, Peebles from the Ozarks, Plain Tales from the Ozarks, Hillside Adventures, From an Ozark Hillside, To Keep a Promise, Climb the Highest Mountain, and Of These Hills and Us.

There must be a story behind the certified affidavit signed by J. W. Starr attesting the birth date of BF Starr.pdf The second page of this file is Benjamin's family data written by an unknown individual.

The typed family data seen in JH Family2.pdf is probably Willie's draft for Louise (Starr) Carter. Other pages within this file complete the data submitted for Joshua Howard's line with one exception: information on Susie Zelma Starr's family is in Eliott.pdf