Do you ever feel a deep connection to an ancestor that you never met and only know from genealogy research and stories? As an adopted child who knew very few members of her biological family, I have found a great curiosity in knowing my ancestors, and one in particular has captured my heart. She's the one I most want to know and hug. I feel that she would understand so much about me and my losses because of her own life experiences. I want to try to tell some of her story here.
Born: June 21, 1888
Birthplace: Ashe County, NC
Frances Arbella Howell McGuire was born on June 21, 1888 in Ashe County, NC. Her birthday alone is already special to me as my husband and I were married on that date. I was not aware of her birthday at the time of our marriage, but I hope she knows. While I am the most sad that I have no pictures of Frances herself, I know that she loved her family because she preserved photos of her parents and siblings and children. I also regret not naming a daughter after her. I think Arbella is a lovely old English name meaning "yielding to prayer" and also has some sweet historical value as the name of the 12th Century granddaughter of William the Lion, King of Scotland, Arbella Stuart who was an English noblewoman once considered a possible successor to Elizabeth I, and the name of the flagship that carried Puritan settlers like Governor John Winthrop and poet Anne Bradstreet to Salem, Massachusetts in 1630.
Frances was the daughter of Felix Howell and Rachel Narcissus Adams of Watauga County, NC. She kept pictures of her parents and grandparents which are a treasure to have. I do wonder if I have any of her characteristics because I know I look like my mother and my mother's mother who was Frances's daughter, Anna. She may have also looked like her beautiful daughter, Idella. Frances was the 5th of 10 children. Frances’s younger brother Walter died on March 27, 1897 at not quite 3 years old. He is buried in the Amos Wellington Howell Family Cemetery in Ashe County, NC. In 1900, Frances was 11 years old living in Pine Swamp, Ashe County, NC with her parents and siblings Martha, Wiley, William, Polly Anna, David, Winford, and Willard. In 1902, tragedy struck the family again when the oldest son Amos Wellington was shot and killed on November 6, 1902 while working as a Watauga County Sheriff’s Office. He had attempted to arrest a man for murdering his father, and he was fatally wounded when the suspect opened fire. Although the shooter fled to Wyoming, he was eventually apprehended in August 1903 and extradited back to North Carolina, but he escaped the Caldwell County jail and fled into the mountains. On April 22, 1904, the suspect was shot and killed by a Watauga County Deputy Sheriff. Amos was buried in the Amos Wellington Howell Family Cemetery alongside his younger brother Walter. Frances's sister, Martha Naomi (Naomi is a family name on my husband's side with his Grandmother and sister carrying the name) married Allen Hamilton Church and raised five children before she died young at 45. Her brother, Wiley Columbus, married Lula Sophiona Greene, and they had 11 children and lived in Montana. Her brother William Lee married Sarah Fannie Goodman, and they had 6 children. Her sister Polly Anna married Walter Guy Waddell, and they had 8 children together. Her brother David Winston died at 16 on August 20, 1908 in Ashe County, NC although I do not know how he died. He is also buried in the cemetery named after his brother Amos. Brother Winford Bryan was a cute little guy and also sadly died young at 14 of unknown causes. I just feel like this family suffered so much loss. Brother Willard Blair was also a cute little guy and did live a long life. He married Octavia Virginia Gobble, and they had two children together.
On March 29, 1908, Frances married Dell Mack McGuire in Ashe County, NC, and the two raised their 8 children. In 1920, Frances was 30 years old living with her husband Dell and children Verna, Mack, Anna, Idella, and Claude. On July 31, 1929, Frances passed away at 41 years old from heart failure leaving her beloved husband and 8 children behind. Her youngest son, William, was only 2 years old and was lying beside her in the bed when she died. Thankfully, once her husband had grieved for over six years, he remarried a wonderful woman named Ada who became a loving wife and mother to their children.
The oldest daughter, Verna Lee, married Otha Hartsell "Hart" Cline, and they settled in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties and had two children, Charles Ray and Barbara Ann. Sadly, Charles Ray passed away at only a few months old. Their son, Mack Howell, joined the army in World War II in 1941. He came home to marry Mae Mary Dancy and helped raise her 4 children from a previous marriage. Daughter Anna Laura was my grandmother and probably stayed closest to her parents as she lived with them most of her life. She did marry Barner James Allman when she was 27 and had two children, Ronald Dell and Connie Nell, although she and her husband divorced shortly after Connie was born. She lived with her daughter Connie and Step-Mother Ada until her death in 1978 at 64 years old. Daughter Idella Mae was a beautiful young woman who took on the primary role of caring for her father and younger siblings after their mother's death as her father did not remarry for over 6 years. After talking to a McGuire cousin recently, I think Idella chose to commit herself to her family instead of settling down with a family of her own. I do have some memories of Idella coming to visit us and bringing me sweet gifts like a talking doll. She aged gracefully, and I think I have some of her physical traits. I love the picture of her surrounded by her young nieces and nephews and just looking so elegant and motherly. I think she was a mother to many. She lived to be 77 years old. Son Claude Allen shares a birthday, June 30th, with my daughter Mattie. He married Ruby Faye Elder and raised six beautiful children, Frances Laura Neal, Steve Allen, Ruby Lavaughn, Gary Elder, Sharon Elaine, and Thomas. I think my twin in life is his daughter Sharon as her picture as a child looks so much like me. Son Robert R. married Ruby Phyllis Stancil and had four children, Robert W., Vicki Dianne, Danny L., and Richard E. Son James Monroe married Clara Macie, and they had 3 children, James Anthony, Donna, and Carla. He also joined the army to serve in World War II. The youngest son William Howard married Katherine Elizabeth Tutterow, and they made a beautiful couple. I also do remember them visiting me as a child. They raised Katherine's children from a previous marriage.
If there is one thing I will learn from my precious great-grandmother's too short life, it is to never take a moment for granted. She died at the age I am now with young children like mine. I want my children to remember me. I want them to have lots of pictures to help them remember and treasure. I hope that Frances is watching over us from heaven and smiles knowing we are remembering her. I love you, Great-Grandmother Frances!
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