Notes for Alice Allen




			The Ancestors of H A R R Y F E R G U S O N J O H N S O N of North Carolina

Notes for Alice Allen

In 1871, Alice Allen was enumerated at a girls boarding school on Oxford Road in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Her sister Jessie was at school with her. Seventeen girls in all resided in the household, with staff. The inscription inside the cover of her book, Tom Brown's School Days, reads " Alice Allen Dec 20th 1871 Alford Lodge Banbury"

The 1900 Census indicated she immigrated to US from England in 1872, but this date was incorrect, because she was married before she immigrated. She lived first in New Jersey, then Virginia. She became a naturalized citizen. Of nine children born to Alice Allen, seven were living as of 1900.

Alice Howell (nee Allen) returned from a visit to England on November 2nd, 1905. She departed from Liverpool, England on October 24th on board the SS Saxonia. She arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, and declared $8.00 in cash in her possession. According to the passenger list, she had visited Dorchester, and was returning to Claiborne, Amherst Co., Virginia. She was described as 52 years old, a resident of the United States for 26 years, and the wife of Thomas Howell and sister-in-law of C. Tavener of Blue Hill Ave., Mattapan, Massachusetts.

On 29 July 1908, Alice Howell, age 55, married, able to read and write, a citizen of England, a resident of New Glasgow, Amherst Co., Virginia, wife of Thomas Howell resident of the same, arrived in Philadelphia from Liverpool, England on board the SS Haverford. She had $10 in cash and paid her own passage. She had been in the United States for a total of 29 years, residing first for 15 years in New Jersey and then in Virginia, and was last in the United States in April 1908. Before returning to her home in New Glasgow, Virginia, she would visit her daughter Mary A. Howell at 59 Court St., Newark, New Jersey. She was 4' 10" tall, had a fair complexion, grey hair and grey eyes, and was born in Yeovil, England. [Ancestry.com. Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.]

Alice Howell, age 58, married, a citizen of the USA, arrived in Liverpool from Philadelphia via Queenstown (Ireland) on 09 April 1912 on board the Haverford of the American Line. [Bronwen Ellis, research]

From a letter written by Margaret Howell Perry, October, 1996: "My grandmother Howell was a twin. Her name was Alice Allen Howell. She was born in Poole, Dorset, England and had three sisters, one of whom must have married a man by the same last name since he was referred to as Fitser (I don't know if this is spelled correctly, but it was pronounced Fitz-her) Allen. There may have been others because when I was a child, Uncle Bob got fabulous letters from a cousin named Julie. She could have been Grandmother's twin sister's child. I just don't know and I guess I didn't pay much attention. There are two quotes from Julie's letters that stand out in my mind and also tell us that we had cousins Angus Allen who migrated to South Africa.
"Keep in mind that these quotes arrived with absolutely no punctuation. In one letter she wrote 'Baby Angus walked from South Africa at nine months.' "In a later one she wrote, 'Uncle Fitser died between June 11 and 12 and was buried at sea off Old Harry's Rock.' Uncle Fitser had been in the Royal Navy. I also remembered her mentioning that there were relatives on the Howell side who had moved to Switzerland."

[Note: Julianna Trenchard's sister was named Emma Fitzer Trenchard. Julianna had a son named Hugh "Fitz Er" Allen. DJJ] [Note: "Julie" who wrote letters to Bob Howell was probably Julianna Allen, daughter of Robert Charles Allen. DJJ]

Alice Allen had a twin sister, Jessie Allen.

Obituary -
Mrs. Thomas Howell Passes Away
     Mrs. Alice Howell, widow of the late Thomas Howell of New Glasgow, Va., died on Tuesday night at her home, "Athlone," following a short illness. Although Mrs. Howell had not been well for several months she was only within the past week seized with the fatal illness, pneumonia, as the result of influenza, so her death comes as a shock to her many friends scattered throughout the county as well as the state and elsewhere.
     Mrs. Howell was a Englishwoman of splendid birth coming to this country many years ago with her husband, Thomas Howell, from Dorchester, England, and establishing the present Howell home near New Glasgow, having endeared herself to those with whom she came in contact, through her sweet and affable manner and her generous and noble spirit. Her friends are many and they will join the bereaved family in mourning her passing.
     She is survived by the following children and a host of grandchildren: J. V. Howell, Miss Mary Howell, and Robert Howell, all of New Glasgow, Amherst County; Mrs. Roy Massie, Charlottesville, Va., Mrs. Amy Howell Walsh, of California; and Roger Howell of Alabama. Mrs. Howell also has three living sisters, all in England.
     Funeral services were held Thursday morning at 11 o'clock from St. Marks Episcopal Church, Clifford, Va., of which the deceased was a member, and of which her husband, Rev. Howell, was rector for many years, during the early years of his residence here. The officiating ministers were Dr. Thomas Dean Lewis, rector of St. Marks church, and Rev. Frank Mezick of Arrington, Va. Two hymns were sung at the church, "Abide with Me" and "Asleep In Jesus," and one at the grave, "There Is A Blessed Hour."
     Active pall bearers were: L. H. Shrader, Hope Hudson, John Cox, John W. Shrader, Lankford Alcock, and Mortimer Harris.

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