George Howell, of The Thirty, Born in Halton County 84 Years Ago - Lived Here Quarter of Century - Comes of U.E. L. Stock.
A hale and hearty Grimsby octogenarian who has practically put in three score and ten years of work - and plenty of hard work - is George Howell now living at The Thirty. Mr. Howell was born in Trafalgar township, in the county of Halton, in May 1840, and is therefore in his 85th year.
They had good schools in Halton and George was lucky enough to get a good common school education, which was generally hard in those early days, but the fact that he was going to school did not relieve him of plenty of work on the farm.
His grandfather was a United Empire Loyalist and came from the state of New Jersey and the 200-acre farm was far from being all cleaned up as George grew up.
The first wheat the grandfather grew - or rather four bushels of it - he brought to the lake shore at Bronte on a stone boat with a yoke of oxen, and then across the late to Grimsby to a row boat and it was ground into flour and the product freighted back again the next day.
But though George had been on a farm practically all his life, between seasons for about 50 years he followed the stone mason trade. He was married in 1869, and he and Mrs. Howell celebrated their golden wedding 6 years ago. They raised a family of 4 boys and two girls, John in Manitoba, Clinton deceased, James in California, Frank in Clinton township, Mrs. J.K. Wright and Mrs. T.D.McKonkey, both of Buffalo. There are 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Mrs. Howell died in 1921.
At a birthday party at the home of Stanley Mills in Hamilton two years ago, George was 82 a sister was 94 another sister 80, and two other women present were 96 and 84, a long-lived race. At his home at the Thirty, George has a writing desk that his grandfather received from the great grandfather, and brought to Canada with him on the rough trip through the woods in 1804.
Mr. Howell came to Grimsby 24 years ago, leased the Shultz farm on the Woolverton mountain and started a dairy; selling out there he moved to the eastern end of the township to another farm on the mountain; and from there to his present home at the lower Thirty, which he bought in 1907. George does not do much work mow, but it is not because he is not able, though he says rheumatism bothers him a little. He lives alone mostly, when at home.
