1. John was about nine years of age when his parents emigrated to North Carolina in the summer of 1767, and settled on a farm near Jamestown, Guilford county. John remained on the farm, helping his parents till he was nineteen years of age. June 17, 1777, he enlisted in the Revolutionary War, serving three years as a private in Captain Clement Hall’s company, 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Battalions, commanded by Colonel John Patten. [48]

2. On August 3, 1786, he received from his father, Jonathan Howell, a present of a deed to 161 acres of land on the waters of Bull Run, near Jamestown, North Carolina, on which he made his home until his death in 1828.
May 16th, 1787, he received from the state of North Carolina a grant of 276 acres on the waters of Bull Run, near Jamestown. The name of John Howell appreas quite often in the minutes of the County Court of Pleas and Quarters Sessions, which is a continuation of the English form of government. It meets quarterly, in February, May, August, and November. It was a quarterly meeting of the Magistrated Court. Three, five, or more Justices of the Peace sat on the bench. They rendered judgment, appointed county officers, laid the county tax. Wills were probated and deeds were proven in this court, and ordered placed on record.
At the May term, 1799, John Howell was commissioned as entrataker for Guilford county, his duty being to keep and look after the public and confiscated lands and to sell them. His bond was fixed at 2,000 pounds. (page 103, page 113, of Guilford county, North Carolina records.)
At the February term, in 1800, Charles Bruce, John Hamilton, and John Howell were appointed a committee to establish a standard of weights and measurements for the county of Guilford, which shall be a guide for the person appointed to regulate the same. [48]