The article below was found in a local newspaper reporting the death of Howard Divinity of Copiah County, Mississippi.
Howard Divinity Stood by his Principals
Howard Divinity is dead at the age of 108. He was the oldest person in Copiah County, residing near Hazlehurst.
Howard had attained wide renown over the country. He attended every confederate reunion for many years, and once visited the White House in Washington, dining with the servants.
He served during the Civil war as bodyguard for officers.
Howard doubtless is sincerely mourned by his white friends of Copiah county. A long life of faithful devotion to sentiments and principals is just as touching in a servant as it is admirable in a master.
Clarion-Ledger
Jackson, Mississippi
20 Mar 1934 - Page 5
Howard's death certificate is void of the information family historians value, the names and birthplaces of his parents. At the time of his death, 08 March 1934, Howard was listed as 110 years of age. He was supposedly a widower although his wife Susan died four years later in 1938. Census records suggest he was born in the mid 1840s.
1870 - Howard, 27 years old, born about 1843.
1880 - Howard, 30 years old, born about 1850.
1900 - Howard, 55 years old, born about 1845.
1910 - Howard, 78 years old, born about 1832
1920 - Howard, 75 years old, born about 1845
1930 - Howard, 107 years old, born about 1823
Howard Divinity's Slave Narrative
Got to love that census aging. He probably felt tired enough to claim 107.
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