The following are the appointments of the Pacific Conference for the present year:
    MARYSVILLE DISTRICT--B. R. Johnson, P.E.--Yolo Circuit, J. G. Johnson; Yuba City Circuit, R. A. Latimer; Penn Valley Circuit, D. M. Rice; Colusa Valley, J. G. Shelton, J. M. Lovell; Chico Valley, F. G. Grey, G. E. Dean; Red Bluff Circuit, A. C. Howlett; Nevada and Grass Valley Circuit, R. R. Baldwin; Shasta Circuit, John M. Ward; Stony Creek Circuit, L. T. Hawkins.
"Appointments," Visalia Weekly Delta, October 15, 1859, page 2


Howlett, Alfred C. and Cooke, Sarah E., married 1863 in Clackamas County
Oregon Historical Records Index


    FAITHFUL SERVICE.--Amid the trials of the last two weeks there are several persons who have earned the admiration of this community. The two brave women, Mrs. Howlett and Miss Mary Ralls, who have nursed Mrs. Love at the risk of their lives, are entitled to public gratitude. The Catholic Sisters, also, and Father Blanchet have been faithful and devoted to the sick. In a time of public calamity, when a dreadful malady, that nearly dries up the springs of human affection, and drives away friends in affright, is raging, too much praise cannot be given to those who so nobly face the danger of contagion.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, January 16, 1869, page 3


    SAD.--On Thursday evening, Mrs. Howlett and Miss Mary Ralls, who so bravely took care of Mrs. Love and her children, together with little "Maggie," were taken down with smallpox. Their cases are reported as mild and they are now being nursed by the Sisters of Charity. They have the public sympathy, and it is hoped their cases will not be serious.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, January 23, 1869, page 3


    Since last week we have had seven new cases of smallpox, four in the country and three in town--the latter are little Johnny Love, W. G. T'Vault and John Brewer. The two last were taken yesterday. Three of the former are in Ball's family, and the fourth is the wife of David Stearns on Wagner Creek--her case is said to be serious. All the patients at the two hospitals have been discharged as convalescent. Mrs. Howlett, Mary Ralls, the Bryant family and little Johnny Love are out of danger. Maggie Love and a half-breed woman at Brewer's are not expected to recover. It is hard to say when the terrible disease will disappear and we again urge vaccination and every possible precaution against contagion. Treat every ailment with suspicion until satisfied that it is not smallpox.--Sentinel.
"State Items," Oregon State Journal, Eugene, February 6, 1869, page 2  Reprinted from the Sentinel of January 30, page 2.


Jackson County, Oregon:
Howlett, Alfred C., 38, farmer, born Maine
Howlett, Sarah E., 22, born Missouri
Howlett, Walter H., 6, born Oregon
Howlett, Alferd W., 3, born Oregon
Howlett, Sarah S., 1, born Oregon
Howlett, Wilber F., 31, born Missouri
U.S. Census, enumerated June 30, 1870


Big Butte precinct, Oregon:
Howlett, Alferd C., 48, farmer, born Maine, parents Massachusetts
Howlett, Sarah E., 32, born Missouri, father North Carolina, mother Missouri
Howlett, Walter H., 15, born Oregon
Howlett, Alferd W., 12, born Oregon
Howlett, Sarah S., 11, born Oregon
Howlett, Millard M., 8, born Oregon
Howlett, Wilber H., 6, born Oregon
Howlett, Martha E., 4, born Oregon
Howlett, Bertha F., 2, born Oregon
Howlett, Maggie B., 1, born Oregon
U.S. Census, enumerated June 28, 1880

    [In 1863 Isaiah L. Hopkins] was sent to Jacksonville Circuit, where he remained but eight months. Here he erected a church, doing much of the work with his own hands. He was changed by his presiding elder to the Williamsburg and Kerbyville Circuit, two mining towns. He rented a parsonage, but so attentive were the people to the preacher's wants that his whole expenditure for the year amounted to but twenty-five cents, and that was spent for soda to raise his biscuits. On the day that he reached Williamsburg his quarterly meeting was to be held. The presiding elder got word during the day that his wife was very ill. He had no money, and there was no time to raise him any. Brother Hopkins gave him all he had--two dollars. That evening he went into an old, deserted miner's cabin to secret prayer, and as he knelt down he saw lying before him on the table a ten-dollar gold piece. He looked upon this as a special providence, and as a gift from that God whose hand knows just where to place those things his children need.
    Here the citizens bought a saloon and converted it into a church. As on the former occasion, the counter was transformed into a pulpit.
    He found it necessary to leave Oregon for the milder climate of California. Accordingly, in company with the Revs. D. M. Rice and A. C. Howlett, he set out across the mountains on his journey. During the trip the horses of Rice and Howlett were stolen. They borrowed other horses and proceeded on their journey. Just before reaching Colusa they passed two men on their stolen horses. Without saying a word to them, they rode on into Colusa, got out warrants and had them arrested as they rode into town. The preachers got possession of their property, and the men were sent to the state's prison for a term of three years.
John C. Simmons, The History of Southern Methodism on the Pacific Coast, Nashville 1886, pages 216-217


    A. C. Howlett also came recommended from the Vacaville and Putah Circuit. He filled two appointments in California, and was then sent to Oregon, where he labored until the organization of the Columbia Conference [page 330].
John Collinsworth Simmons, The History of Southern Methodism on the Pacific Coast, Nashville 1886, page 255


    The Columbia Conference was organized by Bishop H. H. Kavanaugh, September, 1866. The following preachers were present, and took part in the organization: C. H. E. Newton, A. E. Sears, James Kelsay, D. C. McFarland, J. B. Short, Levi Van Slyke, W. A. Finley, R. C. Martin, D. M. Rice, Thomas Brown, A. C. Howlett, J. Emery, J. W. Craig and R. C. Oglesby.
John Collinsworth Simmons, The History of Southern Methodism on the Pacific Coast, Nashville 1886, page 340

    I, Sarah E. Howlett, wife of A. C. Howlett of Jackson County Oregon hereby declare my intention to hold in my own name and subject exclusively to my Control the following personal property,
One Bay mare and her Sucking Colt the Mare is five years of age and branded Hʹ on the left side
One White Cow and her Sucking Calf the Calf is a Bull Calf a Roan the Cow is branded on the left Hip thus JB and C on the right hip Ear marked as follows, a split in each Ear and an under bit in the right Ear.
One hundred and seventeen head of Sheep and lambs the most of them are marked with a Crop and under bit in the left Ear and a spilt in the right Ear. The remainder are in different ear marks.

Sarah E. Howlett           

Jackson County Register of Married Women's Separate Property


    A. C. Howlett and wife to M. E. Willoughby, 80 acres of land. Consideration $200.
"Transfers of Real Estate," Oregon City Enterprise, July 4, 1878, page 3


    The Jacksonville Times says: A ewe belonging to A. C. Howlett, of Big Butte, recently gave birth to a pair of lambs joined together at the breast, and having but one head and two eyes. Otherwise they were perfectly formed. Mr. Howlett has stuffed this monstrosity, which looks as natural as if living. It may be seen at his residence.
"State News," Eugene City Guard, July 12, 1879, page 1


    Only one dissentient in this school district on any question, so our school meeting was harmonious.
    The newly elected director is A. C. Howlett, new clerk Jos. Wisdom, both elected by acclamation.
"Big Butte Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 17, 1880, page 3


    The family of Rev. A. C. Howlett, who resides on the divide between the Little and Big Butte creeks, in Jackson County, is severely afflicted. All of his children, eight in number, were taken down with diphtheria some time since. Saturday a boy of 14, and on Monday another boy, died of this terrible disease, and a third was not expected to live when the messenger left. Among the 5 surviving children, only 3 seem to be showing any favorable symptoms.
"Southern Oregon," Oregonian, Portland, August 10, 1881, page 1

    Diphtheria is raging in some portions of Jackson [County], many malignant cases being reported. The entire family of Rev. A. C. Howlett, consisting of eight members, are down with this scourge, and several are not expected to live.
"Northern Coast Items," San Francisco Examiner, August 11, 1881, page 3


    MR. HOWLETT'S AFFLICTION.--Since our last another of Mr. Howlett's children died of diphtheria, making four out of that family within one week. The stricken family, thinking that perhaps the location of the house they lived in might have something to do with their sickness, have removed to Mr. Linksweiler's residence on Antelope Creek. A fifth child was quite low and not expected to recover when the messenger left. The deceased children were aged respectively: the boys, one fourteen and the other seven years; the girls respectively 6½ and four years.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, August 13, 1881, page 3



    Last Sunday night we had a temperance meeting; Rev. M. A. Williams opened it with reading two passages from the Book of Proverbs, singing and prayer, after which he led off with one of his characteristic speeches in which he presented the moral and financial phases of the subject, advocated prohibition and denounced the license system. A call was then made for Rev. A. C. Howlett, and although the call was unexpected he said that he was always ready to speak on the subject of temperance and Christianity, he presented the mental and physical side of the question and was afterward called upon to give his ideas of the hereditary effect of alcohol, which he did, showing clearly and conclusively that the effect is transmitted from parent to child, advocated prohibition and laid the sin of liquor curse at the door of the men who vote for liquor men or to perpetuate the liquor parties. Geo. Brown, one of our merchants, was then called to the stand; he spoke to the effect of a mother's influence in his own case and that of his six brothers, and referred to the fact that our great men, our Websters etc. have drunk their liquor, passed away and their children have been lost sight of, but our great men, Lincolns, Garfields etc. spring from men of temperate habits. The name of A. L. Haselton was then called; he came forward and read an essay, setting forth some of the intemperance customs that prevail among the fair sex, for instance, squeezing a number seven foot into a number two shoe and encircling a number twenty-four waist in a no. sixteen corset, etc. We had a very enjoyable time, and the exercises closed with a benediction by A. C. Howlett.
"From Eagle Point, Jackson County," Roseburg Review, September 25, 1885, page 4

    Rev. A. C. HOWLETT, the newspaper correspondent, made us a substantial call Monday and left his measure for the Mail. Come around again, Dick.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, June 9, 1893, page 2  Howlett was the Valley Record's Eagle Point correspondent under the pseudonym "Dick."

    Uncle "DICK" HOWLETT was in Medford Saturday and as is his usual custom gave us an item of news like this: There were married, at the residence of the bride's parents, in Brownsboro, on November 30th, Mr. Henry Reynolds and Miss Mary A. Casto. Rev. A. C. Howlett, who is no other than the genial "Dick," performed the ceremony with the grace and dignity peculiar to his everyday demeanor--forgetting not the customary admonitions which if followed are such profitable adjuncts to a pleasant and prosperous life. The groom has a ranch on Little Butte Creek, and it was to this home that he took his newmade bride. The Mail hopes their lives may be as full of sunshine as Uncle "Dick" would wish them to be.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, December 7, 1893, page 3


    I herewith send you an account of a trip to Crater Lake and return, written from notes from Millie Howlett's diary:
    A company consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Carney and their children, Anna, Thomas and Pansy; Frank, Lillie, Jessie and Josie Gregory, Ella Williams and Alfred Fish, of Central Point, Rev. E. E. Phipps, Miss Bell Cochran, of Medford, Mr. and Mrs. James Lewis and their two children, Walker Lewis and Millie Howlett, collected at the ranch of James Lewis on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 1894, at 8 o'clock, The caravan started via the free ferry; but the guide not being familiar with the roads, and there being no sign boards, we got lost twice the first half day, but with all the drawbacks reached the ferry a little afternoon, and after crossing Rogue River we stopped to eat dinner in one of the dustiest places to be found, with only one small oak tree to make shade and the thermometer at 120°. After partaking of our first dinner camping out, we started on our way in high spirits, but had gone but a short distance when we discovered that two of the teams, that had not been used to hard work, began to show signs of failing, and there we had to "hang up" in a most miserable place; but says the diary: "We had quite a jolly time, as we had a violin and five players, among whom was one lady violinist, Miss Lillie Gregory. Dancing in the sand was fine; the only thing to mar the pleasure of the evening was that Mrs. Carney had the sick headache, but that was soon relieved by a dose of Garfield Tea administered by the camp physician."
    August 16.--All up and feeling fine. Drove past Mr. Gorden's fine ranch situated on Rogue River, 37 miles from the county seat. The surroundings would indicate that there was happiness and contentment there, as he seems to have around him all that would conduct to happiness. Before starting up the mile grade we all stopped to take a rest. Up the grade and around Flounce Rock, one of the most beautiful sights on the route thus far--a large, flat mountain, with its perpendicular walls, appearing to the beholder at a distance like a mammoth old-fashioned bed flounce, with all the richness of its variegation [of] colors. The next place of note on the route is the "Hole in the Ground." This is a short distance to the right of the road near the foot of the grade down Flounce Rock, it being a deep canyon in a comparatively flat tract of land, with its perpendicular walls and tall trees growing at the bottom. The next place noted was the ranch of Hon. Chauncey Nye, situated on the road about half way between Flounce Rock and the Mill Creek Falls. Here we stopped to dinner and by this time discovered that we had not taken enough provisions. After dinner we started for the falls, but found that the road was blocked with timber, so we had to cut our way out through the heavy timber and retrace our steps. On we went as far as the Rogue River bridge, where we stopped to view the rapids. To a person used to a prairie country this is a grand sight, the water falling out on an angle of about 45° over rocks and boulders for a distance of three-quarters of a mile, causing the spray to cover the bridge and filling the air with a fine mist. Satisfying our curiosity there, we proceeded to prospect and camped. Supper over, the two Lewises and Mr. Phipps went to watch a "lick" to try to kill a deer, and after Walker Lewis had sat on a limb of a fir tree, motionless, from 8 o'clock p.m. to l a.m., said: "Well, Jim, I can't stand this any longer," and just then a big buck whistled and off he went just in time to save his bacon; so they started for camp, but got lost and wandered around all night, reaching camp in time for breakfast. Those who remained in camp spent the evening playing cards, reciting stories and sleeping, for some were tired out.
    August 17.--Most of the company went to see the Mill Creek Falls, and to the average Oregonian they are a grand sight, the water falling over a perpendicular wall a depth of 210 feet. Here we concluded to see more of Rogue River so we descended to the water's edge and then jumped from boulder to boulder, witnessing the many curiosities there, among which was one large boulder on rock that the action of the water had cut a hole clear through. Bidding adieu to Rogue River and the falls we proceeded on until we reached Woodruff's on Union Creek at 3:30 p.m. without any dinner or water, as there is no water between Prospect and Union Creek, as hungry as wolves. Here we camped and the men watched the "lick" but caught nothing all that night. Saturday morning we remained in camp and went.to the natural bridge on Rogue River. It is composed of solid rock and is about 60 feet in length by 20 in width. Some of the party had a pony along and led it across the bridge. It is too rough to be useful as a bridge, but it is one of the natural curiosities of that section of the country. Alter dinner some of the younger members of the party started for the Rogue River Falls, and after traveling over brush and rocks, found them, but they do not compare with the Mill Creek Falls, the banks of the river in some places being very deep--from 100 to 150 feet down to the water. In the evening Messrs. Carney and Phipps started for the 5-mile lick; J. Lewis and Frank Gregory went to another that was nearer, and Alfred Fish and Walker Lewis--two of the boys of the camp--went to another, thus leaving Thomas Carney with two guns and a dog to guard the camp and take care of the girls, proving himself an expert at that business.
    August 19.--Got up early to get breakfast for the hunters. They all came in--without meat--except the boys, Al. Fish having fired the fatal shot, so the camp was supplied with meat for awhile. Carney and Phipps brought in the report that they had been lost most all night, but having found a haystack they piled up for the rest of the night. While they, the two last hunters, were eating their breakfast, a photographer [Perry Ellis] came along and took a photo of the camp. From there to White Horse Creek to dinner, arriving there at 5 p.m. as hungry as coyotes. Here is a fine camping place, water excellent.
    Monday morning found us on the road early, and arrived within 1½ miles of Crater Lake at 10:30 a.m.; camped there, but part of the company went right on to the lake and the rest remained to get dinner. On our way from Castle Camp, the last camp on Rogue River to the lake, we passed along Castle Canyon, so named from its natural castles or monuments, which stand as silent sentinels with their heads towering hundreds of feet above the rippling waters of the river, with its perpendicular walls from 1000 to 1500 feet in depth. Here the scenery is grand beyond description. In the far distance you could see Union Peak; off to the west another natural curiosity called "Rabbit Ears." which are two points of rock projecting from another that very much resemble the ears of a rabbit, consequently the name. After dinner off we went to see the lake. On the way up we met some of the party on the way back to camp, but on we went up through snow (August 20th) until we at last reached the banks of that world-renowned summer resort. But the most difficult task was yet to perform, that of descending to the water's edge, a distance of 2500 feet, some of the way down a narrow trail over a precipice that seemed almost perpendicular. Walker Lewis and Millie H. went down to the water alone and arrived in camp in ample time for supper.
    The lake is surrounded by the grandest natural scenery on the Pacific Coast, and in some respects surpasses the scenery of the Alps mountains. The lake itself is surrounded on all sides by almost perpendicular walls of rocks, and these are surrounded by massive peaks on almost every side.
    Among the most prominent mountains surrounding the lake are Mt. Jackson and Mt. Llao on the west; the latter has a tradition that causes all the aborigines of this country to quake with fear at the mention of the name. Mt. Thielsen is in the distance in the northwest; Mt. Scott in the east, while Mt. Cathedral is one of the lake's eastern boundaries. Two miles from the water's edge is the crater. The mountain in which the crater is situated is 845 feet high above the level of the lake's surface. The crater is 400 feet in diameter and 100 feet deep; one can go to the bottom of it on the snow. Mr. Perdue has a boat on the lake for the accommodation of visitors, but when this crowd was there the boat had got away and he was constructing a raft to go out into the lake after it, so we were deprived the privilege of exploring it further.
    That night in camp the time was spent with vocal and instrumental music, there being two vocal music teachers, Messrs. Phipps and Fish. About this time a tree fell and in that pure, clear atmosphere the noise it made startled all hands and they thought that a "bear" was in camp.
    Wednesday morning, the 21st, we started home, a part of the crowd via Ft. Klamath and the rest via the Rogue River route. On the return they camped at Prospect and spent the evening very pleasantly with Messrs. Aiken and Boothby and their families. Also camped at Mr. Gorden's, where they had a dance and those of the party who participated report one of the finest basket suppers of the season.
    We reached home the next day all O.K. The rest of the company arrived via Klamath Falls and Ashland on Monday evening.
    All seem to think they have been well repaid for the trouble of the trip.
Valley Record, Ashland, September 13, 1894, page 1  "Dick" was A. C. Howlett.


    A. C. HOWLETT is the Mail's regular correspondent at Eagle Point--and he is a good one, too. He is also our authorized agent for that locality, to whom money may be paid and receipted for in the name of this paper.
Medford Mail, October 19, 1894, page 2


    "It was Saturday--a big day in the Mail office. Messrs Bliton & York bought--you bet they did. It is not best to be going around town asking what these gentlemen have done, just go and take a look at their fine cylinder press. I have seen men delighted when getting coupled and when the baby--the first baby, of course--was born, but when this fine press began to shape up its anatomy in the best print shop in Rogue River Valley, the bosses just issued bucketsful of delight from their eyes. I was there, you see, can't fool me. Then there were the boys that sling type, my, my, they were away up in the third story, working like beavers to get the big press in place and grinning like opossums all the while. Everybody "kinder" likes the Mail and have had it hinted to them more than once that the proprietors are hustlers from away back, and no one is surprised to see the Mail break the newspaper record in this valley. Grit and brain is what makes the dust so thick back where the other fellows are. I have got pretty well acquainted with the boys. Go around and see them; they will use you right and while you are there don't forget to subscribe for the liveliest paper in Southern Oregon.
    No one knows who wrote this, but it's about straight goods all the same. It you don't believe it just go around print-day and see and be convinced.
Medford Mail, November 23, 1894, page 3


EDITOR VALLEY RECORD:--
    Your circular letter was received in due time, and I have been looking over the letters published in the Record with a great deal of interest, but fail to see anything from the Butte Creek country, so thought I would add my mite to the list in commendation of the course you have taken.
    With regard to the salaries of the county officers there is no question but what they are out of all proportion with other things, and when the People's Party published the platform demanding the reduction of the salaries of the officers of the county we all supposed that it was an understanding with the nominees that they were to take the nomination on the reform ticket in good faith and ex-Governor Pennoyer was honest and shrewd enough to donate a part of his salary for the benefit of the taxpayers, and I thought that as a matter of course our county officers would at least be SHARP enough to follow the example of our great leader.
    It is a conceded fact that the salaries of our officials are altogether out of proportion to other things.
    If you will review the history of any of them you will find that a few years ago either of them would have been glad to have accepted a position with a salary of $800 a year, and get up in the morning and make their own fire and sweep their own room. But it seems when they have a chance at the county purse they must follow the example of their predecessors--take all that there is in sight--and have the taxpayers hire a servant to build the fires and clean up their offices for them.
    I hope that the coming legislature will so amend the laws so as to equalize our salaries. a little at least. Not that I want to take the premium off of intellect. But give an intelligent farmer, such as our county clerk, county recorder, sheriff, etc., were a short time ago, an equal show with them.
Valley Record, Ashland, December 10, 1896, page 3




    And now, Mr. Ed., my communication is already rather lengthy but you will pardon me if I refer to a personal matter. This ends the fourth year that I have been a regular contributor to your valuable and interesting paper. Yes, this makes the two hundred and eighth letter that I have written for the Mail and never missed a week. It is with feelings of pride that I refer to our associations for the last four years, and for the last ten years I have contributed something for the scrutiny of the public every week. While I have made some errors in writing 520 letters, I feel grateful to the reading public for the kindness shown me and to my many friends for the assistance they have given me in the way of items for the press, and kindly solicit a continuation of the same.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, September 16, 1898, page 5


Eagle Point precinct, Oregon:
Howlett, Alfred C., 68, stock farmer, born Maine March 1832, parents
    Massachusetts, married 36 years
Howlett, Sarah E., 52, born Missouri December 1847, father North Carolina,
    mother Missouri, married 36 years, 13 children, 6 living
Howlett, Tavia G., 16, born Oregon January 1884
Howlett, Lucy H., 12, born Oregon December 1887
Howlett, Agnes L., 9, born Oregon November 1890
Foster, Frank M., 21, farm laborer, born Oregon July 1878
U.S. Census, enumerated June 25-26, 1900


    Last Sunday quite a number of friends came in to help me celebrate my sixty-ninth birthday, they having been invited by Mrs. Howlett without my knowledge. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Severance, Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Moomaw and daughter, Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. S. F. Robinett, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Lewis, Mesdames E. Sinclair and A. M. Thomas, and J. J. Fryer and grandson, Austin Green. After dinner Mrs. Harry Carlton and Miss Lottie Taylor came in and enlivened the occasion with some fine music. Altogether it made me feet quite young, and I hope that we may have many more such pleasant reunions.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, March 22, 1901, page 5


    Mrs. Howlett has opened a boarding house in Eagle Point.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, April 12, 1901, page 5


    Mrs. A. C. Howlett, of Eagle Point, Jackson County, has been visiting her brother, A. W. Cooke.
"Damascus," Oregon City Enterprise, February 28, 1902, page 2


    Mrs. A. M. Thomas has been tearing away the old fence around her property and replacing it with a new one. A. C. Howlett has also been remodeling his fence and taking more land into his home place.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, March 14, 1902, page 5




    A. C. Howlett was in town last week. He is an old resident of Eagle Point and runs the Sunnyside Hotel. He has reached his eighty-second year and states that for the last twenty-nine years he has written from one to four pieces of news and articles each week, all of which have found publication.
"Local and Personal," Ashland Tidings, April 16, 1914, page 6


    Well, after so long a time, I am at home again and seated in my little studio with pencil in hand to write to the readers of the Medford Mail Tribune once more.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail Tribune, July 14, 1914, page 4


    The last time that I wrote I was at Damascus, Ore., and while I was there my brother-in-law took me in his auto around the country to note the changes that have taken place during the past fifty-two years. When I first came into that part of the country fifty-two years ago, about the middle of October, it was then a vast forest with a few farms dotted here and there, with a small opening of cleared land, and that consisted of having the most of the trees being chopped, sawed or burned down and the rest of them girdled, where the early settlers could raise a little wheat, oats and potatoes, depending largely on their guns for their meat, although they raised some hogs, but bear and deer were then very plentiful during that period. We had to go to Oregon City, seven miles, or Portland, fourteen miles, for our mail, and in many instances the settlers had to go twenty or thirty miles for their mail and groceries, which consisted principally of sugar, coffee and tobacco, but they soon adopted the plan of raising that necessary staple, and in many instances used parched wheat as a substitute for coffee, and the farmers generally kept a few sheep and from the wool made their socks and stockings, and in many instances they made their own clothing. The houses were generally built of logs; some of them would be hewed, but generally they were simply put up without taking off the bark, and they were nearly always in a hurry to get a roof over their heads, but under what we would now call such trying times they were the most contented and happy people I ever met. But I started in to tell about the changes that had taken place in the country itself. Now, where then stood an occasional log cabin and a small piece of cleared land, it is a vast prairie, and the farms, instead of containing from 160 to 640 acres of land that was of no value except to look at, and then you would have to go all over it to see it, for in very many places one could only see straight up for the brush and timber, now consist of tracts of from three to forty acres. I heard of one man that had a tract of 100 acres, but that is the exception to the rule, and on these small farms they have good, neatly painted dwellings and barns; they keep a few cows and hogs and seem to be supplied with about all of the comforts of life. They have fine roads up in that section of the country and the whole country shows signs of thrift and plenty. Quite a large proportion of the citizens are Germans, and they generally are good farmers and build up the country.
A. C. Howlett, "Eaglets Abroad," Medford Mail Tribune, October 28, 1914, page 7


    Passing on, we soon came to the town of Elkwood, where in 1864 I used to preach in the Kavanaugh hotel and lay my Bible and hymn book on the center of the "bar" where the booze fighters used to drink until they could not stand, and gambling was carried on openly, but still with all of these surroundings the men seemed to appreciate the visitations of the minister of the gospel and in most instances would treat the minister with respect.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail Tribune, July 8, 1915, page 2


    By this time daylight began to appear and we had a fine view of one of the beauty spots of Northern California. We traveled for miles over a vast prairie interspersed with grain, in sacks that were scattered over the fields, indicating the reason that there were so many fine large houses and barns and occasionally an orchard, but the principal part of the country seemed to be devoted to farming and while a part of the land would have the grain in the sack, for there they use the combined harvester, there was a large part of the grain still standing and in addition to the grain there were hundreds of acres of alfalfa and everything indicated that we were passing through a fine productive country, but there is one very serious drawback, not that I would speak disparagingly of the country, but we all know that every country has its drawbacks, and one great drawback to that part of California is the heavy wind which often burns up the crop, for I have seen apples almost cooked when I was preaching on the Red Bluff circuit. Along the route we passed several towns and in some instances what might claim to be cities, and at last we began to reach the land of my earlier days where I spent my early manhood and finally we came to a stop at Davis, situated on a vast prairie between here (Vacaville) and Sacramento City, and there we made quite a stop and I had a chance to look around and see what changes had taken place since I preached my first sermon in the old school house in 1858 when I was nothing but an exhorter, and my memory was kept busy running over the past fifty-seven years.
A. C. Howlett, "Eaglets Adrift," Medford Mail Tribune, July 10, 1915, page 5


    The town of Vacaville is situated in Vaca Valley and is one of the many small towns or cities that are scattered all over the agricultural and horticultural section of the country, and at one time was the seat of the Ulatis Academy, but the building was turned [sic] and the Christian church now stands on the spot where the academy stood. The town has three churches, Presbyterian, Baptist and Christian, and the church and school buildings reflect credit on the citizens of the town. It is situated on a branch railroad of S.P. system that runs from Elmira to Woodland and taps a very rich and productive section of the country. On Sunday I attended the Presbyterian church in the forenoon and at night the Christian, where the three ministers held a union meeting. On Monday I took an auto ride down to Vallejo, about forty miles and back, and had a fine chance to see what used to be my stomping ground sixty years ago, but the country has changed so much that there was but few places that I could recognize, for where used to be miles of vast prairie land it is now covered with orchards and timber that is planted for fuel, shade and manufacturing purposes, the eucalyptus tree--and that is the wood grows very rapidly and after it gets started to grow proves to be a very profitable tree to grow, for one can cut off the limbs and they will sprout right out again and thus perpetuate a forest indefinitely.
A. C. Howlett, "Eaglets Adrift," Medford Mail Tribune, July 12, 1915, page 2

EIGHTY-FOUR YEARS YOUNG

    One of the most devoted contributors to the Sunday-School Society is Rev. A. C. Howlett, of Eagle Point, Oregon. Mr. Howlett was born in Augusta, Maine, March 16, 1832. In his young boyhood his family moved to Missouri, and thence he went with his father by ox team to Los Angeles in 1849. He decided to enter the ministry, and was ordained in the Methodist Church, being stationed in Eugene, Oregon, in 1861. His circuit there embraced sixteen appointments. He covered a territory of 175 miles, visiting each appointment once a month. After strenuous service in several fields in Oregon and California, he settled at Eagle Point, forty-nine years ago, where he has rendered large service as a teacher, preacher, and newspaper correspondent. He has been blessed with thirteen children.
    Mr. Howlett became deeply interested in the work of the Sunday-School Society through the services of Rev. M. C. Davis, and united with the Congregational denomination. He has been a most helpful traveling companion and friend to Mr. Davis in all his work. In addition, Mr. Howlett contributes regularly each month a generous sum toward the work of the Society. We believe the friends of the work will be glad to look upon the picture of this noble, Christian pioneer who has seen marvelous developments in our country during the eighty-four fruitful years of his life.
The American Missionary, October 1916, page 365


    Mrs. A. C. Howlett and daughter and Messrs. Ringer and Edsell of Eagle Point were guests in the A. H. Peachey home on Lincoln Street, Sunday. Mrs. Howlett is manager of the Sunnyside Hotel in Eagle Point.
"Local and Personal," Ashland Tidings, February 15, 1917, page 14


    Probably the oldest newspaper correspondent in Oregon is A. C. Howlett, of Eagle Point, Jackson County. He is 85 years old and has been doing out-of-town correspondence for Jackson County newspapers for 51 years. He never owned a newspaper and never worked in a newspaper office. His journalistic experience has consisted entirely of writing up arrivals and departures, births, deaths, marriages and divorces from the small town where he resides. He has not missed a week for 32 years. All the reports that he has sent in, if gathered up, would make a sort of Anglo-Saxon chronicle for his home town.
"Forty Years Spent on Jobs by Several Men Prominent in Oregon Affairs," Oregonian, Portland, March 4, 1917, page 50




    Though more than 90 years of age, Rev. A. C. Howlett, veteran newspaper correspondent for the past 50 years, is as spry as many a man much his junior. Rev. Howlett is in the city today from Eagle Point and is enjoying the many lessons gleaned from attending the Price revival meetings.
"Local and Personal," Ashland Tidings, October 4, 1922, page 4


    I did think that when I got through January, 1923, that I would resign my position as the Eagle Point correspondent for the Mail Tribune, but when I talked with several of the readers of the Eaglets and they protested so strongly against it, I concluded that I would try to hold out for another month at least, although when it comes to a man of my age tramping over our town and go into a store and inquire of the proprietor about business and he will draw a long breath and reply: "Well, there were a few people in today from the country, but I don't remember who they were. They only stayed a few minutes and went home." And so I have notified some of the business men and women that if they don't put on their thinking cap and help me to gather items for the Eaglets, that I will have to throw up the sponge and quit. And I don't want to have to do that, for that kind-hearted editor, who always meets me with a smile, might not like it and I would not displease him for anything and there is another thought and that is if I should quit I would have nothing to do to occupy my mind or prompt me to move around and I would soon be like an old friend of mine, who is not as old as I am by several years, just sit around and soon be so I could not go out and become helpless and that thought is exceedingly repulsive to me. But I would appreciate very much a little help along that line, especially during the winter.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail Tribune, February 6, 1923, page 6


    A. C. Howlett of Eagle Point was in Medford Wednesday and says his sister, Mrs. Lucy Prescott Vain of Los Angeles, celebrated her 96th birthday June 13 and is a very active woman, being connected with the Bible and Holiness College of that city, where she has been for 20 years. Mr. and Mrs. Howlett, Sr., had 13 children. The father, A. C., and another brother drove from Missouri to California via New Mexico with an ox team during the gold rush in 1849 and had exciting times with the Indians and conditions generally.
    A. C. Howlett, who was 91 years of age last March, moved to Oregon in 1861, has been here ever since and expects to live and enjoy life and friends and continue his Eaglets for many years to come.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 21, 1923, page 6


    A. C. Howlett of Eagle Point, the aged hotel man and correspondent of the Mail Tribune from that section, who has been bothered for a long time past by a growth on his neck which bleeds occasionally, became seriously ill from the same cause last night and lost so much blood that it was feared for a time he was dying.
    A physician was summoned from Medford to administer relief, and late last night it was reported the bleeding had been stopped and his general condition much improved, although he was still a very sick man. At press time it was reported from Eagle Point that Mr. Howlett was slightly improved, but very weak.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 24, 1924, page 2


    Alfred Cobb Howlett, a pioneer circuit rider of Oregon and the Rogue River Valley, and for sixty years a contributor to Pacific Coast newspapers, 39 of them to the Mail Tribune, died at his home in Eagle Point, Wednesday, May 21, 1924. He had been confined to his home by illness for the last month and was 92 years, two months and five days of age at death.
    Mr. Howlett was born in Augusta, Maine, March 16, 1832, and was the contributor of the "Eagle Point Eaglets" in this paper, which were read far and wide, and many Mail Tribune readers throughout the land will be saddened when they read of the passing of this lovable man. His "Eaglets" were written with whimsical simplicity, and pictured with conscientious detail every phase of small-town life. His items held the charm of humanness and quaint, unconscious humor, and for these qualities often found their way into metropolitan journals. Mr. Howlett took great pride in his writings, and until the years and illness slowed his efforts was a tireless newsgatherer.
    Mr. Howlett was one of the best-known men in Southern Oregon and knew well the pioneer life of this section. He was a mine of information for early day happenings and delighted to tell of days that have passed.
    Mr. Howlett crossed the plains in 1849 with his father, over the Santa Fe trail, being lured to California by the discovery of gold. He went to the early day schools and followed mining until 1861, when he moved to Oregon, where he was ordained a Methodist minister. He served as a circuit rider in the Eugene circuit for a year, then served in Jackson County in 1864 and '65, and filled the same duties in Siskiyou and Josephine counties, with Yreka and Grants Pass as his headquarters. In 1869 he moved to Eagle Point where he has since resided.
    Mr. Howlett's first articles were written for the Pacific Methodist in 1868, and when a resident of Jacksonville he contributed occasional articles to the Sentinel, a pioneer Oregon publication. He later became a regular correspondent, when the paper's name was changed to the Jacksonville Times. [The Oregon Sentinel and Democratic Times were two different newspapers.] In 1879 he became a regular correspondent of the Valley Record, published at Ashland, and about the same time he wrote for the Roseburg Review, then published by the Rev. J. R. N. Bell.
    In 1885, when the Medford Monitor was founded, he started to write for it, and through the various changes of ownership and names, until it became the Mail Tribune, he was a regular correspondent, writing from one to five letters a week, and in those 39 years missed but one or two weeks.
    Mr. Howlett had a wide acquaintance among the pioneers of the Willamette Valley.
    His grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and was at Valley Forge. Mr. Howlett said the best impressions he ever received of George Washington were from the lips of his grandsire.
    On July 16, 1863, Mr. Howlett was married to Sarah E. Cook, and to this union 13 children were born, five sons and eight daughters. He is survived by his wife and four daughters, Mrs. Sarah Lewis, Four Lakes, Wash.; Mrs. Millie Hoyt, Klamath Falls, Ore.; and Miss Howlett, Eagle Point. Mrs. Lucy P. Vane of Los Angeles, Calif., sister, aged 97 years, also survives him.
    The funeral will be held from the family home, in Eagle Point, Friday at 3 o'clock. The funeral services will be conducted by the Rev. M. C. Davis of Wolf Creek, Oregon, an old friend. Interment will be in Antelope cemetery.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 22, 1924, page 1




    A. C. Howlett passed away to his reward Wednesday morning. He was widely known, having lived in Eagle Point for a good many years and was correspondent for the Mail Tribune from Eagle Point. Mr. Howlett will be greatly missed. He was always found on the side of truth and right.
"Reese Creek Riplets," Medford Mail Tribune, May 23, 1924, page 12