John Howlett Sr. disposed of his estate shortly before his death in a deed in which he allotted equal portions of it to each of his children. This included his sons John Jr., Isaac, Luke, and Harrison; and his daughters Elizabeth Masden, Mary Gray, and the children of deceased daughter Drusilla Carlise.
Bullitt County Deed Book L, Pages 329-330
Know all men by these presents that John Howlett Sr. of the County of Bullitt and State of Kentucky for and in consideration of the love and affection which I had for my children and grandchildren hereinafter named, and for the further consideration of one dollar by them to me in hand paid before the signing, sealing and delivery of these presents, hath given, granted and forever transferred all of my estate embracing real, personal and mixed to my following children and grandchildren, the possession of which they are to have at my death, to-wit: to my daughter Elizabeth Masden I give one equal part of my estate; to my son John Howlett Jr. one equal part of my estate; to my daughter Mary Gray and her children one equal part of my estate; to my son Isaac Howlett one equal portion of my estate, $600 of which I have this day give him in a tract of land upon which he now resides which is to be deducted from his portion at my death; to my son Luke Howlett I give one equal part of my estate; to my son Harrison Howlett I give one equal portion of my estate; to the children of my daughter Drusilla Carlisle dec'd I give an equal portion of my estate.
I do hereby appoint my son John Howlett a trustee for my daughter Mary Gray and her children, and as trustee for the children of my daughter Drusilla Carlisle to manage and control the estate I have herein given to each. I wish my said trustee to manage said estate so as to be profitable and beneficial to my daughter and the grandchildren above alluded to. That part of my estate I have here given to my daughter Mary Gray I give remainder over to her children and their descendants.
I wish my trustee to so manage the estate I have given to my daughter Mary Gray as not to be under the control in any way of her husband Patrick Gray.
The whole of my estate I have herein given and granted away to my children and grandchildren. They are to have full, free and undisturbed possession of at my death except that tract of land given to my son Isaac at $600 that he has possession of and is forever to keep possession of.
In witness hereof I have this day set my hand and affixed my seal this 30th day of November 1847. (signed) John (his x mark) Howlett.
Witness: George Roberts, William M. Howlett, John (his x mark) Howlett.
State of Kentucky, Bullitt County, to-wit. I Noah C. Summers, clerk of the county court for said county, certify that this deed from John Howlett Sr. to John Howlett Jr. &c was the 11 October 1868 produced to me in my office and acknowledged by said John Howlett Sr. and John Howlett Jr., parties thereto to be their act and deed and ordered to be recorded, and thereupon the same and this certificate are truly recorded in my office this 25th day of October 1848. Att. N. C. Summers, C.B.C.C.
Know all men by these presents that I John Howlett Sr. made, executed a deed of gift to my children on the 30th day of November 1847 in which is stipulated that the children of my daughter Dursilla Carlisle shall have an equal portion of my estate with the balance of my children. This portion of said deed of gift I hereby revoke and alter for the following reasons and in the following way.
My son Isaac Howlett stands as the security for James Carlisle in an execution to B. R. Young $445.31, said Carlisle being unable to pay said debt to said Young, I hereby direct that that portion of my estate conveyed to the children of my daughter Mrs. Carlisle shall be held in trust by my son John Howlett Jr. and that said trustee is hereby authorized and directed to pay over after my death so much of said interest as will be sufficient to cover and extinguish principal and interest of said debt to said Young.
Given under my hand and seal this 1st day of June 1848. (signed) John (his x mark) Howlett, John Howlett Jr. Witness: Squire Hart, Aquilla Hoskinson.
State of Kentucky, Bullitt County, to-wit. I Noah C. Summers, clerk of the county court for said county, certify that this deed from John Howlett Sr. to his children was the 11 October 1848 produced to me in my office and acknowledged by John Howlett Sr, and John Howlett Jr., parties thereto to be their act and deed, and ordered to be recorded and thereupon the same and this certificate are truly recorded in my office this 26 day of October 1848. Att. N. C. Summers, B.C.C.
If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.
The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 17 Nov 2025 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/johnhowlettestate.html
