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AC -262
Clarence W. Howth Papers, 1895-1941
DESCUPTION
Clarence W. (C. W J Howth was a prominent Beaumont attorney during the first half of the twentieth
century. He was bom in Howth, Waller County, Texas, in 1874, and moved to Galveston around the
1890s. In Galveston, he had formal education in law, was admitted to the bar in 1895, and worked as a
court stenographer. During the Galveston hurricane in 1900 be lost his wife and newbom daughter, but
he was rescued and survived. In 1901, Howih moved to Beaumont where he was elected to the position
of County and District Attorney of Jefferson County in 1904 and re-elected in 1906 and 1908. In 1910 he
went into private practice with attorney W.R. Blaine and was known for defending injured employees in
suits against refineries, railroads, and lumber companies. Over the years he practiced law with a number
of attorneys, was known for his work in legal forensics, and was considered an outstanding orator. He
passed away in 1941.
This small collection contains biographical information on Howth, copies of his obituary, one speech,
three notebooks, and a printed book. The speech is entitled "Howth Defends the House of Howth, Speech
Delivered February 21, 1920 in Reply to Steve King." Two notebooks are from Howth's time as a court
reporter in Galveston and are written in Pitman shorthand and the third notebook is from 1920-1925 and
includes an alphabetical list of cases that he worked on. The printed book is a small 75 -page typed book
from 1919.