Joseph Howell was born in North Carolina in about 1733. A resident of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, he sold the land that was later established as Tarboro. A local justice of the peace, Howell also represented Edgecombe in the North Carolina Colonial Assembly from 1762 to 1765. In 1765 Howell moved to Anson County, followed by Cabarrus County. Genealogical records suggest he later moved to Georgia, but no census records have been located which confirm this.