Isham Robertson Howze was born September 12, 1796, the son of William Duke and Burchet Robertson Howze, in Franklin County, North Carolina. In 1818, Howze bought land in Huntsville, Alabama. Eleven years later Howze bought 400 acres of land in Lincoln County, Tennessee. He was married to Elizabeth J. Wilson of Huntsville, Alabama, January 29, 1833. About 1839, Howze moved to Marshall County and bought land near Chulahoma. While still owning land in Chulahoma, Howze went to Memphis to rent land from Frances (Fanny) Wright on the then-defunct social experiment plantation of Nashoba (located near present-day Germantown, Tennessee) in December 1850. Howze farmed Nashoba until early 1853, when, shortly after the death of Fanny Wright in Cincinnati, Ohio, he purchased land at Wall's Hill and terminated rental on Nashoba to move to his newly acquired Mississippi property. Howze went into partnership and operated a store in Marshall County until his death in 1857.

The collection contains genealogical and biographical material, correspondence from various members of the Howze family, photographs, music books (hand-printed by Isham Howze), and the journals of Isham Howze. The bulk of the collection is Howze's journal. The journals contain regular entries covering the years 1850–1855 and 1857. Howze wrote at length in every entry, covering such subjects as religion, slavery, farm work, new technology (particularly associated with the building of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad which ran along the Nashoba property), work on the farm, his health (which was continually poor) and, of special interest, his impressions and feelings concerning Fanny Wright, particularly her activity as an abolitionist. There are five original journals in the collection and a photocopy of a typescript of another.

Series:

1. Genealogical and Biographical Papers. 1961, 1976, 1979, n.d. 21 items. Genealogical information on the Howze family, outline of the life of Isham Robertson Howze written by W. D. Howze, photocopies of bible records, copies of wills of Isham and W. D. Howze, photographs of tombstones and family cemeteries.
2. Correspondence. 1819–1868 (scattered). 9 items. John L. King to Isham R. Howze, 2.13.1819; Susan B. Howze to Miss Elizabeth Wilson, 12.19.1831; Susan B. Howze to Uncle [Isham], 7.5.1832; Isham R. Howze to Elizabeth Howze ("Dear Wife"), 3.6.1844; Isham R. Howze to Elizabeth Howze ("Dear Wife"), 1.5.1847; Elizabeth (Howze) to Isham Howze ("My Beloved One"), 1.9.1847; E. J. Howze to "My Dear Friend," 10.31.1857; Elizabeth J. Howze to Henry L. Howze, 6.28.1864; Sue (?) to Miss Donnie Howze ("My Dear Sister"), 11.5.1868.
3. Journals of Isham R. Howze. 1850–1855; 1857. 5 volumes; 1 ff. The earliest journal (labeled "5" on cover) is dated July 11–November 13, 1850; the second journal ("6") is dated November 22, 1850–August, 1851; the third journal (a typescript of excerpts from book "8") is dated June 30, 1852–September 26, 1853; the fourth ("9") is dated September 26, 1853–August 5, 1854; the fifth ("10") June 5, 1854–March 13, 1855; and the sixth ("14") is dated February 13, 1857–March 20, 1857. The final volume is not complete and has a final note entered by Howze's wife, Elizabeth, written on what would have been Isham's sixty-first birthday, one month after his death.
4. Photographs. n.d. 4 items. Photographs of Howze family members.
5. Account of Butter. n.d. 1 item. Account of butter kept by E. J. Howze.
6. Music Books. c. 1840; n.d. 2 volumes. Two volumes of primarily hand copied music, apparently copied by Isham R. Howze for his wife.