ELIZABETH CAUSEY

                      Elizabeth Causey and nephew Rev. Walter L. Howard Sr. 

In Detroit, her nieces and nephews called her “Aunt Elizabeth.” In Macon, she was known as “Sis.”

She was born Elizabeth Howard on April 24, 1886. She grew up to be a devout woman who married once, to a man named Jettie Causey. Elizabeth had a son who died at age 4, and she became as much a mother to her nieces and nephews in Detroit as their own mothers.

Elizabeth was the eldest of Green and Rebecca Howard’s children. She was educated in Georgia and attended a girl’s finishing school. She married Jettie Causey on April 23, 1917, according to their marriage certificate. He was born in 1890 in Macon, GA, according to his death certificate. In 1923, the couple moved to Detroit, joining Elizabeth’s brother Walter (her brother Guss moved there around the same time as Elizabeth to work for the Ford Motor Co.) He was listed in the 1930 Census as a factory worker/laborer and she did housework in private homes.

“Uncle Jettie,” as he was called by relatives in Detroit, died on April 15, 1934, according to his death certificate. After his death, Elizabeth remained a widow. They had no children.

According to the 1930 Census, they rented their home. He was a factory worker and she was a homemaker who worked as a domestic for a private family. 

She became sanctified after moving to Detroit and joined the Clinton Street Church of God in Christ under Elder Isaiah W. Winans. She was filled with the Holy Ghost and remained a faithful and loving member of Zion Congressional (Congregational) Church of God in Christ until she died.

She taught Sunday School for 40 years and was an avid reader of the Bible.

                                    Elizabeth Causey’s church for 40 years, Zion (Congressional) Congregational Church of God in
                                    Christ in Detroit. 

“She believed in living just like the Bible says,” said Guss’ daughter, Gussie Clark. “Her saying was, ‘I’m living to live again.’ She never gave a testimony unless she said that. Even when talking to you, she always said it. We loved her very much.”

Elizabeth was a kind woman and was very strict with her brother’s children. “But more often than not we turned it into a joke because she couldn’t catch us,” said the Rev. Walter L. Howard Sr., Guss’ son. “One of her common expressions during our childhood days was ‘That boy (or girl) needs a good beating.’ We would many times do childlike, devilish things just for the purpose of making her chase us. We knew she couldn’t catch us.

“We’d crawl up under the bed and she would get a broom and try to reach us. She never did.”

Gussie remembered Elizabeth as a woman who believed in cleanliness. “You had to wash your hands before you touched anything,” Gussie said.

Elizabeth was a domestic worker until her age prevented her from working. “Many times she was taken advantage of by those white people for whom she worked in those days when other types of work were denied to black people,” Rev. Howard said. “Many times our indignation was ruffled and anger kindled at the way she was treated by those people. But the thing that stands out is the fact that she was a real Christian woman throughout her trials.”

She maintained her own home, always wanting to take care of and depend on herself. During the last 10 to 12 years of her life, Elizabeth stayed off and on with her nieces and nephews.

“But after a few days she would say, ‘I want to go back home now,’” Rev. Howard said. “And she wouldn’t let you rest until you took her.”

Elizabeth died on Dec. 21, 1982, four months before her 96^th birthday.

                      Elizabeth and Jettie Causey in Detroit as recorded in the 1930 Census. Her birth year is listed as 1885.

                      Elizabeth Causey as a widow in Detroit in the 1940 Census. Her birth year is listed as 1887.