The family name was originally "Bean", descended from Sauney Bean, a Scottish convict transshipped to Georgia in 1711. The Howells entered the rag and bone trade, migrating to New England where they settled in the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. There they made a fortune in the slave trade from Africa to the Caribbean. After the slave trade was outlawed they moved into war profiteering and smuggling. This began the family's long association with the shipping industry. The family owned a fleet of clipper ships engaged in the China trade of Opium shipping. During prohibition they increased their wealth by providing high quality European alcohol to the mafia.