In 1843, at age 17, Howell was invited to spend the Christmas season at Hurricane Plantation, the 5,000 acres (20 km2) property of family friend Joseph Davis. Her parents had named their oldest child after him. Located at Davis Bend, Mississippi, Hurricane was 20 miles south of Vicksburg, and Davis was planning a gala housewarming with many guests and entertainers to inaugurate his lavish new mansion on the cotton plantation.