Julia Mildred (Davis) Powell (1894-1963)

Legend has it that Julia Powell's funeral had the highest attendance that had ever been counted at a funeral in those parts in those days. Julia was my great-grandmother and she died before I was born. I grew up hearing stories about her from my mother and grandmother, including the one about her huge funeral. What made this woman so loved by so many?

Julia Mildred Davis was born on 10 February 1894 in Hartshorn, Texas County, Missouri to Joseph Crockett Davis (1855-1925) and his wife Johannah Clementine Lowder (1870-1942). Texas County is in the south central part of Missouri, a part of the Ozarks region that includes much of northern Arkansas. She followed an older brother, Virgil, and saw two sisters born later. As the first daughter, she was the first child to assume some of her mother's chores. She may also have had the advantage of not being clothed exclusively in hand-me-downs!

At the turn of the century, the family is found in Clinton, Texas County. Father Joseph is farming, mother is keeping house and Julia is six years old. There was no plumbing or electricity back then. Carrying water, assisting with the cooking, cleaning, farming and caring for those younger sisters would have been expected, even at such a young age. Brother Virgil, likewise, would have  helped his father with the livestock and caring for the land; building fences, clearing fields, and such. Neighbors in Texas County were not in close proximity, true even today for most parts of the county. The children may have attended school, but most of their time was spent within the confines of the farm boundaries.

Ten years later the family is found in Current, Texas County. A move may have meant building a whole new house, new barn, clearing new fields and building fences. But maybe they were luckier than that and moved into a fixer-upper. The family has taken in an orphan named Burley Summers, a six year old boy. Julia is sixteen years old now and likely spent a lot of time looking after a rambunctious boy in addition to her other chores. The Davis children all attended Rocky Hollow School, Flat Woods #2, a one room schoolhouse in the community. Julia is on the left in the top row of this photo, courtesy of Mary Riley Kirkman.

Rocky Hollow School, Flat Woods #2, Texas County, Missouri.
(Photo courtesy of Mary Kirkman)

On the 5th of January 1919, Julia married Ernest Elmer Powell, a boy from the area. For a time, they remained in her parent's home in Current. Son Clifford was born there in May of 1919. Doing the math would suggest that Ernest and Julia...probably had a private ceremony with their family until a preacher was available to marry them. Or, also possible, they were frisky young adults and it was a rushed ceremony. I'm not sure anyone in the family ever talked about the timing of their union! Either way, it was the beginning of a "till death do us part" marriage and a passel of kids.

Top to bottom: Ernest, Julia and her sister Alta. 

Photo from my personal collection.

The next several years were productive ones for the Powell's. Son Norman came in 1921, followed by Geraldine in '23, John in '25, Nyleta in '26, and Joan in '29. In 1930 the family is in Carroll, Texas County with Ernest's mother Margaret, widowed, in the home. They likely moved onto the farm of Ernest's parents after the death of his father in 1925. My Uncle John told me a story once about his Grandma Powell (Margaret) that I've never forgotten. She was very, very scared that someone might try to break into the house at night and would lock not only the entrance doors, but also locked herself (and any children sleeping with her that night) into the bedroom. The home became a fortress! Could these fears have originated because of a horrible raid during the civil war that she remembered? Uncle John didn't know, and I'll never know. But that's where my imagination goes.

By 1935, the family is back in Current living on a rented farm. Ernest is working as a stock clerk for the W.P.A. (Works Projects Administration) and Julia is keeping house. Two more daughters have joined the family; Patricia in 1932 and Joyce Nadine "Dean" in 1936. In their home by 1940 is the other grandmother, Julia's mom, Clemmie Davis. My grandmother, Nyleta, remembers helping her Grandma Davis as she was sick and dying of cancer. Years later, as my Grandma was fighting the disease, I traveled back to Missouri and cared for her. It was during that time she told me about the years when Grandma Davis was living with the family. 

There are no documents in my possession for the years between 1940 and Julia's death in 1963. I know the family lived in Hartshorn in a cabin that Ernest built on their land. He also may have donated a portion of land for the Antioch Cemetery, where many family members have been laid to rest. My mom spoke of the time spent on her grandparent's farm as if she had visited New York City, or Hollywood, or Disneyland. It was just a farm, but it was her favorite place on Earth! She described to me the layout of the farm; where the cow pasture was, the pond, the smokehouse, the barn. She talked about visiting the outhouse in the middle of the night, a monumental task that began with climbing out of a featherbed piled with cousins and quilts for warmth in the poorly insulated cabin. Favorite memories included sitting on the back porch shucking corn or snapping beans with her Grandma and the other women in the family. It took a lot of years of hard work for Ernest and Julia to acquire that farm of their own. They must have beamed with pride.

My mom told me that when she was a girl, Julia worked in town at the Post Office/Grocer and knew everyone in town. The kids used to walk to town and buy penny candies when Grandma was working. My mom was born in 1947, so Julia probably looked something like the photo below in those early memories.

Julia Powell in August of 1955. 

Photo from my personal collection.

Julia died on 20 August 1963 after suffering for four months from colon cancer. Her obituary is simple, with the closing line "She was devoted as a wife and mother, and loved by all who knew her." 

I was born in 1966 and never met this woman. But I always felt like she lived on in the spirit of my Grandma and her siblings. All but one of them have now passed and it can't be disputed that they were all wonderful, honest people that were loved by all that knew them.

Sources:

1900-1940 census images, Ancestry.com

Julia Powell Missouri death certificate

Julia Powell obituary