Joseph Henry Powell (1856-1925)

Joseph Henry Powell, my great-great grandfather, was born on 7 June 1856 in Christian County, Illinois to John Wesley Powell (1825-1873) and Eliza Jane (Laughlin) Powell (1829-1899). He was the 5th of ten children the couple would welcome, the second of four sons:

• Mary Rebecca Powell (1846 -1931)
• James William Powell (1850-1933)
• Nancy Jane Powell (1851-1916)
• Lidia Ann Powell (1854-1938)
• Joseph Henry Powell (1856-1925)
• Francis M. Powell (1858-1920)
• Martha E. Powell (1860-1890)
• Emilia J. Powell (1864-?)
• Preston Edward Powell (1868-1950)
• Effie Wesley Powell (1873-1967)

Sometime between the births of Joseph in 1856 and Francis in 1858, John Wesley moved his family south to Crawford County, Missouri, settling outside of Steelville. They followed the family of Joseph Emmett Powell, who I believe was either a brother or uncle of John Wesley. He was 18 years older, so he could, technically, have been his father, though the only marriage record I found for Joseph was several years after John's birth. They both migrated from Claiborne County, Tennessee and settled for a time in Christian County, Illinois, and then both went on to Crawford County, Missouri. I definitely think there was a close relation, but the records I would need to solve this mystery were destroyed in a courthouse fire.

The 1860 Federal Census record for Meramec Township, Crawford County, Missouri showing John, Eliza and their first 7 children is pictured below. With a population of 226, this area was just beginning to grow, after being established only 25 years before this census. John Wesley did not own land at this time, nor is it known if he purchased any in the next few years. I do know the family didn't stay, moving a few counties to the southwest between 1868 and 1870, where they are found on the next federal census.

1860 Federal Census for Meramec Township, Crawford County, Missouri 
(image from Ancestry.com)

In that 1870 census , the family was living in Carroll Township, Texas County, Missouri near Summersville. It appears that John was putting down roots here for his family, as the record shows he owned real estate valued at $250. Joseph was now a young man of 14 years old. He may not have attended school yet, as indicated by the census taker's marks in the "cannot read" and "cannot write" columns for Joseph.  Brother James was living in the household with his new bride. Older sister Mary was also a newlywed, still up in Crawford County. Sisters Nancy and Lidia were newly married as well and settled nearby, Nancy in Carroll Township and Lidia just across the county line in Spring Valley, Shannon County.

On 28 October 1877, Joseph married Cordelia Emaline Stark. Less than two years later he married a second wife, Margaret Ellen Barnett, on 25 August 1879. I haven't located a death record or burial for Cordelia, but I also haven't found any other records of her as a living person, so I assume she died. In the 1880 census, Joseph, 24, and Margaret, 22, had settled on a farm of their own, next door to Joseph's sister Lidia and her young family who were back in Carroll Township. Soon Joe and Margaret would start their own family.

1880 Federal Census for Carroll Township, Texas County, Missouri 
(image from Ancestry.com)

The 1890 Federal Census was destroyed by fire and water damage, so I jumped to the 1900 census to pick up the family. Joe and Margaret were still in Carroll Township, Texas County, Missouri, on a farm that they owned. In this record, he was recorded as being able to read, write and speak English, but Margaret is recorded as No for each of the three. I did hear from my great uncle that his grandmother could not read or write, but I'm certain she could speak. Maybe it was a thicker than normal accent that threw the enumerator off! (More likely, just a mistake in the Speak column.) There was also an entry showing that there had been 8 children born but only 7 were still living. I have never found information on that child who died. The remaining 7 were all listed in the census record.

Those children were:

• Oliver Richard "Ollie" Powell was born 5 November 1881. He married Lola Murfin, had five children and died on 15 October 1963 in Jasper, Missouri.
• Barbara A. Powell was born 5 October 1883. She married John Fleck, had two sons and died in May 1986 in Jasper, Missouri.
• Annie Elizabeth Powell was born on 19 June 1886. She married Grover Tuttle, had eight children and died on 3 March 1983 in Summersville, Missouri.
• Ora Levada "Orie" Powell was born on 11 February 1888. She married Grover Pitts, had five children and died on 5 July 1965 in Coffeyville, Kansas.
• William Emery Powell was born on 2 September 1891. He married Bessie Haskill and died on 4 December 1949 in Halstead, Kansas.
• Nancy Bell Powell was born on 2 November 1894. She married Parrum Pitts, had six children and died on 31 October 1991 in a nursing home in Guthrie, Oklahoma (information from her granddaughter - see comment below).
• Ernest Elmer Powell, my great-grandfather, was born on 24 July 1896. He married Julia Mildred Powell, had eight children and died on 9 January 1968 in Houston, Missouri.

Margaret and Joseph Powell are seated in the front row with some of their grandchildren.

L to R, in back: Emery Powell, Ernest Powell, Parrum Pitts, Nancy Powell Pitts, Grover Tuttle, Annie Powell Tuttle, Orie Powell Pitts, Barbara Powell Fleck.
L to R, in front: Gloster Tuttle, Alice Tuttle, Wilma Tuttle, other children unknown, 

Margaret and Joe.

My great uncle John Powell gave me a copy of this picture. I don't know who has the original.

In the image below, Joseph and Margaret are now elderly and living alone in their home (1920 Federal Census, image from ancestry.com). They are still in Carroll Township, Texas County, Missouri.



1920 Federal Census for Carroll Township, Texas County, Missouri 
(image from Ancestry.com)

A few years later, on 24 March 1925, Joseph died. He is buried in Riley Cemetery, Hartshorn, Texas County. Margaret joined him there in 1943. Because Joseph died about the time my grandmother and her siblings were born, there was no one in my close family with memories of him, so I don't have any stories to share. Just a few records and a photo are all I have to tell his story. His son Ernest, my great-grandfather, died when I was just a baby. My mom often shared stories of him with me; she loved him so much. I figure if Ernest was such a great guy, he must have learned it from his daddy so Joseph must have been terrific, too.

The family of Joseph Powell.

This photo was taken some years after his death.

Pictured left to right; Emery, Ernest, Ollie, Annie, mom Margaret, Barbara, Nancy, Orie.

Again, I was given a copy of the photo. I don't know who has the original.