Ernest Powell, WWI Soldier, Writes Home from Camp

 

A niece of Ernest Elmer Powell (1896-1968) was in possession of two letters he wrote home to his parents during World War I. After she passed, the letters were given to one of Ernest's granddaughters and she photographed them to share with the family. Ernest was my great-grandfather.

Ernest Elmer Powell WWI Draft Registration Card page 1 from Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Original data:United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

Ernest Elmer Powell WWI Draft Regsitration Card page 2 from Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Original data:United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

I don't have records showing the exact dates of Ernest's service, but estimate it to be about August 1918 to December 1918. Newspaper Articles in the Houston Herald (Houston, Missouri) in June, July and August of 1918 list him among other local boys who went through the draft registration and examinations. In one of the letters you'll see below, dated Nov 24, 1918, he says he will be home by Christmas. We know he did make it home about that time and he married Julia Davis in January 1919.

Ernest Powell (G.P. for Grandpa Powell is penciled above his head) with two other men. Exact date and location unknown, but undoubtedly taken in 1918 since he is in uniform.

This first letter is dated October 19, 1918 and was written in Camp McArthur, Texas. The letter is written in pencil and has faded so severely over time that it's nearly impossible to read. 

I was able to make out some of it.

"...have you heard from Nancy? she was pretty sick with the baby... I got a letter from Ora yesterday Barbra was there with Nancy taking care of her..."

"...site at Camp Funston Kans. ... sickness is there it has been a site here but all of it is cured know[sic] pretty fast..."

Then I just get bits and piece.

"...to leave...next week some time I'm going to send ...thing back. I will send my razor first.....fork. I can't take another across with me. I don't know where I am going across all...I will write another letter tomorrow will close but this time answer soon."

His signature is not legible.

The women he refers to - Nancy, Ora, and Barbara - are his sisters. Sadly, Nancy's baby died just two days after this letter was written. Claude Cleo Pitts was his name and he was almost 11 months old. A newspaper article shows that he died of Bronchitis, but this was all during the time that the Spanish Flu pandemic was sweeping through our country. I can't help but wonder if that was the "sickness" that took Nancy's baby and was running through Army training camps.

Ernest's letter, postmarked Oct 20 1918, was mailed in a souvenir envelope with some prints of scenes from Camp MacArthur, near Waco, Texas. Camp MacArthur was an Army training camp with an officer's training school, infantry training camp, hospital and administrative offices. After the war, the camp was abandoned and the land taken over by the city of Waco.

The next letter was written and sent from Camp Merritt in Jersey City, NJ. Most of this one is legible, though Ernest's spelling is a bit off. I'll transcribe as written.

"Nov 24, 1918

Mr. J.H. Powell

Dear father and mother I will write you a letter today I am fat and sasy I am flesher than I every was before I wish you could see me You out to see me eat to I eat every meal just a like We havent dun anything for over three weeks and I am getting pretty lazy.

I think I will bee at home befor very long I think we was figure on going to Camp Funston, Kans yesterday we will be there to or three days. we are under quaranteed know I think we will get out in a day all to some of the boys has the -?- and the quaranteed us all for awail.

but I know we will get home for Chirstmas you want to have a big pot and a little one to 

say I have seen a hole lots and I dont -?- it eitherI was on the ship for one day and night we was on for oversee and they got new orders not to go oversee.

I can tell you folks a hole lots when I get home Well it is ofal coal hear the ground freze every knight one day hear it froze all day but I have plenty close. I have a big overcat and a Raincat they are shore fine to.

Well I hant going to write much today. I think I will bee at home sunday week if nothing haping no more so will close for this time.

Ernest E Powell

this is my address

Co. 40.-1-1100-R

Camp Merritt Branch

Jersy City, NJ

fia New York"

Envelope addressed to Mr. J. H. Powell, Summersville, Texas, Mo. postmarked Nov. 25 1918 Merritt, NJ.

Camp Merritt was a camp for transient troops under command of the New York Port of Embarkation. Ernest would have been sent here in preparation to travel overseas. In reading about Camp Merritt, I learned that there was a heavy outbreak there of the Spanish Flu in late 1918. Ernest mentions that they are under quarantine because some of the boys were sick. It was likely that the boys were sick with influenza. 

Ernest is the man at top right (see arrow) on this postcard photograph saved by one of his daughters. 

As I mentioned, I don't have Ernest's military records to know an exact release date, but he was home in time to stand up be married less than two months later. It seems there may not have been anything else happening and this young man was one of the lucky ones who didn't have to serve overseas. Instead he would have been sent to Camp Funston, Kansas and released from there as he mentioned in his letter. He mentioned Camp Funston in the first letter, too, and the sickness there which we know now was the Spanish Flu. In March of 1918 some of the first cases in the United States were reported at Camp Funston, located on Fort Riley southwest of Manhattan, Kansas.

Not only did Ernest barely dodge serving overseas, it seems he also managed to avoid getting sick during a pandemic in Army training camps. He really was a lucky man, and his descendants are so thankful that he survived and went on to marry and have many children.

Who was "Grandpa Celie"?

This photograph was shared with me many years ago by a fellow Davis family researcher, Kate Lund. She had the original photo in her personal collection that had passed down from her ancestor, Rebecca Anne Davis. On the back of the photo was written "Grandpa Celie". 

"Grandpa Celie"
Copy of the original as shared with me by a distant cousin about 15 years ago.

Rebecca Davis was a younger sister of my second great-grandfather, Joseph Crockett Davis, so Kate and I share their parents as common ancestors. Their father was John T. Davis (1825 - abt 1871) and their mother was Thursa Kelley (abt 1833 - abt 1865). They were married in 1848 in Ripley County, Missouri. The man labeled "Grandpa Celie" is believed to be Thursa's father with the name spelled incorrectly. I haven't been able to solve the mystery of who exactly he was, though.

Thursa, a nickname, was given the full name of Elizabeth Theresa Jane Kelley when she was born about 1832 or 1833 in either Kentucky or Arkansas. The only records I find with any kind of "birth" info are two census records, in 1850 and 1860, and they list the two states as her place of birth. She was already married by 1850, so wasn't still in the home of her parents. She and John were living in Wayne County, Missouri and had one child. But, a clue, there was also a girl listed as Rebecca Massy, 13-years-old, born in Arkansas, living in the same household.

1850 Federal Census, Wayne County, Missouri
Image from Ancestry.com

A Rebecca M. Kelley married Uriah Duncan in 1853. In 1860, the Duncans lived next door to the John and Thursa Davis family, now in Texas County, Missouri. I believe Rebecca Massy Kelley was the sister of Thursa Kelley. This hasn't led me to their parents but does provide some clues that I hope might help to solve the mystery.

Rebecca's middle name might be a clue. Children were sometimes given the mother's maiden name as a middle name. Usually, it was given to a son, so perhaps the Kelleys had only daughters. I've looked for a Kelley man that married a Massey woman and so far haven't found anything.

Another possible clue may be in the naming of Thursa and Rebecca's children. Thursa's first son was named James E. Davis. Rebecca's first son was named Erasmus. Was Erasmus a family name? It wasn't a name found on either of their husband's sides of the family. Perhaps their father's name? So far I haven't found an Erasmus Kelley that fits to be their father. I really don't even know if the E. middle initial found for James stands for Erasmus, so it's just a guess at this point.

One more clue is that Rebecca's birthplace is consistently given as Arkansas and she was five years younger than Thursa. While it's still possible that Thursa was born in Kentucky, it seems clear that the family lived in Arkansas soon after. But how did Thursa and Rebecca get to Missouri? How long was the family even in Arkansas?

Also, in 1850, 13-year-old Rebecca lived with her older sister. Had their parents passed away? Maybe just their mother had passed and their father had either remarried or was off looking for work?

Clearly, there is still much work to be done to figure out who exactly "Grandpa Celie" was. Puzzling out these mysteries and breaking through "brick walls" is the greatest reward for a genealogist. I'll keep at it.

Mrs. Ernest Powell and the Hartshorn Home Economics Club

The Hartshorn Home Economics Club of the 1940s was part of the County Extension Service. Hartshorn, in Texas County, Missouri is an Ozarks farming community. Members of the club were women who lived in the area and met regularly to discuss topics and share ideas to make their lives as homemakers easier. They took on special projects to help those in need, primarily poor children in the vicinity. One of the most active members at that time was was my great-grandmother, Julia Mildred (Davis) Powell. You'll see her mentioned in the newspaper articles below as Mrs. Ernest Powell.

Julia died in 1963, three years before I was born. If I could travel back in time to meet one of my ancestors, she is the one I would first like to meet. And I would love a chance to sit in at some of the Hartshorn Club meetings of her time. 

Julia was born, lived and died in the community of Hartshorn, Missouri. Besides her involvement in the Hartshorn Club, she was a 4-H leader, worked as Postmaster and grocer (both were in the same building), helped her husband on the family farm and raised eight children. Born in 1894 to Joe and Clemmie Davis, Julia was brought up on her parent's farm. She learned from her mother the basics of home economics and was already a capable homemaker when she married Ernest Powell in 1919. By 1939, when she begins appearing in news articles with the club, she has more than 20 years of experience to share with the other members. She also still has 7 children at home, the youngest one only 3 years old, and these meetings would also allow her some welcome adult time with her female friends.

Julia (Davis) Powell, far left, photographed in about 1920-1921
with Helen Farrow, Cory Hensley, and her younger sister Alta Davis. 

In November of 1939, the group spent the afternoon discussing Club work. The next meeting would feature a demonstration on making home-made toys for children.

23 Nov 1939, The Houston Herald, Page 2

Julia hosted an all-day meeting on January 2, 1940. Unfortunately, bad weather kept the attendance low that day as the group worked making undergarments for the children of unemployed parents. They also reported that a completed quilt had brought in $10.05 at a raffle, the money to benefit children in need.

11 Jan 1940, The Houston Herald, Page 4

The next mention of Julia in a club article was regarding the meeting on March 5th, 1940, where the group worked on piecing a quilt.

21 Mar 1940, The Houston Herald, Page 4

The June 18th meeting was again hosted by Julia. Roll call was answered by "Courtesies that should be taught to children in the home." Followed by the making of fly traps and plans for the next quilt to benefit the cemetery.

4 Jul 1940, The Houston Herald, Page 6

The May 20, 1941 meeting was also held at the Powell home and fly traps were once again on the agenda. 

29 May 1941, The Houston Herald, Page 7

On October 6, 1941, Julia hosted a meeting to add new members and elect officers for the following year. The meeting was closed by singing "The Little Brown Church in the Vale."

16 Oct 1941, The Houston Herald, Page 3

The meeting on October 21, 1941 was opened with a roll call answered with "How to Avoid Home Accidents."  The ladies pieced a quilt for Mrs. Smith, the hostess, and Julia reported on Achievement Day.

30 Oct 1941, Page 7

A training meeting on December 1st, 1941 was held for Extension Club officers, including Mrs. Ernest Powell, Vice-President of Hartshorn Club.

25 Dec 1941, The Houston Herald, Page 6

Articles about the Hartshorn Club continued after this one, but I didn't find another where Julia was mentioned by name. She may have stepped back for a time, or just not been as active, because of so much happening in her family. She had three sons serving in the war, one daughter had just been married and two more soon would be wed. I do know that she stayed involved in the community and maintained many friendships for the rest of her life. My mother once told me that her grandmother Julia's funeral had the highest attendance of any funeral ever held in Hartshorn. That speaks volumes about her character, doesn't it?

Newspaper articles found on Newspapers.com.

Nyleta (Powell) Cobb 1926-1987

Nyleta wasn't given a middle name by her parents, Ernest and Julia (Davis) Powell, when she was born on May 1, 1926, in Hartshorn, Texas County, Missouri. She wasn't named after a grandmother, an aunt, or any other family member alive or dead. The name was more common in Australia but very rare at that time in the United States. It makes me wonder how Ernest and Julia, a farming couple from the Ozarks, came up with the name for their second daughter, my maternal grandmother.

Growing up, Nyleta was called by the nickname Tooter. Given to her as a child when she was working really, really hard to learn to whistle, the name stuck with her throughout her life among family and close friends. When I was a little girl, I thought her real name was Tooter because that's all I'd ever heard her called. I discovered her "real" name when I was about 8 or 9 years old. My dad had filled in the simple family tree in the front of my parent's wedding Bible, my first genealogical discovery!

Nyleta (Powell) Cobb, wedding portrait taken in Dec. 1944

My grandparents were married in Kansas City, Missouri in December of 1944. Leroy Cobb was born in 1927 in West Plains, Howell County, Missouri and was only 17 when they were married, requiring the consent of his parents, Kay and Hattie Cobb. Nyleta was 18 and considered "of age". In the Spring of 1945, Leroy enlisted in the Navy. He was discharged a year later and the young couple settled down to begin their family. They lived in downtown Kansas City in a home with Roy's parents. It was there that daughter Louise came in 1947, followed by Julia in 1949, and Ronald in 1952. Nyleta worked some odd jobs during that time to supplement the family income. She packed tomatoes at the City Market and worked for her Uncle Joe Fisher at his downtown restaurant.

Leroy and Nyleta Cobb, about 1950,
at a Cobb family gathering.

In 1956, Leroy and Nyleta bought a home of their own in the Gladstone area of Kansas City. It was a small home, but even after son Randall came that year, it was roomy enough for their family of 6. When I was little, my grandma worked in the Farmland cafeteria. I think it was mostly a cafeteria for the Farmland employees, but I remember going with my mom to have lunch at Grandma's work. She worked there until she retired.

Nyleta Cobb with her daughters, Louise and Julia.
Taken in Hartshorn at her parent's home about 1951.

My grandmother enjoyed having her family near. She loved to host everyone at her house, cooking meals to feed as many as could cram around her big dining room table. In the 1970s and 1980s, three of her four children moved their families out of state. My grandma really hated that her kids were so far away, but the worst was that they took the grandchildren with them. Our family vacations were always to my grandparent's house to visit, and they made trips to see us, too.

Leroy and Nyleta Cobb, 1981
at my parent's house in North Bend, WA

Nyleta was diagnosed with cancer at age 59 and died two years later after a long, tough struggle. She was as special as her name was unusual, and is so fondly remembered by her family.

Aunt Joan's Quilts

In the small town of Houston, Missouri, Joan Womack’s name is synonymous with quilts. A self-taught artist, she has spent the last forty years creating beautiful designs for her family and others. Some have featured elaborate machine quilting, but Joan is most proud of the simpler hand-quilted projects she has completed.

Her hand quilting is what most others recall, too. Perhaps because it takes so much time and skill and younger members of society today are seeking more instant gratification. Piecing a quilt top requires precise sewing skills and can take many weeks. Quilting it by hand can then take months if it’s a large quilt. Those that devote their time to such a pursuit are becoming rarer.

Joan in 2013 with a quilt she made to raffle at our family reunion.

The sixth of eight children born to Ernest and Julia Powell, Joan grew up on a farm in Hartshorn, not far from Houston where she now lives, in the Ozarks region of Missouri. In the log cabin her father Ernest built for his family, there was no electricity or running water, so everyday work was hard work. Bringing water from the pump outside the back door, stoking the fire in the stove for heat and cooking, washing and hanging laundry, caring for the cows and chickens, snapping beans and shucking corn…it seemed there was always work to be done. In the Powell home, however, there was also room for creativity. Julia could often be seen working her hand shuttle as she created beautiful, intricate lace. Joan thought her mother’s tatting was almost magical. She remembers, “The shuttle moved so fast back and forth that we were never able to figure out how it worked.” Julia could also sew, likely out of necessity to clothe her large family, and she passed the skill to her daughters. In addition to sewing, some of the girls learned to crochet and embroider. Joan mastered all three.

In 1944, Joan Powell and Ermel Womack united in marriage. They raised three sons and operated many different businesses in the Houston area. Those years were busy ones for Joan, so her handwork took a backseat to work and raising her boys. She still enjoyed crafting, but it was something she rarely found time for. In July of 1974, when the boys were all grown, Joan and Ermel opened Joan’s Fabrics. Sewing was something Joan had always done and quilting was not entirely new to her. Joan once remarked, “My mother was not a quilter, though she did piece a Lonestar top. She never finished it.” Joan acquired a commercial sewing machine and learned to machine quilt. She began finishing quilts for customers in addition to the ones she created for herself and her family. After selling the store, Joan continued to work part-time in a fabric shop. One day, the owner of the shop brought in quilting hoops to sell. Intrigued, Joan purchased one and took it home.


In the Ozarks of Southern Missouri, as in other rural areas of the country, quilting was traditionally done by the wives and daughters of the early settlers. Nothing went to waste. The women of a family would piece a top out of old clothing and then get together with friends to finish it by quilting. All the work was done by hand. It was a practical craft; the families needed blankets. But the women, like Joan’s mother Julia, also felt the need to create something beautiful to balance the hard, hard work of everyday life. As decades passed, fewer and fewer women possessed the skills to finish a quilt by hand. With sewing machines readily available, what once took weeks could be completed in practically no time at all. Joan knew this to be true. She couldn’t count the number of quilts she had finished by machine.

It wasn’t until Ermel passed away in 2000 that Joan took up that hoop and taught herself to quilt by hand. She had five quilt tops put away. They were pieced, ready to quilt, so she pulled one out of the closet and tucked it into the long-forgotten hoop. Quilting came easily to her and became a way to work through the grief of losing her beloved Ermel; a way to pass the hours of the long days alone. It wasn’t long before others began to notice the work she was doing.

Many family members have received a quilt crafted by Joan. In recent years she donated one to be auctioned as a fundraiser for a family member battling cancer, gifted one to a great-niece as a thank you for organizing a family reunion, and donated one as a raffle item to raise money for future family reunions. There are so many others, too, that have been lucky enough to be given one of Joan’s quilts. They are carefully used or proudly displayed in the home of each recipient. The quilts are so treasured that some family members refuse to use them at all, hoping the quilts will last forever.

A quilt made in 2010 that Joan gifted to me.

One of Joan’s favorite projects was a quilt she completed for the anniversary of her son Keith’s Highway Patrol unit. With his help, she collected a bunch of old uniforms, both the shirts and pants and disassembled them to cut pieces for the blocks. The pants, with the stripe down the leg, made for some interesting design elements in the quilt she pieced from the fabric. For the center panel, she had a photograph of the whole patrol squad transferred to fabric. The transfer of photographs to fabric is more commonplace now, but years ago it was cutting edge and Joan was right there to try it. The finished quilt was proudly hung in the patrol office for many years. She doesn’t know where it is today, but the memory of creating that quilt remains one of her most cherished. She still has a photograph of the finished quilt that she’s happy to show anyone interested.

At 87, soon to be 88, Joan has put away her quilting hoop and stowed her needles. Her hands aren’t as steady as they once were, and her vision is beginning to fail. Though she has slowed down, she isn’t done creating. Today she enjoys crocheting, though laments never learning to knit, “Ermel’s mother could knit, and I kick myself for never asking her to teach me. I know she would have been happy to do it.” Joan has done enough, though. She has given advice and passed on her skills to anyone who has asked. It is women like her that help to keep the traditions of our ancestors alive.

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.

Arthur Virgil Cavanaugh (1895-1988)

Arthur Virgil "Art" Cavanaugh, my paternal great grandfather, was born 31 January 1895 in Mountain Grove, Wright County, Missouri. He was the third of six children born to John Houston Cavanaugh (1870-1954) and Mary Calier Read (1871-1949).
Art had two older bothers, Lexon Charlie (1891-1949) and Elmer Diamond "Curly" (1893-1957), and one younger brother, Orvel Burgess (1897-1979). He also had two younger sisters, Zona Ruby (1901-1991) and Opal Edna J. (1906- ?).

John and Mary with their first three sons, Art is the youngest one on his mother's lap. This copy of the original photo was sent to me years ago by Lavera Cavanaugh. Taken about 1896 probably in Mountain Grove, Wright County, Missouri.

The following timeline shows the family moved several times during Art's childhood:

• January 1895, Art's birth in Mountain Grove, Wright County, Missouri
• January 1897, brother Orvel's birth, also in Mountain Grove
• June 1900, Federal Census, Clinton, Texas County, Missouri
• August 1901, sister Zona's birth in Waterville, Douglas County, Washington
• June 1906, sister Opal's birth, Missouri
• May 1910, Federal Census, Robberson, Greene County, Missouri
• July 1915, marriage to Sarah Katie Erickson, Ephrata, Grant County, Washington

Art as a young man.

I have a photocopy of the original photograph, and I think it was from Lavera Cavanaugh, but I didn't document it and can't remember for sure (otherwise known as "How Not to Do Genealogy").

In about 1895, Henry Cavanaugh, Art's great Uncle, moved with his wife and young family to Douglas County, Washington and settled in the Waterville area. Henry's sisters Sarah and Lucy followed with their husbands by 1900. Their mother, Art's great grandmother, was also living in the area for several years and may have come with her daughters. So John bringing his family to Douglas County wasn't such an odd thing, since he had several relatives in the area at the time. It's not known why he returned to Missouri or why, as fate would have it, they were in central Washington again in about 1914 when Art met Sarah Kate "Katie" Erickson, and fell in love. They were married on 12 July 1915.

Marriage return for Art and Katie, copy from the Washington State Archives,
Central Regional Branch in Ellensburg, Washington.

 Katie was the daughter of Albert Erickson, a Swedish immigrant, and Josie Moore, who had German and Quaker roots. The family came to Washington from Iowa between 1900 and 1910 and settled in the newly formed Grant County. Ephrata became a city in 1909, so they were some of the first settlers of the town. Art and Katie were still in Ephrata when their son William Virgil was born on 16 January 1916. (I'm doing the math in my head and I think Art may have been "encouraged" to marry Katie as baby Bill came just 6-1/2 months later!)  Art was working as a laborer in Seattle in 1918 and remained there until about 1923-24, when he brought his family to Yakima County. Two additional children had been born to the couple; Evelyn Winnifred in 1918 and Melvin Roy in 1921. The young family lived for a time in Yakima, then Moxee, and eventually settled in a home in Selah with some acreage and an orchard. My Dad lived with his grandparents briefly in his teens and remembers fondly the time spent with them. Art and Katie remained there for many years before retiring to a small home in town on Pear Avenue.

Art and Katie Cavanaugh, photo from my personal collection.

Art suffered a heart attack and died on 9 April 1988 in Yakima, Washington at the age of 93. His wife Katie outlived him by several years, passing in 1997 at 101 years old. They are buried together at West Hills Memorial Park in Yakima, Washington.

Funeral record from Shaw and Sons Funeral Home, Yakima, Washington.

Art's obituary from the Yakima Herald, obtained from the obituary file housed at
Yakima Valley Genealogical Society, Union Gap, Washington.

The grave of Art and Katie Cavanaugh at West Hills Memorial Park.

Photo taken on my Memorial Day visit last year.

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