Nancy Ann POWELL Mahala Jane POWELL Mary E POWELL Sarah F POWELL Margaret Etta POWELL Delila POWELL Andrew Julius POWELL Minerva R FOSTER Mini tree diagram
Ambrose POWELL

Ambrose POWELL1,2,3,4,5,6,7

31st Mar 18401,2,3,4,5,6 - 20th Dec 19294

Life History

31st Mar 1840

Born in Arkansas.1,2,3,4,5,6

about 1866

Married Minerva R FOSTER.3

9th Jan 1868

Birth of daughter Nancy Ann POWELL in Tennessee.1,5,8

about 1869

Birth of daughter Mahala Jane POWELL in Tennessee.5,1

about 1876

Birth of daughter Mary E POWELL in Van Buren County, Arkansas.1

about 1876

Birth of daughter Sarah F POWELL in Van Buren County, Arkansas.1,2,9

about 1879

Birth of daughter Margaret Etta POWELL in Van Buren County, Arkansas.1

Jun 1882

Birth of daughter Delila POWELL in Arkansas.4,10,8

1st Apr 1888

Birth of son Andrew Julius POWELL in Cleveland, Conway, Arkansas.11,12,7,13,14,15,2,16,17,18

29th Jul 1921

Death of daughter Delila POWELL in Broken Bow, McCurtain, Oklahoma.8

27th Jun 1925

Death of Minerva R FOSTER in Caddo County, Oklahoma.19,4

20th Dec 1929

Died in Broken Bow, McCurtain, Oklahoma.4

Notes

  • Working backwards from the Green family, the first public record I found of Sarah Powell's parents was the 1910 census record in Washington Township, Love County, Oklahoma.  This is near the town of Marietta.  Ambrose and Minerva Powell are living in the household of Sarah and her husband Daniel G Green.

    1910 Federal Census, Love County, Oklahoma, 5 May, Washington Township, District 171, page 17A, Hse/Fam #314
    Green, D G Head M W 40 Marriage 2 Married 3 years [mar abt 1907] OK US US Farmer Owns Farm [b abt 1870]
    Green, Sarah Wife F W 28 Marriage 2 Married 3 years AR AR TN No Occupation [b abt 1882]
    Powell, A Father-in-Law M W 70 Marriage 2 Married 44 years AR TN TN Own Account [b abt 1840]
    Powell, Manervia Mother-in-Law F W 67 Marriage 1 Married 44 years [mar abt 1866] TN US US No Occupation [b abt 1843]

    By 1920, Ambrose and Minerva have moved east to near the Arkansas border in McCurtain, Oklahoma.

    1920 Federal Census, McCurtain County, Oklahoma, 8 January, Whitfield, District 135, page 7A, 16th St, Hse #114, Fam #118
    Powell, Ambrose Head Rents M W 78 AR TN TN No Occup
    Powell, Minerva R Wife F W 75 TN SC Unknown No Occup

    Earlier information later came to light, giving us more information on their history.  In 1870 they had been married a short time and were living in Van Buren County, Arkansas.  This census is interesting because the enumerator has mixed the ages somehow.  He has reported Minerva as 2, first daughter Nancy as 1 and second daughter Mahala as 21.  The age of 21, of course, should be for Minerva, and the order of birth being correct from other sources, the ages of the girls need to be moved down one line.  On this transcription I have put the age numbers on the correct line.

    The interesting age is Ambrose, who is listed here as 25.  This would put his birth date in about 1845.  A genealogy (see below) giving the names of all the children and other family information gives Ambrose's birth date at 31 March 1840.  Minerva's birthday in the genealogy is also several years earlier than the census ages would indicate.

    But note that the age reported in the 1910 census above does match the genealogy for Ambrose's birth date, but it makes Minerva still a year older than allowed by the reported birth date of the genealogy.  In the censuses, Minerva is usually reported as 3 years younger than Ambrose,even as their ages vary from census to census.  But in 1880 they are two years apart.

    They have not been in Arkansas for long before the 1870 census, since both the children were born in Tennessee.  Mahala was born in about 1869, so we can tell they moved to Arkansas in late 1869 or the first half of 1870.

    1870 Federal Census, Van Buren County, Arkansas, 4 August, Craig Township, PO Clinton, page 14, Hse/Fam #30
    Powell, Ambrose 25 M W Farmer $0 Real Estate $100 Personal b AR
    Powell, Minerva 21 F W Keeping House b TN
    Powell, Nancy 2 F W b TN
    Powell, Mahala 1 F W b TN

    Living next door is Andrew's brother Andrew J and his family.  Andrew's middle name is probably Julius.  Ambrose named one of his children Andrew Julius.

    In 1880, all the children are reported born in Arkansas.

    1880 Federal Census, Van Buren County, Arkansas, 3 June, Craig Township, District 2, page 43, Hse #325, Fam #330
    Powell, Ambrose  W M 38  Farmer AR TN TN
    Powell, Menerva W F 36 Wife Keeps House TN TN TN
    Powell, Nancy A  W F 12 Dau At Home AR TN TN
    Powell, Mahala J  W F 10 Dau AR TN TN
    Powell, Mary E  W F 4 Dau AR TN TN
    Powell, Sarah F  W F 3 Dau AR TN TN
    Powell, Margret [sic] E  W F 1 Dau AR TN TN
    Goslin, William  W M 21 Servant Single Works on Farm AR AR AR

    A Powell genealogy provides some details about Ambrose and Minerva and their family.  This genealogy reports Andrew Julius also born in Arkansas, confirmed by various public records, including Social Security records and draft registration.  These documents also report his birthplace as Cleveland, in Conway County, Arkansas (Morrilton area), which makes sense, being south of the mountains where they had lived in Clinton, Arkansas, and farther west along the Arkansas River.

    The migratory route fits with the next documented residence recorded in 1900 in Choctaw Nation, across the Red River from Grayson County, Texas (Sherman-Dennison area).  There are a couple of routes they could have taken to get to southern Choctaw Nation.  They could have gone on west to Fort Smith on the border, then south, which is a still a major route from Houston to Kansas City along US 59.  Or they could have angled from Conway County southwest through Mt Ida and other settlements in the Ouachita Mountains, then across the Arkansas border at around DeQueen, south of the main crest of the Ouachita Mountains (spelled Washita on the Oklahoma side).

    Ambrose Powell
    Birth 31 MAR 1840 in Arkansas
    Death 20 DEC 1929 in Broken Bow, Oklahoma
    Parents Ambrose Powell 1802-1870
    Nancy J. Holley 1810-1870
    Marriage 1 Jan 1865 to Minerva R. Foster
    Birth 16 APR 1844 in Tennessee
    Death 27 JUN 1925 in Caddo County, Oklahoma
    Children:
    Nancy Ann Powell b 1868
    Mahala J. Powell b 1870
    Mary E. Powell b 1876
    Margaret Powell b 1878
    Sarah F. Powell b 1879
    Delilia C. Powell 1882-1921
    Andrew Julius Powell 1889-1965
    --  Powell, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/14599074/person/131623040

    The name of the youngest child here also tells us where Sarah Powell and Daniel Green got the name Julius for their son, who is reported in the 1930 census as age 16.  Since public records inform us that Andrew was born in Conway County, Arkansas, this confirms also that Delila (Delilah?) was born in Arkansas, but it could have been in Van Buren (Clinton) or in Conway.  I have not found any public documentation of her birth.  Note that Minerva was still bearing children till she was about 45 years old.

    By 1900, Ambrose had moved his family south and west to Choctaw Nation, resident in the town of Caddo, near the Texas border.

    1900 Federal Census, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, 13 June, Caddo, Township 5, District 183, page 4A, Hse/Fam #58
    Morrison, James T Head W M  June 1861 38 Married 20 yrs AL AL AL Farmer Rents
    Morrison, Mary Wife W F Feb 1855  45 Married 20 yrs 8 children/5 living GA TN TN
    Morrison, Verges (?) Son W M Oct 1885  14 AR AL AL Farmer
    Powell, Ambrose Boarder W M Mar 1882  59 Married 34 yrs AR TN TN Farmer
    Powell, Manuell [sic] Boarder W F Apr 1846 51 [sic] Married 34 yrs 15 children/6 living TN SC TN
    Powell, Sarah F Boarder W F June 1879  20 AL VA TN
    Powell, Julia A Boarder W M April 1889  11 AL VA TN

    I cannot make sense of the date of birth and age recorded here for Minerva (Called Manuell).  Her birth date is clearly Apr 1846, but the accompanying age, just as clearly written, is only 51, instead of 54 to match the birth date.  The birth date of Sarah here does not match other sources, notably the 1880 census, where she is already reported as 3 years old.  And Julius is called Julia, though designated as a male.

    Before 1910, Ambrose moved farther west from Choctaw Nation into Chickasaw Nation, which became Love County, Oklahoma, in December 1907.  This was where I first found them in my search for this Powell-Green family, as documented above.

    We last saw them living alone as a couple in McCurtain County, in southeastern Oklahoma, on the border with both Arkansas and Texas.  Family genealogies report that Minerva died in Caddo County, Oklahoma, in 1925 and Ambrose in McCurtain County in 1929.

Sources

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