• General Notes

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  Henry Powell was in Washington County, Kentucky when the census was taken in Oc tober, 1830.  He was in Illinois when his daughter, Margaret, was born in 1832. He was in Monroe County, Missouri when his next child, Jacob was born in 1834 .  Cyrus Powell, brother of Henry, married Matilda Porter Crane July 28, 1831 i n Washington County and according to his own words arrived in Marion County, Mi ssouri in the Spring of 1833.  Cyrus settled in Philadelphia, Missouri close to the Mississippi River.  Monroe County borders Marion County.  These are the fa cts we know about the two brothers' migration to Missouri. We suspect Henry and Cyrus scouted Missouri on horse back without their families before moving to t he state together, probably in the company of several other families.  It is po ssible Henry lived for a time in Louisville, Kentucky or somewhere in Illinois before he went to Missouri, and we are not certain he and Cyrus traveled togeth er.  They did, however, leave Kentucky about the same time, and long before any of the other Powell brothers.  The only brother we have not found a record of after 1830 is Jacob, so it is possible he left with Henry. Henry did not settle in one spot as Cyrus did.  Andrew Jackson Powell, Henry's fifth son said he wa s born in Shelby County, Missouri, in 1836.  On October 18, 1840 G. M. Taylor t aking the census for Wells Township, Macon County, Missouri counted Henry Powel l, his wife, six sons and two daughters among the residents.  We only have reco rds for one son born to Henry and Matilda between 1835 and 1840 but this census lists two.  This son is not listed with Henry in 1850 so he must have died you ng. Some have suggested Henry was not living in the present area of Schuyler Co unty in 1840 eventhough this area was part of Macon County at that time.  When looking at the list of neighbors of Henry Powell in 1840 Macon County, and 1850 Schuyler County, I find several of the same names.  There is no Wells Township in present day Schuyler County but there was a Wells Township along the northe rn edge of Schuyler County in 1846 when it was first formed.  I believe Henry P owell had settled north of Lancaster in Schuyler County, and before 1840 he had been joined by his brother David Powell.  Before 1850 his brother James Walton Powell had followed him to northern Missouri.  A Jonathan Hilton from Kentucky with a wife named Margaret is listed on the 1850 Schuyler County census. This is surely Matilda's brother. Henry, coming from the wornout land of Kentucky, f ound a country of rolling farmland, where he could break the prairie and grow c orn, tobacco, and other farm crops in abundance.  In visits between the brother s he must have told of the rich land in Missouri where you could grow such glor ious crops, or maybe his brothers came on horseback to see for themselves.  By 1850 we think at least six of the Powell brothers were in the Missouri wilderne ss making a new life on the frontier. We haven't found any record of Henry purc hasing land in Missouri until 1848, but still think he had settled down with Ma tilda and his young family on a farm north of Lancaster long before that.  He w as there to be appointed to the first Grand Jury of Schuyler County on April 10 , 1846. Matilda had three more daughters in Missouri: Sarah A. 1838, Melinda A. 1842, and Lucinda 1844.  We think Matilda may have died with the birth of Luci nda in 1844.  Certainly she  died before December 14, 1847 when Henry married N ancy Bass Melvin, the widow of Thomas Melvin.  Thomas Melvin's estate papers li st vouch # 22 "Cash paid Henry Powel for five and one half days services of his oxen and waggon in gathering and hauling corn.  $2.75".  We know Henry and Nan cy were neighbors. Thomas Melvin left his widow with the following children whi ch lived with Henry and Nancy after the marriage:  Levi 1832, Sarah Emily 1834, Catherine 1836, Simeon 1842 (the 1850 census calls this child Susan, but estat e records repeatedly identify the child as Simeon

Details of Henry's family with Matilda Hilton

Details of Henry's family with Nancy Bass