Joe seems to have been a free spirit and quite a character. Heattaine d 32nd degree Mason and was a member of the Sullivan IL Lodge.
Residences & events:
Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL
This item from the Decatur, IL newspaper is placed here for safekeepin g until the correct Powell has been identified but it seemslike someth ing Joe would have done:
1/27/1893 "Last Saturday two young men, Dick Vaughan and John Powell,a nd a boy, Charley Bailey, all of whom live some six miles west ofSulli van, were arrested for stealing turkeys in that neighborhood.There was n ot time to hear the evidence Saturday and they were lodgedin jail to a wait trial Tuesday. In the trial before Squire Campbellno evidence wa s found against Bailey, who was dismissed. Powell gavebail and was re leased. Vaughan was unable to fill his bond and wastaken back to the j ail. Six turkeys were stolen and sold to Dawdy, apoultry dealer here. "
6/5/1900 Chicago, Cook Co, IL was his address at census time. He was2 1, an expressman on the railroad, and a resident in a boarding houseru n by William Miller.
8/1901 Mattoon, Coles Co, IL. He and Pearl moved a few months aftert heir marriage.
1902 Joe landed a position on the Illinois Central Railroad, workingi n various capacities until eventually becoming a conductor. He alsoop erated the Yellow Cab Line in Mattoon in addition to the railroad.
The following newspaper account (date unknown) reported another ofJoe' s tradegies:
"Double Wreck Causes SeriousInju ries
Joe Powell of Mattoon was seriously injured about 10:30 o'clockon M onday night when he was struck by a truck driven by RussellJenkins of t his city. Powell, in the company of two companions,Messrs. Crabtree a nd Morrison, met with an accident about a half milenorth of Allenville w hen the car he was driving left the road and wasbadly damaged. The th ree men had started to walk to Allenville, butwere mistaken in the dir ection and were going toward Sullivaninstead.
Mr. Jenkins approached in his truck and on account of theatmosphe ric condition did not notice the men until one stepped infront of his t ruck and tried to get a ride. Powell was struck by thetruck and badly i njured. When he found it impossible to get Powellin
the truck, Mr. Jenkins came on to Sullivan and notified the sheriff,G. D. Edmonds, who in company with Leonard McMullin motored to thescene o f the accident. In the meantime, however, Mr. Schwengel, theNeoga und ertaker had come along and had taken the man to the Memorialhospital i n Mattoon for treatment.
According to reports, Powell, with his two companions had beendri nking in Mattoon and then started on to Sullivan and were north ofAlle nville, when they lost control of the car and it overturned.Neither of t he two other men were hurt."
4/16/1910 Oklahoma City Ward 1, Oklahoma Co, OK, By the next censust he couple had moved west. Listed as Joe H, 31, proprietor of amessang er service, he had been married 9 years to Pearl, also 31, whohad neve r had any children. They had a roomer at the time, 31 yearold Eugene M cGovern, house carpenter from Australia.
7/25/1917 Joe, in the company of his wife and his sister, Puss,visite d cousins, George, John, and Buell Powell in Princeton, MO. ontheir wa y to Boulder, CO, for the summer.
9/12/1918 He lived at 1320 Broadway, Mattoon, Coles Co, IL when hereg istered for the draft at age 39. Wife Pearl May was next of kinand he w orked as a baggage agent for the IL Central Railroad inMattoon. He wa s medium height, medium build with brown eyes and darkhair.
1/3/1920 Mattoon, IL, 18th & Wabash Ave area. Joseph and Pearl, both4 1, lived in a rented house that year at census time. They livedalone a nd Joe's occupation was proprietor of a transfer company.
1925 The following article was found in a scrapbook of relatives inMe rcer Co, MO:
"Former Mercer County PeopleAdop t Babies
J.H. Powell, a former Mercer County son, gets a write-up in the'I llinois Central Railroad Magazine' as follows: 'Two tiny twingirls, w ho were brought into the world December
8th at the Miller Hospital at Winslow, Ind., have been the centralfigu re of a tragic drama that has caught the attention of all railwayfolk i n Mattoon, Ill.
Their mother, Mrs. Jasper Nolan, died within six hours aftertheir b irth. Their father, a Southern railway section laborer, whowas the fa ther of five other small children, felt that he could notproperly take c are of such small babies and said he was willing togive them away for a doption. They weighed just six pounds each andthe tiny bits of humani ty soon found their way into the affections ofthe nurses and doctors w ho had them in charge. In fact, they werenamed Catherine Rae and Maxi ne Rae after Miss Catherine Rosebroughand Miss Maxine Smith, the nurse s who cared for them.....
Mrs. Powell got in touch with the hospital and went down to seeth e Board of Judges, and was awarded the children. Mr. Powell'seconomic c ondition and his position as a leading citizen of Mattooncombined with h is high religious standards, moved the Board to choosehim as a 'Foster f ather for the twins.'
Hardly able to realize her good fortune, Mrs. Powell madearrangem ents to bring them home. 'I just couldn't hardly believe Iwould have t he good luck to be chosen from so many applicants,' saidMrs. Powell.
She was impressed with the kindness of the people she met, asever yone with whom she came in contact was anxious to help her withthe chi ldren.
She changed trains at Browns, Ill, taking the Illinois Centralfro m there. The agent at Browns helped make her and her littlecharges as c omfortable as possible in the station, then calledMattoon to advise Mr . Powell the train on which Mrs. Powell wouldarrive. The
news evidently spread rapidly through the little town of Browns, asthe re was soon quite an audience at the Station to get a peep at thebabie s.
The twins seemed very happy in their new home and had the careand a ttention lavished on them by their happy new parents by thrivingand ga ining steadily and Mrs. Powell, who is the personification ofmotherlin ess, said she was having the time of her life caring forthem; however, t heir happiness was brief, as the dread epidemic offlu caught both of t he infants in its grasp, and in spite of the bestmedical care obtainab le, little Maxine Rae developed pneumonia andreleased her slender hold o n life the morning of January 29th. Thelife of little Catherine Rae w as dispaired of for several days, butafter a desperate fight waged by t he plucky little mite, at the timeof this writing she is out of danger a nd hopes are maintained for hercomplete recovery.
Mr. Powell says he is perfectly willing to answer a call any timei n the night to quiet this little recruit into the Illinois family.
The J.H. Powell and wife are known here by many people; theyvisit ied here several times with relatives. J.H. is a son of NelsonE. Powe ll, formerly of this county, that many old settlers remember.
J.H Powell writes his cousin, John E. Powell, that their littlech arge is a wonderful baby."
1930 Where were Joe and Pearl that year at census time?
10/1/1944 Joe retired from the railroad.
1951 Their anniversary celebration was reported by the newspaper,alon g with their photo: "Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Powell observed theirgolden we dding anniversary March 26 at their home, 1520 Edgar avenue,with open h ouse from one until nine o'clock and also with a marriageceremony, in r enewal of their vows. Rev. J.F. McMahan, assisted byDr. James M. Live ly, officiated at the ceremony. Mr. and Mrs. Powellwere attended by M rs. Mary C. Cavanaugh and R.E. Van Gundy (nephew).The bride wore a blu e taffeta dress and a corsage of yellowcarnations.....
One hundred and fifty guests called at the Powelll home onMonday. T he house was gaily decorated with bouquets of cut springflowers. A th ree tiered wedding cake decorated in white and goldcentered the refres hment table.
Mrs. Warren Arthur, Mrs. Earl Fitt, Mrs. J.D. Van Gundy, Mrs.Harr y Parkison, Miss Doris Van Gundy and Miss Edna Young (all nieces)were h ostesses for the open house and also served the refreshments."
There were other family members among the out of town guests: Mr &Mrs S tanley Walker, Mr & Mrs Earl Powell, and Mr and Mrs DeweyDeckard of De catur.
1955 Decatur, IL.
A great niece, Dorisgene Van Gundy Webb, remembers these specialancest ors:
"I've heard the phrase 'This is my favorite aunt, or uncle.' Alwaysli ked to hear it myself. But in my case each one had a special placein m y heart!
There was 'Big' Uncle Joe and Aunt Pearl. My first memory of going tot he Powell reunion at Wyman Park (in Sullivan, IL) was going withUncle J oe, he had a car! We would make speed on the straight-away,then turn t he key off and coast down the hill. I would have neverknown that was t he way to conserve gas! On Saturday nights he andAunt Pearl would com e over and we'd all stand around the piano andsing his favorite song. ...Carolina Moon. Aunt Pearl was alwaysfascinated about my ability to s tand on my head...the first thing shealways wanted me to do for her! ( I was told it was supposed to makeyou intelligent...in my case, it did n't work!) One of her famousquips was when she answered her door one e vening and was asked by thegentleman standing there, 'Are you the lady t hat 'entertained?' Shesaid , 'Oh my no, honey, I don't even have a ra dio!' "
(The family distinguished between their uncles by referring to "BigUnc le Joe" Heberdon Powell and "Little Uncle Joe" Glen Powell.)
His obituary states he was born in Moultrie Co, IL, near Arthur.
His obituary related the details of the accident which killed him:
"Joseph H. Powell passes away Wednesday morning from injuries receivedi n an auto crash near Dalton City, on March 28. He was a passengerin a c ar driven by Mrs. Ella C. Nihiser. The accident occurred whenthe Nihi ser car crashed into another car slowing for a school bus toturn. The a ccident was on Route 121, about three miles west of Dalton
City."
His gravestone is completely covered on one side with a drawing of atr ain caboose, a tribute to his profession as a railroad man. Thefunera l services were held at the First Christian Church of Mattoonon Friday a fternoon at 2 PM.
