Benjamin and Eliza Anne Adams Powell were married in 1840 in Chambers County, Alabama. Eliza Adams has been documented as a descendants of Nipper Adams who was a patriot of the American Revolution. The ancestors of Benjamin have not been proven, but the following outline relates how I have put clues together to determine the probable family line.
POSSIBLE LINKS TO THE PAST include the search for Powell's with the given name of Lucas or Seymour. This has led to the possible father of Seymour Powell being a Lucas POWELL who was born 1722 and died in 1811. He was married to an Elizabeth Edwards. An early record was found of his family living in Virginia. Little is known of this family. I consider this a possible father because the name Lucas appears several times in my POWELL line. There is no known birth date of Seymour POWELL yet but the dates known do make this a possible connection. Another Lucas POWELL was found who could be the father of LUCAS POWELL born 1722. This Lucas was born in 1696 in Brunswick County Virginia. The dates and same name of Lucas make it a possible father and son combination. I am seeking more information on either Lucas POWELL men in order to find their possible connection to Seymour POWELL. My mother had given the name of Lucas Powell as Seymour's father, but she did not provide any further information.
UPDATE 2000---TIMS FAMILY
This was the year to find the proof of Benjamin James Lucas Powell's father. I was sent a copy of the will of Amos TIMS. He was the son of James Tims, born in 1749 and Martha Patsy Nance Tims. This will states Amos paid for the education of BJL Powell, his nephew, and that Seymour Powell was BJL's father. This has led to other Tims records which refer to the upbringing of the minor child. It is now evident that Benjamin JL was the son of Mary Tims and Seymour Powell. There is no record of any other children. Mary must have died shortly after the birth of this son, and Seymour may have married a Minnie or Milley Newson. Seymour died when his son was 5 years old and evidently Benjamin JL was left to be raised by the Tims family. There is a record of Minnie Newson, widow of Seymour Powell, marrying a Mr. Ellis in 1821. James Tims was the son of Amos Tims, Jr. and the grandson of the Tims immigrant,Amos Tims, Sr. who was born in 1684 in England. Thanks to the Tims family for sharing information.
SEYMOUR POWELL has been identified by several relatives as the first known ancestor of my POWELL line. There is little proven about his life but family lore has given the following account of his life. Seymour was born in South Carolina or Virginia in the late 1700's. He was married to a Miss Timms and to Minnie or Milly Newson. Seymour died in 1819 and left a widow Minnie/Milly Newson who married a Mr. Ellis in Chester County South Carolina in 1821. The plot thickens as a son Benjamin James Lucas POWELL was only 5 years old at the time of his father's death. It is not known which wife was the mother of this young boy, but I suppose it was Miss Timms who died when he was an infant. Family history says that this boy was raised by Amos Timms. Thomas T. Rhoden was appointed the guardian (I have not found this record, but my mother located it years ago). A later record shows that Amos Timms came by wagon train from Floyd County South Carolina in 1872 to Camp County Texas and settled near Pine Texas.
Benjamin James Lucas Powell was born 14 June 1814 in Chester County South Carolina. He may have had a brother named Caleb Powell who was born in 1810 in South Carolina and settled in Arkansas. Benjamin JL Powell had made his way to Chambers County Alabama by 1840 and married Eliza Anne Adams there on 3 March 1841. He is found in Stewart County Georgia in 1844 and moved to Camp County Texas living near the Amos Timms family. He and Eliza Adams raised 13 children who appear to have come to Texas with the family. He died in Pittsburg, Texas and had many relatives in this part of Texas by the time of his death on 17 April 1887. His children and their information are listed in the Names to Search
Louise Powell was a daugher of Benjamin James Lucas Powell and Eliza Ann Adams Powell. She was called Lou or Lovie by friends and family. I have little information on Louise and her family, but I have always heard that the women were all beautiful. I know that she married a Mr. Richey but do not have his given name.
Benjamin was known by his friends and family as "Doc" Powell. He is pictured with the railroad construction crew around 1910 as they traveled around the South. Doc was know to always wear a Derby hat, even while on the trains. In this picture he is wearing the Derby and a vest.
Doc and Anna Mae Powell had two sets of children. The children pictured on the back row are Joseph (Jake), Billy, and Martha Mae Powell. Two of the older daughters Christina and Vesta are on the front row.
BILLY FRANK POWELL is my father and left me with many great memories of life with his family. He was born in 1914 in Missouri while his parents were on the move with the railroad. He was raised in Arkansas and helped operate the family drug store while in high school. He and my mother graduated from high school together in Lewisville Arkansas in 1933 but did not marry until 1939. Mother went away to college and became a school teacher while dad stayed home to help with the family since his father's death. He had 3 sisters and 1 brother who lived to adulthood. All three sisters became school teachers and his brother was a physician.
This is a picture of my father, Bill Powell, which was taken in the 1940's. Anna Mae Petty was a widow for many years, and my dad was very close to his mother. Little is know about her family. Her father James Monroe Petty was from Georgia, and her mother Martha Emma Turner was born in Alabama. Any help on these families would be appreciated.
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