|
Joe seems to have been a free spirit and quite a character. He was a32nd degree Mason and
member of the Sullivan Lodge. Residences & events: Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL 8/1901 Mattoon, Coles Co, IL. He and Pearl moved within a few monthsafter their marriage. 1902 Joe landed a position on the Illinois Central Railroad, workingin various capacities until eventually becoming a conductor. He alsooperated 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 SeriousInjuries Joe Powell of Mattoon was seriously injured about 10:30 o'clockon Monday night when he was struck by a truck driven by RussellJenkins of this city. Powell, in the company of two companions,Messrs. Crabtree and Morrison, met with an accident about a half milenorth of Allenville when the car he was driving left the road and wasbadly damaged. The three men had started to walk to Allenville, butwere mistaken in the direction and were going toward Sullivan instead. Mr. Jenkins approached in his truck and on account of theatmospheric condition did not notice the men until one stepped infront of his truck and tried to get a ride. Powell was struck by thetruck and badly injured. When he found it impossible to get Powell in the truck, Mr. Jenkins came on to Sullivan and notified the sheriff,G.D. Edmonds, who in company with Leonard McMullin motored to thescene of the accident. In the meantime, however, Mr. Schwengel, theNeoga undertaker had come along and had taken the man to the Memorialhospital in Mattoon for treatment. According to reports, Powell, with his two companions had beendrinking in Mattoon and then started on to Sullivan and were north ofAllenville, when they lost control of the car and it overturned.Neither of the two other men were hurt." 7/25/1917 Joe, in the company of his wife and his sister, Puss,visited cousins, George, John, and Buell Powell in Princeton, MO. ontheir way to Boulder, CO, for the summer. 1920 Mattoon, IL, 18th & Wabash Ave area. 1925 The following article was found in a scrapbook of relatives inMercer Co, MO: "Former Mercer CountyPeople Adopt Babies J.H. Powell, a former Mercer County son, gets a write-up in the'Illinois Central Railroad Magazine' as follows: 'Two tiny twingirls, who were brought into the world December 8th at the Miller Hospital at Winslow, Ind., have been the centralfigure of a tragic drama that has caught the attention of all railwayfolk in Mattoon, Ill. Their mother, Mrs. Jasper Nolan, died within six hours aftertheir birth. Their father, a Southern railway section laborer, whowas the father of five other small children, felt that he could notproperly take care of such small babies and said he was willing togive them away for adoption. They weighed just six pounds each andthe tiny bits of humanity soon found their way into the affections ofthe nurses and doctors who had them in charge. In fact, they werenamed Catherine Rae and Maxine Rae after Miss Catherine Rosebrough andMiss Maxine Smith, the nurses who cared for them..... Mrs. Powell got in touch with the hospital and went down to seethe Board of Judges, and was awarded the children. Mr. Powell'seconomic condition and his position as a leading citizen of Mattooncombined with his high religious standards, moved the Board to choosehim as a 'Foster father for the twins.' Hardly able to realize her good fortune, Mrs. Powell madearrangements to bring them home. 'I just couldn't hardly believe Iwould have the good luck to be chosen from so many applicants,' saidMrs. Powell. She was impressed with the kindness of the people she met, aseveryone with whom she came in contact was anxious to help her withthe children. She changed trains at Browns, Ill, taking the Illinois Centralfrom there. The agent at Browns helped make her and her littlecharges as comfortable as possible in the station, then called Mattoonto advise Mr. Powell the train on which Mrs. Powell would arrive. The news evidently spread rapidly through the little town of Browns, asthere was soon quite an audience at the Station to get a peep at thebabies. The twins seemed very happy in their new home and had the careand attention lavished on them by their happy new parents by thrivingand gaining steadily and Mrs. Powell, who is the personification ofmotherliness, said she was having the time of her life caring forthem; however, their happiness was brief, as the dread epidemic of flucaught both of the infants in its grasp, and in spite of the bestmedical care obtainable, little Maxine Rae developed pneumonia andreleased her slender hold on life the morning of January 29th. Thelife of little Catherine Rae was dispaired of for several days, butafter a desperate fight waged by the plucky little mite, at the timeof this writing she is out of danger and hopes are maintained for hercomplete recovery. Mr. Powell says he is perfectly willing to answer a call any timein the night to quiet this little recruit into the Illinois family. The J.H. Powell and wife are known here by many people; theyvisitied here several times with relatives. J.H. is a son of NelsonE. Powell, formerly of this county, that many old settlers remember. J.H Powell writes his cousin, John E. Powell, that their littlecharge is a wonderful baby." 10/1/1944 Joe retired from the railroad. 1951 Their anniversary celebration was reported by the newspaper,along with their photo: "Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Powell observed theirgolden wedding anniversary March 26 at their home, 1520 Edgar avenue,with open house from one until nine o'clock and also with a marriageceremony, in renewal of their vows. Rev. J.F. McMahan, assisted byDr. James M. Lively, officiated at the ceremony. Mr. and Mrs. Powellwere attended by Mrs. Mary C. Cavanaugh and R.E. Van Gundy (nephew).The bride wore a blue taffeta dress and a corsage of yellowcarnations..... One hundred and fifty guests called at the Powelll home onMonday. The house was gaily decorated with bouquets of cut springflowers. A three tiered wedding cake decorated in white and goldcentered the refreshment table. Mrs. Warren Arthur, Mrs. Earl Fitt, Mrs. J.D. Van Gundy, Mrs.Harry Parkison, Miss Doris Van Gundy and Miss Edna Young (all nieces)were hostesses for the open house and also served the refreshments." There were other family members among the out of town guests: Mr &Mrs Stanley Walker, Mr & Mrs Earl Powell, and Mr and Mrs Dewey Deckardof Decatur. 1955 Decatur, IL. A great niece, Dorisgene Van Gundy Webb, remembers these specialancestors: "I've heard the phrase 'This is my favorite aunt, or uncle.' Alwaysliked to hear it myself. But in my case each one had a special placein my heart! There was 'Big' Uncle Joe and Aunt Pearl. My first memory of going tothe Powell reunion at Wyman Park (in Sullivan, IL) was going withUncle Joe, he had a car! We would make speed on the straight-away,then turn the key off and coast down the hill. I would have neverknown that was the way to conserve gas! On Saturday nights he andAunt Pearl would come over and we'd all stand around the piano andsing his favorite song....Carolina Moon. Aunt Pearl was alwaysfascinated about my ability to stand 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 didn't work!) One of her famousquips was when she answered her door one evening and was asked by thegentleman standing there, 'Are you the lady that 'entertained?' Shesaid , 'Oh my no, honey, I don't even have a radio!' " (The family distinguished between their uncles by referring to "BigUncle Joe" Heberdon Powell and "Little Uncle Joe" Glen Powell.) |
| His obituary states he was born in Moultrie Co, IL, near Arthur. |
| L.E. was Lycurgus Erastus, Joe's first cousin. |
|
His obituary related the details of the accident which killed him: "Joseph H. Powell passes away Wednesday morning from injuries receivedin an auto crash near Dalton City, on March 28. He was a passenger ina car driven by Mrs. Ella C. Nihiser. The accident occurred when theNihiser car crashed into another car slowing for a school bus to turn.The accident was on Route 121, about three miles west of Dalton City." |
| His gravestone is completely covered on one side with a drawing of atrain caboose, a tribute to his profession as a railroad man. Thefuneral services were held at the First Christian Church of Mattoon onFriday afternoon at 2 PM. |