Elijah Powell and Nancy Caroline Cox
(1796?-after 1849 and 1810-1895)
Descendant List and Notes
Update on Elijah's death date
The family of Elijah Powell is another of those for which there are copious references to be found on popular internet genealogy sites. Some lineages trace him and his wife, Nancy Caroline Cox, to revolutionary soldiers Brittain Powell and Moses Cox. However, none of these sites provides sources to support its claims. One of the few sources cited, and the most frequent, is a book entitled Possums Run Over Their Graves, first printed in 1985 and revised and updated in 1995, by Rebecca Newsom Dobson of Ozark, Alabama. This book contains a wealth of information, if rather disorganized, about families of Geneva County, Alabama, but it has virtually no documentation of primary sources, either.
On a page of acknowledgments, Dobson lists 41 general providers of information on various family lines, but no specifics and not enough detail to contact any of the providers. On page 184 is another list of general sources, including several genealogical and history books, "Washington and Holmes County, Florida, courthouse records", the Encyclopedia Britannica and "data from private genealogical files". The section on the Military Record of Moses Cox, on page 191, is the only one with its own list of general references and books, including a cryptic self-reference to Possums Run Over Their Graves.
While the work contains charming stories of the kind handed down through generations and diligently collected and compiled by the author, it is left to us to determine as best we can the source and accuracy of the items presented as fact. My original motivation was to locate as many readily available records as possible to verify the existence, location and vital statistics of people mentioned in this book. Census records are the most abundant. Some marriage and death records are available, but courthouse disasters in Southeast Alabama and West Florida have left large voids. It will be a future task to verify people and events beyond the reach of census and local public records.
The Possum book makes no reference to any specific source proving that Martha Jane and Daniel Franklin Powell are children of Elijah. My belief that they were brother and sister was based originally on their proximity to each other in Coffee and Geneva counties, their close ages and the fact that Martha bought land adjacent to that of Daniel at about the same time. Both of them reported at least once that their parents were from NC and Georgia. Later I discovered that Dobson's earlier book on the same family, Woe and Giddiup, the Peerless Powells of Possum Trot, contained a xerox copy of a handwritten 1966 letter from Daniel's son David Daughtry to Pina Akins, daughter of his first cousin Callie Warren Akins, stating that his grandfather was Elijah Powell and that Daniel's sister Martha married an Owens, but David did not know his name. (Holley Owens had been dead for over 40 years when David D was born and over 100 years when the letter was written.) Lonna Powell, researcher and great-granddaughter-in-law of James Ellison Powell, reports that much of Dobson's Powell material came from Pina Akins.
Ages and Order of Birth - Uncertain
This is the only Elijah Powell I have found in this area in 1830. If this is the Elijah Powell reported to be father of Martha Jane and Daniel Franklin, then this census does not support the claim that Martha was third child (b. 1831), after Daniel F (b. 1828) and William Hanson (b. 1830).
1830 US Census, Pike County, Alabama, pg 30, line 14: Powell, Elijah 1 m 30-40; 1 f <5, 1 f 20-30 (indexed as Elizah) 0 slaves Four entries away: Edward Warren 2 m <5, 1 m 15-20, 1 m 30-40; 2 f 20-30 + 10 slaves (In Barbour County 1840-1850. Thorndale and Dollarhide's Mapguide to the Federal Censuses, 1790-1920, shows that in 1830, Pike included the SW half of present Barbour and about half of present Bullock. The NE half of present-day Barbour is shown as still Indian territory. Online census maps generated by Animap software at Genealogy, Inc show that Pike included all of Barbour in 1830.) 1840 US Census, Washington County, Georgia, pg 219 (pg # on right page of 2-page set): line 13: Robert Cox 2m <5, 1m 5-10, 1m 30-40 1f <5, 1f 5-10, 1f 30-40 line 17: Moses Cox, Jr 1m 20-30, 1m 80-90 1f 10-15, 1f 15-20, 1f 20-30, 1f 70-80 line 19: Aaron Cox 1m 20-30, 1m 50-60 2f 15-20 line 22: Nancy Powell 1m <5, 1m 5-10, 1m 10-15 2f <5, 1f 5-10, 1f 20-30 (males: Daniel? (abt 4-6), Richard? (abt 7?), William? (abt 8, not on 1830 census - out of bracket?), females: Mary (abt 0-2), Sarah (abt 2-3), Martha Jane (abt 11-12 - out of bracket), Nancy (abt 30) ) line 29: Joseph Avant 1m <5, 1m 5-10, 1m 10-15, 1m 30-40 1f <5, 1f 5-10, 1f 30-40 These people are reported as Nancy Cox Powell's family. 1850 Alabama State Census, Pike County: Elijah Powell 7-1-0-1-2-1 (7 m<21, 1 m>21, no m 18-45, 1 m>45; 2 f<21, 1 f>21)
The 1850 Alabama State Census of Pike County indicated that there were no males between 18 and 45 in Elijah Powell's household. If that was correct, then William, as the oldest son, could not have been born before 1832, unless he had already left home by the time of 1850 census and was not counted with the rest of the family.
In addition, the presence of seven males under the age of 18 indicates that there was at least one more son of Elijah and Nancy's who has not been documented. Counting William, Daniel, James, George, John and Richard, we are still one short. In the 1860 US Census, Coffee County, Alabama, there is a David Powell, age 16, in the household of Jesse M (37, Ga) and Margaret J (35, Al) Rowe only two entries away from Nancy Powell's household with James, George and John. Between the Rowes and Nancy Powell was the family of Hiram (42, Ga) and Edy (44, Ga) Lisenby with a son named Kinion. The only other time I have seen the name Kinion is in the families of Richard Powell and Kinion White of Pike County. Only a couple of entries beyond Nancy Powell are the families of Lewis H Plant (68, VA) and James Blackman (45, SC), both of whom were enumerated in 1850 eastern Pike County in the same general area as Elijah and Nancy Powell. The relevance of these neighbors has yet to be determined.
Census ages and birth dates from tombstones
Tomb- Best Commonly 1850 1860 1870 1880 1900 stone 1910 1920 Guess Reported Martha 22 28 44 50 73(Jan 1827) Aug 1831 dead abt 1828 1831 William nf* 32 38 53 73(Mar 1827) Mar 1828* dead abt 1832 1830 Daniel nf 24 35 49 69(May 1831) Jan 1828* 82 dead 1834-36 1828 Sarah nf 22 22 48 69(Mar 1831) Mar 1834* 73 dead 1837-38 1834 Mary nf 18 30 nf 64(Mar 1836) nf 76 nf 1840-42 1839 James E nf 16 26 35 dead Mar 1841* 1844 1841 George? nf 13* 1846-47 John nf 12 22 nf 51(Sep 1848) Sep 1848* 62 72 1848 1843 Richard? - unknown if he actually existed - not found on any census *nf = not found on US census. However, they were enumerated on the 1850 state census. *William: I have photo of his grave at Indian Creek Cemetery, Smut Eye, Bullock Co, Al. ADAH CW database has his age at enlistment on 15 Apr 1862 as 30, giving a birth year of 1832 if the Mar 10 on tombstone is correct. His Compiled Service Record gives his age as 33 at time of his Oath of Allegiance at Camp Chase on 14 Jun 1865,also putting his birth in 1832. The 1870 census age of 38 also agrees with 1832. *Daniel: Death certificate does not give a birthdate, but gives age at death on 26 Aug 1910 as 81 yrs, 4 mos (days not reported), yielding a birthdate of Apr 1829 if day 10 on tombstone is correct (it shows 10 Jan 1828). *Sarah: date from death certificate; cemetery listing for Sarah has 1843 as birth year, but that could be a typo for 1834. *James E: cemetery list has two dates for him, one just a death date with age, generating a birth year of 1837. Apparently, there was early confusion about his date. CSR with age 21 at release in 1865 also gives birth year 1844. *George: Nothing else is known of George. He was young to be in the war, but could have gone in 1864 or 1865. It has been reported that one or possibly two of Nancy'ssons died in the war - no details or sources reported. *John: date from death certificate; cemetery listing not found. Marked as not able to read or write: Martha 1860, 1870, 1900 William 1860, 1870, 1900 Daniel 1880 can read, not write; 1900 Sarah 1860 Mary 1870, 1900-1910 James E 1870, 1880 John 1870, 1900
Observations and Conclusions
It has been reported that one, possibly two, of Elijah and Nancy's sons died in the war. The name Richard (1833-1862) has been given as one (no source mentioned). However, in correspondence with the person who posted this query, it was learned that the name Richard came from a family list in Dobson's earlier book Woe and Giddiup.
The birthdate on Martha Jane's tombstone is Aug 1831 and Daniel's is Jan 1828, but looking at the census from 1850 to 1910, she is always older than he is. Their ages are not consistent, but she is usually one to four years older than he. In 1870, she was nine years older, but that year looks too far out of line to consider. In 1900, her birthdate was given as Jan 1827 and his was May 1831. Their birth years are reversed from what is commonly reported.
Only the 1910 census age suggests that Daniel might have been born as early as 1828. It appears that reports of his 1828 birth were taken from his last census age, but all earlier census entries suggest that he was born considerably later.
Most in this family show a tendency to age faster as they get older. Daniel picked up four extra years between 1870 and 1880, but Martha still claimed to be at least a year older. He added three more years between 1900 and 1910. Martha's ages over a 50 year period are up and down, never an expected 9-11 years apart, but her age at the end is consistent with the starting age. Daniel, however, is about 8 years older than he should be in 1910, at age 82.
Sarah's age of 73 in 1910 is in line with her starting age of 22 in 1860 and 32 in 1870 (assuming that the 22 on the census was supposed to be 32), but 1880 and 1900 are 6-7 years too old.
Mary also picked up 2-4 years with each census. Assuming she was about 18-20 in 1860, her 1870 age of 30 is not out of line, but by 1900-1910, she has added 2-8 years from where she started. A pension application stated that her age was approximately 78 as of 3 Jan 1916, indicating birth c1837, close to only her 1900 age.
James E and John were big surprises in that census records consistently show them as born much later
than commonly reported. Either Elijah Powell did not die in 1844-45 as claimed, or he is not the
father of John, whose death certificate, consistent with most census records, indicates that he was born
30 Sep 1848.
UPDATE Mar 2010:
As expected, the 1850 Alabama State Census shows
Elijah Powell to be still alive, enumerated with his large family in eastern Pike
County, Alabama, just where we would expect him to be, in the Perote-Smuteye area near Daniel and Malcolm Blue,
William Ming, John and Thomas Cope and someone named J B Owens (relation to Holley Owens unknown).
There were seven males under 21 (none over 18), with one over 45, two females under 21 and one female over 21. The two under
21 would be Sarah Ann (est. b.abt 1837-1838; m. 1855) and Mary Melinda (est. b.abt 1840-42, m. 1858).
Martha Jane Powell had already married Holley Owens in 1848, and they were enumerated on pg 8 near several
Cope families and John Owen.
James E was age 21 on his Oath of Allegiance in 1865, indicating birth in 1844, closely matching the two census entries found for him, but three years later than commonly reported. He has two different tombstones listed, indicating birth in 1837 and 1841. Apparently, even his close family was not sure of his birthdate.
However, none of this proves anything conclusively, but it does raise some serious questions. While it is tempting to think that the earliest age given would be the most likely to be accurate, this has not always proven to be the case. At any rate, the interesting point remains that Martha is always older than Daniel. That, combined with the 1830 census showing only 1 child, a female under 5, in Elijah Powell's household, leads me to suspect strongly that Martha was older. However, the 1840 census shows the oldest child to be a boy age 10-15. If the two families are the same, then at least one of the censuses is incorrect. The person I am listing as William Hanson also appears to be older than Daniel, but it is a toss-up as to whether he or Martha was born first.
Each member of this family was listed on at least one census as not being able to read or write. It is reasonable to think that the mother did not know how to read or write, either, or she would have taught her children, one would think. With this in mind, it follows that they may not even have known for sure how old they were. I can relate from experience that if my own age were not well documented, I could easily forget it. It is not surprising that it would be difficult to keep track of seven or more children's birthdays from memory alone. Consider also that in the early backwoods of Georgia and Alabama, who even had a printed calendar to consult when a child was born?
