John Powell

Born [date unknown] in Perthyr, Monmouthshire, Wales

Ancestors

Husband of Katherine (Burgess) Powell — married 1624 in Norfolk County, VA

Descendants

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Biography

John Powell is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

John Powell was a Jamestown colonist.

John Powell was born in Wales.

John Powel (aka Powel or ap Hywel / Howell), the original Powell family immigrant, is said to have been born ca. 1580 in Perth-hir, Monmouthshire, Wales. A 15th century ancestor, William ap Hywel, adopted the English convention for Surnames, becoming the first "Powel" aka "Powell" of Perth-hir. William was the son of Hywel ap Tomas, Lord of Perth-hir, and was killed in 1469 during the War of the Roses.^[1] According to this historian, William's descendant, John Powel, died without male heirs, so the Perth-hir estate passed to distant cousins named Lorimer. John Powell, the immigrant, therefore was not a direct male descendant, helping explain why, although a Gentleman, he chose to seek his fortune overseas.^[2]

According to family genealogists, John Powell, left England aboard the "Swallowe " for Jamestown, Virginia, in 1609 when he was just 14 years old. ^[3]He was joining his two older brothers, Dr. Nathaniel Powell and Captain William Powell, both of whom were close friends of Virginia adventurer, Capt. John Smith and were among Jamestown's first colonists in 1607.^[4] He was among the few colonists who survived the "starving winter" there (1609-10), helped no doubt by his youth.^[5]

Alas, both of John's influential older brothers and their families were killed by Indians in the massacres of 1622 and 1623, leaving him alone in the besieged colony but an important landowner. In 1624 he was granted 150 acres of land within the Corporation of Elizabeth Cittie, abutting eastward "upon a green swamp which parteth it from the land of Captain William Tucker..." This land was a personal land-grant by Sir Francis Wyatt, the first English Governor of Virginia, on September 20. 1624.^[6]

Now a grown man, John Powell married Catherine (Surname unknown: NOT the Katherine Burgess, born in 1583. Note by Chet Snow: It is highly unlikely that immigrant John married Katherine Burgess, born in 1583; if so, she would have been over 40 when their first son was born, unheard of in that time and place.)^[6], who was born in 1602 in England and who had emigrated to Virginia aboard the "Flying Hart " in 1622. John and Catherine had four sons: John Powell Jr. (b. 1624), Richard Powell (b. 1625), William Powell (b. 1626), & Henry Powell (b. 1628). All were all born in Elizabeth City County (became Norfolk County in 1636), Virginia. John Powell Jr., aka Captain John Powell II, served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, representing Elizabeth City, in 1657, 1659, 1660, and 1676. John Powell Sr. also was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses for the same area in 1632-33.^{[7] [8]}

John Powell (Sr.) welcomed his English cousin, reportedly a teenage stowaway, Thomas Prater (aka Prather), who arrived in Virginia on the "Marie Providence" in 1622, paying for his passage by having him indentured to him as a laborer for a few years plus John paid the ship's captain for a personal servant, Thomas Deaxter, who arrived in 1623. Within a few years, he had helped both young men establish themselves locally with grants of 50 acres of land apiece.^[9]

After his passage in the House of Burgesses, John Powell consecrated himself to his land as an "Ancient Planter," a title that implied he was a Gentleman landowner.

• 1624 - John Powell, of Newport News, "Yeoman & Ancient Planter," patent, Sept. 20, 1624, p. 5. In the Swallow, 1609. Burgess, Sept. 1632 "From Water's Creek to Marie's Mount.^[10]
• 1624 - John Powell, of Newports Newes, Yeoman & Ancient Planter, 150 acs. within the Corp. of Eliz. Citty, 20 Sept. 1624, p. 27. Ewd, upon a greene Sw. parting it from land of Capt. William Tucker, Wwd. upon land of John Taylor &c. 100 acs. in his owne per. right & 50 for his servant Thomas Practer (or Proctor) whome he bought of Capt. Richard Shepperd "hee came over in the Mary Providence in 1623."^[10]

In Nugent's history, "Cavaliers and Pioneers," Vol. 1, the author records that on April 19, 1638, Katherine Powell sold some of their land and that the documents list her as being a widow; therefore John Powell must have died in Elizabeth City just prior to April 19th, 1638.^{[9] [10]}

Arrival

Date:

Place: Jamestown, Virginia^[11]aboard the Swallow^[12][13]

Occupation

1632, Member House of Burgesses^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales, Volume 2, by Thomas Nichols, 1872. A Google Book
2. ↑ See note above, pg. 718.
3. ↑ https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/swallow.htm
4. ↑ Our Roots Family Tree - Includes Notes and Sources
5. ↑ NOTE by Chet Snow There is a discrepancy between John's oft-cited Welsh birthdate of 1580 and his passage to Virginia in 1609 as a teenager. His declared age of 29 years in the Muster of January 5,1625, matches his teenage passage 15 years earlier but not a 1580 birth date. More research is needed as there may have been two John Powells. IF John was not born until 1594/95, he could not be the father of Mary Powell MacKay Prather who was born in 1606 in Wiltshire, England.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Our Roots Family Tree - Includes Notes and Sources
7. ↑ Jamestowne Society: Powell, John - A6308; From Water's Creeke to Marie's Mount: 1632 (Burgess). (accessed 24 Sep 2021)
8. ↑ New River Notes, Colonial Virginia Register
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Pitman-Tiner Tree
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Nugent, Nell Marion, Abstracted and Indexed by. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800. In Five Volumes. Richmond, VA.: Press of the Dietz Printing Co., 1935. Pages xxix, 5, 42
11. ↑ Gale Research, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s (Provo, UT, USA, The Generations Network, Inc., 2006), www.ancestry.com, Place: Virginia; Year: 1609; Page Number: 50. Record for John Powell. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pili354&h=4055611&indiv=try
12. ↑ Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Vol. I, pg 307
13. ↑ https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/swallow.htm
14. ↑ Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Vol. I, pg 307

Notes

Note N1639Came to Jamestown, VA aboard the Swallow with the second wave of colonists in August, 1609 at age 14. Met and married Kathren Burgess there.

John Powell's servant on the trip to Jamestown was Thomas Prater.

Survived the harsh winter of 1609-10 known as the Òstarving timeÓ.

One of 150 colonists to receive Òland patentsÓ by Sir Thomas Dale in 1618. This group is now referred to as the Ancient Planters.

Died in 1638 in area of Hampton, Va.

See also:

• Our Roots Family Tree - Includes Notes and Sources

• Pitman-Tiner Tree

• Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales, Volume 2 (London: 1872), by Thomas Nichols, PhD. A Google Book

• Ann Stevens

Paula's family 5-28-2011.GED Data

WikiTree profile Powell-1063 was created through the import of Paula's family 5-28-2011.GED on May 29, 2011 by Paula Marksman. The Gedcom contained the following data that may be useful for research.

Birth Date: 1580 - Place: Perth Hir, Monmouth, England [sic=Wales]

Arrival in Jamestown: 1609

Death Date: 19 APR 1638 - Place: Elizabeth City, Norfolk, Virginia

• Source: S3 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Repository: #R1 Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Paula Marksman for creating WikiTree profile Powell-1063 by importing Paula's family 5-28-2011.GED on May 29, 2011. Click on the Changes tab for details of contributions by Paula and others.

Thanks to Tommy Robbins for creating WikiTree profile Powell-2914 from personal knowledge on Dec. 29, 2012. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Tommy and others.

Thanks to Chet Snow for researching and writing the biographical sketch for John Powell's profile on April 12, 2015.

Thank you to Kitty Smith for creating WikiTree profile Powell-3622 through the import of Bunnells-Powells-Whites-etc.ged on Jul 1, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Kitty and others.