Robert M. Powers (1842 - abt. 1922)

Born 20 Apr 1842 in Montgomery, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Died about 19 Jan 1922 at about age 79 in Palmyra, Montgomery, Tennessee, United States

Biography

This profile is part of the Power Name Study.

Robert M. Powers, aka Robert Mapes Powers, was born on 20 Apr 1842 in Montgomery, Tennessee to Arthur A. and Emily Powers.

He was married to Sallie E. Harvey on 10 Jun 1868. The records are unclear about whether this was Sallie's first or subsequent marriage, as one lists her name as (Sallie E (Unknown) Harvey, and the other as simply Sallie E. Harvey.^[1][2] Another source found on ancestry.com^[3] shows S. E. Harvey as the bride's name on a page that has several other brides' names preceded by either "Miss" or "Mrs.", but not Sallie's.

The 1870 census^[4] shows Robert and Sallie with one child, Cora, one year of age. His occupation at that time was grocer.

By the 1880 census,^[5] Mapes was a furnace worker and had four children: Cora, Eunice, Elizabeth and Horace.

He died in Palmyra, Montgomery, Tennessee on 19 Jan 1922 and is buried in the Mapes Cemetery at the Old Homeplace in Palmyra according to data in the uploaded GEDCOM, but according to the information on the FindAGrave Memorial, he was buried in the Palmyra United Methodist Church Cemetery.^[6] Perhaps he was originally buried on family property and then moved to the church cemetery. He of the Spanish flu and was interred the very next day. Perhaps arrangements for a church burial could not be made in time, and the need to bury the illness was paramount. Just speculating.

His obituary^[7] tells us that he was 81 years of age [actually 79], one of the county's oldest citizens, and that services were held at the family burying ground. Per the same article, he had nine grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren at the time of his death. He was survived by the following sons and daughters:

• Mrs. Jesse Stone of Atlanta
• Mrs. Cora Rails of Venice, Illinois
• H. L. Powers of Venice, Illinois
• Claude Powers of Venice, Illinois
• Mapes Powers of Venice, Illinois**
• Robert Powers of Venice Illinois**
  • possibly Robert Mapes or Mapes Robert Powers
• Mrs. Lizzie Jackson of Palmyra, Tennessee
• Miss Eunice M. Powers of Palmyra, Tennessee

His obituary^[7] also tells us that he served with Company E, 49th Tennessee Infantry through 32 of its battles and skirmishes and was a member of the Forbes Bivouac, United Confederate Veterans of Clarksville. The article also mentions several years of failing health, and not the Spanish flu listed on his death certificate.^[8] According to that document, he was a farmer either during his life or at the time of his death.

Sources

1. ↑ "Tennessee State Marriage Index, 1780-2002," database, FamilySearch, R M Powers and S E (Unknown) Harvey, 10 Jun 1868; from "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing p. 102, Montgomery, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
2. ↑ "Tennessee Marriages, 1796-1950", database, FamilySearch, R. M. Powers, 1868.
3. ↑ Ancestry.com - U.S., Tennessee Marriage Records, 1780-2002 subscription may be required
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch, Robert M Powers, 1870.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch, Eunice Powers in household of Mapes Powers, District 16, Montgomery, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district ED 141, sheet 410C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,273.
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #131451478
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, Tennessee; 23 Jan 1922
8. ↑ Ancestry.com - U.S., Tennessee Death Records, 1908-1965, subscription may be required.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jimmy Smith for creating WikiTree profile Powers-1699 through the import of SmithSimpson.ged on Sep 17, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Jimmy and others.