Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1915
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 930
WALTER W. POWELL

For the past twenty years Walter W. POWELL has been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Harrison county, Iowa. He started out as a renter and, in the course of his career in this county, has accumulated a fine farm of three hundred and thirty acres a half mile west of Orson. This is sufficient evidence that Mr. POWELL has directed his energies in such a manner as to gain the best results. He takes an active part in the life of his community, and is a firm believer in all public-spirited measures which he believes will benefit the community at large.

Walter W. POWELL, the son of Francis H. and Mary (FERRIS) POWELL, was born on February 6, 1869, in Owen county, Indiana. Both of his parents were natives of the same state, his father being a son of Elijah POWELL, who was a native of Maryland.

The POWELLs were farmers in Indiana, where Francis H. and his wife reared a family of eight children, of whom Walter W. is the eldest. Mr. POWELL lived at home until he was twenty-one years of age. He received a good common school education in his native state. After reaching his majority, he went to Illinois, where he worked on a farm for three years, returning then to Indiana and working in the coal mines near Brazil for about a year. Mr. POWELL came to Harrison county, Iowa, in February, 1895, and located just west of Crescent, where he lived on a rented farm for nine years. He then rented a farm near Calhoun for nine years, and in the fall of 1913 traded one hundred and twelve acres of land, which he owned one mile south of Orson, for his present farm of three hundred and thirty acres, a half mile west of Orson. He moved on his farm in the spring of 1914, and is rapidly improving the place and bringing it to a high state of cultivation.

Mr. POWELL was married on August 5, 1892, to Julia TWOMEY, who was born in Kentucky, and is a daughter of John and Mary J. (FERGUSON) TWOMEY, natives of Ireland. Mr. POWELL was married in Illinois, while working there, and to this union have been born ten children, Rosa, born on April 21, 1893; Mary, born on December 23, 1894; Grace, born on October 6, 1896; Walter, born on January 13, 1898; Olive, born on November 7, 1900; Wilbur, born on August 24, 1902; Michael, born on December 21, 1904; Milton, born on February 11, 1907; Catherine, born on December 27, 1909; Alice, born on October 26, 1913. One of the daughters, Rosa, is married. She married Thomas TIERNEY, and lives three miles east of Missouri Valley. Mr. and Mrs. TIERNEY have one daughter, Julia. Mary received an excellent education and is now teaching school near Orson. The rest of the children are still single and living at home.

Mr. POWELL and his family are all loyal members of the Catholic church and generous contributors to its support. Mr. POWELL is a Republican, but is not a partisan in any sense of the word. He votes for men rather than for government. He has been a school director for two terms and, during his incumbency of this office, has given his hearty support to every measure which he felt would benefit the schools of his neighborhood.

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