William Edgar Powell (7 Jul 1875 - 11 Jul 1952) was the fourth son and seventh of the 11 known children of James G. Powell and Elizabeth Selinda Summers. William was born in the Clay District of Ritchie County, WV. [Note: According to his grandson J. Powell, he went by the name Ed, which is corroborated by some census records and "The History of Haywood" by Hannah Vincent Morris that listed him by his middle name Edgar.] J. Powell indicated that based on the way William would speak of his mother, it was obvious that he and his mother were very close. William would tell his grandson J. Powell of how his mother Elizabeth always worried about her boys and would ring her hands, every time she would hear a gun shot at the saloon, until they all made it back home.William married Frances Rhuhamie Collins on 22 Dec 1895 in Ritchie Co. William and Frances had the following children:
1. Avon Regina Powell (1 Aug 1894 - 21 Jan 1967)
2. Salinda May Powell (31 Oct 1896 - 28 Feb 1970)
3. Starling Clarence Powell (1 Apr 1898 - 24 Apr 1962)
4. Raymond Edgar Powell (17 Jan 1900 - 4 Nov 1978)
5. June Myrtle Powell (15 Mar 1902 - 2004)
6. Lawrence Everett Powell (9 Feb 1904 - 13 Mar 1965
7. Maud Verdelia Powell (15 Oct 1906 - 29 Mar 1989)
8. Paul Leonard Powell (25 Feb 1908 - 12 Dec 1988)
9. Ernest Lemore Powell (25 May 1912 - 16 Feb 1969)
In 1900, according to census records, William was living with his family in the Murphy District of Ritchie Co., working as a tanner. By 1910, William was living with his family in the Haywoord home that his children lived in up until the mid to late 1990s, where he worked as a miner in the local coal mines, also based on census records. According to the "History of Haywood," which William's daughter contributed to, their home in Haywood, when it was still just a two room home, was used as a barber shop. There was no indication of who the barber may have been.
By 1930, William may have given up the coal mines, as he was listed as a general farmer in the census. According to his grandson J. Powell, one crop William planted was broom corn and they would clean off the seeds before taking it to a Mr. Hendershot who had a broom machine. They would gather old broom sticks with worn out brooms to make into new ones, and would they would split the brooms, which would sell for 50 cents a piece, with Mr. Hendershot. William made a half bushel measure out of chestnut, for measuring the corn and broom corn seed, according to J. Powell.
According to J. Powell, William taught himself to read by reading comic books, his favorite being Hopalong Cassidy (William called it "Hopalong Casey"), which was first published in 1943. William could write his name, but J. Powell wasn't sure how much more he could write. However, also according to J. Powell, William was a wiz at doing math in his head, and when the would play double 12 dominoes, which uses 91 tiles, William would always know the score of the board.
On 11 Jul 1952, William's daughter June asked J. Powell if he had seen his grandpa William, as he hadn't come home for lunch. She asked J. Powell to go look for him, so he started at Aunt Rose's, then went to Ruby Brown's (who was somehow related). J.Powell's brother and cousin Ronnie joined him in the search, looking at every "little patch," which is what William called his little gardens. It was at one of these patches that they found their grandfather dead, where he had been working. William's son Raymond recounted this story to the coroner. The coroner stated that William's death was due to acute coronary heart disease. William was laid to rest two days later in the Shinnston Masonic Cemetery in Shinnston, Harrison Co., WV, according to William's death certificate.
William Edgar Powell, c1891
Haywood Powell home after additions.
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