Mary Hannah and Frank Powell

Mary Hannah Carey was the third child of David and Sarah Carey and was my grandfather's older sister. My father and other Ohio family members always referred to her as "Aunt May". She was born in Champaign county, Ohio, 3 Aug 1867, lived there all her life, and died there 2 Mar 1946. On 8 Sep 1886, she married Frank Otis Powell.¹

Frank Powell was the son of Benjamin Franklin Powell. We don't have any information on his mother. In the 1880 U. S. Census, Frank was enumerated in Salem township, Champaign county, along with his brothers, his father and a woman who was obviously his stepmother.²

Aunt May and Uncle Frank had a farm on Route 68, near Aunt Hattie and Uncle Abe Walker's farm, north of Urbana. In 1993, when I visited the Urbana area, Frank and May's nephew, Marvin Carey took me to see their former property, which was being used as a trout farm, known as Freshwater Farms of Ohio.³ Aunt May was enumerated in Salem township, north of Urbana, with her parents in the 1880 census, then on her farm with Frank and their two sons in 1900, with Frank and son Carey in 1910, and with Frank in 1920.

Children and descendants. Frank and May had two sons, whose families are listed after their names:

1. William C. Powell, born Jun 1887 in Ohio. He died some time before his father's 1936 death. William may have been known either as Willie or as W. C. He married a woman named Josie who was born about 1883. They lived in Dayton, Ohio, where they were enumerated in the 1910 and 1920 censuses, along with their son:
   • Frank Powell, born about 1909. I remember visiting a cousin of my father whose surname was Powell in 1949. He lived on a farm somewhere near Urbana, possibly on what had been May and Frank's farm. While there, we had a meal featuring great quantities of fried chicken which my little brothers and I consumed with much enthusiasm. This relative showed us a barn or shed which was full of old cash registers. At the time I had no idea how he was related to Dad, or why he had all these machines at his home. I'm now convinced this was Aunt May's grandson Frank and that he had inherited the vintage machines from his father, who was listed in the 1910 census as working for a "cash reg co."⁴ In both the 1910 and 1920 censuses, many of William's Dayton neighbors were also working in the cash register industry.
2. Charles Carey Powell, born 18 Sep 1889 in Champaign county, died 12 Jan 1948 in Salem, OH, and was known by his middle name. On 19 Feb 1914, Carey married Inez Muriel Walker who was born about 1895, with his uncle, the Rev. George E. Carey presiding.² Inez died 9 July 1914.² About 1918, Carey married Essie Florence Sceva,² who was born 19 Jan 1887 in Champaign county. Essie was a daughter of George A. and Isadore (Middleton) Sceva, who were enumerated in Union township, Champaign county, in the 1880 census. Essie's father is mentioned on page 912 of Beers' 1881 History of Champaign County; he is mentioned elsewhere in that book as a Union township trustee in 1879-1880. Another extensive biography of George Sceva, who served in the 134th Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, appears on page 272 of Middleton's Champaign County Ohio History, published in 1917. Essie died 2 Apr 1992 in Champaign county. She and Carey are buried in Kingscreek Cemetery, near Urbana.⁵ Essie and my aunt Libby Bowers corresponded until after Essie was 100 years old. Carey and Essie had one child:
   • Florence Powell, born about 1921,² who married Richard C. McGuire. She was living in St. Paris, Ohio, at the time of her father's death. Florence and Richard had the following children, who may not have been born in the order given:
     • David McGuire, who died in 1987.
     • Carl Dwight McGuire, who was living in Urbana in 1992.
     • Nicholas Dwain McGuire, who was living in West Liberty in 1992.
     • Sheila Diane McGuire, who was born in 1950 and married Gregory Allen Hendershot in 1970. She had one child, Matthew C. Hendershot, born in 1970. Sheila divorced Gregory and later married Terry Evilsizor. She was living in Bellefontaine as recently as 1996.²
   We found Carey, Essie and Florence in Salem township in the 1930 census. Essie's widowed mother was living with them. Frank and May were a few pages away, as was another family which included an 8-year-old Richard C. McGuire.

Obituaries. Frank's obituary appeared 5 Sep 1936 in an Urbana newspaper:

FRANK O. POWELL DIES FRIDAY EVENING

Frank O. Powell, 76, died Friday [4 Sep] at 9:45 p.m. at his home three miles north of Urbana. Surviving are: his widow, Mrs. Mary Powell; a son, Cary C., and two grandchildren. A son William preceded his father in death. Funeral services will be held Monday at 2:00 p.m. from Kingscreek M.E. church conducted by Rev. Lester Bradds, of Beaverdam. Burial will be made in the Kingscreek cemetery⁶ by Treyer & Lynn funeral directors of West Liberty.

Frank died just four days short of his and May's 50th wedding anniversary. As often happened in newspaper articles in times past, Aunt May's obituary didn't mention her first name or her maiden surname, only identifying her by her husband's name, although the second article, reporting on her funeral was more helpful:

Mrs. Frank O. Powell

Mrs. Frank O. Powell, 78, died at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the Champaign County Hospital where she was admitted for treatment eight days ago following a fall in her son's home.

Mrs. Powell was a lifelong resident of Champaign County and the daughter of David and Sarah Carey. She was the widow of Frank O. Powell.

Surviving are the son, Carey Powell of Urbana Route 4; two brothers, Samuel of Santa Monica, Calif., and Charles of Ypsilanti, Mich.; two grandchildren and five great-grandsons. A son, William, died several years [ago].

The body was removed to the Humphreys and Son Co. Funeral Home where it is to remain until time for services at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Methodist Church in Kingscreek in charge of Rev. Lester Bradds of Jamestown. Burial is to be made in Kingscreek Cemetery.⁶

---

Mrs. Mary H. Powell

Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Hannah Powell, Salem township resident, were held at 2 p. m. Tuesday in the Kingscreek Methodist Church in charge of Rev. Lester Bradds of Jamestown.

Pallbearers were Frank McCullough, Charles Russell, Nick McGuire, Bert Jessup, Paul Tyson and Oran Detwiler. Burial was made in Kingscreek Cemetery by the Humphreys and Son Co. Funeral Home.

Mrs. Powell, widow of Frank O. Powell, died Saturday evening following a long illness.

Carey Powell's obituary is taken from a January 1948 issue of the Urbana Daily Citizen:

Charles C. Powell

Charles Carey Powell, 58, well-known Salem township farmer, died at 1:30 a.m. Monday at his home four miles north of Urbana.

Born September 18, 1889, in Champaign county, he was the son of the late Frank O. and Mary Powell.

He is survived by his wife, Essie; one daughter, Mrs. Richard McGuire, St. Paris route one; and three grandsons.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Humphreys and son company funeral home by the Rev. H. D. Cooper, pastor of the Kingscreek Methodist church. Burial was made in the Kingscreek cemetery.

Essie Sceva Powell's obituary appeared in the 2 Apr 1992 issue of the Bellefontaine Examiner:

Essie Florence Powell, age 105, of Urbana, died at 2:10 a.m. today, April 2, 1992 in the Champaign County Nursing Home. She was the grandmother of Sheila Diane Hendershot of Bellefontaine and Nichols Dwain McGuire of West Liberty. Born Jan 19, 1887 in Champaign county, she was a daughter of George and Isdora Middleton Sceva.

Mrs Powell was a past employee of the Old Champaign County Nursing Home of 14 years. She was a member of the Kingscreek United Methodist Church and the Sisterhood Class and Woman's Society of the church. She also belonged to the Urbana Senior Citizens.

Other survivors include one daughter, Mrs Richard (Florence) McGuire of Urbana; another grandson, Carl Dwight McGuire of Urbana; 15 great grandchildren and nine great great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles C Powell in 1948; a grandson, David McGuire; two sisters; and two brothers.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in the Kingscreek United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Romeo Velasco. Burial will be in Kingscreek Cemetery. Friends may call at the Skillman-McDonald Funeral Home, Mechanicsburg, on Sunday 3-5 and 7-9. Memorial contributions may be made to her church.