Arrow indicates the location of the Henson Cemetery on Georgia Ridge
Allen Powell was born on or about January 23, 1822, probably in Pickens County, South Carolina. By 1841 Allen was in Forsyth County, Georgia as he shows up on church records in that year. He married twice, first to Satirah Garrett on April 2, 1842, and second to Ester Bennett on January 25, 1847. Satirah was the daughter of Daniel Garrett and Ester's parents were Henry Bennett and Sarah Padgett. Both marriages are recorded in Marriage Book A of Forsyth County, GA. Allen shows up in the 1850 Cherokee County, Ga census on page 226, and then on the 1860 Gordon County, GA census on page #304. Allen is on the 1870 Gordon County, GA census, but the next year he shows up on land records in the area of Crawford County, Arkansas known as Georgia Ridge. Five years after his arrival in Arkansas, Allen was murdered, and was buried in the Henson Cemetery in Georgia Ridge northwest of the present town of Mulberry, AR.
Images of newspaper clippings about Allen's death
Images of Allen's headstone
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The first time I visited Henson Cemetery it was well on it's way to being reclaimed by the forest(see the photo at the top of this page). At some point the cemetery was cleaned up, and stones were set upright. I haven't been able to find out who is responsible for all the work done at the cemetery, but they have my gratitude.
Allen's wife Esther Bennett is buried at the Bolton Cemetery in Crawford County, Arkansas.
Allen's first wife, Satirah Garrett, died shortly after giving birth to their second child. This apparently took place in Alabama, as the story handed down to Mary Powell Pendley's descendants is that Allen brought her back to an aunt in Georgia(who could act as a wetnurse) on horseback with only a "sugar tit" with which to feed her.
Allen's parentage is not proven, but it is likely his father was an Allen Powell who lived in Pickens County, SC and then appears in Gordon County, Georgia in 1850. Both men are gunsmiths, and appear near each other in the census. Another possibility is Josiah Powell, who is likely to be a brother of the elder Allen Powell.
I have been fortunate enough to have been able to contact descendants of many of Allen's children. Nothing is known of William Powell, and he may well have been killed in the Civil War. Marilla Powell married Thomas Ira Pendley and stayed in Forsyth County, her descendant Dan Jones shared the story about Allen bring her from Alabama back to Georgia. Sarah married Augustus Palmer, and is mentioned in Esther Powell's will(part 1, part 2), but I know little else of her. Jesse is my ancestor. Nancy married Drury Mims and is listed in her mother's will, but I have no further information on her. Alfred moved to the nations and lived around Chickasha, OK, his grandson Larry Rickert is who obtained the copies of the newspaper articles on Allen's death. Allen stayed in Crawford County, his great grandson Stephen Powell supplied me with the photo below. Joseph drowned while trying to cross the Arkansas river, his widow Nancy remarried to his brother Allen. I don't have any information on Elizabeth, or Alva. John moved to the Indian Territory, and lived there until he died about 1919 or so. Kate Powell lived in Crawford County for many years, her husband William Smith was considerably older than her and preceded her in death by almost 45 years. Kate wrote this note to her daughter Vesta Russell. The note is the source for the title of this page(there is some irony here in that the rifle cannot be located now, but this page and the network of Powell researchers attest to the fact that Allen Powell will indeed be remembered, even if the Fort Smith Museum of History doesn't remember his rifle). Richard lived in Crawford County and later moved to Muldrow, OK, Cheryl Stewart Osborne(wife of John Durward Osborne, Richard's great-grandson) passed along information about Allen's membership in churches of Forsyth County, as well as telling me where Esther Bennett was buried(she was missed by the transcribers who compiled cemetery data for the county). Walter Powell, like his brother Richard, moved to Oklahoma later in life, his daughter Verna Epple was one of the first distant Powell relatives I found.
Top: Richard, Walter, Kate. Bottom: Allen, Alfred, Jesse, Esther. approx. 1898
My thanks to a number of other researchers and relatives, including I. Herman Johnson, Maxine Blair, Dollie Powell, Ruby Giles, Mason Carter, Sidney Powell, Karen Scott, and my sincere apologies to whomever I've managed to forget.
