RANSOM JUDD POWELL:

Ransom Judd Powell was born in Pine Island, Minnesota, on March 14, 1865, the son of the Reverend John Walker and Rhoda B. (Grey) Powell. He was educated in Minnesota rural public schools and at Hamline University, St. Paul. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1898.

Before receiving his law degree, Powell was engaged in a number of other enterprises. For two years he was superintendent of the Mankato Gas Light Company, and later he supervised the first electric light plant in Mankato. In 1890 he opened the plumbing firm of Willard and Powell in Duluth. After receiving his law degree, Powell practiced for a short time in Mankato and then moved to Minneapolis. He went into practice with A. Y. Merrill and remained in the firm until his retirement in 1932.

Powell's practice centered on timber-related lawsuits, especially those dealing with Indian land transfers, and he acquired a good deal of specialized knowledge with regard to the legal status of Indians.

He represented many lumber companies in such matters in Minneapolis and, for a year (1904-1905), in Nome, Alaska. In 1907 he was retained by the federal government to defend the Ojibwe Indians in Minnesota in cases involving trespass on the timberlands within Indian reservations.

In 1913 Powell was appointed to a commission established by Congress on June 30, 1913, to determine the genealogy of some 200 Ojibwe families living on the White Earth Reservation, in order to judge conclusively which families were mixed bloods and, therefore, possessed the legal right to alienation over their reservation land allotments. The commission's work was carried out with the assistance of Dr. Albert E. Jenks of the anthropology department of the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Ales Hrdlicka of the Smithsonian Institution, an anthropologist specializing in the physical characteristics of American Indians.

Throughout the period (1913-1920s) during which the commission functioned and during which the resulting lawsuits were prosecuted, Powell served as counsel for the lumber company defendants in suits brought by the United States government seeking the return of timberlands purchased from allottees. A more complete description of the commission's work and the related lawsuits is found in William Watts Folwell, A History of Minnesota, rev. ed., 4:261-296 (St. Paul, 1969). During the 1920s Powell also represented White Earth mixed bloods whose allotment selections were in conflict with State of Minnesota swampland claims.

Powell married Abbie Davis of Mankato in 1891. She died in 1928. One son, Kenneth W., was listed in the obituaries. They also had a daughter, Alyce Powell Vick. Powell died in Anoka on November 14, 1937.

The above information was taken from the records; from the Minneapolis Journal, November 15, 1937, p. 1; and from the papers of the Hennepin County Bar Association in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscripts collection, as well as from William Watts Folwell, A History of Minnesota.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Access Restrictions:

Microfilmed originals are closed to general use except when microfilm images are not legible or when color-coded information is required.

The original manuscripts, which are in poor physical condition, are closed to use by the public. However, volumes 3, 4, 18, and 19 and legal case file no. 19 contain color-coded information, and some information in volume 9 is not legible on the film due to the poor quality of the original. In addition, some items in the correspondence and related papers, especially handwritten pencil notations and carbon copies of letters and other items, may not be legible on the microfilm due to the poor quality of the original manuscripts. Researchers wishing to examine these items should consult with the Reference staff.

No circulation to family history centers.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Powell, Ransom Judd, Papers, undated and 1843 1896-1938. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

St. Paul, Minnesota : Minnesota Historical Society, 1984, 1987.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 13,302; 13,959

Processing Information:

Processed by: Deborah Kahn, July 1987.

Catalog ID number: 990017326660104294

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The correspondence and related papers include information on the commission appointed in 1913 to compile the roll of reservation Ojibwe and their genealogies; on the blood status of particular Ojibwe; on the claims of various Ojibwe to allotments on the White Earth Reservation; and on related matters. Much of the correspondence for the 1896-1921 period relates to legal cases involving Powell's various lumber company clients who generally were defendants in U.S. government suits seeking the return of timberlands to their Ojibwe sellers. The undated papers contain several completed genealogical questionnaires completed by White Earth residents.

Letter writers include Daniel B. Henderson (Washington, D.C.), Halvor Steenerson, Knute Nelson, Albert E. Jenks, Newel H. Clapp, Frank B. Kellogg, Ales Hrdlicka, and N. B. Hurr (Ponsford, Minnesota). There also are a number of letters from officials in the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior.

Arranged chronologically.

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This series consists of case files relating to the blood status of various Ojibwe (files 1-14), Ojibwe estate claims (files 15-19), swamplands on the White Earth Reservation (file 20), and land titles and transfers (files 21-24). Files 1-14 contain transcripts of legal testimony; files 15-22 include correspondence and related materials; and files 23-24 are notes and correspondence.

Arranged chronologically within each file.

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Five supplemental plats of White Earth Reservation land parcels. The plats apparently were prepared to show subdivisions of old lots, thereby providing more accurate descriptions of certain Ojibwe allotments. The plats presumably were used by Powell in his work on the federal commission.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Ojibwa Indians.

White Earth Indian Reservation (Minn.)

Organizations:

Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minn.)

Places:

United States, Minnesota -- Court records.

United States, Minnesota -- Land and property.

United States, Minnesota -- Maps.

United States, Minnesota -- Native races -- Genealogy.

United States, Minnesota -- Probate records.

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