OLIVER SAMUEL POWELL:

An Inventory of His Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

Part or all of this collection is restricted.
For details, please see restrictions.

OVERVIEW


	Creator:	Powell, Oliver Samuel, 1831-1888, creator.
	Title:	Oliver S. Powell and family papers.
	Dates:	1832-1982.
	Language:	Materials in English.
	Abstract:	Letters, notebooks, financial records, genealogical data, articles, reminiscences, clippings, memorabilia, and other materials relating to Powell, a merchant and miller in River Falls, Wisconsin, and to his family.
	Quantity:	2.6 cubic feet (6 boxes).
	Location:	P720: See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Nathaniel N. Powell (1827-1862) led the Powell migration to the Northwest when he moved to St. Anthony, Minnesota, from Augusta, Illinois, in 1849. In 1850 he was followed by his brother, Oliver Samuel Powell (~1832-1888). The brothers then moved to River Falls, Wisconsin, where they platted the town of Kinnickinnic (later renamed River Falls). They opened a general store; farmed; operated a threshing machine commercially; erected saw, flour, syrup, and vinegar mills; and took an active part in community life.

In 1860 Oliver Samuel Powell married Lydia Elmira Nichols, daughter of Joseph Nichols, who with his wife (Lydia Pratt Nichols) and family moved to River Falls from Dover, Illinois, in 1854. Oliver Samuel and Lydia Elmira Powell had several children. Among them were Harvey Oliver Powell (1868-1944), who became a banker in South Dakota and Canada, and Lyman Theodore Powell (1873-1941), who became a lawyer in West Superior, Wisconsin. Harvey Powell married Elizabeth Knox (1869-1954), a teacher from New York. Among their children were Louis Harvey Powell (1904-1957) and Oliver Stanley Powell (1896-1963). Louis, director of the St. Paul Science Museum, married Virginia Wetherbee.

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS

Papers from 1852 to 1888 concern Powell and his wife Lydia, with information on family activities; railroads and real estate in the River Falls area; the town of River Falls, including its post office and land and road taxes (1850s); River Falls industries, especially the lumber, sugar, vinegar, and flour mills operated by the Powells; efforts to start a normal school at River Falls (1871-1872); and Powell's trade in flour, beef, farm machinery, and general merchandise.

Later papers from 1889 to 1955 are largely those of Oliver's son, Harvey O., and his family. They contain information on family business activities, including Oliver's son Lyman Powell's legal practice in West Superior, Wisconsin (1897-1899) and Harvey's association with the Weyburn (Saskatchewan) Security Bank, (1907-1929).

Also included are undated articles on education by Harvey's wife Elizabeth and maps of River Falls and vicinity.

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions:

Copyright in the file of genealogical data regarding the Harvey and Elizabeth (Knox) Powell family has been retained by the author. For further information concerning copyright status and/or permission to publish, please consult the reference staff.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Oliver S. Powell and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 6158; 6526; 9842; 10,145; 13,086

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn Johnson, January 1965; Christopher G. Welter, October 2009

Catalog ID number: 990017198790104294

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

CORRESPONDENCE

Topics include civic engagement, regional history, family affairs, and especially business ventures.

Undated letters include those from friends and relatives in Vermont and elsewhere to Lydia Elmira (Nichols) Powell. From 1852 to 1888, correspondence centers around Oliver Samuel Powell until his accidental death. From 1889 to 1952 the correspondence centers upon Oliver's son Harvey Oliver Powell and his family.

Location

Box

P720

Undated and 1832-1859.


Location	Box
P720	2	1860-1876.


Location	Box
P720	3	1877-1899.


Location	Box
P720	4	1900-1955.

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GENEALOGICAL / BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Location

Box

P720

Allen family, undated and 1938-1943.

The Allen family married into the Briggs family. Includes notes and letters regarding genealogy and charts.

Briggs family, undated.

The Briggs family married into the Wetherbee family, and Virginia Wetherbee married Louis Powell. Includes charts and notes.

Burwell family, undated and 1850-1890, 1942-1943.

The Burwells married into the Wetherbee family. Includes notes, letters concerning the family history, and documents originating in the Burwell family.

Knox family, undated and 1942.

Includes a picture of the old Knox home in Brewster, New York; notes on family history; and a few letters enclosing genealogical notes.

Nichols family, undated and 1930, 1942-1944.

Includes genealogical notes on the Nichols and related families; a small family history, "Forget-Me-Nots" (1930) by Sarah H. Tozer; and transcripts of records.

Lyman Powell family, undated.

Harvey and Elizabeth (Knox) Powell family, 1982.

RESTRICTED: Author retains copyright to these biographical sketches.

Powell family, undated. 6 folders.

Notes, correspondence with persons doing genealogical work for the family, and genealogical charts.

Location

Box

P720

Powell family, undated. 3 folders and 1 volume.

The volume consists of pages taken from Mary Powell Bunker’s Long Island Genealogies (Albany, 1895) and manuscript additions.

Pratt family, [188-].

Joseph F. Nichols married Lydia Pratt in 1835. Includes G. W. Pratt’s sketch of the Pratt family.

Wetherbee family, undated and 1905, 1912, 1949.

Includes notes, charts, and miscellaneous genealogical data.

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ARTICLES

Location

Box

P720

Elizabeth Knox Powell, undated and 1923.

Topics include normal schools and teaching kids abstinence.

Lydia Elmira Powell (reminiscences), undated.

Louis Powell, undated.

Powell combined research in the records and reminiscences to write about the Powells’ early years in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

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MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL

Location

Box

P720

Maps, undated.

Pierce County, Wisconsin, and St. Croix Valley areas.

Newspaper clippings, 1878-1950.

Topics include George May Powell, reformer; Elizabeth Knox Powell's early teaching career; Mr. and Mrs. Harvey O. Powell’s golden wedding anniversary; the career of Sarah Powell (Mrs. Fadhil) Jamali; and a history of Pierce County, Wisconsin.

List of Weyburn [Canada] Security Bank circulars, 1925-1930.

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VOLUMES

Location

Box

P720

Scrapbook, 1925.

Includes a sketch of Charles D. Parker, who lived in the Indian Stream Republic between New Hampshire and Canada (territory was awarded to the United States in 1842) and then in the St. Croix Valley for sixty-two years; news about Louis Harvey Powell's academic progress; articles on Harvey Oliver Powell and reprints of his letters to branch banks published in the American Bankers Association’s journal; a sketch of Louis Powell's camp in Northern Rhodesia (1928-1929); an obituary for Mrs. Sarah (Nichols) Tozer (1849-1931); and a few letters.

Location

Box

P720

Lydia Elmira Powell's diary, 1883-1905. 1 volume.

The 1905 entries record impressions of a trip from Dickinson, North Dakota, through Glendive and Miles City, Montana, into Idaho.

Time books, 1880, 1886-1889. 4 volumes.

Accounts (Nathaniel N. Powell), 1843-1853, 1856-1890. 18 volumes.

May include some time records, taxation, and railroad accounts.

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CATALOG HEADINGS

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:: Agriculture -- Wisconsin.; Banks and banking -- Canada.; Banks and banking -- South Dakota.; Commission merchants.; Education -- Wisconsin.; Flour mills -- Wisconsin.; Lumbering -- Wisconsin.; Patent medicines.; Railroads -- United States.; Real property -- Wisconsin.; Religion.; Syrup industry -- Wisconsin.; Taxation.; Temperance.; Vinegar industry -- Wisconsin.; Water-power -- Wisconsin.

Persons:: Allen family.; Briggs family.; Bunker, Mary Powell, b. 1820.; Burwell family.; Eliot, Charles William, 1834-1926.; Furness, Charles Eliot, 1844-1909.; Hubbard, Lucius F. (Lucius Frederick), 1836-1913.; Jamali, Sarah Powell.; Knox family.; McNeill, John.; Nichols family.; Parker, Charles D., 1827-; Polglase, Mary E., 1936-; Powell, Elizabeth Knox, 1869-1954.; Powell, George.; Powell, George May.; Powell, Harvey Oliver, 1868-1944.; Powell, Louis H. (Louis Harvey), 1904-1957.; Powell, Lydia Elmira Nichols, 1841-1930.; Powell, Lyman T. (Lyman Theodore), 1873-1941.; Powell, Nathaniel N., 1827-1862.; Powell family.; Pratt family.; Washburn, C. C. (Cadwallader Colden), 1818-1882.; Wetherbee family.

Organizations:: Campbell and Jones (Galena, Ill.).; Dakota House (Jamestown, N.D.) -- Letterhead, -- 1 Oct. 1881.; Darling, Carswell and Scheffer, Banking and Collection Office (Stillwater, Minn.) -- Letterhead, -- 23 Dec. 1857.; Dominion Agricultural Credit Company (Regina, Sask.).; Duluth, Red Wing and Southern Railroad.; First Congregational Church (River Falls, Wis.).; J.N. Knapp, Banker (Hudson, Wis.).; Lorrain & Company (Galena, Ill.).; Nicollet Island Steam Boiler Works (Minneapolis, Minn.) -- Letterhead, -- 6 Nov. 1891.; Prescott, River Falls and Northern Railroad Company.; Rey & Farmer, Wholesale and Retail Grocers (Saint Paul, Minn.) -- Letterhead, -- 24 Nov. 1852.; Valparaiso Woolen Mills (Valparaiso, Ind.) -- Letterhead, -- 12 Feb. 1878.; Weyburn Security Bank (Weyburn, Sask.).

Places:: California.; Dundas (Minn.); Fort Rice (Fort Rice, N.D.); Illinois.; Indian Stream Republic.; Indiana.; Pierce County (Wis.); River Falls (Wis.); White Rock (S.D.); Wisconsin.

Document Types:: Genealogies.; Letterheads.; Maps

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