Powell, John G.

Born: 1831-01-28 White County, Illinois

Died: 1871-10-28 Carmi, Illinois

Flourished: 1856 to 1865 White County, Illinois

John G. Powell was a farmer, sheriff, and state legislator. Born in Indian Creek Township, White County, Illinois, Powell partnered with his father in a pork and stock business when he was twenty-one years old. He continued for five years before undertaking the business alone. In 1856, Powell was elected sheriff of White County. He served for two years and then began to trade in horses. In 1858, Powell won election, as a Democrat, to the Illinois House of Represenatives, serving a single term. Powell was once again elected as sheriff in 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Powell moved to a farm east of Carmi, Illinois. He remained on the farm for two years before moving back to Carmi, where he won election as county clerk in 1865.

Powell married Sarah E. Hinde in July 1861 and the couple had three children.

U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), White County, IL, 334; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, White County, 23 July 1861, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Daily State Illinois Journal (Springfield), 13 November 1858, 2:3; History of White County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1883), 340, 351, 602; Gravestone, Maple Ridge Cemetery, Carmi, IL.