The Ouachita Telegraph - Death of Dr. A.J. Powell - Foul Work Date: May 2000 Submitted by: Lora Peppers ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** The Ouachita Telegraph Saturday, April 22, 1871 Page 3, Column 3 Death of Dr. A.J. Powell.-- Foul Work. This gentleman, at one time since the war a resident of Monroe, but latterly living and practicing medicine in Richland, was taken from Crew Lake dead on last Saturday. There were marks of violence on his face, back and one leg, and his clothes were torn in three places. The coroner's jury decided that his death was occasioned by violence at the hands of persons unknown, though suspicion rests upon one or two individuals as the perpetrators of the foul deed. Dr. Powell was a highly esteemed gentleman and physician, whose death will be deeply regretted by all who knew him. The Ouachita Telegraph Saturday, April 29, 1871 Page 3, Column 4 IN MEMORIAM. DIED, in the parish of Richland, on the 18th day of April, 1871, Dr. A.J. Powell, in the forty-sixth year of his age. The deceased was a native of the State of Maryland. He immigrated from his native State to the parish of Madison, in 1855, where he successfully practiced his profession until 1861, when he volunteered as a soldier in behalf of the Lost Cause. After the war Dr. POWELL settled in Monroe and practiced his profession until 1867 when he moved to Richland parish, where he has since lived, having the confidence of all in his professional skill and the esteem and friendship of all who knew him, until an untimely and mysterious fate has cut him off in the prime of his useful career. The deceased left his home at Mr. Goodrum's on Tuesday morning to go in the neighborhood on matters of business. Not returning on that day or on the subsequent day excited no suspicion in the minds of Mr. Goodrum and his family, as they thought he was probably detained on business connected with his profession; but on Thursday, Mr. Goodrum having no tidings of him, naturally became uneasy as to his whereabouts and at once began a dilligent searce (sic), and, to the horror of his sorrowing friends, on Sunday following, all that was of the once living JACK POWELL was found drifting a lifeless corpse upon the waters of Crew Lake. The subject of this brief notice possessed many of the finest attributes of our nature; intelligent, disinterested, generous, self-sacrificing and charitable, he also added to these higher qualities of the man the very innocence and simplicity in character of the child. Whether considered as a civillian or soldier he ever upheld and practiced a line or rule of conduct by which truth of character and honesty of purpose can be mesured and ascertained. His few faults, over which the curtain of Eternity is now drawn forever, were nothing compared to the shining virtues which adorned his pilgrimage in the "vale of tears." Whether journeying along life's sequestered and placid ways or heroically mingling amid shouts of triumph or moans of defeat, in the very thickest of the surging tides of men in battle array, he was the same gentle, brave and self-sacrificing man. A coroner's jury of the country has said that he came to his death by foul and murderous work. If this be so let his assassins not "go unwhipped of justice," but yield to the laws of the country the penalty due to their offended and violated majesty. *** The Ouachita Telegraph Saturday, May 6, 1871 Page 3, Column 3 RICHLAND. The OUACHITA TELEGRAPH certainly has been misinformed, as regards the death of Dr. Powell. Although there were suspicious of foul play, none rested on any certain individuals that we ever heard of, as is stated by the TELEGRAPH. Parties have either misinformed the editor, or he has at least conversed with some of the Doctor's neighbors with whom we have not. We did not devive our information as to the probable cause of Dr. Powell's death from ( ) (newspaper is illegible). We refer the Beacon to Messrs. W.J. Goodrum and Jno. H. Milling. # # # http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/madison/newspapers/18710429powellaj.txt