Powhatan Boatright, Union Parish, LA
submitted by: Tim Hudson

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POWHATAN BOATRIGHT

Powhatan Valentine Boatright was born in Amherst Co VA on 13 July 1790, supposedly the son
of John Joseph Boatright and Frances Elizabeth Tinsley. He had little or no education as a child,
for later in life he could not sign his name. He served in the army during the War of 1812, with his
service being in the year 1814. Later in life he received a pension based upon this service. By
1815, he was in Jessamine Co KY, where he married Lucy Utley on December 23rd. She was the
daughter of William Utley. Six weeks after the marriage, in February 1816, Lucy "Boteright"
advertised for her missing husband, Powhatan "Boteright", claiming he stole her money and left.
Whatever the circumstances, by 1818 Powhatan Boatright was living west of the Mississippi
River in what later became Lawrence County Arkansas, and his eldest child, John Boatright, was
born there in that year. As a resident of Lawrence County, Powhatan was commissioned as an
ensign in the Third Arkansas Militia on 10 July 1820. Shortly afterwards, he moved to
Independence County, for he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Seventh Regiment of
Arkansas Militia on 21 September 1824. By 1826, he had moved to north Louisiana, settling in
the area that became Claiborne Parish in 1828. He married Nancy Burke, there on 24 July 1826.

Powhatan Boatright bought government land in northern Ouachita Parish Louisiana on 3
November 1836, and over the next 20 years, he gradually bought adjoining tracts from the
government. He had moved from Claiborne Parish to his new plantation by 1839. In that year
Union Parish was created from Ouachita, and Powhatan's new farm was in central Union Parish,
near the present-day community of Zion Hill.

In Louisiana, parishes are governed by bodies called "police juries". At that time, each Parish is
subdivided into "wards", and each ward elected a police juror. Powhatan Boatwright was elected
to the Union Parish Police Jury from Ward 4 in the spring of 1841, and served from June 1841
until June 1842. It is unclear whether he was defeated for a second term or just did not run for
re-election in the spring of 1842. He was re-elected to the Police Jury in 1844 and again in 1846.
The records do not exist for 1847-1851, so it is not known if he was elected again in 1848. At
that time, the Police Jury usually met four times per year. In the existing records, Powhatan was
absent from only one session of the Police Jury, and this was a "special session."

In August 1845, Powhatan Boatright was on a committee of members of the Zion Hill Baptist
Church to select a sight for the construction of a new church building. This committee reported
their choice in September 1845. The church and cemetery are located near Powhatan's farm.

Powhatan Boatright had five sons to loose their lives in the struggle for Southern Independence.
His sixth son, "Captain" Jesse Boatright, supposedly served in the Confederate Navy, but no
proof of this has been located.

After the war, Powhatan and Nancy helped raise several of their orphaned grandchildren. She died
between 1873 and 1880. Powhatan apparently remained in excellent health until his death, as he
was still an active farmer at age 90. He died on 21 December 1880 and was buried on his farm in
what is called the Boatwright Cemetery.


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Sources:
I wrote this brief biography based upon information first given to my by my late grandmother,
Fabrice Boatright Hudson, supplemented with my own subsequent research into the Boatright
family. In particular, the following sources document the statements made above:


+++  the court records of Union Parish LA
+++  US census records
+++  National Archives records
+++  family Bible records