Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Powell, Joseph Priestly January 1914
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Marilyn Ransom mlnransom@chartermi.net May 15, 2010, 3:28 pm

The Ionia Sentinel-Standard, January 7, 1914
The Ionia Sentinel-Standard, January 7, 1914

Joseph Priestly Powell, the well-known pioneer resident of Ronald, died at 
5:45 Wednesday a.m., after a severe illness of several weeks.  He was born in 
Oneida county, N.Y., February 28, 1821, and would have been 83 years old next 
month.  His father was prominent in the colony of Massachusetts, having had 
the advantage of some college training, and being possessed of the honorable 
characteristics that made him an arbitrator and counselor in the colony.  He 
served as an officer in the war of 1812, but his life occupation was farming.

Joseph P. was the tenth in a family of thirteen children, and had the rather 
unusual advantage of an academical education, and at the early age of 16 
commenced teaching school winters, working on the home farm summers.  On 
reaching his majority, he left home and came to Michigan, going first to 
Calhoun county, where he had a sister living and where he taught school for 
one year.  He then returned to New York and taught one year, and then went to 
Illinois for one year.  From there he came to Ionia county, locating on the 
farm of 160 acres in Ronald, which was still a part of the homestead farm at 
the time of his death.  This was in 1845, and he was 24 years old.  He taught 
school in Ronald, and was one of the first, perhaps the very first teacher, in 
the fine new Union school building in Ionia village which is now occupied as a 
city hall and by fire department.

He was married November 11, 1846 to Miss Ruth Goodwin, daughter of Chauncey 
Goodwin, who survives him.  Seven children were born to them, all of whom 
survive; Fannie, wife of Wm. E. Normington, of Ronald; Rev. Henry W., who was 
obliged to retire from the ministry on account of a serious throat trouble, 
and is now engaged in farming in Ronald; Mary, unmarried, who has remained 
with her parents; Ella M., wife of W. G. Barnes of Shelbyville, Indiana, who 
has been at the Ronald homestead during illness of the father; Horace H., a 
farmer near Carson City; Rev. Herman J., whose charge is at Albuquerque, New 
Mexico and Herbert E., present representative in state legislature, who is 
also a Ronald farmer.

Decedent was remarkably successful in a business way, accumulating a handsome 
competence, through industry and frugality.  What is most remarkable—what 
makes his personality so peculiar as to be almost unique in the history of 
frugal money accumulators—is that while his business transactions in the way 
of loans on mortgages were surpassed in magnitude by only one or two men in 
the county, he was never known to put any debtor in distress, never had any 
serious personal difficulty in all the thousands of cases where he had 
important business transactions with men of all kinds, and never, so far as 
known, had a suit in court.  The parallel of such a life record will be hard 
to find.  No man ever had ought to say, so far as known, against the purity of 
life, integrity of motive, or practical sympathy for the unfortunate, of 
Joseph P. Powell.  The vices and the meannesses that so often accompany wealth 
did not belong to him.  He must have lost thousands of dollars in poor debts, 
but he made no whimper.  He had the universal respect and confidence of the 
community.  He was of the very highest type of the Yankee pioneer, which is so 
fast passing away forever.



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