An obituary for Calvin Powell, who died June 14, 1871, and is buried at Mount Union Cemetery, could not be found in accessible online newspaper archives. A family historian did publish information about Mr. Powell’s life, however, and what follows is based on those findings.
The Pacific Christian Advocate, a newspaper published in Portland, printed an obituary for Mr. Powell in its June 24, 1871 edition:
Died “At the residence of his son five miles south of Corvallis, June 14th, Mr. Calvin Powell, in the 80th year of age. Mr. Powell had been pretty feeble during the past year, and last Monday morning on falling out of bed, he called for his son to assist him in getting back, and from that time until his death he never spoke a word that could be understood. He was a well respected citizen and leaves quite a large family and many friends to mourn his loss.”
Based on available records, Mr. Powell was born in Stafford, Orange County, Vermont, on March 26, 1792, to Calvin Powell and Spedia Davis, one of 12 children. He married Clarrissa Richardson on Aug. 16, 1813, in Ontario County, New York, located about 30 miles south of Rochester and Lake Ontario. The couple had 13 children. Records show that the family lived in New York state, Ohio, Illinois and Oregon.
According to Oregon Donation Land Claim records, Mr. Powell arrived in Oregon on Sept. 5, 1853 and secured a land claim a little over a month later in Linn County.
Mr. Powell and his family were Methodist, according to notes submitted to the Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, D.C., and sometimes preached. In one entry from those materials, Mr. Powell’s son wrote that he believed his father and an Uncle Rowland married sisters with the maiden name of “Richerson” and that they both served in the War of 1812.
The 1870 census showed Mr. Powell living with his son, Russell B. Powell, on a farm in Benton County. His wife, Clarrissa, had died Feb. 22, 1866, and is also buried at Mount Union Cemetery.