John Maurice “Maury or JM” PowellAge: 58 years1903–1961
- Name
- John Maurice “Maury or JM” Powell
- Given names
- John Maurice
- Nickname
- Maury or JM
- Surname
- Powell
Birth | June 2, 1903 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | Graduated from DePauw University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Birth of a sister | Dorothea “Dorothy” Powell December 8, 1904 (Age 18 months) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Death of a paternal grandmother | Julia A Ransdell January 29, 1906 (Age 2 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Birth of a brother | Ransdell “Bano” Powell December 5, 1906 (Age 3 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Birth of a sister | Virginia Elizabeth Powell June 21, 1914 (Age 11 years) Note: Virginia and her family celebrated her birthdate as the 22nd out of convenience for other family dates, but she was actually born on the 21st. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Death of a mother | Etta Ione Cyphers September 3, 1920 (Age 17 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of children | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marriage of a parent | John Powell — Mabel Clare Witty — View this family March 9, 1922 (Age 18 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marriage | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family December 28, 1926 (Age 23 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Birth of a daughter #1 | Barbara Lee Powell December 23, 1927 (Age 24 years) Note: See NOTES Tab for the History of Phillips/Whittenburg, TX. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Census | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family May 15, 1930 (Age 26 years) Shared note: 1930 USA Federal Census Transcription - j Maurice Powell - household
Reference: HF: 447/532, LN: 20/22, SD 1, ED 90-9, Sheet 21A, enumerated by Ervin R Turman Location: near Pampa, Precinct 2, Gray Co, Texas, USA .b.NOTE: nearby at HF: 445 was good friend Roy A Purdue with wife Fay, and on the preceding page, Howard Edwin Boggs .b.with wife Maxine and children Richard "Dickie" R and James F Boggs.
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Death of a maternal grandmother | Sophia Jane “Jennie” Faulder about October 17, 1934 (Age 31 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Census | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family April 8, 1940 (Age 36 years) Shared note: 1940 USA Federal Census Transcription - John M Powell - household
Reference: HF: 75-R-45, LN: 2/4, SD 12, ED 96-66, Sheet 4A, enumerated by Freida Shirley Location: 3465 Carollton Ave, Ward 4, Block 41-42, Indianapolis, Center Twp, Marion Co, Indiana, USA
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Death of a father | John Powell October 5, 1956 (Age 53 years) Note: E Crawley Cooper's family history paper lists DOD as 03 OCT 1956 rather than the 05 OCT date recorded elsewhere. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Co-owner, Powell Commission Company from 1938 to December 13, 1960 (Age 34 years)Employer: Powell Commission Company at the Indianapolis Stockyards Note: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Indianapolis Belt Railway Company was incorporated on 28 June 1873 for the purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining a railroad around the city from North Indianapolis to Brightwood. A movement for the erection of a stockyard near the west bank of the White River took shape a short time later and was contingent upon the railroad's construction.
Both ideas were not new. In 1870, Joel F. Richardson proposed a belt line be constructed around the city to relieve the downtown track congestion. The first need for a stockyard occurred in 1863 when Kingan and Company opened the world's largest pork producing plant. Kingan later opened a small stockyard operation near their plant. Prior to that time, livestock were sold in the private yards of packers and butchers. Nicholas McCarty furthered the argument for a large, central stockyard complex after touring the facilities in Chicago and St. Louis.
The panic of 1873 and legal right-of-way battles delayed the construction of the railroad and the stockyards a short time later, but the company formed its articles of association in 1876 under the name of the Union Railroad Transfer and Stock Yards Company. In the fall of 1876 the city of Indianapolis agreed to loan the firm $500,000 to complete the project. Indianapolis mayor John Caven, who viewed the railroad and stockyards as a stimulant to the economy, was chiefly responsible for the loan's approval and solution to the right-of-way problem. The railroad and stockyards opened on 12 November 1877 with over 200 freight cars passing over the fourteen miles of track on the first day. The new livestock buildings had the capacity for holding 25,000 hogs and 3,000 head of cattle or mules and was located on eight acres of former river bottom land acquired from the heirs of Nicolas McCarty, Sr.
In 1881 the firm's name was changed to the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yard Company, and the following year, the Belt Railroad facilities were leased to the Indianapolis Union Railway Company for 999 years. Founded in the early 1850s, the locally operated Union Railway Company owned and maintained the Union Railway Passenger Station (Union Depot) and approximately one mile of track around the facility. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central systems (now Conrail) later acquired the company, but the railway continued operating as a distinct organization while leasing the track, equipment (engines and cars), and facilities from the Belt Railroad.
A second Indianapolis Belt Railroad Company was formed in May 1883, to construct, maintain, and operate a small section of track on the city's outskirts. In December of the same year, the operation was consolidated with the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yard Company to form the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yards Company. The rail facilities were then leased to the Union Railway Company.
A fire in 1904 nearly destroyed the entire stockyard complex with the exception of the Livestock Exchange Building but new and enlarged structures were soon erected. A truck department was added to the stockyard operation in 1919 and a hog division followed in 1926. Over the years, the stockyards expanded to encompass 147 acres, 60 of which were used for the livestock industry. At its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, the stockyards handled three million animals a year. In 1964, the company's name was altered to the Indianapolis Stockyards Company, Inc.
The decline of the Indianapolis meat packing industry resulted in a substantial decrease in shipments in the late 1950s and 1960s, and in 1967 Indianapolis Stockyards, Inc. was sold to Eli Lilly and Company, and they, in turn, leased the area to the United Stockyards Company of Chicago. In 1973, the stockyards were moved from their original location at 1400 Kentucky Ave., to a new sixteen acre site at 2577 Kentucky Ave. The old stockyard area was also razed in 1973 to make way for Lilly's Kentucky Ave. Industrial Center.
The Rauh family directed the Indianapolis Stockyards' operation from 1897-1967. Samuel E. Rauh assumed the corporate presidency in 1897 and continued to direct the company until his death in 1929. His son, Charles S. Rauh succeeded him and continued to direct the corporation until his death in 1956, at which time David L. Chambers, Jr., a grandson-in-law of Samuel Rauh took over the operation. Chambers remained in control of the stockyards until it was sold to the Lilly Company in 1967. Previous company presidents included William Riley McKeen, 1876-1889; William Putnam Ijams, 1889-1897; and Deloss W. Minshall for one month in 1897.
Sources: Sources in collection.
Indianapolis Star, 27 September 1953, p. 2H; 22 November 1967, p. 1; 7 November 1971, Sec. D, p. 21; 19 February 1978 (Star Magazine).
Dunn, Jacob P., Greater Indianapolis, Vol. 1, pp. 256-263. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family 1938 (Age 34 years) Address: 2455 N Broadway St,
Indianapolis, IN 46205-4551 Note: Maury, Alice and their daughter Barbara moved from TX back to Indianapolis and, for a short time, resided with Maury's father, John Powell, in his N Broadway home before moving to an apartment. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family from 1938 to 1939 (Age 34 years) Address: 2315 N Park Ave,
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202 Note: This apartment was directly across the street from school PS 23. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family 1939 (Age 35 years) Address: 3465 N Carrollton Ave.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46205-3766 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family from 1943 to 1950 (Age 39 years) Address: 3815 N Ruckle St,
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 46205-2715 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Alice Libbey Tucker — View this family Radnor Rd, Indianapolis, Washington Twp, Marion Co, Indiana, USA from 1957 to 1962 (Age 53 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Death | December 13, 1961 (Age 58 years) Cause of death: Heart Attack Note: Maury died while arriving for work at the Powell Commission Co. at the Indianapolis Stockyards. He worked with his brother, Ransdall, at the Powell Commission Company, selling hog futures. This business had been started by his father and his father's brother. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Burial | December 16, 1961 (3 days after death) Note: Section: 40, Lot: 145, Marker: Y |
Family with parents |
father |
|
mother |
Etta Ione Cyphers Birth: July 22, 1877 — Shelby Co, Ohio, USA Death: September 3, 1920 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
Marriage: November 3, 1897 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
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14 months elder brother |
Paul Irwin Powell Birth: 1898 Death: 1899 |
2 years elder sister |
Thelma Ione Powell Birth: April 28, 1900 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA Death: May 1992 — Miami Co, Ohio, USA |
3 years himself |
John Maurice “Maury or JM” Powell Birth: June 2, 1903 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA Death: December 13, 1961 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
18 months younger sister |
Dorothea “Dorothy” Powell Birth: December 8, 1904 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA Death: July 1989 |
2 years younger brother |
Ransdell “Bano” Powell Birth: December 5, 1906 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA Death: October 8, 1987 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
8 years younger sister |
Virginia Elizabeth Powell Birth: June 21, 1914 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA Death: December 8, 2000 — Santa Clara Co, California, USA |
Father’s family with Mabel Clare Witty |
father |
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step-mother |
Mabel Clare Witty Birth: March 13, 1876 — Jefferson Co, Kentucky, USA Death: November 9, 1951 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
Marriage: March 9, 1922 — Indianapolis, Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
Family with Alice Libbey Tucker |
himself |
John Maurice “Maury or JM” Powell Birth: June 2, 1903 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA Death: December 13, 1961 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
wife |
Alice Libbey Tucker Birth: February 19, 1907 — Allegheny Co, Pennsylvania, USA Death: January 12, 1988 — Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
Marriage: December 28, 1926 — Indianapolis, Marion Co, Indiana, USA |
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1 year daughter |
Barbara Lee Powell Birth: December 23, 1927 — Hutchinson Co, Texas, USA Death: December 6, 2014 — Beaufort Co, South Carolina, USA |
Census | 1930 USA Federal Census Transcription - j Maurice Powell - household
Reference: HF: 447/532, LN: 20/22, SD 1, ED 90-9, Sheet 21A, enumerated by Ervin R Turman Location: near Pampa, Precinct 2, Gray Co, Texas, USA .b.NOTE: nearby at HF: 445 was good friend Roy A Purdue with wife Fay, and on the preceding page, Howard Edwin Boggs .b.with wife Maxine and children Richard "Dickie" R and James F Boggs.
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Occupation | HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Indianapolis Belt Railway Company was incorporated on 28 June 1873 for the purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining a railroad around the city from North Indianapolis to Brightwood. A movement for the erection of a stockyard near the west bank of the White River took shape a short time later and was contingent upon the railroad's construction.
Both ideas were not new. In 1870, Joel F. Richardson proposed a belt line be constructed around the city to relieve the downtown track congestion. The first need for a stockyard occurred in 1863 when Kingan and Company opened the world's largest pork producing plant. Kingan later opened a small stockyard operation near their plant. Prior to that time, livestock were sold in the private yards of packers and butchers. Nicholas McCarty furthered the argument for a large, central stockyard complex after touring the facilities in Chicago and St. Louis.
The panic of 1873 and legal right-of-way battles delayed the construction of the railroad and the stockyards a short time later, but the company formed its articles of association in 1876 under the name of the Union Railroad Transfer and Stock Yards Company. In the fall of 1876 the city of Indianapolis agreed to loan the firm $500,000 to complete the project. Indianapolis mayor John Caven, who viewed the railroad and stockyards as a stimulant to the economy, was chiefly responsible for the loan's approval and solution to the right-of-way problem. The railroad and stockyards opened on 12 November 1877 with over 200 freight cars passing over the fourteen miles of track on the first day. The new livestock buildings had the capacity for holding 25,000 hogs and 3,000 head of cattle or mules and was located on eight acres of former river bottom land acquired from the heirs of Nicolas McCarty, Sr.
In 1881 the firm's name was changed to the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yard Company, and the following year, the Belt Railroad facilities were leased to the Indianapolis Union Railway Company for 999 years. Founded in the early 1850s, the locally operated Union Railway Company owned and maintained the Union Railway Passenger Station (Union Depot) and approximately one mile of track around the facility. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central systems (now Conrail) later acquired the company, but the railway continued operating as a distinct organization while leasing the track, equipment (engines and cars), and facilities from the Belt Railroad.
A second Indianapolis Belt Railroad Company was formed in May 1883, to construct, maintain, and operate a small section of track on the city's outskirts. In December of the same year, the operation was consolidated with the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yard Company to form the Indianapolis Belt Railroad and Stock Yards Company. The rail facilities were then leased to the Union Railway Company.
A fire in 1904 nearly destroyed the entire stockyard complex with the exception of the Livestock Exchange Building but new and enlarged structures were soon erected. A truck department was added to the stockyard operation in 1919 and a hog division followed in 1926. Over the years, the stockyards expanded to encompass 147 acres, 60 of which were used for the livestock industry. At its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, the stockyards handled three million animals a year. In 1964, the company's name was altered to the Indianapolis Stockyards Company, Inc.
The decline of the Indianapolis meat packing industry resulted in a substantial decrease in shipments in the late 1950s and 1960s, and in 1967 Indianapolis Stockyards, Inc. was sold to Eli Lilly and Company, and they, in turn, leased the area to the United Stockyards Company of Chicago. In 1973, the stockyards were moved from their original location at 1400 Kentucky Ave., to a new sixteen acre site at 2577 Kentucky Ave. The old stockyard area was also razed in 1973 to make way for Lilly's Kentucky Ave. Industrial Center.
The Rauh family directed the Indianapolis Stockyards' operation from 1897-1967. Samuel E. Rauh assumed the corporate presidency in 1897 and continued to direct the company until his death in 1929. His son, Charles S. Rauh succeeded him and continued to direct the corporation until his death in 1956, at which time David L. Chambers, Jr., a grandson-in-law of Samuel Rauh took over the operation. Chambers remained in control of the stockyards until it was sold to the Lilly Company in 1967. Previous company presidents included William Riley McKeen, 1876-1889; William Putnam Ijams, 1889-1897; and Deloss W. Minshall for one month in 1897.
Sources: Sources in collection.
Indianapolis Star, 27 September 1953, p. 2H; 22 November 1967, p. 1; 7 November 1971, Sec. D, p. 21; 19 February 1978 (Star Magazine).
Dunn, Jacob P., Greater Indianapolis, Vol. 1, pp. 256-263. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Maury, Alice and their daughter Barbara moved from TX back to Indianapolis and, for a short time, resided with Maury's father, John Powell, in his N Broadway home before moving to an apartment. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | This apartment was directly across the street from school PS 23. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Census | 1940 USA Federal Census Transcription - John M Powell - household
Reference: HF: 75-R-45, LN: 2/4, SD 12, ED 96-66, Sheet 4A, enumerated by Freida Shirley Location: 3465 Carollton Ave, Ward 4, Block 41-42, Indianapolis, Center Twp, Marion Co, Indiana, USA
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Death | Maury died while arriving for work at the Powell Commission Co. at the Indianapolis Stockyards. He worked with his brother, Ransdall, at the Powell Commission Company, selling hog futures. This business had been started by his father and his father's brother. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Burial | Section: 40, Lot: 145, Marker: Y | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note | Maury, as J. M. was called, went to Texas as a young man to work in the oil industry, arriving in 1925. He was there about a year and decided that he should the marry the girl back home, so he proposed to Alice and they were married on Dec. 28, 1926.
Alice endured the rigors of the early Texas panhandle - sand storms being one of the worst. They decided that they should move back to Indiana so that their daughter could be raised with the better things life had to offer. This they did in 1938.
On returning to Indy, Maury worked at the Stockyards for the Powell Commission Co., owned by his father and his father's brothers. There, he worked with his father and his brother, Ransdall Powell. Maury worked at the "yards" until the day he died, December 13, 1960. He died while at arriving at work early that morning of a sudden heart attack. |