This is another in our series of “Residents From The Past” whose lives weave a tapestry of boldness, courage, and conviction that is the essence of the character of Eagle, Wisconsin.
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Jane Powell was born in England in 1813 to Thomas and Anne James. She married John Powell in Yorkshire, England in 1832 when she was 19 years old. Their first child, Jane, died shortly after childbirth. By 1834, John and Jane Powell emigrated to America with Jane’s parents, and settled in Utica, New York where they had nine other children.
John died in 1849, leaving Jane to handle her nine children. She eventually moved west with six of her kids, and settled in Eagle, Wisconsin, showing up on the 1855 census with her children and parents, Thomas and Anne James. Three of the older girls remained in New York where they later married. In Eagle Wisconsin, her four boys worked on local farms to help support the family while the girls helped at home.
Jane ran a rooming house in the Eagleville area and is listed in the 1860 census as living with 20 other people including her six children. Jane’s parents both died in 1863, two days apart from one another, and are buried in Jericho Cemetery in Eagle. Thomas was 99 years old and Anne was 97.
Jane’s son Stephen Powell (1842-1924) was a Civil War veteran who served with the boys from Eagle in the 24th Wisconsin Infantry. He served from 1862-1863 when he was discharged with a disability.
Jane Powell died on April 30, 1865, in Eagle at the age of 52 and is buried in Jericho Cemetery in Eagle. After her death, the kids moved on, married and had families of their own. Her life was a tribute to the love, courage, determination and protection of a mother for her children.
Godspeed Jane…
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