Marie Louise Judd, 1859 - 1925

Connecting with a newfound cousin on Ancestry has re-ignited interest in researching my great-great grandmother, Marie Louise (Judd) Powell.  Marie Louise has the same relationship to my new cousin Kerrie!

Marie Louise Judd Powell > Georgia Powell Zaun > Ernest Earl Zaun > John B. Zaun > Teresa Zaun Austin 

Marie (called Louise) was my Nannie's mother:

Marie Louise's Parents and Childhood

Marie Louise was born in Brooklyn on March 1, 1859 to the well-known Rev. Orrin Bishop Judd and his second wife, Elizabeth*.  Her vital records indicate that she was born in 1861, but I have concluded that this is a mistake, deliberate or otherwise.  I say this because she was listed on the 1860 census as a 2 year old, on the 1870 census as an 11 year old, and on the 1880 census as a 21 year old.  If 1861 was her true birth year, of course, she would not have even appeared on the 1860 census.  Marie Louise had an older brother, Orrin B., and a younger sister, Addie.  Also living in their home were two of Elizabeth's children from her previous marriage to E. C. Gray, Esq. - MacDonald Gray and Leonora Gray.

Note: Leonora, according to the 1870 census, was "deaf and dumb" and spent some time in the Hartford Retreat for the Insane, which was "an upper-class, resort-like facility." Mention of this daughter was made in Elizabeth's testimony during her divorce trial as reported in the New York Times, April 19, 1868.

Elizabeth MacDonald Gray Judd, Marie's mother and my 3X great grandmother
(photo courtesy of Kerrie Stone, via Ancestry.com)

Scandal!

The Judds had a cultured but tumultuous home life.  There was a highly publicized divorce in 1868 between Orrin and Elizabeth that was front page news in many major New England newspapers. Terrible accusations were made in their very public testimony against each other, including physical violence.  Elizabeth's children were taken from her. Orrin then married the "other woman" Susanna Reynolds and moved to New Jersey with Louise and Addie. The 1870 census gives Orrin's occupation as "farmer" which may be a clue about his fallen status after the divorce.  Orrin and Susanna had four sons, one of whom died young. Elizabeth went to live in Brooklyn, New York with her daughter and son-in-law. (Her son-in-law, Harry Tift, had testified in her defense at the trial, giving an eye-witness account to the cruelty that Elizabeth endured from Orrin). 

Marie Louise and Jefferson Powell

Daughter Addie Bell wrote that Marie Louise met Jefferson Powell when she was living on her father's estate on the "Mechanicsville Turnpike."  There are multiple possibilities for this location; there is a Mechanicsville in Connecticut and one in Virginia, near Richmond, among others. I could not find a "Mechanicsville Turnpike" by that exact name in Connecticut, however.  The Connecticut turnpike mentioned in this article could be referring to the Hartford Pike, the Providence Pike, or the Plainfield Pike:

Mechanicsville Turnpike, Connecticut: "When Brandy hill first assumed its inspiriting name is beyond the memory of descendants of the oldest inhabitant. Tradition refers it to the bursting of a brandy hogshead upon the hill, and it may be inferred that the great outflow of liquor at Starr’s tavern during the days of turnpike opening, helped to make it permanent."

Whether Marie met Jefferson Monroe Powell in Connecticut, New York, or Richmond has yet to be determined. At the time of the 1880 census, she was single, living in Richmond, Virginia, and working as a companion and housekeeper for the Shelton family. She married Jefferson that year.  By 1900, they were living in the Brookland district of Henrico on the western end of Broad Street - this district includes the historical sites of Bethlehem Baptist Church and Glen Allen School. The Powells had eight children:  Addie Bell (1882), Georgia (1885), Harry (1887), Archie (1889), Lenora (1891), Robert (1894), Albert (1897), and Linwood (1899).

Could this be the Broad Street Road home in Henrico? I have concluded that this photo must have been taken around 1898. Jefferson and Marie Louise Powell are seated. Georgia is the oldest girl in a white dress. Addie Bell must be the one standing at the gate supporting the young child on the fence. The old man standing behind Marie Louise is unidentified.  He could not be either George Powell or Orrin Judd. Jefferson's father died shortly after the Civil War, and Marie's father died before some of these children were born.

Clearfield, Iowa

What in the world were the Powell's doing in Iowa!? My great grandmother Georgia was born in Iowa, according to certain records.  Other records indicate she was born in Virginia.  I have always wondered about this strange fact! I thought that Iowa had to be an error since all the other Powell children were born in Virginia, but this birthplace appeared in several important documents. The answer may lie in Marie's obituary which says "With the exception of a few years spent in the Valley of Virginia and in the Middle West, Mr. and Mrs. Powell have always made their home in the vicinity of Richmond." My great grandmother could have been born in Iowa after all! (Her son Bill's birth record named Clearfield, Iowa) If so, then the Powells' "Middle West" years were sometime between 1882 and 1887 based on the birth dates of Georgia's older and younger siblings who were born in Virginia.  I have not been able to find out why the Powells temporarily moved to Iowa.

Marie Louise (center) and her family at Afton Mountain, 1923. My great grandmother is the girl to her right.

Marie Louise and Jefferson Monroe Powell

Marie's life and character

There is no better way to describe Marie Louise than by her own daughter's words:

In attempting to portray something of what Mrs. Powell's stay among us has meant, one is convinced of the emptiness of words.  She was a wonderful character and exemplified in a wonderful way the life of our master.  There is scarcely a person who knew her who was not on different occasions the recipient of her kindly ministry.  Hard work has been her common lot, but never did she allow this to stay the progress of her mind.  She was not content to "live by bread alone" but was ever mending her storehouse of knowledge and enlarging the scope of her spirit.  She was for many years superintendent of the Primary Department of the Bethlehem Baptist Church Sunday School and always a faithful worker in all departments of her church.  She was very fond of children, and the young people of the church and community have greatly profited under her teachings. So her religion was not to creed or bouok [sic] but the teachings of Christ and service for her fellowmen.  Though a community servant in the highest sense of the word, never too busy to lend a helping hand, yet she never neglected her home responsibilities.  Rather, it was there she reigned supreme and never was there a more faithful wife or mother, one ever ready and willing to sacrifice for the welfare and good of home and God. thoughtful of their every material need and even more anxious about their spiritual welfare, she adorned her home with a spirit of unselfishness and tenderness that causes, not only the members of her household, but all those who know them to reverence and adore her.

Jefferson Monroe Powell (in 1932) standing beside a plaque honoring his wife, Marie Louise, at Bethlehem Church on Penick Road.  See previous post about Bethlehem Cemetery.

Bethlehem Baptist Church:   It reportedly served as a first aid station during the Civil War, burned about 1870 and was rebuilt. A brick Gothic style church opened on July 25, 1909. On November 3, 1920, this structure burned. Members dedicated the present building, located on Penick Road, on November 6, 1921.

Marie Louise's grave, early 1926.

Marie Louise's grave today.

*Interesting note on Elizabeth MacDonald Judd:  According to Addie Bell, Marie's mother was a "doctor of medicine." This does not fit with other information on Elizabeth - she was described as a poetess and a occasional contributor to periodicals.  She was a writer for the New York Tribune according to the newspaper itself. This information did ring a bell with me however; I remember my Nannie telling me about the old portrait of a woman that was hanging in the back bedroom of the Penick Road house.  She said that the woman, her ancestor, was one of the earliest female doctors in America.  I am curious to find out who this woman was...it was probably not Elizabeth.  I think it must be an earlier ancestor.

Note: Newspaper accounts of Elizabeth's suicide were a case of mistaken identity. Retractions were posted later.