Simeon Comfort and Edith Hannah Powell

A short history of Simeon Comfort and Edith Hannah Powell

Simeon Comfort Powell

Simeon Comfort Powell was married twice, the first time to a woman whose name was Lydia Hawley.  They had one child named Mary Lavina Powell, born December 10, 1864.  When Mary was about six months old, her mother took the baby and left her husband.  He followed her almost to the point of the mountain.  The child was reared by his mother, Mrs. James Powell.

A letter was received from Ogden a few years ago stating that Simeon C. Powell’s first wife had married at least twice after leaving him, had children by other marriages and then abandoned them.  Lot Powell received this letter from some of her family.

On June 13, 1943 William T. Williams and his son, Grant Griffiths searched through old records of the Salem Ward and found a record of Mary Lavina Powell’s baptism, which is as follows:  Mary Powell, daughter of Samuel C and Edith C. Baptized July 3, 1875 by Robert H. Davis.  Confirmed on same day by Soren P. Christensen.  An error in the name of the father as Samuel instead of Simeon appeared.

Edith Hannah Cornaby

Simeon Comfort Powell’s second marriage was to Edith Hannah Cornaby. In their early marriage they took William T. Williams as a baby, only seven months old and reared him until he was eleven years old.  His mother was ill and unable to care for him. 

William T. Williams said that when he was nine or ten years old, his step-father put Millie, Simeon and himself in the sled and took them to Aunt Laurie Jones’s on a visit.  They thought it rather unusual as it was a place they loved to play and usually they were spanked or corrected
 for staying so long.  While they were away on that visit, Hannah Caroline was born.  William T. Williams stayed there from January until some time in May.

The following children were born to them:  Edith Amelia, born March 21, 1874; Simeon James, born May 27, 1875; Hannah Caroline, born January 3, 1882; Samuel Marsh, born November 9, 1884; Alma Joseph, born October 18, 1887.

Simeon Comfort Powell was rather a rough man, not very affectionate, but in his early manhood was very industrious.  He owned several lots in Salem, Utah which he sold and bought hay land in the West Fields (in probably what is known as Palmyra now).  He homesteaded a ranch in Spanish Fork Canyon for summer range for cattle.  The family lived on the ranch in the summer and in Spanish Fork in the winter at Grandfather Cornaby’s.  After he had been married about twenty years, and when his daughter Hannah, was from eight to ten years old, he started to tamper with liquor, then he started to gamble.  Before his wife realized what was happening, she had signed papers which led to the loss of their hay grounds by his gambling.  After that the family lived all the time on the ranch in Spanish Fork Canyon.  He owned about 300 to 400 head of cattle, but with the loss of the hay to feed them and none available to buy, all but about ten head were lost.

He was quite the hunter and fisherman.  It was not unusual for him to go out in the morning and have a lovely mess of fish for breakfast.  He was a great lover of horses, although he abused them somewhat, unless it was a favorite.  He was very strict morally but suspicious of others.  He died at the home of his son, Samuel in Independence, Utah.

                                      

Edith Hannah Cornaby, mother of Hannah C. Powell was born March 3, 1852 at Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, and died February 12, 1913 at Spanish Fork, Utah.  

Descendancy

Simeon C. Powell (1842-1918) & Edith H. Cornaby (1852-1913)

Hannah Caroline Powell (1882-1947)

Allen Berry Williams (1905-2000)

LaVon Williams

Diane Finlinson