Harbard A. Powell Henderson County KY Biography

          Harbard A. POWELL, formerly proprietor of the Corydon coal mine, now retired, son of Harrison and Elizabeth (McClanahan) POWELL, was born in 1818.

          His father, Harrison POWELL, was born in North Carolina in 1786, removed to Tennessee in 1821, and later to Kentucky; stopped in Logan County for a short time and then located in Henderson County, where he was a farmer nearly all his life, and died 30 Aug 1838. Harrison was drafted for the War of 1812 and furnished a substitute. He married Elizabeth McCLANAHAN and had eleven children, one of whom died in infancy: Willoughby, died at the age of twenty; Anna, Thomas W., Nancy G., Harrison, Harbard A. (subject), Smith, Elizabeth, Lazarus, James and Louisa.

          Willoughby POWELL (grandfather) lived for a time in Logan County, and subsequently removed to Henderson County, where he died. He married Mary WHITEHEAD, a sister of Lazarus WHITEHEAD, a prominent member of the bar in Europe, who died a bachelor, leaving a large fortune.

          Thomas McCLANAHAN (maternal grandfather) was a native of Virginia, who removed to Logan County where he died at the age of ninety six. He was a Captain in the Revolutionary War by appointment of General Nathaniel GREENE, who after the war was over sent him out on the frontier in command of a squadron of soldiers, and was stationed at a place called Nickajack, now Nashville, Tennessee. He was a brave and fearless man. Few men of his type ever lived, and he stood high in the community in which he lived and died. He married Nancy GREENE, a niece of General GREENE.

          Thomas McCLANAHAN (great-grandfather) was a native of Virginia and a Baptise minister, whose wife was a Miss _____ MARSHALL of Virginia.

          Harbard Alexander POWELL was educated in the common schools of Henderson County, and early in life became a farmer. He was for some time employed on the farm of his father-in-law and in 1840 he purchased land and by great energy and economy became quite prosperous. In 1857 he built a stemmery and began to deal extensively in tobacco, preparing it for the European market.

          When the Corydon Coal Mining Company was organized he was elected president of the company, and within a few years he bought in the stock held by others and became sole proprietor of the mine. In 1894, he sold the property to his son, B. M.(Burnett) POWELL, and is now retired from active business pursuits.

          He was the first constable elected by the people of Henderson County, and in 1859 served as Justice of the Peace.

          Harbard has been married twice, first to Mary LIVESAY, a native of Virginia, who died in October 1856. There were four children by this marriage: Elias L., Louisa, Mary and Nancy.

          His second wife, to whom he was married 17 Dec 1857, was Melinda E. GIBSON, daughter of James GIBSON, a prosperous and successful farmer of Henderson, whose father, Berryman GIBSON, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. The children by this union were: Martha Christina, Burnett M., Anna B., Adah Lee, Jessie A., Melinda J. and Thomas Hart POWELL.

HARBARD A. POWELL REFERENCES