Claim Summary
George Powell, a 37-year-old formerly enslaved man who had lived in Liberty County, Georgia, all his life, testified to representatives of the Southern Claims Commission in 1878 that in December 1864 Union soldiers belonging to Sherman’s Army had taken $220 worth of property from him, including 15 hogs, 18 fowls, 25 bushels of corn, 30 bushels of rice, and cooking utensils. He said that his slaveowner was W.W. Winn and that he was still living.
James Stacy, a 39-year-old formerly enslaved man who said he had known George Powell all his life, testified on his behalf, saying that he had lived about ¼ mile from Powell during the Civil War and that he had seen Powell’s property taken. In 1873, James Stacy had successfully prosecuted his own claim for property taken during the raid by the U.S. troops, receiving $170 from the U.S. Government via the Southern Claims Commission. Stacy had said at that time that his slaveowner was Lawrence Winn.
Powell’s former slaveowner, William W. Winn, testified on his behalf as well. Winn said he was a 60-year-old teacher who had lived in Liberty County all his life, and that Powell had “lived on my place.” He said he was not there when the U.S. soldiers took the property but that he had permitted Powell to own such property as provisions, poultry and hogs both before the Civil War and after it, and that he knew that he did own such property.
James Stacy had submitted his successful SCC claim in 1873, when the SCC Special Commissioner was Virgil Hillyer, a northerner who took detailed testimony from claimants. By the time Powell submitted his claim in 1878, the Special Commissioner was Henry Way, a former Liberty County slaveowner, who took very sparse and suspiciously similar-sounding testimony from the claimants. A number of the claims processed by Henry Way were denied by the Southern Claims Commission on the grounds that the claimants provided no details about how they had obtained the property. Powell’s claim was no different; he provided no details at all. So why was his claim approved, when others were not? His white former slaveowner testified for him. In other such cases, the former slaveowner was either dead or had left the county, and those claims were mostly denied. The Claims Commission was very specific about its reasons for approval in this case: “The claimant was the slave of W.W. Winn. His former master, W.W. Winn, testifies that he was allowed to own & did own such property as is charged.” So more than a decade after the Civil War ended, Powell still needed the testimony of his former slaveowner — a man who might be hostile, dead, or absent — to win his case, even though it was well documented that enslaved people in Liberty County had owned property and that this property had been taken by U.S. soldiers for Army use during the raid on Liberty County.
Powell received $86 of his $220 claim.
Claim transcribed by Cathy Tarpley Dillon; Research by Stacy Ashmore Cole
More about the Claimant
Because of the way Special Commissioner Henry Way took testimony on these claims, there are few genealogical details in George Powell’s claim. However, starting with his testimony and building on it with other Liberty County documents, we can put together a fairly detailed picture of his life after the Civil War.
Powell stated that he was 37 years old in 1878, making him born around 1841. The 1870 census put his birth year at 1830, the 1880 census as 1842, and the 1900 census at 1839. It was not at all unusual for there to be such a wide swing in reported ages in the U.S. census records, but his own reporting in the Southern Claims Commission record makes it likely he was born around 1839-1841.
In the 1870 census, he is listed in household with Ida Powell (25), Elsy Powell (4), and Georgia Powell (2). The 1870 census did not list relationships, but the 1880 census did, and it shows that Ida (28) was his wife, and Elsy and Georgia were his daughters. By then he had two more daughters, Louisia (8) and Rosa (3), and a 9 month old son named Rufus.
With the 1890 census having been destroyed in a fire, there is a large gap between the 1880 census and the 1900 census, by which time George and Ida Powell had only granddaughter Ella Powell (13) living in their household. The 1900 census listed the number of children a woman had had, and how many of those were living; Ida Powell had had 11 children but only three were living. A deed record to be discussed later identified the married names of those three surviving children, all of whom were living near George and Ida in 1900: Lulla (Louisia) King (married to Abram King), Elcy Williams (married to William Williams), and Rosa Frazer (married to January Frazer). Thus it appeared that daughter Georgia and son Rufus were no longer living.
George Powell appears to have prospered after Emancipation. On December 25, 1892, he paid $250 to Mrs. Annie E. McKinnie of Richmond County, Georgia, for 72 acres of land in Liberty County that she had inherited from her father, former slaveowner Washington Winn. The land was bounded on the north by the Midway Road, east by the estate of J.L. Mallard, south by other land belonging to McKinnie, and west by William Way.
Powell owned that land for the rest of his life, but in 1893 he sold a 10-acre right of way through it to the Florida Northern Railroad Company for $160.50, so they could run part of the railroad through it. Fortunately for Powell’s descendants, the court record included a plat showing the land.
In 1896, Powell sold off two small pieces of the land, one a ¼-acre piece to S. (or C.) Cassels for $115, and the other a small piece to Albert G. Way of Gadsden County, Florida, for $110.
In 1905, Powell sold the timber rights to the land and the right to set up a sawmill there to the Hilton and Dodge Lumber Company for $30.
Powell died sometime between 1905 and December 1908, when Ida Powell and their daughters Lula King, Rose Fraser, and Ella Williams, described as “the sole heirs at law of George Powell, deceased” gave a 10-year right to build and operate a “sawmill, planing mill, store, blacksmith shop, houses for both white and colored employees and all other improvements necessary or convenient for carrying on a sawmill business” to Walter L. Bourne and Discoe J. Bourne, operators of the Chatham County business Bourne Brothers. The price? $10. Ida and her three daughters were entitled to continue to live and farm on the property, but could make no additional clearings. The land was still approximately 72 acres, excepting only the small plots sold to Way and Cassels.
A Limon Briggs was appointed as administrator of George Powell’s estate 17 years later, in 1925. His petition to become the administrator stated that he had been selected by the next of kin, that George Powell had died without a will, and that his estate was worth $500. The court appointed John C. Baker (or Bacon), William Way, and W.H. McGeth to appraise Powell’s estate, and they returned an inventory stating that the estate owned 60 acres of land in Liberty County’s 1359th District valued at $900, and bounded north by the Sunbury Road, east by Sam Stevens, south by Winn, and west by W.M. Way. No records were found about the disposition of the land after that but a more extensive search of deed records might be useful.
Ida Powell survived until at least 1920, when she was listed in the census as living with her granddaughters Viola (16) and Blossom (14) Fraser, and probable grandchildren Florrie (27) Williams and George McDonald (8). She was a 73-year-old widow, and since she was not found in the 1930 census, it appears likely that the 1925 appointment of Limon Briggs as administrator of George Powell’s estate was related to her death.
As for her origins, in December 1908, James Smith sold to Ida Powell for $1 his interest in a 15-acre parcel of land in Liberty County’s 1359th District (where George Powell’s land was also located), described as part of the land deeded to Nancy Stacy by James Stacy on December 26, 1900, and recorded in Deed Book AJ, pages 46-47, bounded on the north by the public road leading from McIntosh Station to Dorchester, on the east by T.M. Way, south by John Lambert & Scipio King, and west by W.A. Jones. The deed noted that “Ida Powell and James Smith being sole heirs at law of Nancy Stacy, deceased, has by mutual agreement divided the lands of the said Nancy Stacy…” According to census records, James Smith was Nancy (Lambert) Stacy’s grandson. Ida was of roughly the right age to have been her daughter. See James Stacy’s Southern Claims Commission transcript and research for more information on that family.
Slavery
George Powell had testified that his slaveowner was W.W. Winn, and William W. Winn testified for him and confirmed this. This is probably William Wilson Winn (1818-1887). Because Winn was still alive at the end of the Civil War, there were no probate records that could have named George as an enslaved man. A record of the Midway Church, which did have both Black and White members through its history, showed that an enslaved man named George, belonging to “Mr. W.W. Winn,” was admitted to church membership in August 1860. This seems very likely to have been George Powell.
Is there any way to find out George Powell’s history prior to 1860? In Liberty County, enslaved people were often inherited by a slaveowner’s children, and thus brought into a marriage by these children. So it is useful to look at a slaveowner’s wife’s inheritances. In this case, William W. Winn had married Louisa Varnedoe, daughter of Nathaniel Varnedoe, in 1843. Nathaniel Varnedoe died in 1856, and his estate inventory named an enslaved man or boy named George, valued at $500, who was in the lot drawn by…W.W. Winn. Winn was presumably representing his wife, Louisa Varnedoe Winn. Thus we can trace George Powell back to the Varnedoe family. It is noteworthy that 11 other people were inherited from Varnedoe by W.W. Winn and his wife: Toby, Peggy, Little Titus, William, Ned, Billy, Claudia, Betty, Rachael, Tola, and Ellena. It should also be noted that when Louisa died, W.W. Winn married her younger sister, Claudia, who had also inherited enslaved people from her father and may have brought them into that marriage: Caesar, Dianah, Paul, Augustus, Mary Jane, Hagar, William, York, Jupiter, Molly, Peggy, and Phebe.
Why did George take the surname Powell at Emancipation? In Liberty County, formerly enslaved people seem to have often adopted the surname of an early enslaver of their family. That is, not their most recent enslaver, but someone who might have been the enslaver of their mother or father, or even further back than that. In this case, the death of slaveowner James Powell in 1816 may give us some clues. While this was too early for George (born around 1840) to have been included, this estate inventory included names used by George for his children: Elsy, George, and Rose. Part of the enslaved people owned by James Powell were inherited by his wife, Mrs. Anne Powell. The names Elsy and Rose also appear in Mrs. Anne Powell’s 1831 estate inventory. Her heirs were James S. Bulloch, John Dunwody, and William & Jane Bulloch…but one of the appraisers of her estate was Nathaniel Varnedoe. An Elsy and a Rose were listed in Nathaniel Varnedoe’s 1856 estate inventory; it is possible that he purchased them from the Powell estate and that one of them was a relation, possibly the mother, of George Powell.
It is worth noting many of the same names found in James Powell’s 1816 estate inventory also occur in Josiah Powell’s late 1790s estate inventory, which might make it possible to trace George Powell’s lineage back even further.
Citations
Federal Census Records
1870 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Subdivision 181, p. 46, dwelling #438, family #438, enumerated on November 24, 1870, by W.S. Norman, George & Ida Powell household, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10/28/2020).
1880 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, District 15, enumeration district 67, p. 85, dwelling #883, family #890, George & Ida Powell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10/28/2020).
1900 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 1359, enumeration district 86, sheet #5, dwelling #91, family #96, George & Ida Powell household, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10/28/2020.
1910 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 1359, enumeration district 120, p.5, line number 79, Ida Powell, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10/28/2020).
1920 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 1359, enumeration district 129, p. 4, line number 1, Ida Powell, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10/28/2020).
Deed Records
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AB 1894-1896,” p. 14-16, George Powell to Florida Northern Railroad Company, right of way; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AA-AB 1892-1896” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #330-331, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-598M-L?i=329&cat=292358, accessed 10/27/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AC 1896-1898,” p. 97, George Powell to E. Cassels, sale of land; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AC-AD 1896-1901” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #55, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5SMQ-5?i=54&cat=292358, accessed 10/27/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AC 1896-1898,” p. 341-2, George Powell to Albert B. Way, sale of land; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AC-AD 1896-1901” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #186-7, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5SMS-L?i=185&cat=292358, accessed 10/27/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AG 1904-1906” p. 396-7, George Powell to Hilton and Dodge Lumber Company, timber rights; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AG-AH 1904-1907” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #236, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5S9G-4?i=235&cat=292358, accessed 10/27/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AJ 1908-1910” p. 108-9, Ida Powell et al to Bourne Brothers, right to operate sawmill; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AI-AJ 1907-1910” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #402, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5394?i=401&cat=292358, accessed 10/27/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AA 1892-1894,” p. 386, Mrs. Annie E. McKinnie to George Powell; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AA-AB 1892-1896” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #231, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5947-S?i=230&cat=292358, accessed 10/27/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AI 1907-1908,” p. 99, James Smith to Ida Powell; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AI-AJ 1907-1910” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #397, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5QX6?i=396&cat=292358, accessed 10/27/2020)
Probate Records
Family Search.org. Liberty County Superior Court “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” Film: Deeds & Mortgages, v. H-I 1816-1831,” Record Book H, p. 47-8. Image #44 (Link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS42-SSB8-K?cat=292358) (https://theyhadnames.net/2020/03/14/liberty-county-estate-inventory-division-james-powell/)
Family Search.org. Liberty County Superior Court “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” Film: Deeds & Mortgages, v. K-L 1831-1842,” Record Book K, p. 10-11. Image #39 (Link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-T9KP-G?cat=292358) (https://theyhadnames.net/2020/03/14/liberty-county-estate-inventory-division-mrs-anne-powell/)
“Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93L-PPV?cc=1999178&wc=9SYT-PT5%3A267679901%2C268032901 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Wills, appraisements and bonds 1790-1850 vol B > image 198 of 689 (https://theyhadnames.net/2019/05/22/liberty-county-estate-inventory-josiah-powell/)
”Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893T-XTP3?cc=1999178&wc=9SB7-6T5%3A267679901%2C268014801 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Miscellaneous probate records 1850-1863 vol C and L > image 161 of 703 (https://theyhadnames.net/2019/10/21/liberty-county-estate-inventory-division-nathaniel-varnedoe/)
FamilySearch.org, digital images from “Administrations Phillips, L. R. – Shellman L. 1893-1967,” within “Georgia Probate Records, 1743-1990,” Liberty County. Starting Image #126. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99Q4-QZ3X?i=126&wc=9SBV-SPX%3A267679901%2C267867001&cc=1999178, accessed 10/28/2020)
About the Southern Claims Commission
The Southern Claims Commmission was set up by Congress in 1871 to adjudicate claims for property taken by U.S. federal troops during the Civil War. More than 140 Liberty County residents — both black and white — filed claims, mostly for property taken during December 1864 when a unit of Sherman’s Army commanded by General Kilpatrick camped at Midway Church and conducted foraging raids throughout Liberty County. Horses, cows, hogs, poultry, corn and rice were the most common items of property taken. In Liberty County, many slaveowners allowed their enslaved people to work on their own time and own small amounts of property, most of which was taken by the U.S. troops for use by the Army.
The claims files, which are held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), have been digitized and are available at Ancestry.com or Fold3.com. For more information on these files, click here. A set of standard questions were used to take the testimony of claimants and witnesses. This set of questions was amended twice, in 1872 and 1874. The questions are not usually part of the digitized file, but we have included them to help make sense of the answers. The questions we used were provided online courtesy of the St. Louis County Library Special Collections, as taken from National Archives Microfilm Publication M87, Roll 1, Frames 104–105, Records of the Commissioners of Claims (Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880), and can be found here.
About This Transcription
What you are seeing: The Southern Claims Commission files for each claimant included all forms filed for the claimant, including cover pages, standard forms with filled in information, a special agent’s report about the claim, remarks made by the Special Commissioner summarizing the case, testimony from the claimant and his or her witnesses based on a standard set of questions, and copies of other paperwork involved. Much of the information contained in the forms is repetitive. We have summarized that information into one block, and transcribed all testimony, the Special Commissioner’s remarks, the special agent’s report, and any other relevant text.
Methodology: The testimony of the claimant and the witnesses has been transcribed exactly as seen. Some of the files are faded and/or difficult to read. Any words that cannot be read are indicated by “[word]”, or, in the case of entire sections, “[section illegible]”. Alternative spellings of names are also indicated with brackets.
The Claim: Summary & Transcription
Find the digitized original of this claim file at this Ancestry.com link.
Summary
Claimant’s Name (Last Name, First Name): Powell, George
Listed as “Colored”? (Y/N): Y
Amount of Claim: $220.00
Total Amount Allowed: $86.00
Nature of Claim: Supplies
Claimant living in: Midway, Liberty County, GA
Incident occurred in: Midway, Liberty County, GA
Claim #: 18602
Secondary Claim #: 54053
Date Claim Submitted [YYYY-MM-DD]: 1872-11-26
Date Testimony taken [YYYY-MM-DD]: 1878-11-24
Claimant’s Attorney: J.C. Todd
Special Commissioner: Virgil Hillyer; Henry Way
Property Removed to:
Date property removed: 1864-12-15 to 1864-12-20
Army unit involved: Sherman’s Army
Date Submitted to Congress [YYYY-MM-DD]:
Post Office of Claimant: Riceboro
Items Claimed
Transcription
Remarks: The claimant was the slave of W.W. Winn. His former master, W.W. Winn, testifies that he was allowed to own & did own such property as is charged. The property was taken for Army uses. We allow $86.00
A.O. Aldis
O. Ferris
J.B. Howell } Commrs of Claims
Testimony of Claimant
1. What is your name, your age, your residence, and how long has it been such, and your occupation?
George Powell aged 37 years Liberty County Ga all my life Farmer
2. If you are not the claimant, in what manner, if any, are you related to the claimant or interested in the success of the claim?
I am claimant
46. Were you in the Confederate army, State militia, or any military or naval organization hostile to the United States? If so, state when, where, in what organizations, how and why you entered, how long you remained each time, and when and how you left. If you claim that you were conscripted, when and where was it, how did you receive notice, and from whom, and what was the precise manner in which the conscription was enforced against you? If you were never in the rebel army or other hostile organization, explain how you escaped service. If you furnished a substitute, when and why did you furnish one, and what is his name, and his present address, if living?
I was not
51. Were you ever in the Union army or navy, or in any service connected therewith? If so, when, where, in what capacity, under whose command or authority, for what period of time, and when and how did you leave service? Produce your discharge papers, so that their contents may be noted herein.
I was not
66. Who was the owner of the property charged in this claim when it was taken, and how did such person become owner?
I was Bought and raised it
67. If any of the property was taken from a farm or plantation, where was such farm or plantation situated, what was its size, how much was cultivated, how much was woodland, and how much was waste land?
from plantation Liberty County Ga about 300 acres 150 were cultivated
68. Has the person who owned the property when taken since filed a petition in bankruptcy, or been declared a bankrupt?
No
The following questions will be put to colored claimants:
70. Were you a slave or free at the beginning of the war? If ever a slave, when did you become free? What business did you follow after obtaining your freedom? Did you own this property before or after you became free? When did you get it? How did you become owner, and from whom did you obtain it? Where did you get the means to pay for it? What was the name and residence of your master, and is he still living? Is he a witness for you, and if not, why not? Are you in his employ now, or do you live on his land or on land bought from him? Are you in his debt? What other person besides yourself has any interest in this claim?
Slave became free at end of war Farming before I was free before war Bought and raised it labored for means W W Winn Liberty County Ga his is living He is not witness for me did not know I could get him not in his employ no no no no one interested in this claim
72. Were you present when any of the property charged in this claim was taken? Did you actually see any taken? If so, specify what you saw taken.
I was I saw it taken 12 Head Stock Hogs 3 Meat Hogs 18 Head Fowls and Ducks 25 Bushels Corn 30 Bushels Rice Cooking Utensils
73. Was any of the property taken in the night time, or was any taken secretly, so that you did not know of it at the time?
In day openly
74. Was any complaint made to any officer of the taking of any of the property? If so, give the name, rank and regiment of the officer, and state who made the complaint to him, what he said and did in consequence, and what was the result of the complaint.
I complained to officer but he gave me no satisfaction
75. Were any vouchers or receipts asked for or given? If given, where are the vouchers or receipts? If lost, state fully how lost. If asked and not given, by whom were they asked, who was asked to give them, and why were they refused or not given? State very fully in regard to the failure to ask or obtain receipts.
None was afraid
76. Has any payment ever been made for any property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken at the same times as the property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken from the same claimant during the war, and if so, when, by whom, for what property and to what amount? Has this property, or any part of it, been included in any claim heretofore presented to Congress, or any court, department or officer of the United States, or to any board of survey, military commission, State commission or officer, or any other authority? If so, when and to what tribunal or officers was the claim presented; was it larger or smaller in amount than this claim, and how is the difference explained, and what was the decision, if any, of the tribunal to which it was presented?
No No No No
77. Was the property charged in this claim taken by troops encamped in the vicinity, or were they on the march, or were they on a raid or expedition, or had there been any recent battle or skirmish?
Troops were camped about 4 miles off
78. You will please listen attentively while the list of items, but not the quantities, is read to you, and as each kind of property is called off, say whether you saw any such property taken.
79. Begin now with the first item of property you have just said you saw taken, and give the following information about it. 1st.. Describe its exact condition, as for instance, if corn, whether green or ripe, standing or harvested, in shuck, or husked, or shelled; if lumber, whether new or old, in buildings or piled; if grain, whether growing or cut. 2d. State where it was. 3d. What was the quantity; explain fully how you know the quantity, and if estimated, describe your method of making the estimate.4th. Describe the quality to your best judgment. 5th. State as nearly as you can the market value of such property at the time in United States money. 6th. Say when the property was taken. 7th. Give the name of the detachment, regiment, brigade, division, corps, or army, taking the property, and the names of any officers belonging to the command. 8th. Describe the precise manner in which the property was taken into possession by the troops, and the manner in which it was removed. 9th. State as closely as you can how many men, animals, wagons, or other means of transport, were engaged in the removal, how long they were occupied, and to what place they removed the property. 10th. State if any officers were present; how you knew them to be officers; what they said or did in relation to the property, and give the names of any, if you can. 11th. Give any reasons that you may have for believing that the taking of the property was authorized by the proper officers or that it was for the necessary use of the army.
Item 1 The Hogs were Stock Hogs W W Winns plantation Liberty County Ga 12 Head worth 6 dollars a head taken about 18th December 1864 Kilpatricks Army Killed them and carried them off in Wagons about 70 Men and Horses 20 or 25 Wagons all day to camp don’t know if officers were present Saw them kill the Hogs and carry them towards camp
Item 2 The Meat Hogs were fat and ready to be killed W W Winns plantation Liberty Co Ga 3 Head worth 45 dollars taken at same time and place as Item 1
Item 3 The Fowls and Ducks were grown W W Winns plantation Liberty Co Ga 18 Head counted them worth 40 cts [cents] a head taken at same time and place as item 1
Item 4 The Corn was shucked and shelled Winns plantation Liberty Co Ga 25 Bushels measured worth one dollar a bushel taken at same time and place as Item 1
Item 5 The Rice was threshed Winns plantation Liberty Co Ga 30 bushels measured worth 2 dollars a bushel taken same time and place as Item 1
Item 6 The Cooking Utensils were 2 ovens 1 Spider 2 Pots Winns plantation Liberty Co Ga worth 12 dollars taken same time and place as Item 1
[signed] George Powell [signed by mark]
Sworn to and Subscribed before me this 24th Nov [November] 1877
Henry Way
Special Comr [Commissioner]
Testimony of Witness (James Stacy)
1. What is your name, your age, your residence, and how long has it been such, and your occupation?
James Stacy aged 39 years Liberty County all my life Farmer
2. If you are not the claimant, in what manner, if any, are you related to the claimant or interested in the success of the claim?
Not related to Claimant Not interested in success of this Claim
52. In whose favor are you here to testify?
George Powell
53. How long have you known that person altogether, and what part of that time have you intimately known him?
All his Life
54. Did you live near him during the war, and how far away?
About ½ Mile
55. Did you meet him often, and about how often, during the war?
Every day
56. Did you converse with the claimant about the war, its causes, its progress, and its results? If so, try to remember the more important occasions on which you so conversed, beginning with the first occasion, and state, with respect to each, when it was, where it was, who were present, what caused the conversation, and what the claimant said in substance, if you cannot remember his words.
No
57. Do you know of anything done by the claimant that showed him to be loyal to the Union cause during the war? If you do, state what he did, when, where, and what was the particular cause or occasion of his doing it? Give the same information about each thing he did that showed him to be loyal.
No
58. Do you know of anything said or done by the claimant that was against the Union cause? If so, please state with respect to each thing said or done, what it was, when it was, where it was, and what particular compulsion or influence caused him to say or do it.
No
59. If you have heard of anything said or done by the claimant, either for the Union cause or against it, state from whom you heard it, when you heard it and what you heard.
No
60. What was the public reputation of the claimant for loyalty or disloyalty to the United States during the war? If you profess to know his public reputation, explain fully how you know it, whom you heard speak of it, and give the names of other persons who were neighbors during the war that could testify to this public reputation.
He was known by all as a Union Man
61. Who were the known and prominent Union people of the neighborhood during the war, and do you know that such persons could testify to the claimant’s loyalty?
Toney Golding Gus Law
62. Were you, yourself, an adherent of the Union cause during the war? If so, did the claimant know you to be such, and how did he know it?
I was
63. Do you know of any threats, molestations, or injury inflicted upon the claimant, or his family, or his property, on account of his adherence to the Union cause? If so, give all the particulars.
No
64. Do you know of any act done or language used by the claimant that would have prevented him from establishing his loyalty to the Confederacy? If so, what act or what language?
No
65. Can you state any other facts within your own knowledge in proof of the claimant’s loyalty during the war? If so, state all the facts and give all the particulars.
No
72. Were you present when any of the property charged in this claim was taken? Did you actually see any taken? If so, specify what you saw taken.
I was present and saw taken 25 bush [bushel] Corn 30 bush [bushel] Rice 15 Hogs 16 Fowls
73. Was any of the property taken in the night time, or was any taken secretly, so that you did not know of it at the time?
In day time openly
74. Was any complaint made to any officer of the taking of any of the property? If so, give the name, rank and regiment of the officer, and state who made the complaint to him, what he said and did in consequence, and what was the result of the complaint.
Heard claimant complain
75. Were any vouchers or receipts asked for or given? If given, where are the vouchers or receipts? If lost, state fully how lost. If asked and not given, by whom were they asked, who was asked to give them, and why were they refused or not given? State very fully in regard to the failure to ask or obtain receipts.
No
76. Has any payment ever been made for any property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken at the same times as the property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken from the same claimant during the war, and if so, when, by whom, for what property and to what amount? Has this property, or any part of it, been included in any claim heretofore presented to Congress, or any court, department or officer of the United States, or to any board of survey, military commission, State commission or officer, or any other authority? If so, when and to what tribunal or officers was the claim presented; was it larger or smaller in amount than this claim, and how is the difference explained, and what was the decision, if any, of the tribunal to which it was presented?
No
77. Was the property charged in this claim taken by troops encamped in the vicinity, or were they on the march, or were they on a raid or expedition, or had there been any recent battle or skirmish?
Troops were camped at Midway Church
78. You will please listen attentively while the list of items, but not the quantities, is read to you, and as each kind of property is called off, say whether you saw any such property taken.
79. Begin now with the first item of property you have just said you saw taken, and give the following information about it. 1st.. Describe its exact condition, as for instance, if corn, whether green or ripe, standing or harvested, in shuck, or husked, or shelled; if lumber, whether new or old, in buildings or piled; if grain, whether growing or cut. 2d. State where it was. 3d. What was the quantity; explain fully how you know the quantity, and if estimated, describe your method of making the estimate.4th. Describe the quality to your best judgment. 5th. State as nearly as you can the market value of such property at the time in United States money. 6th. Say when the property was taken. 7th. Give the name of the detachment, regiment, brigade, division, corps, or army, taking the property, and the names of any officers belonging to the command. 8th. Describe the precise manner in which the property was taken into possession by the troops, and the manner in which it was removed. 9th. State as closely as you can how many men, animals, wagons, or other means of transport, were engaged in the removal, how long they were occupied, and to what place they removed the property. 10th. State if any officers were present; how you knew them to be officers; what they said or did in relation to the property, and give the names of any, if you can. 11th. Give any reasons that you may have for believing that the taking of the property was authorized by the proper officers or that it was for the necessary use of the army.
Item 1 The Corn was shucked and threshed and shelled W W Winns plantation Liberty Co Ga 25 Bush [Bushel] saw it measured worth 1 25 a bushel Decebr [December] about the middle 1864 Kilpatrick Army Fed thier [their] Horse with some [of] the Corn and carried balance off in wagons 60 or 70 Men and Horses 7 Wagons several days to camp 3 officers present knew by dress said nothing Believe officers ordered it because they were present
Item 2 The Rice was threshed 30 bushels measured worth 2 Doll [Dollars] a bush [bushel] taken same time and place as Item 1
Item 3 The Fowls were grown 16 head counted them worth 25 cts [cents] a head taken same time and place as Item 1
Item 4 The Hogs were three Bacon balance Stock 15 head counted them worth 15 Dolls [Dollars] taken same time and place as Item 1
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 27th Decbr [December] 1877
Henry Way
Special Comr [Commissioner]
[signed] James Stacy [signed by mark]
Testimony of Witness (W.W. Winn)
Additional evidence in case of George Powell on claim 18602
William W Winn former owner of Claimant answers the questions as follows
1. What is your name, your age, your residence, and how long has it been such, and your occupation?
W W Winn aged 60 years Liberty Co Ga all my life Teacher
2. If you are not the claimant, in what manner, if any, are you related to the claimant or interested in the success of the claim?
Not related not interest in claim
52. In whose favor are you here to testify?
George Powell
53. How long have you known that person altogether, and what part of that time have you intimately known him?
All his life
54. Did you live near him during the war, and how far away?
Lived on my place
55. Did you meet him often, and about how often, during the war?
Every day
56. Did you converse with the claimant about the war, its causes, its progress, and its results? If so, try to remember the more important occasions on which you so conversed, beginning with the first occasion, and state, with respect to each, when it was, where it was, who were present, what caused the conversation, and what the claimant said in substance, if you cannot remember his words.
No
57. Do you know of anything done by the claimant that showed him to be loyal to the Union cause during the war? If you do, state what he did, when, where, and what was the particular cause or occasion of his doing it? Give the same information about each thing he did that showed him to be loyal.
No
58. Do you know of anything said or done by the claimant that was against the Union cause? If so, please state with respect to each thing said or done, what it was, when it was, where it was, and what particular compulsion or influence caused him to say or do it.
No
59. If you have heard of anything said or done by the claimant, either for the Union cause or against it, state from whom you heard it, when you heard it and what you heard.
Nothing
60. What was the public reputation of the claimant for loyalty or disloyalty to the United States during the war? If you profess to know his public reputation, explain fully how you know it, whom you heard speak of it, and give the names of other persons who were neighbors during the war that could testify to this public reputation.
I believe he was loyal
61. Who were the known and prominent Union people of the neighborhood during the war, and do you know that such persons could testify to the claimant’s loyalty?
Dont know
62. Were you, yourself, an adherent of the Union cause during the war? If so, did the claimant know you to be such, and how did he know it?
No
63. Do you know of any threats, molestations, or injury inflicted upon the claimant, or his family, or his property, on account of his adherence to the Union cause? If so, give all the particulars.
No
64. Do you know of any act done or language used by the claimant that would have prevented him from establishing his loyalty to the Confederacy? If so, what act or what language?
No
65. Can you state any other facts within your own knowledge in proof of the claimant’s loyalty during the war? If so, state all the facts and give all the particulars.
No
72. Were you present when any of the property charged in this claim was taken? Did you actually see any taken? If so, specify what you saw taken.
Was not present but know he was allowed to own and did own property such as provisions Poultry Hogs etc and during the war and previous by my permission
Sworn to and Subscribed before me this 5th March 1878
Henry Way
Special Comr [Commissioner]
W. W. Winn
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Requisition no. 7419, dated July 7, 1880, transmitted for warrant July 10, 1880, on claim no. 55053, sett. No. 8305 for George Powell of Georgia, $86.00 due him “out of the appropriations for Claims of Loyal Citizens for Supplies furnished during the Rebellion.” Reported on June 22, 1880.]
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Draft for $86.00 for Georgia Powell’s claim, approved June 14, 1880. Made payable to J.C. Todd, Savannah, Georgia. Signed by the Treasury Department Second Comptroller’s Office on June 29, 1880 and by the Third Auditor’s Office on June 22, 1880.
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[Following are transcript of letters included in the case file]
[Stamped “Wm. Clifton, Attorney At Law, No. 1 Bull Street, Savannah, GA]
Savannah, Geo
June 8th, 1881
E.W. Keighley Esq’r
Auditor Treasury Departement
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
I see from the Acts of the 46th Congress that the Commissioners of Claims awarded the sum of $86.00 to Geo. Powell of Liberty Co. Geo.
$120.00 to Joseph James of Liberty Co. Geo.
The above parties have not yet rec’d their drafts. Will you please inform me to whom said drafts were sent?
Will you please inform me if the Commissioners of Claims awarded anything to Scipio King?
An answer will oblige.
Your Obdt [Obedient] Servt [Servant]
Wm. Clifton
[Addressed to “Auditor Treasury Departement, Washington, D.C.”]
Hinesville, Geo.
July 20th, 1881
Auditor Treasury Department
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
The Commissioners of Claims awarded to George Powell (a claimant vs. Government) a small sum of money last year. He informed me yesterday that he had never received his draft and asked me to get it for him.
Will you please forward the draft to me at #1 Bull St. Savannah, Geo. or to George Powell, McIntosh, P.O. Liberty Co, Geo.
I shall esteem it a great favor to hear from you soon.
Yours Respectfully,
William Clifton
Atty at Law
#1 Bull St.
Sav. Geo.
—————————–
Office of the Auditor of the Treasury
For the Post Office Department
Washington July 27th, 1881
Respectfully referred to the Third Auditor of the Treasury the accompanying letter of William Clifton, with the request that if it does not pertain to the business of his office, he will please refer it to the property Bureau.
[Stamped: “Third Auditor’s Office, July 28 1881”]
[NOTE: No more papers in file.]