Early Years
Political Career
In December 1876 Powell and several other African American delegates got into a public dispute with James T. Fry, the proprietor of the Eagle Hotel, in Richmond. Powell and his colleagues left the hotel, the most substantial in the city available to African Americans, for what they deemed poor accommodations for the price, choosing instead to stay in private residences for the remainder of the legislative session. Fry took exception to this and published a notice in the local Richmond paper, boasting that his hotel offered comparable accommodations to those available for whites at the same price. He also called on the city to refuse to allow private residences to provide lodging because they did not have expensive hotel licenses. Powell and his colleagues, believing that their character had been questioned, responded with a newspaper notice of their own in which they described poor conditions at the hotel, including no gas or water amenities, having to sleep six to a room, and being forced to eat in a separate temporary structure with no heat. They also pointedly accused Fry, whom they argued could not read or write, of being duped into subscribing his name to the notice.
Powell did not run for reelection to the Senate in 1879. In January of that year he and his father, or possibly a brother of the same name, purchased a 217-acre tract of land in Brunswick County for $651. In the 1880 census he identified himself as a preacher and farmer. Powell bought the other half of the property for $325 in November 1881, and he and his wife later sold several small parcels of the property. In December 1891 they signed over another 132 acres to pay an outstanding debt, which was retired via a sale to James Powell (likely a relative) who raised money for the purchase by leasing the land for timber harvesting.
Later Years
By February 4, 1889, Powell had moved to Southampton County and on that date purchased for $75 a parcel of land in the town of Franklin. On February 23, he sold the property for $70, and three days later, on February 26, 1889, purchased for $75 a ¾-acre lot just outside the town. When the 1900 census was taken in Franklin on July 3, 1900, Powell was still listed as a minister, and by that date he may have also served as a justice of the peace. He was almost certainly in declining health when he wrote his will on November 9, 1900. Guy Powell died before November 19, 1900, when his will was proved by the Southampton County Court. He was buried probably in Franklin.
Time Line
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ca. 1849–1851 - Sometime during this time Guy Powell is born enslaved in Brunswick County.
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January 27, 1869 - Guy Powell and Mary Ann Ryland, a widow, marry.
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1872 - Guy Powell is a Republican supervisor of elections for a township in Brunswick County.
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November 1875 - Guy Powell wins election to a four-year term in the Senate of Virginia, representing Brunswick, Lunenburg, and Nottoway counties.
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December 1876 - Guy Powell and other black delegates get into a public dispute with James T. Fry, proprietor of the Eagle Hotel, Richmond.
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January 1879 - Guy Powell and a family member purchase land in Brunswick County.
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1880 - Guy Powell leaves the Richmond Institute (later Richmond Theological Seminary). He has already become a Baptist minister.
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March 14, 1881 - Guy Powell attends a meeting in Petersburg at which black Republican leaders resolve to support the Readjuster Party and its leader, William Mahone.
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November 1881 - Guy Powell purchases more land in Brunswick County.
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November 1881 - Guy Powell wins election to the House of Delegates, representing Brunswick County.
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1886–1894 - Guy Powell serves as elected moderator at the annual conventions of the Bethany Baptist Association, of South-Side Virginia.
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1887 - Guy Powell becomes pastor of Cool Spring Baptist Church, in Franklin, Southampton County.
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February 1889 - Guy Powell buys and sells several small parcels of land in Southampton County.
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1894–1895 - Guy Powell serves a term as third vice president of the Virginia Baptist State Convention.
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November 9, 1900 - Guy Powell writes his will.
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November 19, 1900 - Guy Powell's will is proved in Southampton County Court. He died sometime in the previous ten days.
References
Further Reading
External Links
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Deal, J. G., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Guy Powell (d. by November 19, 1900). (2019, May 22). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Powell_Guy_d_by_November_19_1900.
- MLA Citation:
Deal, John G. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Guy Powell (d. by November 19, 1900)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 22 May. 2019. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: April 12, 2019 | Last modified: May 22, 2019
Contributed by John G. Deal and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. John G. Deal is editor of the Dictionary of Virginia Biography at the Library of Virginia.