Cuthbert Powell (March 4, 1775 – May 8, 1849) was a Virginia lawyer and

Whig Whig or Whigs may refer to: Parties and factions In the British Isles * Whigs (British political party), one of two political parties in England, Great Britain, Ireland, and later the United Kingdom, from the 17th to 19th centuries ** Whiggism ...

politician who served in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1 ...

and one term in the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, like his father, former Congressman

Leven Powell Leven Powell (1737August 23, 1810) was a Virginia planter, merchant, Continental Army officer and Federalist politician who served several terms in the Virginia House of Delegates as well as in the Virginia Ratification Convention representing ...

Early and family life

Born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, to the former Sally Harrison and her husband Leven Powell, a planter and merchant in Loudoun County who had volunteered to fight the British as the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

started and who would also serve in the Virginia House of Delegates and U.S. House of Representatives. Both parents could trace their descent from the

First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg ...

. The family included several other children, including

Burr Powell Burr may refer to: Places * Burr (crater), on the Jovian moon Callisto *Burr, Minnesota, an unincorporated community, United States * Burr, Missouri, an unincorporated community, United States *Burr, Nebraska, a village, United States * Burr, Sa ...

, whom Cuthbert would succeed in the Virginia senate. He received a private education customary for his class, then studied law. In 1799, he married Catherine Simms, daughter of Col. Charles Simms, who like his father Maj. Powell had served as a Continental Army officer, then returned to become a lawyer in Alexandria (and would become its mayor during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

). The couple had at least five children, including Charles Leven Powell (1804-1896; who lost two sons in the Confederate Army, one at each Battle of Manassas) and Cuthbert Harrison Powell (1810-1897), and Ann Powell Powell (1800-1885; who married her cousin Dr. William Leven Powell), Mary Ellen Powell Adie (1807-1893; who married her cousin Cuthbert Powell, then Rev. Adie), Ellen Douglas Powell Gray (1812-1862) and Jane Serena Powell Norris (1815-1901).

Career

After admission to the Virginia bar, Powell practiced in Alexandria (then part of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

), where he would eventually be elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. In 1806 he became a member of Alexandria's city council, and served as the city's mayor in 1808–1809. He also joined a company formed in 1808 to build a turnpike into the new federal city across the Potomac River. Other members included: Jonah Thompson, fellow lawyer

Edmund J. Lee Edmund Jennings Lee (May 20, 1772 – May 30, 1843) was a prominent lawyer and politician in Alexandria, Virginia. A member of the Lee family of Virginia, he lived for some time at the Lee-Fendall House in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Early ...

, Charles Alexander, Thomas Swann, Jacob Hoffman and John Mandeville. Possibly after his father's death in 1810, Cuthbert Powell moved to

Loudon County Loudon may refer to: Places In the United States: *Loudon, Massachusetts, formerly a constituent part of Otis, Massachusetts * Loudon, New Hampshire ** Loudon (CDP), New Hampshire *Loudon, Tennessee * Loudon County, Tennessee * Loudoun County, V ...

where he farmed using enslaved labor. In the 1820 census, he owned 21 enslaved people in Leesburg, the county seat, of which 10 were involved in farming. A decade later, he owned 18 enslaved people. In the final census of his lifetime, Powell owned 29 enslaved people. In addition to holding various local offices, Powell continued his political career, succeeding his brother

(a lawyer in Middleburg) in the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...

and serving from 1815 until 1819. Powell much later, in 1828, won election to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

, but only served a single term. Powell was elected as a

to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843). Possibly his last political task was chairing the committee to greet fellow Whig and former President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

when he visited Leesburg in 1844.Charles P. Poland, Jr., From Frontier to Suburbia (Walsworth Publishing Company 1976) p. 110 at note 57

Death and legacy

Powell died at his

Llangollen estate Llangollen Farm is an historic American horse and cattle farm located in western Loudoun County, Virginia on Trappe Rd. near Upperville at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Eight miles (13 km) from the town of Middleburg, the area is ho ...

in Loudoun County near the town of

Upperville Upperville may refer to: * Upperville, Virginia, a city in Virginia *The Battle of Upperville, an American Civil War battle *Upperville (band) Upperville may refer to: * Upperville, Virginia, a city in Virginia *The Battle of Upperville, an Amer ...

on May 8, 1849. He was interred in its private cemetery, but his widow returned to Alexandria. Two of his grandsons who had emigrated to Illinois but returned to Virginia and joined the Confederate States Army died in Manassas, one at each of the battles for that crucial railroad junction.

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Cuthbert 1775 births 1849 deaths Virginia lawyers People from Loudoun County, Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia state senators Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Mayors of Alexandria, Virginia Lawyers from Alexandria, Virginia People from Upperville, Virginia