Chapter 3: 1867-1875, Prosperity and progress in the North

Just four days after Jack and Lucinda’s marriage in Alabama, another wedding took place in Ohio. Edward and Polly Powers’ daughter, Providence, married Josiah and Christenia Westlake’s son, Henry. Unlike their Southern counterparts, the parents of the young couple had been able to provide them with a firm foundation on which to build their new family together.

2 After all, Josiah Westlake was a successful innkeeper and owned and farmed hundreds of acres of land in and around Marysville. Likewise, Edward Powers owned a large and prosperous farm of his own and was a respected and active member of the community.

3 Edward had specialized in raising Ohio’s very own breed of hogs – the Poland China pig. In fact, he had grown quite wealthy selling the animals for both meat and breeding purposes. “It helps to get in on the beginning of something new,” he had explained to his friends.

4 His success in farming also allowed Edward to pursue other interests in the wider world. For one, he was very proud of his nephew’s participation in the war effort under General Sherman. “My family has always been devoted to the Union,” he bragged. “Of course, I’m a Republican!” he declared to anyone who was willing to listen.

5 Like many of his prosperous neighbors, he had also joined the Masonic Lodge at Marysville. “It is very spiritual,” he explained to his wife. “But I am unable to discuss our rituals and practices in any detail, because we are a secret society,” Edward continued.

6 “Some people say it is full of paganism and is trying to undermine our government,” Polly replied. “You don’t believe that hogwash, do you?” he pleaded. “No, dear, I know my husband would not take part in anything like that,” she admitted. Edward smiled.

7 He and Polly had had seven children together, and the three youngest were still living at home. In fact, the couple had thought that they were finished after the birth of their son Chambers in 1849. Frances, however, had been born nine years later, and Charlie and Clara had appeared in Polly’s forties. Hence, it was almost like the couple had raised two separate families together.

8 “My little ones keep me young at heart,” Edward told his friends. “That Charlie tries to do everything I do,” he explained. “And my little Clara’s hugs are the most precious things in this world to me!” he proclaimed with a sincerity that touched everyone who heard him say it.

9 Always interested in trying something new, Edward turned his attention to a breed of sheep which had been very successful in Vermont before the war. “They are Merinos,” he told his neighbor Josiah Westlake. “They are the best breed in the world for wool production,” he explained.

10 “You are always trying something new,” Josiah chuckled as he looked over his friend’s new stock. “When you get your flock established, maybe you could enter some of them in the fair,” Josiah suggested. “I might just do that!” Edward beamed.

11 Now these are the generations of Edward Powers:

12 Edward married Polly Dynes, and they had children: Annette, Providence, Mary, Chambers, Frances, Charlie and Clara.

13 Providence Powers married Henry Amziah Westlake, and they had children together.