Powell, Abram
Section 28.8
ID # 281106

Abram Powell
Henry Co.

Nineteen Penitentiary inmates died of Cholera during the June 1833 Epidemic in Nashville. They were buried at Nashville City Cemetery. In 2016 wooden markers were placed at the cemetery for these Cholera victims.

Fred Zahn of the Metropolitan Historical Commission was responsible for the carving of the inscriptions on the 19 wooden markers and locating where to place them at the Nashville City Cemetery. To read about his work on the project, click here.

To read the account of John Hill, a contemporary of these men and survivor of his time in the penitentiary, click here.

For more information, and to see a listing of the inmates’ names & counties of residence prior to incarceration, please see the following newspaper article in the Nashville Republican and State Gazette, Friday, July 5, 1833.

Charles A. Sherill has given permission to quote from Tennessee Convicts: Records of the State Penitentiary, Vol. I. 1831-1850, by Charles & Tomye M. Sherrill, published 1997:

Page 95
“Abram Powel[sic] was received in the Penitentiary 15 Dec. 1832. He is 5′ 11” in height, weighs 187 lbs., dark hair, hazel eyes, rather dark complexion, 27 years of age. Born in Orange Co., North Carolina, and brought up there. His father, mother, three brothers and four sisters now reside in Guilford Co., North Carolina. He has two brothers in this country, their residence not known. One of his legs has been injured by a log rolling on it, leaving a large scar below the shin. It is on the right leg. Has generally followed farming. Was found guilty of petit larceny at the Circuit Court of Henry County and sentenced to two years confinement in the Jail and Penitentiary House of the State of Tennessee. Abram Powell died of cholera on the 16th day of June 1833. [Ledger 45, p. 133]”

Research Report August 2017