When first beginning my research I often used a website called "findagrave.com" when determining what became of those I studied. It was on this website that I found the image of Hattie's brother, Lloyd Powell. I was shocked to see him. The website indicated that this photo was uploaded by a gentleman named Bill Lee, and there was a link to his email address. I reached out to Bill to find out where he had found this image. Astonishingly, Bill informed me that it had been passed down through his family.

What a lucky break that Lloyd's image would survive across several generations, and be made available for me to find online. On the back of the image, a family member had written Lloyd's name and the fact that he died at the battle of First Manassas (so the original owner of the image knew Lloyd and the circumstances of his death).

Mr. Lee's ancestor that was alive during the Civil War was Thomas W. Powell, Jr. (1822 - 1880). His great-grandfather was also Lloyd's grandfather, which made them distant cousins. Further, Mr. Lee's ancestors lived in Kentucky and Missouri - quite a distance from Virginia and Illinois. However, Lloyd traveled extensively in his career in the 1850s and often sought out relatives in his travels - even if they were distant and even if he had never met them. I continue to look for Mr. Lee's ancestors as I work my way through Lloyd's letters because I think it's probable that Lloyd met them in his travels and felt close enough to leave behind his photo. And the distant cousins may have felt his death deeply such that they recorded it on the back of the image and kept it with family papers to be passed down from one generation to the next. Regardless of how this occurred, I owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bill Lee for taking the time to upload the image of this young man to the online account of his burial.

Images are courtesy of Bill Lee. Mr. Lee has created an extensive family tree that includes the Powells that can be accessed by clicking on his name.