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Or, can you tell the story of your ancestor who served in 38th Ga.? If you send your ancestor's story, I'll post it here. Please email me at dnichols16@cox.net.
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Biography of John Mankin Power
Submitted by Susan C. Power
John Mankin Power, Private 10/15/1861. Captured and paroled at Hartwell, Georgia May 18, 1865. Born December 6, 1833, Madison County, Georgia; Died June 11, 1888, Habersham County, Georgia
John Mankin Power was born December 6, 1833 in Madison County, Georgia, the son of Reverend James Mankin Power and Eliza R. Moore. John was the Great-Grandson of Francis Power, Revolutionary soldier of Virginia and Madison County. John married on November 24, 1853, Martha E. Amanda Crook, Granddaughter of Valentine Crook, emigrant of Bavaria, Germany, and veteran of Georgia’s War of 1812.
After the birth of their first three children, John joined Co. H of Elbert County’s 38th Regiment. Amanda described aspects of John’s service in her widow’s pension of 1901, writing that he became ill at Black Ankle, Virginia. From that location in March of 1865, regimental surgeon Arrington granted John a furlough due to his being ill with pneumonia and lung trouble, and was home in Habersham County when General Lee surrendered.
After the war, John and Amanda moved to Rabun County, Georgia and by 1876 made their home in Hayesville, North Carolina, where he farmed in the beautiful Clay County area. They raised a family of ten children and returned to Georgia in 1886. John Mankin Power died in 1888 at age 55 in Habersham County and Amanda died in 1907 at age 70. She is buried in Mountain Creek Baptist Church cemetery in Walton County, Georgia.
The legacy of John Mankin Power, and those who served in the Civil War, holds an honored place in the lives of his descendants. His Great-Great-Great-Grandson, author, J. Tracy Power, wrote the award-winning book, “Lee’s Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness” (1998). The Power family was one of six Madison County families featured in “War Comes to Broad River” written by Ron Jones (2005), giving personal accounts of day-to-day life during the Civil War.
References:
Georgia Census Records
1880 Census, Clay County, North Carolina
Widow’s Pension Application, Amanda Power
Power Family Bible