The Bell Witch: The Full Account (40 page)

298 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

Richard Powell (1795-1848)

Born in Halifax County, North Carolina, Professor

Richard Rowell Ptolemy Powell figured prominently

into the legend of the “Bell Witch” because of his

having taught several of the Bell children and his

admiration and later marriage to Elizabeth Bell.

After receiving an advanced education in his native

North Carolina, Powell moved to Tennessee about

1815 and settled near the village of Nashville. As he

explored teaching opportunities in Nashville, he

learned of the flourishing,

Red River community in

Robertson County and the

need for a schoolmaster

there. He left Nashville and

moved some fifty miles to the

northwest, settling in the

Red River community near

the Bell farm. 59

Powell began teaching in a

small schoolhouse located on

a tract of land donated by

James Johnston, only a few

yards from John Bell’s east

property line. In addition to

his classroom activities,

Powell privately tutored some

students in their homes.

Having taught several of the

Bell children, he became

good friends with John and Lucy Bell.

Powell developed a fondness for Elizabeth Bell as

she matured into adolescence. Despite his more

59 Richard Powell’s photo from
Authenticated History of the Bell Witch
, M.V. Ingram, 1894.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

299

frequent visits to the Bell home and the compliments

he often paid her, Elizabeth was already involved in a

courtship with Joshua Gardner, a well-respected and

close neighbor whose age was much closer to hers.

Both the Bell and Gardner families were pleased with

Elizabeth and Joshua’s courtship; however it seemed

that neither Powell nor Kate were fond of it.

Elizabeth broke off her engagement to Joshua

Gardner on Easter Monday of 1821 after Kate’s

pressure had begun to take an emotional toll on her.

Richard Powell visited Elizabeth frequently during

her ensuing period of grief, often reciting poetry to

help lift her Spirits. A courtship gradually evolved

between the two, lasting three years until their

marriage on March 21, 1824.

Richard Powell’s marriage to Elizabeth was not his

first. Powell earlier married Esther McKenzie Scott of

Dickson County, Te
nnessee, who was 18 years his

senior. Powell never mentioned his first marriage,

but did refer to it in his personal diary.

“Richard R. P. Powell and Esther Scott was

married on the Seventh Day of December,

Eighteen Hundred & Fifteen, in the Twentieth

year of my Age, on the day before my Birthday.

It being Thursday.”
60

In the years following Powell’s marriage to

Elizabeth Bell, his involvement in society and politics

increased — eventually requiring him to give up his

60 Digitized image courtesy of Phillip C. Norfleet, used by permission.

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F I T Z H U G H

job as schoolmaster to pursue a career in politics.

Powell was elected and served as Sheriff of Robertson

County between 1830 and 1833; and was elected to

the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1833. He

represented Robertson County in the 20th Tennessee

General Assembly. Powell made a name for himself

as a lawmaker of great ability, and gained wide

popularity in Tennessee. In addition to this coveted

office, Powell also had been a Captain in the

Tennessee State Militia, a census enumerator, and a

Justice of the Peace. 61

Powell’s personal diary alluded to earlier was his

“Ciphering Book,” a 271-page collection of advanced

math problems, genealogical notes, and other

information. It is believed that many of the math

problems in Powell’s “Ciphering Book” were created

by his father, Richard Powell, Sr., who was a well-

educated man. According to dates listed in his

“Ciphering Book,” Richard Powell solved many of the

math problems between 1812 and 1822. The

“Ciphering Book” makes no mention whatsoever of

the “Bell Witch” disturbances or any problems

associated with Elizabeth Bell.

61 A biographical sketch of Richard Powell from the Tennessee Legislative Encyclopedia is included in Appendix C.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

301

“Richard R. P. Powell is my name, and Single is

my station. Tennessee is my abode, America is

my nation.”

“I Richard R. P. Powell, was born in North

Carolina, Son of Richard and Parthenia Powell,

in the Year of our Lord 1795, December 8th

day.”
62

At the height of his political career, Powell suffered

a massive stroke that rendered him unable to fend

for himself and his family. The Powells purchased a

keelboat to ship goods to New Orleans in hopes of

being able to raise money to meet their family’s

financial needs. On the night before the first

shipment was to have set sail, all loaded goods were

lost when a misguided steamboat crashed into the

vessel as it was moored in Clarksville, Tennessee

waiting for daybreak.

62 Digitized images of Powell’s writings courtesy of Phillip C. Norfleet, used by

permission.

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F I T Z H U G H

The substantial monetary loss and Powell’s

inability to earn a living left his family broke and

destitute. A number of Powell’s friends, including a

certain “Joshua Gardner,” then of Henry County,

Tennessee, drafted and submitted a petition to the

Tennessee State Legislature seeking financial

assistance for Powell and his family. The petition

was rejected. 63

Richard Powell’s condition slowly worsened until

his death in 1848. Powell is buried in the Cedar Hill

community of Robertson County, Tennessee.

Richard Powell was never around when Kate put

on demonstrations, and neither spoke nor wrote of

her. Interestingly, there are several accounts that

allege Powell was involved with the occult. One such

account describes an incident that took place at the

schoolhouse involving Calvin and John Johnston.

While walking down the road by the
schoolhouse

one evening, Calvin and John Johnston noticed the

glare of a candle burning inside. Having some time

to spare, they decided to pay Professor Powell a visit.

After several knocks without a response, they

entered the door. Unable to find Powell, they stood

and waited for him next to his desk and casually

glanced down at the many books.

Powell soon arrived, running quickly to his desk

where he hurriedly put away a book that had been

left open. Calvin Johnston apologized, stating that he

was “just glancing” and had not read the book.

Powell replied, saying that the book was an old, Latin

book and not important. 64

Well-versed in both Latin and Greek, Calvin

Johnston later commented that nothing he saw in

the book, which he was unable to decipher, appeared

63 Richard Powell’s petition to the Tennessee State Legislature for financial relief is included in Appendix B.

64 Source does not wish to be disclosed.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

303

to be Latin or Greek. Could this book have been a

grimoire,
or “Book of Shadows” that has been used

for centuries as a tool for tracking the progress and

effectiveness of conjurations, spells, and potions?

Most who know anything about Powell would

logically assume that the mysterious book was his

“Ciphering Book.” The author has reviewed Powell’s

“Ciphering Book” in meticulous detail, and has

concluded that its contents are easily decipherable,

including the occasional usage of Greek symbols in

applicable math problems. As such, the author does

not feel that the book seen by Calvin and John

Johnston was Powell’s “Ciphering Book.”

Another account of Richard Powell’s alleged

involvement with the occult comes from a

descendant of Joshua Gardner’s younger brother,

John A. Gardner. 65

Several children, including some of the Gardner

and Bell family, were walking home from school late

one afternoon when they began discussing a difficult

problem that Professor Powell had tried to explain in

class that day. As it would turn out, the children

would become more confused and return to the

schoolhouse to ask Powell for clarification.

They found the door locked but clearly heard the

sound of Professor Powell’s voice coming from inside

upon returning to the schoolhouse. They did not

listen for long before realizing that Powell was

speaking in a language completely unknown to them.

Powell’s speaking ceased and he opened the door

upon hearing the children knock. When asked about

his speaking episode, he said that he must have been

daydreaming and that no one else had been present.

For several months there was considerable talk

throughout the community, especially among the

65 Source does not wish to be disclosed.

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F I T Z H U G H

children, about Professor Powell’s performing

“incantations” in the schoolhouse. According to the

story, Powell severely punished several of his

students upon learning of their conversations about

his actions.

Other than the writings of those who related these

accounts first-hand and passed them down through

many generations, and reports of his alleged study of

occult-related topics while in North Carolina, very

little evidence suggests that Powell was involved with

the occult.

Jesse Bell (1790-1843)

Kate once “checked on” Jesse Bell and reported to

his mother, Lucy Bell, that he had returned safely

from a business trip and was at home reading by

candlelight. Upon visiting his parents and
siblings

the following morning, he remarked that his front

door mysteriously opened and shut as he read a

book the night before. It was Jesse Bell’s wife,

Martha, whom Kate gave a pair of black stockings as

a “gift” and asked that she be buried in them.

The eldest of John and Lucy Bell’s children, Jesse