John Powell was born to Ann Belfield and John Powell. His father was a wood turner and trained John and his brothers in that occupation. John became a talented furniture maker. The Powells were a religious family and John was confirmed a member of the Church of England. He taught the Testament Class for four years. John described his decision to marry as follows:

"About this time I saw a family at the next pew to us at church. There were some young women, one of which I wished to form an acquaintance with, but here I was in trouble. There was the one Sunday School teacher named Louisa Eastman, who I was very fond of, and also the young lady in the next pew. I did not know which one to choose for a wife for I loved them both.

So I wrote a letter to each, worded alike. I took the letters to my bedroom and knelt down before the Lord and asked him to direct me to the one which would make me the best wife. I arose and tossed the letters, feeling that the one I should take up first was the one to be my wife. I took up the one addressed to Miss Fanny Chamberlain. I then burnt the other. I then got acquainted with Miss Fanny and after two years of courtship we were married on
November 13, 1842 in London, England.

John and Fanny raised a family of nine children. His family was introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ and they joined the church.

The Powell's saved their money and left England to gather with the Saints in 1851. They crossed the Atlantic on the "Ellen" arriving in New Orleans in March 1851. They traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis where they tried to go west. Illness and poverty kept them from arriving in Utah until 1856.

His second wife was Henrietta Seaten Blyth, a convert from Scotland June 18, 1864 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they had a family of seven.

In 1872 John's first wife, Fanny died.

John married Martha Ann Truman, a young widow, on March 20, 1885 in St. George, Utah. Because he had more than one wife he was charged with polygamy and was sentenced to a term in the Utah State Penitentiary. Within two years after John was freed from prison, his third wife, Martha
died. They'd only been married about 6 1/2 years.

He died when he was 79 years old.