Dr. Ignatius Walthall Powell, representative of the medical profession in St. Louis, was born in New Bloomfield, Callaway county, Missouri, August 12, 1880. The ancestry of the Powell family can be traced back a number of generations in America and representatives of the family served in the Revolutionary war. One of the greatgrandmothers of Dr. Powell was Mary Washington, a first cousin of the immortal George Washington. His father, James Powell, wits a servedn educator and farmer of Callaway county, Missouri, and also as justice of the peace there. He was born in Halifax, Virginia, was a soldier of the Confederate army during the Civil war and died in 1908. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Linda McDonald, was born in Kentucky and their marriage was celebrated in New Bloomfeld, Missouri. They became the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters: Charles, who died in infancy; Martha, who also passed away in infancy; Ignatius W.; Sarah Virginia, the wife of Dr. E. F. McCounaha, living in Louisville, Kentucky; Dr. F. M. Powell, who is a professor in the Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville, Kentucky, and who married Kathleen Stone, by whom he has two sons, Frank and Robert; J. P., who is president and general manager of the Powell & Gilpin hardware store at New Bloomfield, Missouri; W. C., a contractor and builder of New Bloomfield, who married Betty Thompson; and C. A., who is a physician in St. Louis.
Dr. Ignatius W. Powell was educated in the public and high schools of his native city and then in preparation for his profession entered the Barnes Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1907 with the M. D. degree. At the age of seventeen years he had served in a hospital during the Spanish-American war and in fact was in hospital service for five years. Following his graduation in 1907 he spent four years as professor of obstetrics in the Barnes Medical College and from 1911 to the present time has been successfully engaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery, with office at 1400 North Grand avenue. He has a liberal practice and is now president of the board of pension examiners, which position he has filled since 1914.
During the World war Dr. Powell did special work on the board of examining surgeons and liberally subscribed to all war activities. He also acted as captain of the Liberty loan drives in the eleventh precinct of his ward. He belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees and to Walker Jennings Camp of the Spanish War Veterans. In religious belief he is a Protestant and his political faith is that of the democratic party. His membership along strictly professional lines is with the St. Louis Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He manifests a commendable interest in his profession, discharging all of his duties with a sense of conscientious obligation and holding at all times to high ethical standards.