Clayton, Powell, 1833-1914

Powell Foulk Clayton was born in Bethel Township, Pennsylvania, to John and Ann (Clarke) Clayton. The Clayton family was descended from early Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania. Clayton's ancestor William Clayton emigrated from Chichester, England, was a personal friend and associate of William Penn as well as one of nine justices who sat at the Upland Court in 1681.

Clayton attended the Forwood School in Wilmington, Delaware and the Pennsylvania Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He later studied civil engineering in Wilmington. In 1855, he moved to Kansas to work as a surveyor. He speculated in land in Kansas and entered politics when he successfully ran for the office of city engineer in Leavenworth in either 1859 or 1860.

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