He read law in the office of a prominent lawyer in Cortland for two years, but abandoned the study to pursue other work.

He was counsel for the plaintiff in a dispute over compensation for labor, and won the case for his client, William Birge.

[2] Later that year, he was summoned by Dr. James Tripp for his expertise to survey the site of a planned village in the neighboring town.

Powers, who planned to set up a hotel in the new village, the men devised a plat for a settlement that would become the city of Whitewater.

[2] During this time, he resumed the study of law; he was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1843 and set up a legal practice.

[2] During the Civil War, he was a member of the county committee to assist in raising volunteers for the Union Army.

Maria was a daughter of Solomon Noble, a blacksmith who had served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.