Background
Harry Powers hadn’t always been Harry Powers. Nor had he always been an American. Nor had he always been a serial killer.
Born in the Netherlands as Herman F. Drenth on November 17, 1893, to parents Wilko Drenth and Jantje Woltjer Drenth, it wasn’t until 1910, when he turned 18, that the family of farmers, which included his sister, Grietje Drenth, emigrated to Iowa in the United States.
In 1926 he opted to leave his family and embark on a new life as a traveling salesman from his new home in Moundsville, Marshall County, West Virginia.
Starting afresh meant adopting the name Harry F. Powers to appear more American, but in his heart, he secretly knew that it was not for altruistic reasons.
Despite being somewhat rotund and bespeckled with horn-rimmed glasses, the new Harry F. Powers wooed and married Luella …
