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SECTION A

CHAPTER XII

ARTHUR M. DAVIS

Arthur M. Davis, one of the younger sons of Enoch Davis, Sr. and Elizabeth Anna DeLoach (last name not proved), was born July 14, 1813. He married on November 29, 1838 (according to Marriage Records of Clarke County) Susannah Anthony Hawkins, who was born October 28, 1819.

Historical Sketches of Clarke County, published by the Clarke County Historical Society in 1977, states that Arthur Davis was one of the earliest settlers in that county, acquiring land in Cane Creek precinct (Chance) as early as 1831. He also acquired land in Monroe County on June 20, 1835 (Township 9, Range 5), according to Old Cabaha Land Office Records. The Rev. T. H. Ball, in his Clarke County Alabama and Its Surroundings stated that Arthur Davis was an election official for McDuffie's Gin on November 2, 1852. Arthur was the returning officer and the managers were D. C. McCaskey, William H. Peebles and David Pine. McDuffie's Gin must have been in the Cane Creek area, as McCaskey and Pine are known to have been residents of Cane Creek along with Arthur M. Davis.

The 1850 Census of Clarke County showed Arthur and Susannah residing in the home with his parents.

Elizabeth 72 "

Arthur 35 "

Susan 30 "

Thomas 10 AL

Lucy 5 "

Sarah 2 "

Elbert infant "

By the time of the 1860 Clarke County Census Arthur's parents were deceased and he was head of his household, No. 884. No. 883 was Elizabeth Walker, and close by was Frederick Pine in No. 885

Arthur M. Davis, farmer age 45 $3355.00 B. NC

Susan A. 41 "

Thomas A. 20 Clarke Co.

Lucy A. 16 "

Sarah W. 13 "

Elbert 10 "

Arthur C. 7 "

Louvenia E. 5 "

In 1870 the Arthur M. Davis family was listed thus:

 

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ELLEN JOHN DAVIS

Ellen John Davis, seventh child and fourth daughter of Arthur M. Davis and Susannah Anthony Hawkins, was born August 18, 1860 and died April 8, 1946 (see copy of Obituary). She married James Henry Thomas.

Uncle Jim was born October 10, 1856 and died July 24, 1954 (see copy of his Obituary). He and Aunt Ellen are buried in the Kennedy Cemetery, Chance, Clarke County, Alabama.

Jim Thomas was the son of Susan McCoy and John Thomas. After the death of her husband during the Civil War, Susan married John Steele. Susan was the daughter of Susan Davis and John McCoy, Susan Davis being the sister of Arthur M. Davis, father of Ellen John Davis.

Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim were my great aunt and uncle. During my childhood I spent many happy hours in their log house, listening to Aunt Ellen talk. How I have wished since then that I could re-live those days, taking notes as she talked. or better still, using a tape recorder.

By this time in her life, she must have worn out the rest of the family with her incessant talking. I can still see and hear my grandmother Kennedy (Emma, sister of Aunt Ellen) as she spied her coming down the lane to our house. She would say, "Oh my Lord, here comes Ellen!" The older family members had had years of her talking, but I had only about six or seven.

Uncle Jim had snow white hair and a long white beard and was greatly admired. He lived to be 98 years old. Everyone loved him and I am sure each one has a favorite story about him. Mine took place about the time he was 94 or 95 years old. His brother, Billy, four years younger, said to him one day, "Jim, I don't think you should plow the garden this year. I'll do it for you." This, from a 90 year old man to his older brother!

Ellen and Jim had ten children, with the youngest living only 44 years, the second from the youngest 55 years, and the next to the youngest, born in 1900, is still living in this year 1991. The other seven children lived to be: 84, 85, 89, 95, 96, 97, and one living to the ripe old age of 101!

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Davis died July 30, 1957 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery also.

There were four children born to Alice and her second husband.

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ANNIE PEARL THOMAS

Annie Pearl Thomas was the second child of Ellen John Davis and James Henry Thomas. She was born on November 22, 1884 or 1885 in Chance, Clarke County, Alabama; died in Greensboro, Hale County, Alabama on February 7, 1981.

Pearl married at the Cane Creek Methodist Church in Chance, AL on January 22, 1906, according to Clarke County Marriage Records. The groom was King David Turberville of Greensboro, born on February 17, 1876 and died February 19, 1950.

 

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CARRIE JOHN THOMAS

Carrie John Thomas, third daughter of Ellen John Davis and James Henry Thomas, was born on November 4, 1886 at Lower Peach Tree. She died February 2, 1987, over 100 years old, at Monteagle, Tennessee and is buried in Kennemore Cemetery, Higdon, Alabama.

Carrie was married to Elmer Ernest Bowling, born on May 30, 1895, the son of Pope Bowling and Emma Jane Brown. He died June 9, 1965 in St. Petersburg, Florida and is buried in Huntsville, Alabama. Carrie and Elmer's daughter, Rosa Lee Richey, stated that her father was Cherokee and Dutch.

Carrie and Elmer had four children.

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RUBY LEE THOMAS

Ruby Lee Thomas, fourth daughter of Ellen and Jim Thomas, was born on January 26, 1889; died December 12, 1984. Ruby married Robert Cleveland Walker, son of Amanda Elizabeth Culpepper and her first husband, Sam Walker. Rob was born September 9, 1888; died May 17, 1951. Ruby and Rob are buried in the Kennedy Cemetery, Chance, AL. They had two children.

 

EMMA ADELLE THOMAS

Emma Adelle Thomas was the fifth daughter of Ellen and Jim Thomas. She was born April 6, 1891 and died August 9, 1976. Buried in the Kennedy Cemetery, Chance.

Emma was one of my favorites of Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim's children. She never married, so was always there whenever I visited in their home.

 

SUSAN ELIZABETH THOMAS

Susan Elizabeth Thomas, sixth daughter of Ellen and Jim Thomas, was born March 14, 1893. She married a Mr. Byrd and they had no issue.

Susie worked for many years at Montgomery Fair, a department store in Montgomery, Alabama. Whenever I went to Montgomery, I always stopped by the store to visit with her.

Susie and her sister Alice lived together and after Susie retired, sometimes Jim and I would drop by their home for a visit. one Saturday as we were leaving for Montgomery, I remarked that there was something special I wanted to do while over there. Jim said, "Go antiquing?" He didn't realize how true that was, as I was planning to visit Susie and Alice, both of whom were in their eighties. When we arrived at the house, there they sat, enjoying some sports event on the TV!

Susie died August 19, 1977 and was buried in Atlanta, GA.

 

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JOHN DAVIS THOMAS

John Davis Thomas, seventh child and first son of Ellen and Jim Thomas, was born August 8, 1895, Lower Peach Tree. He died in Crenshaw, Mississippi on May 13, 1984 and was buried in Rome, MS.

Davis married Mary "May" Watson, born May 26, 1902, Bellefontaine, MS, the daughter of John Leslie Watson and Agnes Brown. May died November 28, 1982 in Clarksdale, MS and was buried in Rome, MS also. She and Davis had seven children.

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Picture: Davis and Mae Thomas

celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary

 

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HOWARD FLETCHER THOMAS

Howard Fletcher Thomas, eighth child and second son of Ellen and Jim Thomas, was born on March 23, 1898 and died November 28, 1955. He is buried in the Kennedy cemetery, Chance, Alabama.

In 1988 Ruby Pearl Thomas Smith sent me the address of Fletcher's widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas. I wrote her, including a Family Group Sheet for her to complete, but she did not fill in the blank for her name, therefore I have no record of her maiden name.

Mrs. Thomas did write down the name of their one and only child, but omitted her son-in-law's name. However, she did say that she has three grandchildren and three great grandgrandchildren.

MARY EULA THOMAS

Mary Eula Thomas, ninth child and seventh daughter of Ellen and Jim Thomas, was born on September 2, 1900; still living in 1991. Eula married first, Ledyard Amos Walker, by whom she had six children. Ledyard born December 2, 1895; died March 15, 1936. He was the son of Duncan Walker and Elizabeth Dean. Eula married second, Graham Ray Negus; no issue. She and Ledyard had six children.

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LUCY DEE THOMAS

Lucy Dee Thomas, eighth daughter and last child of Ellen John Davis and James Henry Thomas, was born on August 1, 1903; she died on September 27, 1947. Lucy married James Brown. They lived in Franklin, Tennessee.

Picture:

"First Cousins"

Left to right: Emma Thomas, Lucy Thomas, Blanche Davis

and Grey Kennedy

 

 

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JAMES ROBERT DAVIS

 

James Robert Davis, eighth and last child of Arthur M. Davis and Susannah Anthony Hawkins, was born August 18, 1862 and died on December 26, 1949. He is buried at Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery near Fulton, Alabama (see attached copy of his obituary).

Bob married first on December 23, 1885, Sarah Frances Adams, born on July 17, 1865, the daughter of Monroe and Frances E. Adams who were residing near Lower Peach Tree at the time of the 1870 Census. Fannie died June 5, 1913 and is buried in the Kennedy Cemetery, Chance.

The 1900 Census of Clarke County listed this family and gave the following information: Bob Davis did not attend school but could read and write; he owned his own farm, which was free of mortgage; his parents were born in North Carolina. It stated that Fannie's mother was also born in North Carolina but her father's birthplace was Georgia.

Bob and Fannie had eleven children.

 

MILTON MONROE DAVIS

Milton Monroe Davis, first child of Bob and Fannie Davis, was born on January 7, 1887; died on February 1, 1904, when only seventeen years old (see attached copy of his obituary).

 

ARTHUR STROTHER DAVIS

Arthur Strother Davis, second son of Bob and Fannie Davis, was born on September 7, 1888. He married on June 24, 1919, in Oak Dale, Mobile County, Alabama, Dolly Eliza Wilson, born on April 13, 1901. She was the daughter of Walter Ross Wilson and Louise Caroline Sherman. Strother died on August 24, 1966 and is buried in the Kennedy Cemetery, Chance, AL.

Walter Ross Wilson had two brothers - Thomas R. Wilson and John Winfield Wilson - who married two Kennedy sisters - Martha Jane and Mary Elizabeth Kennedy, respectively.

At one time in his youth, Strother lived with his aunt and uncle, Lou Emma Davis and William Bishop Kennedy (my grandparents), to help with the farm work. He and his cousin Leo (my father) were close friends all of their lives. After Strother married Dolly, they lived at Damon, which is not too far from the Kennedy place, so my sister and I were playmates

 

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with their six children.

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JOHN FRAZIER DAVIS

John Frazier Davis, fourth son of Bob and Fannie Davis, was born in may of 1892. Frazier went to California and married a woman whose first name was Lucy. They had two children. Frazier never came back to Alabama to live; he died in California.

 

WILLIAM FRANK DAVIS

William Frank Davis, fifth son of Bob and Fannie Davis, was born in January or June of 1894; died on August 25, 1953. Frank worked at Mt. Vernon, AL. He never married.

 

ANNIE MAUDE DAVIS

Annie Maude Davis, sixth child and first daughter of Bob and Fannie Davis, was born on August 28, 1896 in Chance, AL. She married Clarence Callaway Carpenter on January 28, 1916 in Oak Dale, AL. Clarence was born on March 1, 1892, the son of Ancel Frank Carpenter, and died on March 6, 1949. Clarence was buried in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as is Annie Maud, who died October 6, 1983. Clarence and Annie Maude had five chilren.

 

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BERTIE GREY DAVIS

Bertie Grey Davis, seventh child and second daughter of Bob and Fannie Davis, was born April 18, 1898 in Clarke County. She died on April 15, 1988 in Mobile. Bertie married Arthur Young Hearn in 1921. He was born in Choctaw County, Alabama in 1896, the son of James Wesley Hearn and Mallie Zoro Marsh. Young died in 1960 and is buried at Citronelle, AL, as is his wife, Bertie (see attached copies of their Obituaries).

Bertie and her husband had eight children, all born in Mobile County except the oldest son.

 

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JESSIE DAVIS

Jessie Davis, daughter of Bob and Fannie Davis; she married a man by the name of Howle and lived somewhere in Florida, where she died. They had three children.

 

HENRY CLAY DAVIS

Henry Clay Davis was the last child of James Robert Davis and his first wife, Sarah Frances Adams. The only thing I know about Clay Davis is that he lived and died in Walla Walla, Washington.

After the death of his first wife, James Robert Davis married Wilma Haskew. Wilma was born on August 5, 1899, the daughter of William "Willie" James Haskew and Cora V. Larrimore. Cora was the daughter of Cyrus Larrimore and Eliza Wilson. Willie was the son of Julia Ann Hicks and James J. Haskew (see Hicks Section of this book). Uncle Bob and Wilma had two daughters.

MILDRED DAVIS

Mildred Davis was the oldest daughter of Bob and Wilma. She was born on may 12, 1923 and married Orval James Smith. He was born in Teaken, Idaho on November 5, 1919, the son of Ray Chance and Mary Virginia Smith. Mildred and Orval have three children.,

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MYRTLE DAVIS

Myrtle Davis, last child of Bob Davis and Wilma Haskew, was born on October 15, 1919. She married Wayman Sable Ott, born in Fulton, AL on December 30, 1918, the son of Walter and Josephine Ott. Myrtle and Wayman had two daughters.

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SOURCES FOR ARTHUR M. DAVIS

 

Historical Sketches of Clarke County, Clarke County Historical Society

Old Cahaba Land office Records & Military Records, Marilyn Davis Hahn Barefield

Clarke County Alabama and Its Surroundings, Rev. T. H. Ball

Census Records of Clarke County

Marriage Records of Clarke County

Personal knowledge

Newspaper clippings

Cemetery records and tombstones

Family Group Sheets completed by family members

414 A

 

 

CHAPTER XIII

SARAH M. DAVIS

Sarah M. Davis, daughter of Enoch Davis, Sr. and Elizabeth Anna DeLoach (probably), was born in 1816, according to 1850 Wilcox County Census Records. She was born in North Carolina.

Sarah married Henry C(ovington) Jones on May 18, 1834, as recorded in Monroe County Marriage Records, with Solomon W. Portis as security. The officiant was Thomas Wilson, Justice of Peace.

Henry Covington Jones was the son of Henry Gray Jones and Lucy Ann Waller of Southampton County, Virginia. He was born in Wake County, North Carolina in 1818.

Henry Covington Jones' sister, Priscilla Jones, was the wife of Josiah Rux Hicks, son of Bishop Hicks and Caty Jeter (see chapter on Bishop Hicks in Hicks Section of this book).

Another of Henry Is sisters, Sarah Bittle Jones, married James Hinton Curtis, who was appointed Administrator and Guardian of the three minor children of Henry Gray Jones, deceased,and Lucy Ann Waller on August 13, 1827, according to Clarke County Probate Records. The three minor children were listed as Julia Ann, David P. (David Parham) and Henry C. Jones.

Julia Ann Jones married Solomon Wilder Portis and David Parham Jones married Martha Pugh. David and Martha were parents of Mary E. Jones who married David Parham Hicks and resided in Lower Peach Tree. A complete account of the latter family will be found in the Hicks Section of this book.

Henry Gray Jones died in Green County, Tennessee in 1818, according to records of Doris Thomason Parker, one of his descendants.

The 1850 Census Records of Wilcox County list the Henry Covington Jones family as follows:

Henry C. Jones age 35 born in NC

Sarah 34 "

Lucy E. 13 AL

Henry R. 10 "

M. Lavinia 4 "

David P. 2 "

Henry evidently died sometime between 1850 and 1860 as Sarah was head of the household at the time of the 1860 Wilcox Co. Census.

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You will note that Lucy E. and Henry R. or E. were out of the home by 1860. Since Lucy was 13 and Henry was 10 at the time of the 1850 Census, by 1860 they were old enough to be married and out of the home, if they were still living.

The 1870 Wilcox County Census, Lower Peach Tree Beat, had Sarah Davis Jones living in the home of her daughter, Lavinia Drinkard and her family.

Henry R. Jones age 36 b. AL

Mary E. 30 "

Robert J. 8

James 3

Culin 0. 2

Henry H. six mos.

 

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SOURCES FOR SARAH M. DAVIS

Records of Gary Drinkard

Census Records

Information provided by Mae Drinkard Tarleton

Estate papers of Enoch Davis, Sr.

 

419A

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