Francis Y. Davis
Francis Y. Davis, who has a fine home and 80 acres of land in the southeast quarter of section 8, Perry township, has been a resident of this township during almost the entire period of his active business career. Mr. Davis was born in Orange County, Vermont, October 29, 1827, and is a son of Francis and Lydia (York) Davis.
The Davis family is of Scotch-Welsh origin, and the ancestral line can be traced to the birth of Sir Francis Davis in 1590. His home was in Cardiganshire, Wales. Three of his sons, Gideon, Philip and Francis (2) crossed the ocean in search of fame and fortune, but of these only Philip and Francis (2) safely reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, Gideon having been lost at sea during the voyage. Francis Davis (2) has passed his 21st birthday at this time and with his other possessions brought a cane, which his father had presented him when he had reached his majority. This cane is still in the possession of the family, being owned by a Francis Davis, the subject of this biography. The wood of this ivory-headed cane was cut in the Grampion Hills of Scotland by the grandfather of Sir Francis Davis, in 1550. It has survived generations of its owners and typifies the solidity of the Scotch hills on which it grew, affording support to youth, feebleness and age for more than 300 years. Francis Davis (2), son of Sir Francis, remained with his brother in Halifax for about one year. There in 1749 Philip married Mary Wells; he subsequently settled in Virginia.
The above Francis Davis (2) was born in 1626 and died in 1709. He was married Gertrude Emerson, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, who was born in 1629 in England and died in 1715. They settled at West Amesbury, Massachusetts, in 1652, bringing the old cane with them.
Francis Davis (3), son of Francis (2), was born in 1653 in Massachusetts and died there in 1737. In 1673 he married Mary Taylor, a daughter of Walter Taylor, of Amesbury; She was born in 1657 and died in 1733. The old cane came into the hands of this Francis and was in turn given to the next Francis.
Francis Davis (4), son of Francis (3), was born September 29, 1687, and died October 9, 1753, at Amesbury, leaving the old cane to his son, Captain Francis Davis. His wife, to whom he was married at Haverhill, Massachusetts, September 6, 1716, was bon September 6, 1693 and died December 3, 1775.
Capt. Francis Davis, the fifth of the name, was born October 26, 1723 and died November 26, 1784. He was married September 3, 1745, to Elizabeth Ferran, who was born September 20, 1724, and died December 20, 1793. It was Capt. Francis Davis, who took the old cane from Amesbury to Davisville, Warren County, Vermont, a town he founded in May, 1766. In 1740 he had built a mill there which was destroyed by fire in 1746, and he built a second one. He was a Revolutionary soldier and a man of influence and wealth, and was the first representative to the General Assembly from Warren County.
Francis Davis (6), son of Capt. Francis Davis, was born at Amesbury, Massachusetts, May 27, 1758, and died at Barre, Vermont, October 30, 1840. He married Philena Thurber, who was born at Portmouth, New Hampshire, August 26, 1758, and died at Barre, Vermont, December 21, 1841. These ancestors were the grandparents of the subject of this sketch. The family resided at Warren until the fall of 1794, when they removed to Barnard, Vermont, taking with them the old cane. There it remained until the grandfather's death, when it came into possession of Francis Davis (7), father of its present owner, who is in the eighth generation from Sir Francis Davis.
Francis Davis (7) was born March 7, 1788, at Warren, New Hampshire, and was six years old when he accompanied his parents to Barnard, Vermont, where he was given as good educational advantages as the times afforded. He worked at the carding and fulling business for some years. When the War of 1812 became imminent, he enlisted in a cavalry company which was ordered by the Governor to proceed from Montpelier to Plattsburgh, New York. After three days, the company reached that place and took part in the closing engagements of the battle there. He was discharged at the end of the war. After the passage of many years, he received 160 acres of land in recognition of his military services. After his marriage he lived in Orange and in Washington counties, Vermont, and owned and operated a sawmill and also dealt in tombstones. He was an expert worker in stone and samples of his work took first premium when exhibited at Montpelier.
In the autumn of 1834, with his wife and four children, the oldest being nine years and the youngest, five months, he started Westward to find a new home. The wagon was filled with bedding and articles of wearing apparel. After a pleasant driving journey of six weeks, a pause was made at the town of Keene, Coshocton County, Ohio. Here Mr. Davis found a few settlers from New England and tired of traveling, decided to stop at least over the winter. In the spring, on March 21, 1835, he purchased 100 acres of land for which he paid $200. Three acres had been cleared, a small orchard had been set out and a log cabin built. Later he cleared about 40 acres of this land and entered into farming and stockraising, also cutting and selling many tombstones from a quarry situated on the property. He built the first sawmill ever erected here, which was run by the waters of the Buckloo, a small stream which meandered through his farm.
In 1842 Mr. Davis leased the farm and moved to the town of Keene where he engaged in the tombstone and monument business but soon tired of village life and returned to the farm. In 1843 he purchased another 100 acre tract, but in 1846 he sold out and again made preparations to move westward. On April 6, 1846, with his wife, two sons and the youngest daughter, a grandson and a young neighbor who was starting West with some household goods, Mr. Davis started his prairie schooner, drawn by oxen, in the direction of the setting sun. The horses which 12 years previously has assisted to move the family from Vermont to Ohio, where again made use of, being hitched to a farm cart and a flock of sheep and a herd of cattle were also taken along. On the eighth night of the journey the family camped in a vacated cabin which they found near the center of a seven by 20 mile forest, which then stood in its native state in Hardin County, Ohio. Here the hoots of the owls and the howls of the wolves made the night hideous. On the ninth day of the journey the family reached a point four miles east of Lima, in Perry township, Allen County, Ohio. Here Mr. Davis decided to locate, buying an 80 acre farm on which he lived and carried on farming and stock-raising operations, assisted by his adopted grandson, Lucius, who lived with him until his death, which took place March 31, 1875. In politics he was a Whig and later a Republican. In his dealings with his fellow-men, he was honest and upright and his religion consisted more in good works than in profession. In 1850 he and his wife made an tended visit to relatives in Vermont and upon his return he brought with him the old family cane.
On October 21, 1813, in Randolph, Orange County, Vermont, he married Lydia York, a daughter of Gershom York, and they had 11 children. Mrs. Davis died March 1, 1863. In the course of time he married Mrs. Elizabeth Gilbert, a widow, who also preceded him to the grave. Of the 11 children, those who reached maturity were: Roxanna P., deceased, who was the wife of Ira Fox; Francis Y; George E.; and Fannie, deceased, who was the wife of John Bond.
Francis Y. Davis, our immediate subject, was 19 years old when he accompanied his father to Perry township, and he assisted in the clearing of the home farm. In 1852 he bought 40 acres in setion 3, which is now known as the William Robert's farm, which he cleared and converted from timberland to fields of unusual fertility and productiveness. In 1863 he settled upon 80 acres in section 16 on which he lived and made extensive improvements until 1882, when he located upon a quarter-section in section 19, a part of which still remains in the family. He reclaimed a part of this farm from the forest and converted it into a productive farm and made his home there until 1894, when he purchased 40 acres of his present farm in section 8, to which he subsequently added 40 more acres. Mr. Davis here erected a fine residence and has made other substantial improvements until now it is an example of one of the best rural homes in Perry Township. In addition to being fertile, his farms have been noted for the presence of oil; he had had a number of producing oil-wells and the three located on his present farm have brought him handsome returns.
Mr. Davis has a military record which should give him a very pardonable measure of pride. When the Civil War broke out and he recognized the fact that he was needed at the front, he put aside his previous ambitions and enlisted in the service of his country. His first enlistment was in September, 1861, in Company D, 54th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf. He was discharged in August, 1862, on account of disability, having been injured by the exploding of a shell at the battle of Pittsburg Landing. On September 22, 1864, Mr. Davis reenlisted, becoming a member of Company A., 180th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., and continued in the service until the close of the war, his last battle being at Kingston North Carolina. He was honorably discharged in July, 1865, and returned to his home in Perry township.
During a part of his time in early manhood he engaged in teaching school and he worked also at brick-making, but since he was 30 years of age he has devoted his attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits, with some attention given to the production of oil, as mentioned above, having had an interest in some 20 wells. Mr. Davis owns 120 acres of fine land in Allen County.
On May 5, 1852, Mr. Davis was married to Sarah Coats, a daughter of Rufus and Nancy (Dawson) Coats. She died April 1, 1893, leaving the following children: Lydia R. M., born July 26, 1854, who married Jefferson Shade, of Perry township; Ira E., born January 31, 1856; Albert E., born November 30, 1857; William F., born January 19, 1867, who lives in Franklin County, Kansas; Clara B., born July 23, 1868, who married John Howbert, of Allen County; Charles L., born November 25, 1869; Harmon C., born October 15, 1871 and Daniel E., born May 28, 1873, who died July 23, 1898. One child died in infancy. Mr. Davis remained single until November 20, 1897, when he married Mrs. Rhoda J. (McPheron) Howbert.
In politics Mr. Davis is a Republican and he is a valued member of Mart Armstrong Post, NO. 202, G. A. R., of Lima. He is widely known in Allen County and is held in the highest esteem. Mr. Davis grew up at a time and in a section where educational advantages were meager but he has always been a great reader and has mixed with intelligent people and thus has acquired a broad and comprehensive knowledge of affairs of the world. He is possessed of a truly remarkable memory and without effort recalls the day, month and year of many happenings of earlier days. During the period of 60 years covering his residence in Perry township. He has been foremost in its business affairs and has contributed his full share in the developing of this section into one of the most prosperous, progressive and vest improved communities in the State.