William Blackwood Davis (b. October 03, 1833, d. March 24, 1904)
Great Grand Uncle William B. Davis
William Blackwood Davis (son of John Davis and Agnes Calderwood) was born October 03, 1833 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and died March 24, 1904 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. He married Matilda Thankful Mc Geehon on December 15, 1858 in Beaver County, Pennsylvannia.
Notes for William Blackwood Davis: William B. Davis was the third known son of John & Agnes Davis. According to Scots-Irish naming tradition the third son was given the name of his father. If he was indeed the third son this was a break in the naming tradition. We suspect that William was the fourth son. In that case he was given the name of his father's oldest brother.
Although without concrete documentation we are certain that William Blackwood Davis was born in Beaver Co. PA. His father, John Davis, was known to be living in Beaver County, PA as early as 1831 according to property tax records. His Aunt Jemima Calderwood married Rev. James Blackwood in 1833 in Beaver Co., PA. William Davis, born that year, was given 'Blackwood' as his middle name.
Wm. B. Davis was listed in the 1850 U.S. census living at home with his parents on the farm in Big Beaver Township, the part of Beaver County that became Lawrence County in 1849.
William Davis was listed in the 1860 census living with his wife, Matilda, and their baby, Estella V., aged 9 months. Their residence was next to that of William's father, John, located in Big Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
Military History: Pennsylvania 5th Regiment Heavy Artillery (204th Volunteers) Organized at Pittsburg August and September, 1864. Ordered to Washington, D.C., September, 1864. Attached to District of Alexandria, 22nd Corps, to November, 1864. 1st Separate Brigade, 22nd Corps, to June, 1865. SERVICE.--Duty in Northern Defenses of Washington, D. C., and along Manassas Gap Railroad, protecting supplies for Sheridan, and constantly engaged with Mosby. Action at: Salem October 4, 1864. Rectortown October 7. White Plains October 11. Destruction of Manassas Gap Railroad October and November. Duty in the Northern Defenses of Washington; 1st Battalion at Prospect Hill, 2nd Battalion at Vienna and 3rd Battalion at Fairfax C.H. Duty on Bull Run battlefield in spring of 1865, burying nearly 2,000 dead. Ordered to Pittsburg for muster out. Mustered out June 30, 1865.
After the Civil War William. B. Davis returned to his family in Lawrence County. By the 1870 census William and his wife, Matilda, were living in Scott Township, Lawrence County, PA with 4 children: Estella, Arabella, James & Leula. An 1872 map of Lawrence County, PA shows Wm. Davis living in the NW corner of Scott Township along Hettenbaugh Run.
William B. Davis migrated with his family to Sterling, Rice County, Kansas from Pennsylvania in the fall of 1878 with his brother, John M. Davis. He homesteaded a farm 10 miles south of Sterling. Wm. B. Davis, wife M. T. and six children - Estella V.-21 A. H.-18 James D.-13 Lula A.-11 Sherwood M.-9 Willie C.-5 were listed in the 1880 U.S. Census of Medford Township, Reno Co., Kansas.
After retirement William was living with his wife Matilda in the town of Sterling, Kansas according to the 1900 census records. In that census it is recorded that he had been retired for six months and that he was a Civil War pensioner.
In 1903, shortly after the death of his wife, Matilda Thankful [McGeehon] Davis, William B. Davis accompanied his daughter, Estella Virginia [Davis] Truesdell, and her family to Vancouver, Washington, where he died in March of 1904.
Wm. B. Davis was buried in the Old City Cemetery of Vancouver, Washington in March 1904. His grave is located in the SE section, S 1/2 Lot 118 Line 6. His daughter, Estella V. Davis Truesdell, son-in-law Harvey Truesdell and two granddaughters are buried in the same lot. The gravestone reads: WM. B. DAVIS CO. H. 5 PA H.A. [Porter, Mildred E., Old City Cemetery of Vancouver: Cemetery Records, p. 44. (1980: Genealogical Forum of Oregon). [979.7 C592 V223 Cem v.1]
More About William Blackwood Davis: Burial: March 24, 1904, Old City Cemetery, SE Section, S 1/2 Lot 118, Line 6, Vancouver, Clark County, Washington.
More About William Blackwood Davis and Matilda Thankful Mc Geehon: Marriage: December 15, 1858, Beaver County, Pennsylvannia.
Children of William Blackwood Davis and Matilda Thankful Mc Geehon are:
+Estella Virginia Davis, b. October 17, 1859, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, d. January 02, 1944, Willamette, Clackamas County, Oregon.
Arabella Hanson Davis, b. July 15, 1862, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, d. April 1892, Sterling, Rice County, Kansas.
John Ulysus Davis, b. August 18, 1863, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, d. March 20, 1864, Big Beaver Twp., Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
+James Delbert Davis, b. July 13, 1866, Scott Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, d. January 30, 1931, Turon, Miami Township, Reno County, Kansas.
+Leula Auretta Davis, b. April 20, 1869, Scott Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, d. 1950, Washington.
+Sherwood Melville Davis, b. October 03, 1871, Scott Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, d. February 1944, Corbet, Multnomah County, Oregon.
+William Calderwood Davis, b. May 23, 1876, Scott Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, d. date unknown, Oregon.
William Blackwood Davis (b. October 03, 1833, d. March 24, 1904)
Notes for William Blackwood Davis: