1890 Buchanan and Delaware Co

1890 Buchanan and Delaware Co., IA History pgs. 427-430

EDWIN DAVIS. Prominent among the few remaining early settlers of Delaware county, who in the early "fifties" abandoned personal ease and family endearments in the older-settled states of the East for the hardships of pioneer life on the Western frontier, is Edwin Davis, a brief biography of whom is here given. Having settled in what is now Coffin's Grove township when that precinct contained less than a dozen families, and having been identified for nearly two score years with the growth and development of Delaware county, he is well worthy of a prominent place in this volume. He comes of good old New England ancestry and is a native of Connecticut, having first seen the light of day near the thriving city of Hartford, on April 4, 1830.

His father, Buckley J. Davis, was also a native of Connecticut, born about the year 1799. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and
possessed all of the sturdy traits of character which distinguished the New England people of that day. His occupation through life was somewhat varied, being mainly that of school teacher in the winter and farmer in the summer. He is said to have taught school for sixteen consecutive winters and worked on the farm during the summers. In religion he was an adherent of the Methodist faith, and, although not as out-spoken as some, he was a man of deep conviction, possessing a strong sense of justice and being ever ready to fulfill the teachings of the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." He migrated to Ohio in the summer of 1830, settling on a farm in Erie county, where he served for several years as justice of the peace, and where he died after a short but useful live, about the year 1836.

The mother of the subject of this notice bore the maiden name of Susan Cheney and was a native of the State of Connecticut. She was the mother of six children, one daughter and five sons, as follows- Maria, now the wife of Leonard Fisk, of Erie county, Ohio; Charles, who died at the age of nineteen; Daniel, who now lives in southern Iowa; Henry, who died in 1887, leaving a wife and three children; Edwin, the subject of this sketch, and Buckley J., now a resident of Erie county, Ohio. The mother was a faithful parent, kind and indulging, ever striving to rear her children in the paths of honesty and virtue. She lived a long and useful life, dying at the advanced age of three score and five years.

When six weeks old Edwin, the subject of this memoir, was taken by his parents to Erie county, Ohio, where he was reared on the home farm, and where his early boyhood days were spent in attending the district schools. The school advantages of that period were limited in extent and not to be compared with those of later days. The schoolhouse in which our subject acquired the rudiments of an education was the old-fashioned log, with slab benches. He remained at home till twenty-three years of age, and, on account of the death of his father, which occurred six years after the family's advent in Ohio, much hard work and many cares and responsibilities devolved upon him which would otherwise have been averted.

Mr. Davis was united in marriage, March 20, 1853, to Miss Sarah Ann Ferris, a most estimable lady, who was born in Erie county, Ohio, February 10, 1834. Having taken this important step in life he was desirous of finding a suitable location as a residence, and, as the Western frontier offered the best inducements at that time to a young man of limited means, he decided to investigate, and, if satisfied, to purchase land and locate. He accordingly set out in the fall of the same year, coming by rail to Freeport, Ill, which was the Western terminus of railroad traffic at that early date. The remainder of the journey was made on foot, which gave him an excellent opportunity to see the country and consider its advantages. He traveled over a portion of Delaware county, and being pleased with the country, purchased a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres, paying therefor the sum of $1.25 per acre, and also purchased a tract of ten acres of timber land, paying for it $11 per acre. Returning home, he moved his family and personal effects to his newly-purchased place the following spring, reaching it April 11, 1854. The country at that early date presented a wild and rather barren aspect, and the few settlers who had ventured in before were to be found along the creeks and in the more densely timbered districts. As yet, the vast expanse of prairie land was unbroken, and it was a question in the minds of many whether such land would ever be actually settled and developed. Wild game of the smaller kind was plentiful, and deer were frequently found along the outskirts of the timber and in the valleys. Mr. Davis first erected a log house sixteen by twenty feet in dimensions. The nearest trading point at the time of his coming was at Dubuque, and thither he was obliged to go, a distance of fifty four miles, which required from four to six days to make the trip and return. On one occasion he made the trip with a yoke of oxen, when it rained almost incessantly from the time of his departure till his return with one thousand three hundred feet of lumber, a week later. His first efforts at farming were rewarded with good crops and prosperity has crowned his labors from that day to this. He has engaged quite extensively in the raising of stock, and at this business has made a decided success. He has purchased land from time to time whenever his means would permit, until now he owns several good farms comprising three hundred and ninety acres of valuable land and under a high state of cultivation. He continued his residence in the old log house which he erected on his original purchase for fifteen years, when he built a spacious frame on the crest of a beautiful hill on his land in section 28, where he lived until about 1880, when he moved down to his present location on the outskirts of the quiet little village of Masonville. Four years ago his residence and a portion of its contents were destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of something over $1,000. For the past few years Mr. Davis has not farmed as extensively as in former years, preferring to rent out most of his land, and, on account of his advancing years, to live a more retired life. And well may he afford, after struggling with life's conflicts for more than three score years, to spend his declining days in the quiet of his home and in the enjoyment of the fruits of his well-spent life.

Mr. Davis has been twice married. The first marriage resulted in the birth of four children, three of whom are now living, as follows-Leora M., born January 2, 1854; Nelson E., born July 10, 1863; Charles. H., born June 21, 1857. To the mother of these children is due the credit of having had the courage to faithfully and unflinchingly perform the arduous duties devolving upon the pioneer mother in the early settlement and development of Delaware county. She was a kind mother and a consistent Christian of the Baptist faith, and passed the portals of this life to the better world on January 31, 1874.

Mr. Davis, realizing the truthfulness of the divine injunction, "It is not good for man to be alone," took a second companion January 3, 1875, in the person of Miss Melissa O. Kenyon, an accomplished young lady, who was born in Canada January 3, 1855. This congenial union has resulted in the birth of seven children, five of whom are now living, as follows - Henry E., born October 26, 1875; Katie L., May 6, 1878, died September 22,1882; Jessie L., August 15, 1881; Harry S., January 16, 1883; Gracie, July 13, 1885; Earl A., October 22, 1888; and one other, having died in infancy.

While Mr. Davis is not a member of any church, he is a liberal supporter of the cause of Christianity and a free giver to all benevolent purposes which meet the approval of his judgment. Mrs. Davis is a firm believer and a zealous worker for the cause of Christianity, and is a member of the Baptist church.

In politics Mr. Davis affiliates with the republican party, and is a stanch believer in its principles as enunciated in its platform. He has been a man of strict business habits, never seeking popularity, and on several occasions, when duly elected to official positions by the people of his community, has refused to accept them. He is a member of the Manchester Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 149, of Manchester, Iowa.

It is to such men as Mr. Davis that the present generation is truly indebted for the high state of development to which the country has been brought, and his name, along with those of other pioneers will long be honorably and inseparably connected with the early history of Delaware county.