I've posted quite often on my Davis roots, because it was the stories of my mother's father, my Papaw, that inspired my love of history and my desire to search for my family roots. I've posted several times on the life of Hawk Davis, so I didn't originally include him among the chosen subjects of this series. Because what new thing could I add to the narrative that I've not already said? But there are things, little things that could be added, and it's ok if I have to repeat a few facts to get there.
A few days ago, I made a trip south, and coming up through Anson County, I decided to take the scenic route and come through Cottonville, instead of Norwood. While making the drive, I noticed I had a little time left and decided to make a stop by the old Rehobeth Church. Old Rehobeth, the beaming light along the Winfield Road, portions of it still existing, the old roadbed passing by Rehobeth, a stretch of it east of Aquadale, Old Davis Road, and portions still remaining in Anson. I visited the graves of H. H. Davis, his wife, Julina and their little son, Ritchie who died as a child, and the unmarked graves near them, even between them. Who were they?
It seems fitting to honor him, again, with a post. Horton H. Davis, known as "Haut" or "Hawk", was born on October 6, 1846, in Stanly County, I'm sure, but I'm about to toss a few things up in the air here. Stanly County was five years old when Hawk was born. Albemarle, the new county seat to be built on 50 acres that had been part of the Hearne Plantation. Horton was the son of Henry Davis, and his second wife, Martha Palmer Davis. The Davis Plantation, where Henry grew up, lie on the banks of Rocky River, Jack's Branch and Cooper's Branch. That's where Henry had grown up, for certain. But when Stanly County was being formed, Henry, as the oldest son of Job Davis and Sarah Winfield Davis, together, (having three half-brothers and a half-sister from his mother's first marriage.), Henry was a mover and shaker. He was still in the days of his prime. In the early 1840's, when the counties first split, Henry was still on the Rocky, District 8, where he was nominated as a Ranger. About this time, deeds show Henry was purchasing land on Cloverfork Creek.
I cross over Cloverfork Creek daily, almost, taking the connector from the North to the East side of Albemarle. Crossing over the bridge near Chuck Morehead Park, I often think of Henry living along this Creek.
In the 1850 census, where Horton is shown as a 4-year-old little boy, spelled "Aughton", as it was pronounced at that time, the family is living in District Nine, not District Eight. On the 12th Day of May, Thomas H. Tomlinson had enumerated Henry and Martha Davis's family in Albemarle, District 9, on the very last page. He was a farmer, at 42, Martha 33, his older boys by his first marriage, already out on their own, and with children Sarah, 13, Nancy 12, Hampton, 10, Mary 8, Martha 5, Aughton 4 and Job aged 2. There would be a few more daughters. The family was counted in between Edmund Nash and Henry Marshall, both also 'movers and shakers'. The elderly Henry Marshall and his wife, Mary, were caring for a young man named Levi Coley who was deemed "an idiot". He perhaps was slow mentally or even had Downs's syndrome. This term was applied to multiple maladies, and Henry would eventually earn the same title when alcoholism took over his life.
But this was not Tyson Township. The Henry Marshall cemetery lies just off of Highway 52 within a section of the city of Albemarle now known as the Wiscasset Mill Hill. The mill is gone, but the neighborhood remains. The cemetery predates the mill era by decades, the tombstones dating back to 1850's. Even the house whose yard the cemetery is now within predates the Mill Village. This is where Henry Marshall lived in the 1850's, near this plot of land. Henry Davis was living on Cloverfork Creek at this time, rather near Henry Marshall.
Horton H. Davis was not born along the Rocky River, by 1846, his parents had moved to what we now consider part of Albemarle, but at the time was outside of the town, but an easy buggy drive to it. Henry had to be close to play his part in its development.
Now is a good time to discuss the name. Today we pronounce the name Horton, like "Whore"- ton. That is not how it was pronounced in the 19th Century. As his nickname derived into Haut or Hawk, the first part, in a deeper Southern accent than we possess now, was pronounce like 'ought', as in, 'You ought not to do that'.
'Ought'- ton. Or 'Haut' - ton. That is why Mr. Tomlinson wrote down the name of that little 4-year-old boy as Aughton.
The second issue is the middle name. Horton had an older brother named Henry Hampton Davis, who is shown mostly as 'Hampton', as he is in the 1850 census. He also had a younger brother named Job H. Davis, who went west with their sister, Nancy Baldwin Davis Wall and never married. There were two older half-brothers by their father's first marriage, Benjamin Franklin and John Edward. Now Henry Hampton married a widow, and had two children, Emma and Edgar, by whom I have plenty of DNA matches. Hampton settled in Anson County, near his brother, John Edward Davis. His son, Edgar, however, came up to Albemarle, and is buried in the Palestine Cemetery, just outside of Albemarle, with several of Hawk's descendants.
Having two sons whose initials were "H. H." was a cruel thing for Henry and Martha to do to their descendants, but knowing where Hampton lived, in Anson, and where Horton lived, in Stanly, it makes it a little easier. Horton is always seen in records as H. H, Horton H., or Haut or Hawk, which was just a variation of the pronunciation, not anything to do with the bird. So, what was his middle name, really. Now, my grandpa always though his middle name was Hampton, because his own father's middle name was Hampton, William Hampton Davis. And I ran with that. But after thinking about it, would Henry have named two sons with the middle name Hampton? Even youngest, Job, was "Job H.". He may have named them all Hampton, or even all Henry, if you think about it. We don't know. However, William Hampton named a son after his father, Uncle Horton, who was definitely, "Horton Haywood Davis". Could Haut's name have been Horton Haywood, instead? I think it's possible.
Now, in 1860, Hampton H Davis, age 20 and his friend, Allen Carpenter, 18, are living with Edward Winfield Davis, the brother of Henry Davis. This is not Horton; it's his older brother Hampton. The census indicates that they were both in school. At 20 and 18, I would assume perhaps some type of college, but where, I don't know. Notice just before E. W.'s household, is 4-year-old Julina Aldridge, and her brother, John Adam, age 2. This is Haut's future wife. He would have been 16 this year. Now Uncle Ned, aka E. W. Davis, didn't marry until later in life, at about 56, to an 18-year-old named Rebecca Hathcock. But he also was a businessman and served as the second Sheriff of the County. The family story was that tempers were already flaring as far as the North and South issues. The two young men had frequented a tavern in the area, probably down at the Forks, or Center. Possibly Allenton way, maybe not. They had gotten into a fracas, and Ned took them under his wing in sort of a probationary deal. The age-old adage, money talks. The facts show them as students too, and one doesn't annul the other. The neighbors of Crump and Aldridge show that E. W. Davis was living on the parental plantation below Cottonville on the Rocky River.
Haut lost his father in 1862, cause unknown, who was buried in the John Lee Cemetery on the Anson side of the river. The family story is he either drank himself to death, or died of sorrow, which perhaps meat suicide. Haut was 16. He lost his mother the very next year, as was reported in the Southern Christian Advocate. The minor children, of which he was one, seem to have been taken in by Uncles and older siblings. Job went to live with Nancy in Mississippi. Laura with Sallie and her family. And Haut was taken in by his uncle, E. W. Davis.
I heard from my elders that Henry's melancholy was due to the Civil War, or losing sons in the Civil War. As is with many repeated stories, things become embellished, facts are bent. The truth is that Henry does seem to have had "melancholy", or some other issues, however, he died at the beginning of the Civil War, and did not lose any sons, entirely.
Frank, the oldest, was a private in Co. A, 4th NC Calvary. He died Dec. 21, 1898.
John, the second, was a Sergeant in Co. A, 4th Reg. NC Calvary. He died Feb 1, 1878, while cutting down a tree, which in turn fell on him.
Hampton, the third son, was a Private in Co. C., 42nd NC Infantry. He died in 1898.
Horton, the fourth son, enlisted near the end of the war, in Co. D 1st NC Junior Reserves. He would later transfer to the Regular Army.
His military records reveal facts that I don't believe I have ever shared. He enlisted on June 1, 1864, at Camp Holmes. He had ridden up to Rowan County to join in. He was 17 years, 8 months and 16 days old, when he enlisted. So precise. He was born in Stanly County with an occupation of farmer. He stood only 5 feet and 7 and a half inches tall. Not a tall boy. I believe my grandfather, his grandson, was about the same height. He was fair complected, with red hair and blue eyes. Haut was a ginger! His son, Will and grandson, Lewis, were not gingers, but I have seen it weave through the family. Of my grandfather's siblings, there were two brothers and one sister with red hair. My mother's youngest child has red hair. As does a few of the younger members of the extended family. Among Haut descendants, Julina's darker genes seem to have dominated.
Haut was later transferred to the regular army in December of that year. This was a fateful decision, or act, as it would result in an injury that cursed him for the rest of his days. Having named two sons with the same initials, Henry Davis caused their military records, excluding for the Junior Reserves file, to be merged. They can be separated page by page, by knowing that the older brother is often seen as Henry H. Davis and enlisted at 22 at the start of the War. Therefore, anything labeled "Henry" is Hampton and also, anything prior to December 1864, when Haut was transferred to regular troops. Many records also included the enlistment date, which also aids in separating the brothers.
The 1870 census found Haut, now 22, in the home and care of his uncle, 'Neddy' Davis, living on the old plantation lands. E.W had married, finally, at age 56, to his 18-year-old bride, and by1870, their first child, Sarah Hortense Davis, had been born, showing as a one-year-old in the document. There was another boarder, Mary Hathcock, Rebecca's sister, and two servants, Priscilla Legrand and George Crump. Neddy, being a businessman, Justice of the Peace, miner, and former Sheriff, still had enough money to live fairly comfortable for the times.
1880 found Horton H. Davis in his own home, with a housekeeper, Clementine Barringer, and her daughters. He still lived near Edward Winfield Davis, his uncle, with another one of my ancestors, Martha Carpenter Hooks, who had lost her husband, John Hooks, in the war. The Jordan couple living with her was her daughter and son-in -law. Also near the Davis family was the Samuel Christian family who lived just beyond the Dr. Hill family.
The 1880's was a very busy time for H. H. Davis. He increased his wealth, buried his uncle and started a family, not necessarily in that order, or in that way.
On December 16, 1881, H. H. Davis sold to Martha F Pemberton, wife of S. J. Pemberton, for $125 a tract of land in Albemarle (the town of) "adjoining the land of Martha F. Pemberton, Josephine and Lizzie Hearne & others" "One town lot in the plat of Albemarle known as Lot # 17 containing 1/2 acres more of Less".
In the original 50 acres town lot for Albemarle, the map of which can be found Here, Lot number 17 in the grid of six squares, with a courthouse and courtyard in a center square of the first four blocks, was located in the top left square, facing First Street, and one lot from second street, so near the corner. The town plat went from South Street to North Street vertically and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Streets horizontally. That area is now a parking lot, with a closed restaurant building in the middle of it, next to the back lot of the Lutheran Church. Years ago, it was the location of Confederate Chevrolet, where my Grandfather 'traded' regularly, upgrading every year as long as he was able. He frequented the place so often I knew the owners son as a playmate.
Haut had ended up with a tract of land known as "The Spencer Tract", a tract of land still bearing the name of an early Stanly/Montgomery County family.
In 1883, J. M. Redwine, the administrator of the estate of E. W. Davis transferred to Horton H. Davis of the State of North Carolina, Stanly County a certain parcel of land. "Whereas a petition was filed in Superior Court January 1883" at the Courthouse Door on 24 Sept. 1883, Monday, the 37 acre tract of land known as the Floyd land adjoining the Josiah Floyd land, the Spencer tract and others, "where Horton H. Davis became the highest bidder". Haut had purchased a part of his uncles land, that had previously belonged to a member of the Floyd family, whose ties to the Davis's went back to Virginia before the Revolution. The land adjoined what Haut already owned.
About the same time, Haut was ordered to be part of a patrol, "District 8 Patrol Ordered by Court; M.F. Davis, Thomas Sanders & Horton Davis." Marriott Freeman Davis was his youngest uncle. The patrols operated as Peace Keeping entities as there were no police, just a sheriff.
September 22 1883 - "H H Davis having applied to me for a license for the marriage of John T. Crump 32, son of W. D. Crump and Tiny Crump and Rebecca Davis, 32, daughter of Solomon Hathcock and Vina Hathcock, James W. Redwine JOP". Neddy had passed away on October 30, 1882 at the age of 70. He left a young widow, Rebecca and three children; Sarah Hortense, Edward Thomas Ashley and John Teeter Jaspar Davis, all minors. A little over a year later, Haut had applied for the marriage license of his younger 'Aunt' and John T. Crump, who ended up raising the children. I often wondered if the youngest, John, was Ned's or John's because of the name, and some other instances, like seeing him as John T. Crump, Jr., but he was the son of Edward Winfield Davis in every way. I have several DNA matches who descend from him. One of them reached out to me just recently.
On April 20, 1884, H. H. Davis applied for another marriage license for a third party, that of Thomas Howe, colored, of Anson County, the son of Wade Howe, and Eugenia Davis, age 18, daughter of Hamp Davis and Betty Davis, of Stanly County. The service was performed by J. M. Redwine, Justice of the Peace, who had also been the Executor of the Estate of E. W. Davis. Witnesses were H. H. Davis, George Crump and Wade Crump. This was the Hampton and Betty Davis who are buried in the Old Davis Family Cemetery with Job, Sarah, and E. W. Davis. The cemetery is very large, and the largest percentage of the internments are of African Americans who were not only neighbors of the Davis family but were either freedmen or their children. Haut was aiding the marriage of their young daughter, Eugenia, by applying for and paying for the license, as he had done for his uncle's widow. He was a kind man.
On September 10, 1889, Horton H. Davis married Frances Julina Aldridge. This may have been in response to something that had happened. They had 'put the cart before the horse', so to speak. Julina had lost her father, Garner Aldridge, during the Civil War at the age of six. The children were either pushed into early marriages or bound out to relatives and neighbors still in intact marriages. In January of 1877, Julina, now 21, was taken to court on a charge of bastardy. She was pregnant and named the father as Ephraim Whitley. This was the year her firstborn, Mollie arrived. Two years later, Jesse Filmore Aldridge arrived in 1879.
Filmore would declare himself a descendant of Benjamin Lindsey Whitley in the Permanent Voter Rolls in the 1890's, a Jim Crow Era policy result. B. L. Lindsey was both the father of Ephraim Whitley and the family to whom Julina had been bound. So, her two oldest children were the children of Ephraim Whitley.
George W., aka 'Gus', came along in 1881. Gus went by the name Davis as an adult. However, the name of his biological father is unknown. He never had children, despite being married twice. He didn't look like the Whitley's, who came before him, or the Davis's, who came after.
There is a six-year gap between Gus and the next child, Titus Henry Davis, in 1887. Sometime during that gap, Haut became involved with the little girl who grew up down the lane. He was ten years her senior. He didn't marry her, at first. She was a 'ruined' woman, below his social status, having had children out of wedlock. He let her move in the house at some point, because the couple was taken to court on charges of fornication.
The children from Titus on down were all biological Davis's. They bore a strong resemblance to each other, especially the sons. After Titus came Rebecca Jane in 1888. After that, Haut made an honest woman of Julina and married her in 1889. The charges were dropped, as such.
William Hampton came in 1891, the first after the marriage.
Martha Priscilla "Mattie" arrived in 1892.
Carrie Julina arrived in 1893.
Thomas Parrish in 1895.
Ritchie Clark Davis, who died at the age of three, was born in 1897.
Cora Victoria, the last child, was born in 1898.
She had her hands full with all those younger ones, coming every year or two. Julina was 42 and Haut, 52 years of age, when the last child was born.
Haut Davis was involved in an organization for Veterans of the Civil War. He struggled with his wounds for decades and passed away at age 60 in 1906.
Julina, recorded as F. J Davis, was the administrator of her husband's estate. Heirs listed were B J Thompson (Becky), Mattie Holt (Martha), and the following were all listed as 'minors without guardian', although their mother was their guardian; Willie Davis, Carrie Davis, Thomas Davis and Cora Davis. F. J. Davis gave bond with C. H. Aldridge (Caleb Hampton), her brother.
The children had grown up near the Rocky River, below Aquadale. Their mother, who lived until 1935, moved the unmarried children with her to the town of Albemarle.
| Name | Julina Davis |
|---|---|
| Age in 1910 | 54 |
| Birth Date | 1856 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Home in 1910 | Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Sheet Number | 18b |
| Street | Wiscasset Hill |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Female |
| Relation to Head of House | Head |
| Marital Status | Widowed |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Native Tongue | English |
| Home Owned or Rented | Rent |
| Farm or House | House |
| Able to read | N |
| Able to Write | N |
| Enumeration District Number | 0116 |
| Number of Children Born | 13 |
| Number of Children Living | 10 |
| Enumerated Year | 1910 |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Julina Davis | 54 |
| Titus Davis | 22 |
| Carrie Davis | 17 |
| Tom Davis | 14 |
| Cora Davis | 12 |
| Laura Davis | 60 |
In the 1910 census, they are living on the Wiscasset Mill Hill or Mill Village. Laura Davis, Haut's younger sister, is living with them. She will pass away the next year, in 1911. Julina has four children living with her, Titus, Carrie, Tom, and Cora. They are all working in the Cotton Mill, even 12-year-old Cora. The two older women are at home. She says she was the mother of 13 children with 10 living. The 10 living were: Mollie, Filmore, George, Titus, Becky, Mattie, Will, Carrie, Tom and Cora. The three no longer living were Ritchie, who is shown in the above family photo, who was the next to the youngest, and Sarah and Elizabeth, two girls she had before she was married, who were buried behind a house near the intersection of Aldridge and Old Davis Roads. My Dad, who grew up in Aquadale, told me Julina's old house, near her brother Hamps, had been purchased by a Kepley family and Mr. Keply had plowed over the small cemetery spot. How desperate for crop space must he have been to not be able to spare the graves of two infants/toddlers?
Julina's last days were spent in the care of her youngest daughter, Cora Davis Mann. In 1920, Julina is the head of household as "H. H. Davis". They left off the 'Mrs.' They were living on Leslie Street in Albemarle. Cora and her new husband were in the home. In 1930, Charlie Mann was the head of household and Julina a boarder. They now lived on Lowder Street in North Albemarle.
Julian died on January 25, 1935. She was buried at Rehobeth Church in Aquadale, with Haut, where they attended.
