Sodom, Gommorah and Big Lick

Sometime prior to 1737, a German immigrant family, led by patriarch Leonhardt Kegel, arrived in America, and first, like many other families that would trickel south, settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania. This family would trickle down into North Carolina within a few decades, eventually making their way into Moore, Montgomery, Cumberland, Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. I have one, and possibly two, lines of descent from the the Cagle family, as the name would be angelized to, both from female ancestors. A Rebecca Cagle married Caleb Aldridge, Jr. and they are one set of my 4th Great Grandparents. Rebecca Cagle Aldridge is constantly being merged with a Rebecca Cagle Whitley, who was probably a cousin of some degree, but exactly how, I've not determined, or even tried to. What I do know is that a consanguineous clutch of Cagles settled around the southwestern part of Stanly County, North Carolina. Among them was a man named George Washington Cagle.

I touched on George W. Cagle, briefly, in my last post titled: The Secrets of Adeline, concerning a daughter of his.

While I was imbibing and digesting the old 19th century court records of Stanly County, I was astounded and amused at the pervicacity in which I encountered the citizens of the community of Big Lick. It was presented as an amoral and ruthless place, its citizens holding a general insouciance and lack of propriety. If ever a single individual was the embodiment or the scion of the general population of Big Lick, it was George Washington Cagle. 

George W. Cagle was born about 1813, in what was then Montgomery County, North Carolina, probably along the Rocky River close to where he would dwell for the remainder of his life. He was the son of Charles Robert Cagle, Sr. (1786-1864) and wife, Elizabeth Maranda Springer (1789-1867). He was the grandson of George Cagle and wife, Rebecca, who was no doubt the forebear of a string of granddaughters and great-granddaughters named Rebecca, including my own Rebecca Cagle Aldride and also Rebecca Cagle Whitley, wife and ex-wife of George Whitley III, with whom she is often merged. 

George Cagle, our notorious G. W.'s grandfather, was himself the grandson of the previously mentioned German ancestor, Leonhardt Kegel, via his son Johann Theobald Kegel. Therefore, George Washington Cagle was the Great Great-Grandson of the original immigrant ancestor. He was also the grandson, on his maternal side, of George Springer and wife, Sally Bloom Springer, the ancestors of another proliferant Big Lick family, meaning George had a lot of kin in and around the Oakboro/Red Cross/Stanfield area. 

He was one of nine children and the oldest son of Charles and Maranda. His siblings were, according to accepted Cagle research were:

A) 1810-1890 Sylvia Cagle, who married John Honeycutt. This one is debatable. Some have Syvia as a Burris. Others, a Robbins, due to John's close relationship with the elderly Fanny Whitley Robbins, daughter of George Whitley Sr. and widow of Isham Robbins. I've examined the one death certificate of one of their children that names Sylvia's maiden name and it appears more as Cagle, so I believe this to be correct. 

John Honneycutt and wife Sylvia Cagle  buried on property of Cromer and Polly Burrus, Across the road from Liberty Hill Chruch Cem. ---graves will be moved to Liberty Hill because of hwy. expansion

GRAVES HAVE BEEN MOVED.

1880 Stanley Co,. NC census-- Smith,James A.   22 Maria ,32 wife,  Silvey Cagle- Honeycutt age 72.

-from her ancestry.com profile.

B) 1811-1858 Mary Rebecca Cagle - married Needham Whitley, Jr. 

C) Insert George Washington Whitley, (1813-1876).

D) 1816-1880 Susan A. Cagle, never married, died of dropsy in 1880 per mortality schedule. 

E) 1821-1823 Charles Robert Cagle, Jr. died at age 2.

E) 1824-aft 1880 Charles Robert Cagle, III, married Sarah Yow, fought in Civil War. Found last in Cabarrus County in 1880.

F) 1827-1867 Sina Cagle, married Needham Whitley II.

G) 1828-1915 David M. Cagle , married 'Mikel' Michelle Hinson. Also found in Civil War.

H) 1829-1922 Millie Elizabeth Cagle, married Lewis Brown. 

I) 1830-1889 Eva Lee Cagle, unmarried.

I am not sure I agree with these on all accounts as I have not personally researched this level of this family, and some of it seems a bit conflicting/confusing or contrived. 

There is a George W. Cagle who received a few land grants on Bear Creek, but this was not the same George W. Cagle or the same Bear Creek. This individual, and this Bear Creek, were in Moore and Chatham Counties, and I believe was a distant cousin, as he sprang from the same lineage of Kegel/Cagle's who had migrated down from Berks County, Pennsylvania. 

Book 1 Page 92 Andrew Honeycutt sells to George Cagle and Thomas Long, 200 acres on both sides of Island Creek for $200. This deed was dated 1844, and an older George, G. W. Cagle's uncle, was still alive. His daughter Mary Long, is mentioned in his Will, so I believe this one is the older George. He died in 1851, so after that, George W. was the only George Cagle in the area.

In November of 1855. Isaiah Coley, sold to in a group, George Cagle and several of his close neighbors, found in Book 4, page189, a number of personal items to cover his debts. The others, besides George Cagle, were Solomon Burris, Green D. Whitley, McCamey Willis and Jesse Hathcock. The debt were owed to Nelson Smith, Albemarle Merchant, Daniel Freeman and to the estate of Robert Motley. The goods included oxen, cattle, hogs, crops and the tract of land on which Isaiah Coley lived. 

Later on, not long before his decease, George Cagle would purchase a tract of land from Susan Coley, located on Cucumber Creek, found in Book 7, Page 352. This would have been Susan Green Coley, later Howell, widow of William Coley and daughter of Jacob Green, and just before she would marry Edward H. Howell. The Green family sometime crossed Big Lick and seem to have first landed along the river, but they were of a different cut than most of the later citizens of Big Lick. The Greens were in a class equal to that of the Brooks, and the Austins and even most of the Morgans. Slightly wealthier, steadily devout and for the most part, strongly moral. 

George Cagle would sell more property than he would purchase. On July 2, 1844, he sold 100 acres on Cedar Branch to Daniel Reap, located on the north side of the Charlotte Road, witnessed by J. A. Pless. This is found in Book 2 Page 176.

On the 29th day of December, 1856, George sold to Charles and John W. Hinson, for $800, several tracts on both sides of Stony Run Creek, that met that of John Honeycutt, Solomon Burris, a Deberry, to the "Big Road", to D. W. Burris's corner, and back to George Cagle's own property and John Honeycutts again. 

In Book 4, Page 415, George sold 150 acres and a crop of wheat and oats to George Treece to cover a $1000 debt George Cagle owed to Edmund D. Ingram. This was dated February 13, 1860. 

In March of 1868, George sold to W. A. Morton, a tract of land that bordered John Hartsell's property, of 59 acres, found in Book 6 Page 512.

On April 18, 1873, George sold to Solomon Hathcock, some property located on the Rocky River and Stillwater Creek, that adjoined the lands of William and James Parker, his business partners, Mary Hinson, David Cagle, John Austin, that contained 310 acres. This was in trust to Solomon Hathcock, with the intentions of repayment of the $800. Found in Book 7 589. 

On March 27, 1875, near the end of his life, although he wasn't aware of this factor, George sold to Joseph Marshall, trustee, 160 acres of land on both sides of the Rocky River, placing part of it in Union County, adjoining the lands that George still held, and that of William Parker, in which was located a grist mill, a saw mill and a cotton gin, as part of the partnership of Cagle and Parker Mills, of which George owned half. This was to cover a $250 note. By this time, by 1873, actually, George Cagle's life had started spinning out of control, which we would see later. 

Book 10, Page 96 is a transaction between George Cagle, and his Company, Cagle and Parker, and A. H. Griffin, dated September 11, 1875. Almost completely faded into illegibility, there's a mention of 'articles of said real estate viz a tract of land known as Griffin's Mill and land adjoining E. R. Griffin, ? M. Griffin and J. W. Huneycutt". It mentioned a debt and 20 days, and was signed by George Cagle, with the J. W. Huneycutt as a witness. 

The rest of the deeds involving George Cagle were after his demise. In Book 15, Page 382, a transaction between A. G. Morton and John Brooks involving "the public sale at the Parker Mills and Rocky River", held on the first day of August, 1878. John Brooks became the purchaser for $955. He purchased the Grist Mill and the land around it, known as the Parker Mill tract in the counties of Union and Stanly. It mentioned the north bank of the Rocky River, Joseph Hartsells corner, the Whitley Meeting House, Mineral Springs, then Hartsell's other line to a stake in the road. From the middle of the river to a ford, perhaps old Coble ford, or Ledbetters, across the river to the south bank of the Rocky River, the east edge of the road, to James M. Meggs house, to a stake on the road near the mouth of a branch, then with the bank of the river opposite the Stillwater Branch, then back to Hartsell's line containing 115 acres. Signed A. G. Morton, administrator of the estate of George W. Cagle.

Book 16 Page 1 contains another transaction of A. G. Morton acting as the Administrator of George Cagle's property.  It took place on the 11th day of January, 1878 and involved a man named J. H. Walters. For $250, was the sale of Lot Number 17 on the Plat of the Town of Big Lick, on the north corner of the Crossroads of Big Lick, Iza Hathcock's corner, R. J. Morton's line, to the side of the road leading to Daniel Reaps, an area of 67 square rods. Witnesses were Iza Hathcock and A. M. Cox. 

The sum of all these can give one an idea of George Cagle's situation in life, he bought and traded in large lots of land. Some of what he sold he had purchased, other parts he had inherited through inheritance from his father, other parts from his first wife's father and his second wife's father. He was a businessman, a sucessful one, but still one to find himself in debt. He owned land in two counties, and in a variety of locations in western Stanly County, including a place in the small town of Big Lick. Put this was only one piece of the puzzle of what made George Cagle. 

Other records would tell a different story of the character of the man who colored the Village of Big Lick. 

The Court of Pleas and Quarters of the new County of Stanly, North Carolina held several mentions of a George Cagle

August Session 1842 - State vs George Cagle - Peace Warrant, defendant surrendered and discharged. Edmund Almond to pay costs. Not issued.

November 1842 - Andrew Honeycutt to George Cagle and Thomas Long, acknowledged.

The above two, I believe were referring to the old George Cagle, George W's uncle, as his daughter, Mary, had married a Long, and in 1830, old George is listed next to Ed Almond. 

Any of the below could have been either George.

August Session 1848 -Jury duty, later chosen for Grand Jury in the same session of court.

February 1849 - Jury again in the case of Simeon Smith, and several more times he served as a juror before 1850. Not a troublesome time for George Cagle.

George In the Census Records:  There is one George in the 1830 census of Montgomery County, of which Stanly was a part, but this was not George W. as he would have been only 17, and the oldest male was in his 50's. This was 'Uncle George'.  George was probably in the home of his father Charles, which is seen as:

Name	Charles Cagle
Home in 1830 (City, County, State)	Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5	1 David
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14	1 Charles Jr.
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19	1 George W. 17
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49	1 Charles
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14	1 Susan
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19	2 Rebecca & Sina
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29	1 Sylvia
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49	1 Miranda
Free White Persons - Under 20	6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	3
Total Free White Persons	9
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored)	9

1840 - There were three George Cagles in the 1840 census, one was a man in his 60's. This would have been Charles's brother, George II. A second George was in his 30's, and had a family of 5. This George was a cousin and had migrated away before 1850. The third George was in his 20's and had a family of 7. Seen below, this fits George W. Cagle best. 

Name	Geo Cagle
Residence Date	1840
Home in 1840 (City, County, State)	West Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5	1 David S.
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29	1 George
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5	2 Sarah & Polly
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9	2 Adeline, Ithama
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29	1 Elizabeth
Persons Employed in Agriculture	1
Free White Persons - Under 20	5
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	2
Total Free White Persons	7
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves	7

1850 - There were two George Cagles in the 1850 census. One was George W. Cagle. He is shown here with his first wife, Elizabeth Rosa Whitley. Only one Child is missing, oldest daughter, Menece Adaline Cagle, who married Tillman Coley. She would have been 18.

Name	George Cagle
Gender	Male
Race	White
Residence Age	37
Birth Date	abt 1813
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Smiths, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Farmer
Industry	Agriculture
Real Estate	200
Line Number	5
Dwelling Number	714
Family Number	719
Inferred Spouse	Elizabeth Cagle
Inferred Child	Barthena Cagle

Household members

Name	Age
George Cagle	37
Elizabeth Cagle	38
Barthena Cagle	10
David S Cagle	15
Sarah Cagle	13
Mary Cagle	12
Martha Cagle	10
Elizabeth Cagle	8
Methena Cagle	7
Catharine Cagle	3
Melinda Cagle	9
Joshua Honeycutt	15

The other was old Uncle George, with his daughter, Sarah. In 1840, the household was a 60 year old man and a woman in her 20's, same family.

Name	Sarah Cagle
Gender	Female
Race	White
Residence Age	35
Birth Date	abt 1815
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Furrs, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Cannot Read, Write	Yes
Line Number	25
Dwelling Number	541
Family Number	543

Household members

Name	Age
George Cagle	73
Sarah Cagle	35

It is after this date that things begin to change is the life of George W. Cagle, and George along with it. I believe it began the day that his wife died, sometime within months after the 1850 census. Her exact date of death and place of burial is unknown. She would have been around 48 years old. George, at 47, became a hot commodity.

He began a relationship with not just one, but multiple women. He couldn't pick just one, but he married just one. He became infatuated with another, and a third after that. His older children began to marry and build their own nests. Other children were just being born. In the decade between 1850 and 1860:

• 1850 Ithama Barrthena Cagle marries William B. Hinson
• Jan. 4, 1852 George marries a second time to Nancy Jane Hinson, widow of Joseph Speight by whom she had two or three children.
• June 5, 1853, Sarah P. Cagle marries Wiley Allen Jones, who was also the father of Ellen Safely who I featured in my post, The Bad Mother.
• Jan. 10, 1854 David S. Cagle marries Sarah Michell Thomas
• Sept. 21, 1854 Anna Jane Cagle is born to George W. and Nancy Hinson Cagle.
• Jun 3, 1856 Ellison "Eli" Franklin Cagle/Huneycutt is born to Maniza Huneycutt.
• June, 1856 Mary Caroline Huneycutt is born to Maniza Huneycutt. She appears to be a twin to Eli. At this point, Maniza's children seem to be attributed to George W. Cagle. He names Eli in his Will.
• September 6, 1857, James Alfred Huneycutt is born to Maniza Huneycutt.
• 1857 Frances Laura Cagle is born to George and Nancy Hinson Cagle, their last.
• 1857 Mary Polly Cagle marries Alfred Smith, son of Richard and Susan Smith.
• April 1, 1858 Elizabeth Cagle marries John W. Huneycutt, son of George W. and Tabitha Tomlinson Huneycutt.
• July 20, 1858, Malinda Cagle marries Jacob A. Crisco II.

By the 1860 census, George only has only two daughters by his first marriage left in the home, "Mathena", who I covered in "A Rose By Any Other Name", whose name is inconclusive as she is called, Mathena, Luphrenia, Luthena, Lou, Beatie, Beedie, Phenia, Phrenia, among various other combinations and variations. I believe her name was probably Bethania Luphrenia Cagle or Beadie, for Obedience Louvenia Cagle. The other was his youngest with Elizabeth Whitley, Lucy Catherine, very simply. Lucy is sometimes confused with the daughter of Mariah Meggs, Melissa, aka "Lissy", but they were actually about 16 years apart in age, Lucy Catherine Cagle, being born in 1848 and Melissa Ann Meggs in 1865/66.

In the decade between 1860 and 1870: 

George's mother, Malinda Springer Cagle passes away September 11, 1861.

His father, Charles R. Cagle Sr. passes away April 9, 1864. 

Menece Adeline Cagle married second husband, Holden Hartsell on October 13, 1865, and was soon widowed. 

Lucy Catherine Cagle married James T. Baker on June 9, 1868. 

Elizabeth Cagle Huneycutt would pass away before the end of the decade and her husband, John W. Huneycutt would become a Civil War casualty. Her father, George would get custody of their son, William Huneycutt. 

Another unusual event of note took place on October 20, 1860. Maniza Huneycutt, George's paramour, married Gabriel Barbee. Gabriel Barbee would also become a Civil War casualty in 1864, leaving Maniza widowed, however, I believe the marriage may have ended before that happened, as she is never seen with the surname Barbee again. He may have discovered things about her he had not previously known and set her aside, divorced her or had the marriage annulled. They supposedly had a daughter named Martha, born in 1861. 

In 1866, Maniza Huneycutt had to press charges against George W. Cagle due to his lewd and lascivious behavior. The court pages are shown below.  

February Session, 1866 in the Stanly County Court of Pleas and Quarters, the jurors for the State of NC declared George Cagle. " a person of most wicked, lewd, lascivious, depraved and abandoned mind and disposition and wholly lost to all sense of decency, morality and religion." He was accused of, on September 5, 1865, displaying himself naked and with an indecent posture in front of the home of Maniza Huneycutt, in full view of a number of people, and they were appalled and shocked by his behavior. 

It appears that George had gotten drunk, was missing his mistress and started flashing the entire neighborhood. He was dealt with accordingly with fines and minimal punishment. It may have been due to the fact that Maniza was not considered a moral woman, having had children out of wedlock by this man. 

They were apparently neighbors around this time. Maniza's parents had relocated to Catawba County with their youngest son, and left several of their single, but not childless daughters, huddled together at the old homeplace with their collective children. 

In the 1870 census, George Cagle is 58. His household consists of his second wife, Nancy, their youngest daughter, Fannie, his son by Maniza Huneycutt, Eli, a border, Mariah Myers Meggs and her young daughter, and his 11-year-old grandson, William Huneycutt, son of his daughter Elizabeth, who predeceased him, and her husband, John W. Huneycutt, who died in the Civil War. His only legitimate son, David S. Cagle is listed after him. 

In the list above him are the three Huneycutt sisters, Frances, or Franky, and her children, Clara, and her one son, James H. Huneycutt, and Maniza and her children. All of the children by these three sisters were "fatherless", so to speak, although they all had fathers, of course. I believe Maniza was incorrectly transcribed as "Mariah". 

In 1868, George penned a Will. It is unknown what spurred him to do so. A sudden illness he recovered from? His recent run in with the law? Threats by irate and offended neighbors? The deaths of his parents, son-in-laws and neighbors in the War or just after returning from the War in weak and wounded conditions? Perhaps it was a combination of these things, but he felt the desire to ensure his widowed and unmarried daughters were cared for, as well as his orphaned grandson.

George's Will, dated November 30, 1868, is found below. It can be found in the Stanly County Will Book No.  2, Page 176 and 177.

"George Cagle's Will

Be it remembered that I George Cagle of the County of Stanly and the State of North Carolina Concidering myself to be of perfect sound mind and memory and not knowing the length of my earthly existence do make and declare this my last will and testament hereby revoking all former wills made by me (viz).

First I give and devise unto my daughter Menece A. Hartsell fifty acres of land off the Western end of my three hundred acre tract commencing on Dunn's line and running to southwest so as to include the above amount of lands. Also I give and devise unto Ely Huneycutt, my illegitimate son, one hundred and fifty acres of land the whereon I now live, by his maintaining my daughter Beedy M. Cagle during her natural life, in case she does not marry and if she marries, he shall be released from that obligation by his paying her one humdred dollars.

Also I give and devise unto my grandson William Huneycutt, seventy five acres of land adjoining the fifty acres given Menece A. to include The long House place, now in case the abobe Ely Huneycutt and William Huneycutt shall be disobedient to me and not serve as dutiful children till they attain the age of twenty-one years, in that case they shall have none of my property and in such case I direct that my daughter Beedy M have one hundred acres of the lands designated for Ely Huneycutt including the dwelling house and outbuildings and I direct that the remainder of the lands designated for Ely and all the land designated for William, and also all the balance of my lands not herein disposed of after running off my son David S. Cagle's fifty acres, to be divided equally between my daughters Sarah Jones, Mary Smith, Martha Cagle, Any Jane and Fany L. Cagle and Malinda Crisco.

Allso, I direct that my personal estate goods and chattels in every respect to be sold and equally divided between my daughters Sarah Jones, Mary Smith, Martha Cagle, Ann J Cagle, Fany L. Cagle, Malinda Crisco, Menece A. Hartsell and Beedy M. Cagle and my son David S. Cagle and my son Ely Huneycutt and my grandson William Huneycutt   and also my saw mill with the two acres of land for the cite and priveledges of the same adjoining J. A. Criscos line be sold and equally divided between my daughters above named.

I hereby make ordain and appoint S.C. Little my Lawful Executor of this my last Will and Testament in testament whereof I hereunto set my hands and subscribe my name this 30th day of September 1868 

                                                                        George Cagle (seal)

Attest

A J Austin

S C Little

The Will is reiterated above in the estate papers, but what struck me as unusual was that George didn't mention two of his daughters, Ithamia Barthena Cagle Hinson and Lucy Catherine Cagle Baker, or his wife, Nancy Hinson Speight Cagle.  I can't say why.

George Cagle passed away six years after the 1870 census, wherein his son Eli or Ely and grandson William Huneycutt was living with him, along with his youngest daughter, Fanny and a border, Mariah Meggs and her daughter. On February 27, 1876, the man who would flavor the Town of Big Lick with his big personality and indecent behaviour, would be no more.His demise bears a story of its own. His death was not natural and was a result of his wayward and moraless exploits. He was 63 years old and the place of his burial is unknown, but thought to be somewhere in Big Lick, or around Liberty Hill.

On April 6, 1876, six months after his death, we see that A. G. Morton, not S. C. Little, had been appointed administrator of his estate. His heirs at this time, in 1876, were listed as Nancy Cagle, the widow, Adaline Hartsell, named Menece A.Hartsell in the Will, ,Lithany Hinson, (Ithamia Barthena Cagle Hinson, not mentioned in the will, D.S. Cagle, his son David S.Cagle, mentioned in will, Sarah Jones, Mary Smith, mentioned in Will, Elizabeth Baker, his daughter Elizabeth who married John W. Huneycutt and was the mother of William Huneycutt, who is mentioned in the Will. She would later marry a Baker in Cabarrus County as Elizabeth Huneycutt, Malinda Crisco, named in the Will, married Jacob Crisco, B. D. Cagle, can only be Beedie Methena Luphrenia Cagle, unmarried daughter mentioned in the Will. Where did the "D" come from? Catherine Baker, Lucy Catherine, youngest daughter by first wife, Elizabeth Rosa Whitley, Amy J Hartsell, actually Annie Jane Cagle, first daughter by second wife, Nancy Hinson Speight, who married Joseph Hartsell, a son of Holden Hartsell who had married George's oldest daughter, Adaline, so two sisters, one who married the father and another who married the son. Fanny Larceny Cagle, youngest daughter by second wife, unmarried.

Georg'es estate took many years to completely settle. There were lawsuits concerning the mishandling of monies and heirs that were left out of the will and heirs that were mentioned in the Will. A Green Morton would be appointed Administrator instead of S C Little, who George had chosen. The estate file is it's own story, as is the complete story of George's demise. Who were actually the heirs of George Cagle?

Gentleman Jim

 

James M. Davis

Sometimes during a northbound trajectory, it doesn't hurt to double-back, especially if the trip has been long. In my decades long family search, people preceded me, but people have also came after. There are relatives who find the path that I have already tread, and they may have came in from a different angle, and brought with them different knowledge. Some have been very precipitous, but others have been far more diligent and meticulous than I have. Together, and in time, I hope mysteries can be brought to light.

So this happened yesterday. I revisited some of my earliest research, the Davis family, to look at matches. I'm still seeking more straight-line male Davis descendants to add to the Y-DNA database, so I look for Davis descendants who are already researching their family lines. I've learned to not ignore the ladies, although searching for a Y-DNA contributor. One might find someone willing to approach their 80 year old father-in-law or DNA test their 9 year old son. I made a major discovery, treasure chest wise, if not document or information wise. One of my distant Davis cousins had in their possession a picture of James M. Davis, the second son of Job and Sarah Davis. And there he is right up there. The westward cousins are a real gems, because they took tokens of their past with them, knowing they would not see their family often, if at all. 

They're also quite adament that his middle name was Marshall, however, in all the documents I find, I only see him as either, "Jim", which is what his father and brothers called him, James M. or even "J. M. Davis".

Although I have posted several times concerning various times in his life and about several, but not all of his children, even about the family of his wife, Rowena, I've never really taken a constrictive look at his nuclear family. So lets break it down. 

Census Records

Jim was born in 1808, so his first appearance would be noted by age in his father's 1810 Montgomery County record. They lived in West Pee Dee, now Stanly. 

Name	Job Davis
Residence Date	6 Aug 1810
Residence Place	Capt Cage, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10	2 Henry, 4 and James, 2.
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15	2 John W and Jordan 14 & 12
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25	1 Peter 16
Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44	1 Job 37
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10	1 Charlotte, 9
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44	1 Sarah 37
Number of Enslaved Persons	6
Number of Household Members Under 16	5
Number of Household Members Over 25	2
Number of Household Members	14

Job Davis had married a widow, Sarah Elizabeth Winfield Howell. She had 4 children by her first husband, Richard Howell. The four were Peter, Jordan, JohnW. and Charlotte Howell and were born between 1794 and 1800. Henry Davis, Job and Sarah's oldest together, was born in 1806, and James came along two years later. 

Name	James Davis
Home in 1830 (City, County, State)	Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29	1 James 22
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5	1 Elizabeth Jane 11 months old
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19	1 Rowena 17
Slaves - Males - Under 10	1
Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23	2
Slaves - Females - Under 10	1
Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35	1
Free White Persons - Under 20	2
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	1
Total Free White Persons	3
Total Slaves	5
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored)	8

The 1820 Census for Montgomery County was lost or destroyed, so the next census, 1830 is a 20 year jump. By this time, James has started his own family and own enterprise. He has married Rowena Lee, daughter or John Lee and wife, Elizabeth Coppedge Lee and their first child, Elizabeth Jane Davis is an infant. Rowena was a teenager still, as was not uncommon. James also had five enslaved people in his household, that appears to also have been a young family.

Name	James Davis
Residence Date	1840
Home in 1840 (City, County, State)	West Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5	3  John lee 8, Job Pinkney 5, William E 3
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9	1 Edmund Milton 10 *
Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39	1 James 32
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5	1 Winnifred Catherine 1
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9	1 Charlotte W.    9
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14	1 Elizabeth Jane 11
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29	1 Rowena 27
Slaves - Males - Under 10	2
Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23	2
Slaves - Males - 55 thru 99	1
Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35	1
Persons Employed in Agriculture	4
Free White Persons - Under 20	7
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	2
Total Free White Persons	9
Total Slaves	6
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves	15

By 1840, James and family have been productive in more ways than one. During this time, James has been buying property and receiving grants in both Stanly and Anson Counties. He and Rowena are now the parents of seven children, that is not up for debate. Family records of direct descendants, as I am a niece descendant, record the name of the oldest son as Edmund or Edward Milton Davis. That would make sense as Sarah's grandfather was Edward Winfield and she had a nephew named Milton. I'm not sure where in the family dynamic that name came from. By the time that the children start showing up in records in Stanly County, this son is not there. It is proposed that he struck out as a young man to Illinois and died there in 1901.

By 1850, Montgomery County has been  split in two, divided by the Pee Dee River and the Davis family shows up in Stanly County, what was the western side of Montgomery. They had not moved. The names of all freeborn members of a household are now shown, and the James M Davis family has grown by six, taking the count to twelve. George W., David D., James W., Mary Arranah, Sarah Elizabeth and Louisa Irena have joined the family.

In the above list, one can see the Davis family all living close to each other, with the exception of the oldest son, Henry Davis, who had moved closer to the future county seat, on Cloverfork Creek. At the top of the page is 70 year old James Crump, with Stephen Crump Jr. 27 and his young bride, Jane Crump 20, and their little daughter. 6 month old Charlotte. This was James M. Davis's oldest daughter, Elizabeth Jane, and his first grandchild. If you wonder about all the "Charlottes" in the family, it was because James M. Davis's mother, Sarah, was the daughter of Charlotte Freeman Winfield, who had several Granddaughters and Great Granddaughters named for her. 

They are followed by Daniel Crump and his family, then by Josiah G. Floyd, and his wife, a descendant of Josiah and Mary Tillman Floyd whom Job had arrived from Virginia with. After the Floyds is Merritt F. Davis, the youngest Davis son, then James' household with his multitude of children, an miller named Abram Kimmer, then Job, Sarah and third son, Edward Winfield Davis, listed as a Merchant. The page is finished out by the James Ludlow Carpenter household, who is also an ancestor of mine. 

James will appear in three more census records, 1860, 1870 and 1880. In this one, he appears in the Manufacting Schedule as a Miller and Sawyer. 

He also appears in the slave schedule with 7 slaves, a 40 year old woman and 14 year old girl, and three men, 60, 35, 22, and three boys, 18, 16 and 13, again, possibly a family, names unknown. 

The 1850's is when James experienced his greatest growth in his estate. How he must have needed it to feed his large, growing family. James had land grants issued in three counties. 

His first was in 1835 in Montgomery, when he was granted 100 acres on the Rocky River adjoining Job. This was in what is now Stanly but before the separation of the two counties.

The second, in 1844, was in Stanly County, 100 acres on Rocky River adjoining William Nash, Tye and Ludwell Carpenter.

The third was in Anson County, for 68 acres on the Rocky River and Richardsons Creek, adjoing the lands of the estate of John Lee, his father-in-law.

The fourth was in 1884 for 45 acres on the Rocky River and Meeting House Branch.

The fifth was about the same time for 50 acres on Coopers Creek adjoingin his own lands, W. F. Crump and his brother, M F Davis.

In the 1850's, however, he had picked up inheritances when his father, Job Davis, passed away in 1852, and again when his mother passed in 1856. He also inherited property from his father-in-law, John Lee, in lieu of his wife Rowena in 1853. Having gained property, he made several strategic purchases among neighbors both of land and livestock and other purchases, including business ventures. Jim helped his brothers operate a gold mine, and he had a Mill on Richardsons "Creek. Jim's Mill would become known as Efirds Mill and is partially still standing today. 

Exploring the site of James M Davis's old home on Richardsons Creek near the Mill.

Gentlemen Jim was a man of the plantation, and not into politics the way his brothers Henry and E. W. were. Still, his name appears quite frequently in the Stanly County court records. He posted a bond in 1842, along with Job, Henry, Eben Hearne, Joshua Hearne and Parham Smith, for his brother Edward Winfield Davis's Sheriff's Bond, when E. W. was elected Sheriff. He served on many juries and committees, and did his Civic Duty. He served on the Board of Superintendants of the Common Schools.

With James Floyd and Alexander Crump, he served as a Manager for District 8 for the Congressional Election. He recieved some property from his father in 1847. He served again as an Election Manager for his District in 1848 for the Govenors Election and the General Assembly.

Sadly, he had to stand with his brothers and give bond in 1849, when Edward W. Davis, Exparte, filed a petition to declare oldest brother Henry, a lunatic. Heny's alcholism had gotten so bad, his behavior had become eratic, and his business decisions unwise. Although he is shown in census records as the head of his household, his family took over his financial dealings in order to protect his wife and children. 

"Henry Davis found to be incapable from mutual infirmity to transact ordinary business of life. Ordered that a writ issue to sheriff to summon a jury to inquire into the state of Henry Davis's mind and sheriff to report to court". E. W. Davis, James M. Davis, Marriott F. Davis and Benjamin Ivy entered into a bond of $2000. 

James served on a few more election committees, and gave bond to family endeavors, but he never ran for office, like Henry, who served as a Magistrate, Justice of the Peace, Ranger and ran for State Senate, or Edward, who served as Sheriff and was a very involved Whig.

Rehobeth Church today

Jim was, however, a very religiously devout man. Two deeds dated 1852 and 1854 show that Benjamin Murray, another Uncle from a different family branch, sold to James M. Davis, John Poplin, William Hendley, William R. Randles, and Caleb Aldridge, as Trustees of Rehobeth Episcopal Church South, a tract of land containing by estimation, nine acres in one deed and six and 3/4 acres in the other in order to establish Rehobeth Church. James is also recorded in church records as being one of the owners of a cabin or wooden "tent" of about 4 rooms that were built in a circle around an arbor, orginally made of brush, that would serve as temporary shelter during the camp meetings, held outside, usually during times of the least activity for the farmers, when visiting ministers would come to stir the crowd with energetic sermons and songs and worship services. 

A camp meeting photo among my grandmother's collectio. She grew up near Cottonville and was born in 1898, so it was probably in the same area, although I don't know where this one was held. Circa 1930 perhaps.

1860

By 1860, Jim has become very established and is still living in Stanly County, although among very different neighbors. 

Name	James M Davis
Age	52
Birth Year	abt 1808
Gender	Male
Race	White
Birth Place	North Carolina
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	1153
Family Number	1169
Occupation	Farmer
Real Estate Value	3250
Personal Estate Value	17000
Inferred Spouse	Rowena Davis
Inferred Child	William E Davis; George Davis; David Davis; Wesley Davis; Arranna Davis; Louisa J Davis

Household members

Name	Age
James M Davis	52
Rowena Davis	47
William E Davis	23
George Davis	20
David Davis	18
Wesley Davis	16
Arranna Davis	14
Louisa J Davis	9

He's in his early 50's, Rowena, her later 40's and they still have six children at home. The older daughters have all married and married well. Some of the sons had struck out on their own. There had been losses, and would be more to come. James and Rowena, as was typical, but tragic for the time, would outlive several of their children. The name of the Post Office indicates James had moved the family away from the Davis Plantaion, where most of his land holding till lay, and closer to Albemarle. His real estate value was $3250 and his personal estate $17,000. That's about $775,000 today. He owned 17 slaves, as reported in the 1860 schedule. This schedule, broken down in sections puts James in the neighborhood of William P Palmer, Geroge W. Crowell, Daniel Freeman,  Richmond Pickler and Eben Hearne. I wonder if he was not living on Henry's Cloverfork Creek property. His brothers, E. W .and M. F and Henry's oldest son, Benjamin F. Davis, were all living still close together, with the expected neighbors, Floyd, Carpenter and such, on the old Davis Plantation. Henry, even though his mental and behavioural issues due to alchoholism had already been well recorded, seems to have been located in the northern part of the county, at this time. He was not destitute, his property values were $2000 in real estate and $1000 in personal

In the agricultural scheudule, Jim was said to own 200 improved acres and 400 unimproved. That meant that 200 acres were tilled, worked or lived upon while 400 acres were wooded and wild. In the manufacturing schedule, he and his brother Edward were down as mechants, as well as millers, turning wheat and corn into meal and flour. 

The War came and there were losses. James lost a son, I believe and a brother. Legend has it that  Henry was found on the Island in the Rocky River, that at the time, belonged to James. Fact is that James buried Henry in the family cemetery in Anson County of his father-in-law, John Lee. Why Henry was not buried in the Davis family cemetery, where his parent were buried ten and six years earlier, is unknown and can only be guessed upon. 

James returned from close to Albemarle, in 1860, back to the Davis plantation area and rejoined his surviving brothers, E. W. and M. F. Living among them were former slaves, to whom they had awarded the heads of those households their own small plats of land to work and others, still worked as household help or sharecroppers. They even had their own church built upon the property. Descendants of those people still live in this county until this time. 

James is seen as a 60 year old farmer, Rowena 55 is keeping house in the 1870 census. Four adult children are still at home. David, at 27, is in school. The name of the school is not given, and may be the reason for the move. His age in mind, it seems more likely that it is a college or training school, perhaps the Bilesville Academy, or something akin to it. Wesley, 25, is just 'at home', as is Mary Arranna, 22, and Louisa, 19. Two boarders,  live with them, Louis Gaines, 17, is a farm hand and Delaney Hinson's role is unknown, she is just seen as 'at home'. She had an interesting and mysterious life as rogue women often do, however.

A decade later, James and Rowena are seen in their last census, 1880. They have now moved across the Rocky River to Anson County, probably to the mill site on Richardson's Creek, or to John Lee's old place. Jim is now 72 and Rowena, 67. Only the youngest two daughters remain. They will soon be married. All were born in North Carolina, but parents birthplaces are given in this census, and James parents were born in Virginia, which we know, and for Rowena, her father, John Lee, was born in North Carolina, while his wife, Elizabeth Coppedge, was born in Viriginia. Two young farm hands are living with them and helping them out. Henry Howard is 18, white, and a tenant while Louis Harris is 16, black and listed as a servant.

This last census reveals the family in Burnsville, Township, Anson County.

Neighbors, like freedmen Johnson Davis, before Jim's household listing and Elisha Davis, after, were probably former slaves. Eliza Turner, the last surving daughter of George Turner, is a near neighbor and knowing where both John Lee and George Turner lived, it makes sense that James is know living on the old Lee place that Rowena inherited. Richard Poplin is also a Stanly County resident who had moved south across the river. 

According to Jim's estate papers, he died in December of 1883 at the age of 75. The executor of his estate was his son-in-law, Valentine Mauney, and was probated in Stanly County, despite his last known location as Anson. In 1889, it shows his estate still holding 631 acres in Anson County. Jim did not leave a Will, which is odd, for a man of his age not to do, especially when holding as much property as he did, with as many heirs. James had outlived several of his children. Valentine Mauney listed the surviving heirs as Rowena Davis, widow, daughters C. W. Shankle, Aranna Perry and Lou Blaylock and sons, W. E., G. W., D. D. and J. W. Davis. 

A Division of Property is found in the Stanly County Registry of Deeds, Book 14, Page 175. Jim's property was divided into 9 lots. Although only 7 of his children survived him, two of those that predeceased him left heirs. 

December 18, 1885

Lot 1 that started at the mouth of the Throughfare, followed the Rocky River to the mouth of the 1st hollow and followed a road to Coopers Creek, contained 108 acres alotted to Charlotte Davis Shankle.

Lot 2 began at the mouth of the Upper Hollow and went down river to the old field, down the road to 20 steps from the Shop, from there to the creek, and followed the old line to the center of the road, contained 76 acres alotted to George W. Davis.

Lot 3 ran from the above lot to the bank of the Rocky River, to 20 steps from the Shop and was alotted to M. R. H. Perry and wife 'Arena'. 

Lot 4 was 85 acres alotted ot Valentine Mauney and wife, W. C. 

Lot 5 ran down the Rocky River opposite the Island, to the mouth of Scalybark Branch and was 66 acres, "including the Island" and was alotted to James Varker and wife, Sophronia and L. A. Heilig and wife. These two being granddaughters and their husbands, their mother, Jim's daughter, being deceased. 

Lot 6 began on the bank of the Throughfare, followed the Throughfare to the river, down river to the Meeting House Branch, ending at a Pear Tree and contained 70 acres alotted to W. E. Davis.

Lot 7 began at Meeting House Branch, ran along W. F. Crumps line, and was alotted to D. D. Davis.

The next lots were noted to be located in Anson County. 

Lot 8 was located on Richardson Creek' just below the ford'. It contained 143 acres bordering the Rocky River and excepted 8 acres belonging to the Davis Mill tract and alotted to James Wesley Davis.

Lot 9 began at J. H. Perry's corner on Richardson Creek below the ford and contained 137 acres alotted to Charles Blalock and his wife Lou. 

Rowena Lee Davis, widow, recieved the standard alottment of  land and property following her husbands death as Dower.  She would outlive him for a few years, passing away at age 74. Rowena would die in Anson County and her son, James Wesley Davis, a single man who probably lived with her, was the executor of her estate, apparently Valentine Mauney was appointed first, but J. W. took over. 

Having taken a hint from her husbands death, Rowena had written a will on April 28, 1884. It was filed in Anson County. She would live three more years after. Her Will was simple and direct. She requested a proper burial and her debts to be paid, after the usual statements about soundness of mind and weakness of body. She then devised One dollar each to her children Charlotte Shankle, 'J Monia', meaning Jane Mauney, Catherine "Monia" aka Mauney, Arannah Perry, George Davis, William E. Davis, David D. Davis, J Wesley Davis and 'youngest' Lew I Blaylock. 

"I give and bequeath all the rese and residue of my estate real personal & mined which I shall or may be seized of and present of or heir to at my death to be equally divided with my youngest son J. Wesley and my youngest daughter Lew I Blalock." J. Wesley and Lew were to see that their brother David D. Davis did not suffer. He may have came down with an ailment or handicap. Life was hard. She then nominated her son-in-law, Valentine Mauney and son James Wesley Davis, to be the executors of her estate. J. M. Broadway and W. L Kendall were witnesses. 

Wesley became the executor and within the Probate papers, her exact date of death was given as February  27, 1887. The papers also stated, " the other one Valentine Mauney has not decided to qualify as one of her executors. " 

Among her property was 200 acres in Burnsville Township in Anson County bordering Wilson P. Turner, M. F. Edwards, Thomas Birmingham, and others, one cow and yearling, household and kitchen furniture and other personal items worth about $500. Rowena's estate file is 22 pages and typically repetitive. Her list of heirs were:

• Charlotte Shankle of Anson County
• The heirs of Jane Mauney of Rowan County
• Catherine Mauney of Stanly County
• Arranah Perry of Anson County
• George Davis who lives in Texas
• W. E. Davis of Anson County
• David D. Davis of Stanly County
• J Wesley Davis of Anson County
• Lew J Blaylock of Anson County

The Rowena Lee Davis estate was probated on March 7th, 1887. Beside her land, she owned a buggy, a few cows, blacksmith tools, typical farm implements and a great deal of furniture, including 4 tables and 12 chairs, a bookcase and lots of books, indicating the house was of a good size. 

James M. Davis and wife, Rowena lived a typical and successful life that streached most of the middle years of the 19th century. They were enterprising, pious and resourceful and raised a large family of the same. The family bible was passed from Rowena into the hands of the Belk family of Mecklenburg County,  whom one of her granddaughters married into. They started a string of string of stores still thriving throughout the southeast today. 

Below is as complete a list of their heirs of Jim and Rowena,  to the grandchildren, as I can determine.

A) Elizabeth Jane Davis  Born July 12, 1829, Also seen as "Eliza Jane" or just "Jane".  Married 1st: Stephen Crump Jr. or Stephen James Crump, son of James Crump and member of a large cotton farming family of Cottonville, Stanly County. One child, Charlotte Sophronia Crump, born in 1850. Stephen Crump passed away in 1858. Sophronia Crump married James Barker. 

Jane married second, Ephraim Mauney (1812-1899), on September 16, 1858, a widower with children. They would have one child together, Tallulah Lee Mauney Heilig. She is the "Lula Heilig" in her grandmother's estate records. The family moved to Gold Hill, NC where Ephriam was a merchant and industrialist. Jane died and is buried in Gold Hill, Rowan County on January 1, 1880. Elizabeth Jane Davis Crump Mauney died when a physician accidentally gave her an overdose of morphine.

B) Edward Milton Davis born about 1830. I don't doubt that he existed, as a son of this birth order is shown in the 1840 census and his name is written in the Family Bible. He supposedly migrated to Illinois before the 1850 census. Others have him connected to a doctor that died there in 1901, but there is no mention of him or his heirs in the estate records of Jim or Rowena. He was born, but when or where he really died keeps Milton a mystery.

C) Charlotte W. Davis born February 9, 1831 She married Dr. Abraham Joseph Shankle on May 6, 1851 at the age of 20. He was a member of the Forks area Shankles, the fertile pennisula between the Pee Dee and Rocky River forks. They had three children: 

1)Josephine J. Shankle (1852-1925) 

2) Cains M. Shankle (1855-1930) Married Mary Kathleen Swaringen 7 children: Caroline "Carrie", Grover, Charles, Charlotte "Lottie", Josephine "Josie", Paul and Robert. Settled in Ellis County, Texas.

3) Talola Lee Shankle (1860-1942) Married Charles Augustus Maynor or Maner. 4 children: Tyler Bennett, June Postell, Fannie Andrews Maynor Smith, Valentine B. Maynor.

D) John Lee Davis was born about 1832. By 1860, he was running his own farm in Burnsville District, Anson County. He was listed next to George Turner, and it seems like he was on the old John Lee property on Richardson Creek. He enlisted in the Confederate Army in July of 1862 and mustered with Co. K 44th Infantry in Anson County, NC. He was often sick, wounded and captured as a POW. He is last recorded as alive in 1864, but as he never returned, it is assumed he died that year, possibly at Elmira, his last known location.

E) Job Pinkney Davis was born about 1835. His death was reported in the January 12, 1855 issue of The North Carolinan, as having died in December of 1854 at age 20. Reason unknown.

F) William Edward Davis was born in 1837. He married at 23,  in late 1860 to Eliza Ann Kendall Crump, daughter of John Spillman Kendall and Winifred Harrison Turner, and the third wife and  widow of  Stephen Crump, Sr. (1788-1857). This Stephen was the uncle of Stephen Crump Jr. that W. E. Davis's sister Eliza Jane had married. In 1857, Crump Sr.'s real estate was the second highest value in Stanly County. He had 15 heirs and 45 slaves when his property was divided. He had served in The War of 1812 and was locally, "The King of Cotton". When Eliza married him in 1848, she was 18 and Crump was 59, older than her own father. William Edward Davis married a wealthy young widow.

Eliza brought 5 children with her when she married W. E. Davis. He helped raise them. They were 1850: Lucy Ann Crump, 1852: Winifred Florence "Wincy" Crump, 1854: Robert Alfred "Bob" Crump, 1856 Walter Stephen Crump and 1858: Charlotte Helen Crump, who was born posthumously on April 15th of that year.

W. E. Davis and Eliza Kendall Crump Davis would have three daughters. Some show a son, Lee Davis, as well. The 9 year old child in the 1870 census, Lee, is marked as a male, however, Lila, who would have been 9 that year, is missing. I believe it was a mistake on the part of the census taker the the child "Lee" was actually Lila.

1) Lila Pauline Davis Smith (1861-1934)

2) Harriet "Hettie" or "Hattie" Davis (1863-1895)

3) Annie L Davis (1867-1884) 

William Edward Davis died in 1891. His family are buried at the Concord United Methodist Church Cemetary in Anson County, NC, on part of the old Winfield Plantation, with the exception of Lila, the only child to have her own family.

G) Winnifred Catherine "Winny" Davis was born July 12, 1839. She married at age 20 to Valentine Mauney, 43, a brother of her sister Jane's husband, Ephraim Mauney, as his second wife. Hon. Valentine Mauney was a buisnessman, farmer, industrialist, merchant and politician. He served in the State Legistlature and owned a mining operation in Gold Hill with his brother, Ephraim. Although the family settled in Harris Township in Stanly County, records of Valentines business ventures can also be found in Rowan, Cabarrus, Davidson, Mecklenburg, Anson, Union,  Richmond and Lincoln Counties, where he was born. He had two children before his marriage to Winny Davis; John and  Virginia. Valentine and Winnifred Catherine Davis Mauney had five children together that they raised in the New London, Stanly County vicinity.

1) Mary Cora Mauney (1861-1939) Married 1st Madison Badget. Married 2nd Curtis W. Stokes of the Newsome Community, Davidson County, NC "Stokes Ferry Stokes". 

2) James Monroe Mauney (1866-1942) Married Nolie F. Burt.

3) Minnie Lee Mauney (1867-1958) Married James Lee Crowell.

4) Charles Julius Mauney (1871-1927) Married Marjorie Burns Atkins.

5) David Valentine Mauney (1872-1954) Married Delia Caudle.

Winnifred Catherine, "W.C." or "Winny" Davis Mauney died on August 4, 1906 of Dropsy, at the age of 67. She is buried in the New London, NC town cemetery.

H) George Washington Davis was born about 1841. George helped work for his father until the Civil War, when, at the age of 20, he enlisted as a Private with Co. D. 28th Infantry. He later transferred to Unit K. In 1864, he was imprisoned at Spotsylvania Courthouse, but made it home alive. After the War, George would go West, and ended up in the Red River Valley of Texas, where, on October 5, 1867, he would marry Mary Ellen Puett. Her family had Burke County, NC roots. They would afterwards settle in Ellis County, Texas where they would raise their 6 children;

1) James Puett Davis (1868-1927) His documents state he was born in North Carolina on June 12, 1868, depite his parents marrying in Red River, Texas. Married Emmma A. Felton. No children.

2) John Wesley (JW) Davis (1870-1943) Married Hattie Alzada Southern. 5 children.

3) George Davis II (born 1873- died young)

4) Anna Rowena Davis (1876-1938) Married Edward E. Lane. 3 children

5) Joseph Alexander Davis (1879-1935) Married Delilah Sutphen. No children.

6) Charles Washington Davis (1884-1946) Married Isla Mildred Griffith. 4 daughters.

George Washington Davis died on May 10, 1910 in the town of Toyah, Reeves County, Texas. He is buried at the Toyah Old Cemetery.

I) David Daniel Davis was born on November 14, 1842. He worked for his father until the War. Like his brother, George, David enlisted on July 29, 1961 in Company D, 28th Infantry and later changed to Company K. He was wounded at Gettysburg, PA and was imprisoned there.He was exchanged in a prisoner swap a year later and made it home alive. He remained single and in the family home for some time after. Finally, on May 10, 1880, David, 36, married 18 year old Ann Elizabeth (Ann Eliza) Thompson, daughter of George and Mary Ann Morton Thompson of Norwood, NC. There were three children born to this marriage.

1) Carrie Davis (1883-1915) Married William Thomas Mauldin, Jr. Carrie died in childbirth with her 3rd child at age 30.

2) Mattie Irene Davis (1886-1968) Married Merritt Filmore Mabry, 5 children.

3) Edward David Davis (1888 - 1971) Married 1st Nettie Mae Jordan of Iredell County, Married 2nd Biddie Cordelia Seagle Kessler. Five children by 1st wife.

David D. Davis died on November 20, 1887. He never met his son, who was born posthumously. His widow, Annie Thompson Davis remarried on March 7, 1888 to John Riley Eddins, by whom she had 6 more children. Some of the Davis children are at times shown as Eddins or Eddings.

David Daniel Davis was buried at Cedar Grove UMC Church near Norwood, NC.

J) James Wesley Davis was born about 1845. I have blogged about Wesley before. He never married and took over the running of his fathers Mill on Richardson Creek upon his death. Wesley also enlisted in the Civil War in Company D, 28th Infantry. He was imprisoned after being injured at Gettysburg. Some of his military records have been merged with a man with the same initials as Wesley made it back home alive.He would sell the Mill and move to Wadesboro, living for awhile with his nephew, David Valentine Mauney.

Wesley died on May 14, 1921. He is buried in the Mauney plot at the New London Town Cemetery with his sister, W. C. Davis Mauney.

K) Mary Arranah Davis was born November 12, 1846. She married on February 3, 1881 to the Rev. Marion Robinson Perry. As was opposite of the usual, Arranah was 30 and M. R. W. Perry was 22. The couple first settled in Burnsville, in Anson County, then moved to Monroe, in Union County, before finally settlling in Marshville. There were two children.

1) Minnie Josephine Perry (1881-1967) Married John Thomas Belk. The family settled in Charlotte, NC. 6 children.

2) James Heyward Perry ( 1885-1931) Married Alma James of Marshville. Settled in Charlotte,NC, returned to Marshville. One child.

Mary Arranah Davis passed away on August 22, 1923. She is buried at the  Marshville City Cemetery.  Rev. Perry outlived her and moved to Tampa, Florida.

L) Sarah Elizabeth Davis was born about 1846.  She died as a child in about 1860.

M) Louisa Irena (Arena) "Lew" Davis, the youngest of the Jim and Rowena Davis children, was born about 1849. She married on December 19, 1880, to Charles James Blalock, son of Mastin Crawford Blalock and Sarah McSwain Thompson, as his second wife. Louisa is shown living with him in Burnsville in 1900, her brother, Wesley, with them. He remarried on July 19, 1903 to Mary Edwards. This gives Lew a year of death between 1900 and 1903. Her place of burial is unknown, but perhaps the John Lee cemetery near where she lived. There were no children born in any of Charles Blalocks marriages. 

The final resting place of Gentleman Jim Davis and wife Rowena are unknown. It's thought to be the old John Lee Cemetery, where his brother, Henry is buried, but their markers not surviving or illegible. His family made an impact on the area in several counties. 

The Homeland

Oxford defines homeland as, "a person's or people's native land". 

The Davis family was the first branch of my family tree I began researching. The Aldridge's were the second. I was 14 or 15 years old. I'm 65 today. It's been a long time. 

Both families settled in the southern part of Stanly County, along the Rocky River, in an area known as Tyson Township. What became the Davis and Aldridge lands was South of the little town of Aquadale and North of the Cottonville area and a little west of them both. Today we would call it UCLA, upper Cottonville and lower Aquadale. 

I consider this area my Homeland, as I descend from several families from this area, not just these two. 

I'm simply going to attempt to define the area my Davis ancestors lived in, using grants and deeds, to paint a caliginous portrait, at best, of the places they called home.

Job Davis arrived along the Rocky River, sometime around 1794 or so. He was about 19 and traveled with the family of Josiah and Mary Tillman Floyd. There were others in the party, Tillmans, undoubtedly, Ledbetter's possibly. More families from their particular area of Southside Virginia had arrived a decade or few before them, Marshalls, Allen's, Winfield's, Robertsons, Howells, Stokes, Atkins, Epps and others. 

The Floyd's had lived up on Taylor's Creek, that straddled Mecklenburg and Brunswick Counties. Job Davis had been born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia on April 10, 1773. He probably lived near Taylor's Creek, as well, as he would later testify that he had lived within two miles of them his entire life. There's a great possibility that Mary was his first cousin, as her mother, Rebecca Ann Davis, was the oldest daughter of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott Davis. Her stepfather, James Taylor, was one of guardians of Henry's children who were underage up on his death in 1768. The other guardian, Joshua Winfield, was the brother of Peter Winfield, who had settled in Anson County, on the Southside of the Rocky River, a decade before. Peter would become the father-in-law of Job Davis. Both the Floyd's and the Davises would name a son Henry, and another Marriott. 

Josiah Floyd was among the diluvial pack of Revolutionary War veterans who had emptied out of Virginia in the years following the War. They had arrived with a capacity to push out the western boundary of North Carolina and settled in the rolling hills and among the multifarious rivers and creeks. 

He claimed a land grant for 150 acres in Montgomery County, NC, of which Stanly was a part of at the time, on August 20, 1802, Land Patent Book 115, Page 229, Montgomery County grant # 1868. It was on the SW side of the PeeDee River, which was Stanly, began at John Stokers corner and ran with Porters field line to a stake in Job Davis's line, and met with a 100-acre tract already in Floyd's possession. 

So, Job already had property at that time. 

His first was 50 acres on the west side of Cooper's Creek, entered in 1798. Cooper's Creek runs through property today that belongs to descendants of Job Davis, passed down through the generations. It was recorded in Book 111, Page 297, Montgomery County grant # 1818. 

A small, second grant of only two acres, was entered on August 16, 1800, Book 110, Page 411, Grant 1909. It was also on the west side of Cooper's Creek and began at John Richardsons corner and met with Brooks property.

Job Davis was not married at this time. Sarah Winfield, who was also born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia in 1775, only two months younger than Job, had married Richard Howell as a teenager and they had four children between 1794 and 1800. When Sarahs father, Peter Winfield, died in 1802, Richard was still alive. He soon passed away as well, still in 1802, according to his own Will.  Job and Sarah would be married in Marlboro County, South Carolina, in 1805, by her cousin Joel Winfield.

Jobs oldest sons, Henry and James, would also receive grants in Montgomery County, before it became Stanly.

Henry's land collection began with 50 acres, and was entered on July 4, 1837, and adjoined the property of Alexander Crump, 'formerly Daniel Easley's line ", and Josiah Floyds property, ' near a high land Pond's. It met Stokes McIntyres property, Nancy Throgmorton's 50 acres and Joel Greens line.

James M Davis, second son of Job and Sarah Winfield Davis, was born in 1808, two years after his brother, Henry. He first applied for a grant on March 3, 1835. His 100 acres grant was registered in Montgomery County Land Patent Book 142, page 155 as Montgomery County Grant # 3015. It was located "on the drains of Rocky River. It began at a Post Oak on the corner of Job Davis's 50 acre entry to a stake in Nash's line, then to a stake in Carpenters Spencer tract, then back to the beginning. 

Having read other deeds involving the Davis family, I knew that Nash had to refer to William Nash and Carpenter to neighbor, James Ludwell Carpenter, my 4th Great Grandfather. 

By this time, Job Davis had increased his holdings in both Montgomery, Anson and even the distant Cumberland County. In Anson, he had acquired property by virtue of his marriage to Sarah Winfield Howell. Two years prior to their marriage, Sarah had inherited property after the death of her father, Peter Winfield, as assigned to her husband, Richard Howell. Richard would die later that same year, and his property was then assigned to his young widow and minor children. 

Peter Winfield had first purchased property of Jesse and Susannah Spencer in 1785, on the Rocky River that had been John Spencer's patent from 1775 and met the property of Andrew (Andreas) Preslar, my 7th Great Grandfather, and also an ancestor of Elvis Presley. This tract was 280 acres. There will be mentions of the Spencer tract in future transactions within the family, on both sides of the river. In 1787, he would purchase property adjoining that tract from High Ross Sr. This land also met John Spencer's and Preslar's. This property had been granted to Ross, a Taylor, in 1775 by 'his Majesty' and was 200 acres. Witnesses were John Lilly, Richard Randle, and Donald Ross. The first deed had been witnessed by James Marshall, Benjamin Spencer, and Peter's son, Edward Winfield. It gives a little hint as to who was in the neighborhood. James Marshall had a close relationship to the family and may have made the trek from Virginia with Peter and company. 

Peter would receive two grants, both on the Rocky River, and both in 1790. One was for 200 acres, and met the property of Ross and Preslar, which generation, I can't be sure. The second was 100 acres, along the Rocky River, and began at Spencer and Ross's corner, but met the lands of Griffith Hogan, Joseph Waters, and Taylor's line.

In 1792, Peter would also purchase two tracts from James Mcinvale. The first tract began at Ross and Spencer's corner and met the property of Griffin Hogan, Joseph Walters, and again, Taylors line, of 100 acres. Witnesses were Richard Howell and Griffin Nash, both sons-in-law, Richard married to Sarah and Griffin to Jemima. 

The second Mcinvale tract began at the first at Spencer and Ross's corner and down Presley's line but met Cabin Branch and was 75 acres on the Rocky River. Peter's only son, Edward, would receive his own grants, then inheritances from Robert Lee and Argent Lee, by virtue of his marriage to their daughter, Susannah. Then, like his three sisters, he received shares of Peter's property, and then, his mother Charlotte Freeman Winfield's when she died. He expanded on that and had considerable holdings in both Anson and Montgomery (now Stanly).  The Winfield Road would be built from the vicinity of Albemarle, through Edwards estate, past Rehoboth Church, across the river at Winfield Ford and to Brown Creek in Anson. Portions still remain, especially in Anson. Winfield Ford became Davis Ford.

To understand where the Anson holdings were, the above is from an historic map of Anson County, with an empty, Texas-looking Stanly County to the north. On this one, Gaddy's Ferry is marked, within the upper bend, and shows the Gaddy's living in Anson, below the Ferry. To the west, the Efird Mill is marked, the mill that had once been ran by James M. Davis. The location is a little off, as the Mill was on Richardson Creek, near its conjunction with the Rocky River, but not on the Rocky River. The homestead of George Turner is marked, near the Efird homeplace, misspelled "Efford".  West of Efird's Mill, the old Davis Ford is marked. J. W. Davis who lived in Anson, just above the Ford would be Wesley Davis, a son of James M. Davis. The land above Davis Ford and to the left and  the right of it, was the location of the Davis Plantation and the lands of Job Davis and his sons. All the way to right side of this portion of map, below the markings of Ugley Creek, and past the Crump Mill and Crump Ferry, is the area of the Peter Winfield Plantation that had passed to Richard Howell, in right of his wife Sarah "Sally" Winfield Howell, then to Job Davis and then to Richard and Sally's children. 

This part of the Winfield Plantation would become known as the community of Wharf a century after Peter's passing.  

Peter Howell, Sarah Winfield Howell Davis's oldest son, was granted 10 acres on the Rocky River, that bordered Phillip Lynch and Griffin Nash. Griffin Nash was his uncle, married to Sarah's sister, but Phillip Lynch was of no known familial connection, yet also connected to a Joshua Davis, whom I have scrutinized with little luck. It began at an oak at Job Davis's fence, then ran with his line south 51, then east for 110 poles to Griffin Nash's line, then south 50 west 45 poles to Phillip Lynches line, then North, 40 west 110 poles to Lynches corner, then back to the beginning. His uncle, Griffin Nash and Stepfather, Job Davis witnessed it and Peter McIntyre was the surveyor. The extraordinary thing about this grant is that it was first entered on March 8, 1803 and granted on December 1, 1807. Peter Howell was born about 1794, making him a child when receiving this grant. Only 13, when it was granted. 

In July of 1818, Job Davis and his wife, Sally, of Montgomery County, transferred to Peter Howell of Anson County, 28 acres of land in Anson, "being part of a tract of land that Richard Howell lived on and died on that come to his wife from her father Peter Winfield". It began at two pines in the dividing line of Edward Winfield, 'in or near the path' and ran east to the Spring Branch, then ran with Peter's grant to Phillip Lynches line, then followed Edward Winfield's property line, (another uncle) to the beginning. It included "the house and spring". It was witnessed by John W. Howell and William Cawthorn. John Winfield Howell was Peters brother, about a year younger than Peter and William Cawthorn was the son-in-law of Phillip Lynch. I can't help but speculate over a closer connection between the two families besides just neighbors. Peter would have been about 24 at this time. 

On April 3, 1821, Jordan Howell and John W. Howell of Fayetteville, and Levi Stancill and Charlotte, his wife, of Montgomery County, sold to Peter Howell, for $300, their shares of the estate of their father, Richard Howell, who had passed away in 1802, when they ranged in age from 8 to 2. The younger two brothers, Jordan and John Winfield Howell, had already relocated to Cumberland County and Levi, a minister, and Charlotte, the youngest child, would soon be relocating to Georgia. It was witnessed by Stephen Nash, and Darling Allen. Stephen Nash was their cousin, son of Griffin and Jemima Winfield Nash and also the son-in-law of Phillip Lynch, having married his daughter, Nancy. Darling Allen was also a son-in-law of Phillip Lynch, having married his daughter, Catherine or "Katie". 

On February 7, 1848, Job Davis of Stanly County (having been established in 1841) sold to Peter Howell, of Anson County, for $525, a considerable sum in those days, land on Rocky River, known as "Lot No 2". It consisted of 41 acres and met Lot 1 and Lynches property. It was witnesses by Peter's half-brother, E. W. Davis and signed by Job and Sarah. An addendum was witnessed by Ausborn Turner and John Winfield, Peter's cousin and son of Edward Winfield. At this point, Job and Sarah were 75 years old and wanting to divide out properties among their children. The Howells seen near the Wharf Post Office and school in the above map portion were descendants of Peter Howell. Peter would marry, Elizabeth "Betsy" Floyd, daughter of Josiah and Mary Tillman Floyd, whom I have mentioned already. J. E. was James Edward Howell, born in 1834, who was the one son of theirs who had not gone west. W. M. Howell was his son, William Marshall Howell, born in 1872, probably named for J. E. 's brother of the same name, born in 1830, who had moved to Yell County, Arkansas and Grayson County, Texas. 

James was the second son, James Robert Howell, as William Marshall was the oldest. J. E. McSwain, listed twice due to two distant properties he owned, was also living on land inherited from Peter Howell. Peter's oldest son, named quite predictably, Richard, had died a young man in 1855, leaving a widow, two small children and a stepson, Patrick R. Threadgill. His father, Peter, had settled his estate and took custody of the two children, Teresa Florence Howell and Robert. When Peter died in 1866, the two children inherited their father's share of Peter's estate. Robert is not seen past age 14, and doesn't seem to have made it to adulthood, so Florence received his share and when she married James Edward McSwain, this portion came to her. Most of it remains in the McSwain family to this day. 

Job and his sons continued to buy, sell and trade property under the heading of Montgomery County, and due to multiple Courthouse fires, several of those records were lost. When West Pee Dee and East Pee Dee separated into two counties in 1841, several entries were made on behalf of the Davis clan. Most of it along the Rocky River in a big hunk above Davis Ford. 

1841 Stanly County NC Entry Takers Office February 9th, 1841

Stanly County is born. In the Land Enntry Book, the following entries are made by the Davis's:

No. Date     Name                        Location and Number of Acres

12    2-23    Henry Davis              100 acres on Fly Blow Branch adj Lewis Smith &  Charles McSwain.

13    2-23    Benja F. Davis          100 acres on the old road leading from Rocky River Springs to Allenton

                                                     adj. Lewis Smith & Charles McSwain.

48    9-1      Stokes McIntyre       100 acres adj Henry Davis, George McSwain & others.

49    9-1      Merrot F. Davis        100 acres adj Charles McSwain & others.  

50    9-14    Edward W. Davis     100 acres adj. an entry of Henry Davis & others.

51    9-16     Job Davis                100 acres on or near Fly Blow Br. adj. David Kendall, Lewis Smith &     

                                                    others including Thomas Brown's 1st site School House Spring near Cattail.

85    1-5      James M. Davis        100 acres on waters of Rocky River adj.William Nash, Tye and Ludwell

                                                    Carpenter.

86    1-5     Job Davis                  100 acres on waters of Rocky River adj. Wm. Nash, Tye & others.

142  6-3     Henry Davis               100 acres on Winfield Rd (spelled Winkfield) adj Eben Hearne & others. 

170  12-8   Henry Davis              100 acres on Rocky River adj. John Gibson & Co.

300  11-22 Henry H. Davis          100 acres on East side of Flat Rock Branch adj Henry Davis, Job Davis & others.                                                   

304  12-8   Edward W. Davis       100 acres on waters of Rocky River adj. his own lines.

390  3-25   B. F. Davis                 100  acres on the SW side of Mountain Creek adj Bailey Smith & Edward 

                                                     P. Smith. (Baily Smith was married to Mary Palmer, sister of Henry Davis's

                                                      wife, Martha Palmer Davis. Edward P was Bailey's son. Family)

This entry was preceded by entries on the same date by Bailey and Edward Pinkney Smith.  

391  3-25   John Davis                 100 acres on SW side of Mountain Creek adj. B.F. Davis's 100 a entry.

(Note: John, Benjamin F. and Henry H. Davis were the three oldest sons of Henry Davis).

429  7-27    Job Davis                 70 acres on the waters of Rocky River adj E. W. Davis & others.

432  8-17    Henry Davis              100 acres on Winfield Road adj. his own line.

(Two interesting non-Davis entries were 433 8-17 Gabriel Bell 100 acres on both sides of Winfield Rd. adj. Henry Davis and 436 8-26 Chapman E. Bell 100 acres on waters of Mirehole Branch adj. Kiah Morton and Henry Davis's lines, Kiah Morton being Hezekiah Morton). 

               

Job Davis and E. W. Davis mentioned in account book of Ebenezer Hearne

In NC Land Grants for Stanly County, we see the paralell.

Job Davis has two, one in 1842 and another in 1843. Patent Book 149 page 224 as Stanly County Grant # 79. On the waters of the Rocky River, joining E.W. Davis's tract, formerly William Nash's, To a pine in Jerry Broadway's line, to a stake in Tye's line, for 100 acres.

Land Patent Book 149 page 222 as Stanly County Grant # 74. Also on the banks of the Rocky and also joining Neddy's land (E. W. Davis's nickname was Neddy).To James M. Davis's corner, Ludwell Carpenter's line, 

 Henry Davis was issued 100 acres of land on 10 Apr 1844 in Stanly County, located "On the Fly Blow Branch". This was recorded in Land Patent Book 149 page 134 as Stanly County Grant # 66. This one joined Lewis Smith and Charles McSwain and his own line of his Poplin tract.

 Benjamin F. Davis was issued 100 acres of land on 10 Apr 1844 in Stanly County, located "Adj. Charles McSwain etc.". This was recorded in Land Patent Book 149 page 135 as Stanly County Grant # 67. Henry's oldest son, Benjamin Franklin Davis, was granted land on Ugly Creek joining Charles McSwain, James Crump and Jones Green.

Edward Winfield Davis, James M. Davis and Marriott Freeman Davis also recieved two grants each. 

In the 1850 census, Job and Sarah are listed as 77 and 76 years of age, and living in Ross with their single son, EW, a merchant, 37. Job's real estate was evaluated at $400, while Neddy's was evaluated at $1000. By this time, Job had already distributed much of his property among his sons and stepsons. 

A look up the page, and you can see that son James and his family lived close by, with Merritt/Marriott next to James. Names of neighbors reflect names seen in some of the grants. Miller, Abram Kimmer lived next door. He may have been an employee. James Ludwell Carpenter is listed on the other side and above Merritt and James is Stephen, James and Daniel Crump households with Josiah Floyd (IV) between them. 

The top of the page is led by John Davis, Henry's son, an Overseer. The family he was Overseer for was the last entry on the previous page. He was employed by his other Grandfather, Rueben Kendall. Henry Davis had first married Sarah L. Kendall, Rueben's daughter, with whom he had the two sons, Benjamin Franklin in 1829 and John in 1831. His remaining children were by his second wife, Martha Palmer. Henry was living near Albemarle on Cloverfork Creek by 1850, while still owning land along the Rocky. An 1849 deed also revealed he purchased some land in Montgomery County from Brittain Manuel. He would afterwards, before his death, go into a steady decline and sell most of his land. The Cloverfork Creek property was described as having a garden, apples trees and being near Timothy Ragsdale.

Job did not live long after the 1850 census. He had been steadily transferring propety to his sons and other kin, before his death. In Stanly County Deed Book 2 Page 63, he transfers a tract to his three younger sons, along the Rocky River, beginning near the mouth of a 'Throughfare", past a stand of Iron wood trees to an apple tree, excluding the Mill and the Mill tract. It was a small 6 acre tract and I wonder at its purpose.

In 1851, Job transfered to James, his second son, property along "Temple's Old Path". I might have to try to figure out who Temple was. It met a marked line in the road then with the Road to Coopers Creek, to the south drain of the branch, then to the river, down various courses of the river to D. Crumps line. (Probably Daniel).

About that time Henry donated half an acre to the School Committee. This would be the start of the Old Davis School.

The Davis property would include a Mill, a Gold Mine, and E. W's Davis's Store. It sat along the Rocky River and both sides of Coopers Creek, bordered and crossed Jack's Branch and Fly Blow Branch and mentions the Mineral Springs and Mineral Springs Branch. In one of the youngest sons' properties, which bordered that of his brothers, M. F. Daivs, is  described  as meeting Mount Carmel. Was Mount Carmel a church or a Mountain? It was near Rocky River Springs. In 1850 M. F. Davis had bought property from Lewis Brown and Brown lived near the Springs. Another deed of Marriott's places his property on the Rocky River adjoining Myrick Harward, the Old Murray tract (Jesse Murray, another ancestor who settled along Alligator Branch and whose homeplace was on a ridge above Long Creek near its confluence with the Rocky River), Ross tract, which met the Murray tract, (another family that had married into the Murray family), L Green's line, (possibly Lafayette) and Stokes McIntyre's line to the Mineral Springs branch to the River and adjoining H. R. West and included the third part of "Cal Brown's tract".

There were other Job Davis's. He had two grandsons named for him, but there was a Job J. Davis in Anson County who lived near Brown Creek. This was a descendant of the Christoper/Arthur/Isham Davis clan of Anson County that I have thus far found no connection to. There was one who lived in Randolph County, and several in the Quaker lands of the North. 

My Job Davis died on November 8, 1852, his wife, Sarah, followed on July 10, 1856. The property, Job had devised in his will to be distributed among his three youngest sons, and a portion to the family of his oldest son Henry, who had become incompetent and indebted due to alcoholism. He instructed the younger brothers 'see after' Henry's family as if they were their own.

Though not a taphophile, I'm drawn to the old Davis cemetary and the lands around it. There is an elyisum to it, a feeling of comfort and belonging. It's my Homeland.