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Biographies
Source:
A Portrait and Biographical
Record of Portage and Summit Counties, Ohio
containing Biographical sketches of many
Prominent and Representative Citizens.
together with portraits and biographies of all the
Presidents of the United States and Governors of Ohio.
V. 2
Logansport, Ind.
A. W. Bowen & Co.
1898
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1898 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX
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ERWIN
S. DAVIS, one of the old soldiers of the Civil War
and a respected citizen of Northfield township, Summit
county, Ohio, was born Feb. 26, 1845, in Steuben county, N.
Y., at Great Bend, a son of Stephen A. and Amanda
(Kellogg) Davis. Erwin S. received a common
education and enlisted, at the early age of nineteen years.
He ran away from home at Andover, N. Y., with his cousin,
Albert Davis having enlisted in the Sixteenth heavy
artillery for three years, or during the war, but was
transferred, at City Point, Va., to the New York mounted
rifles. His uncle, Hale Davis, followed them to
City Point, but was unable to secure their release.
Mr. Davis was then enrolled in company K, Capt. D. C.
Ellis, provisional New York cavalry, First regiment
dragoons, and was honorably discharged Nov. 29, 1865, at
City Point, Va. He was in the battles of the
Wilderness, ten days' fight, battles in front of Petersburg,
and was in the raid on the Weldon R. R. He was shot in
the left arm and in the upper part of the right arm at the
battle of the Wilderness, and the bullet is still imbeded in
the flesh. He was also received a slight flesh wound
in the face, but was not in hospital, except for a few
hours, after receiving this wound. Mr. Davis
was in all the battles and skirmishes in which his regiment
took part and was always active and cheerful in the
discharge of his duties.
After the war Mr. Davis returned to New York,
but came to Summit county, Ohio, in 1868, and married, at
Boston, July 5, 1870, iss Elizabeth J. Odekirk, who
was born in Boston, Ohio, May 17, 1854, a daughter of
Daniel and Jane Odekirk. After marriage Mr. and
Mrs. Davis settled at Macedonia, Ohio, where he still
resides. Mr. Davis learned, when young,
the blacksmith's trade, but since he came to Ohio has been
engaged in farming; for the past seventeen years has been
handling farm machinery, and has traveled extensively in
this business. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the
parents of two children, Lailah B., and Montville
C. Mrs. Davis is a member of the Congregational
church, and in politics Mr. Davis is a republican,
and has been constable for several years as well as a notary
public. He is a member of Royal Dunham post, No. 177,
G. A. R., at Bedford, Ohio, and is a straightforward and
respected business man.
Ebenezer Davis, grandfather of subject, was a
farmer in Vermont, and his son, Stephen A., father of
subject, was born in that state. The latter enlisted,
in 1863, aged fifty-five years, in a New York regiment, for
the three year's service. He was in several battles,
and at a battle in Chickahominy Swarnp he carried his
wounded comrade. Matt Colmer, from the
field, and injured himself so much that he died from the
effects eleven weeks after, in 1864. He was a strong,
rugged man, and owned a good farm. His children were
Erwin S., Lemuel, Sophronia, Clarissa, Martha and
Ida. Lemuel was also a soldier in the Civil
war, going out on the last call.
Daniel Odekirk was born Aug. 3, 1832, in
Rensselaer county, N. Y., was a boat builder, was married in
Syracuse, N. Y. , July 2, 1845, to Jane Kellogg,
daughter of George Kellogg, and on coming west first
settled at Boston, Ohio, where he lived many years.
His children were Adelbert, Clara,
Alveretta and Elizabeth. Mr.
Odekirk died in March, 1896, in Michigan, whither he had
removed and settled on a farm of eighty acres. He was
a well-to-do man, respected by all; a member of the
Methodist church, and of the I. O. O. F. In politics
he was a republican. George Kellogg was a
pioneer farmer of Boston township and had three sons in the
Civil war — Josiah, William (killed in battle)
and Fred.
Source: A Portrait and
Biographical Record of Portage and Summit Counties, Ohio -
V. 2 - Publ. 1898 - Page 737 |
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FRANK J. DAVIS, the leading
merchant of Diamond, Palmyra township, Portage county, Ohio,
and post master, was born in Milton township, Mahoning
county, Ohio, July 12, 1857, a son of James and Susan
(Jones) Davis, born natives of Wales.
James Davis came to America in 1832 and located
in Palmyra township, then almost a wilderness, where he
lived about twenty years, when he removed to Mahoning
county, and there resided until 1868, purchasing a farm of
ninety-six acres, thence removed to Palmyra township,
Portage county, where he bought 200 acres, known as the
John D. Jones farm, where he passed the remainder of his
life. To his marriage to Susan Jones, daughter
of the owner of this farm - John D. Jones - were born
nine children, the surviving five of whom are John,
who resides in Deerfield, Ohio; Margaret, of Mahoning
county, and Frank J., the subject of this
biographical notice. The deceased four were
Elizabeth, wife of John G. Carson; Mary, wife of
John D. Jones, and two who died in infancy. The
parents of this family were sincere members of the Baptist
church, in which the father held all the lay offices and in
the faith of which he died July 23, 1876, at the age of
seventy-six years, the mother passing away Jan. 1, 1893, at
the age of seventy-seven.
Frank J. Davis was well educated in the common
schools of Palmyra, was passed to the high school, and
finished his education at the latter in 1875. His
manual training was on the home farm, of which he became
superintendent at the death of his father, and then for a
year worked in a saw-mill. He was married, Sept. 27,
1878, to Miss Hattie Hiser daughter of John and
Sarah A. (Glass) Hiser, and this union has been blessed
with two sons - Harry J. and Frank Alton After
his marriage Mr. Davis lived on the old homestead
until Jan., 1881, when he settled in Palmyra, and for a year
was engaged in the livery and general delivery business, and
then became an auctioneer and also entered into general
merchandizing two years later, in both of which he was
profitably engaged eight years, having gained his experience
in the latter branch as a clerk in the store of O. B. Mason,
under whom he had been employed two years, from 1882 to
1884, when he entered upon the mercantile trade. At
the end of his six years' business experience, Mr. Davis
sold out to A. Crookes, and attended to his mother's
farm interests until her death, after which he engaged in
farming on his own account for three years on the home farm,
but holding his residence at Diamond, Ohio.
In politics Mr. Davis is a republican, and is
extremely popular with his party. In 1895 he was the
unanimous choice of his friends in Palmyra township as its
candidate for sheriff of Portage county, but withdrew from
the race, resigning in favor of the prior incumbent, Mr.
Long. In the spring of 1897, Mr. Davis
resumed his mercantile trade in Diamond, and the same year
was appointed postmaster under President McKinley
He and family are members of the Disciples' church in
Diamond, in which he is a deacon, as well as assistant
superintendent of the Sunday-school.
Mrs. Hattie (Hiser) Davis, wife of Frank J.,
the subject, was born in Milton township, Mahoning county,
Ohio, July 28, 1858, her parents being natives of
Pennsylvania.
Source: A Portrait
and Biographical Record of Portage and Summit Counties, Ohio
- V. 2 - Publ. 1898 - Page 738 |
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OLIVER
A. DAVIS, a respected agriculturist of Boston
township, Summit county, Ohio, and ex-prisoner of the Civil
war, was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, Feb. 20, 1828, a son
of Alvin and Levina (Seeley) Davis who descended from
old colonial ancestry of New York state. He was reared
to farming, and was a canal boat builder when a young man.
He enlisted Aug. 21, 1862, at Ada, Hardin county, Ohio, in
the One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment Ohio volunteer
infantry, to serve three years, or during the war, and was
honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, June 9, 1865.
He was in the battles of Mossy Creek, Tenn., and on the
famous Atlanta campaign, where he regiment was under fire
two months and five days. He was in the battles of
Resaca, Dalton, Kenesaw Mountain, and in the battle of
Atlanta, as well as in many hard fought skirmishes, too
numerous to mention. After the Atlata campaign his
regiment followed Hood, and he was captured, in the fall of
1864, near Cedar Bluff, while foraging and taken to Cahaba,
Ala., and kept in prison four months and twenty days.
This prison was an old cotton warehouse, and open in the
top. The rations were one pint of corn meal, ground
cob and all, and a very small piece of very poor beef, and
under these conditions the prisoners were reduced to almost
skeletons, and many died. Mr. Davis had no
blanket or overcoat for some time, but finally blankets were
sent from the union lines. He was exchanged near the
close of the war, at Vicksburg, sent to Columbus, Ohio, and
thence home, much disabled and in a bad condition generally.
Oliver A. Davis, married, the first time,
Miss Melvina Van Orman a daughter of Orrin and Mary
Van Orman natives of New York, state, and who bore him
two children, Orrin and Alfred. Orrin Van
Orman was a pioneer of Summit county, Ohio, and reared a
family of six children - Melvina, William, Isno, Francis,
George and Lyndia Anna. Of this family, all
the sons served in the Union army during the Civil war,
George dying in Kentucky while in the service.
Orrin Van Orman died at the age of sixty-three years in
Everett, Boston township, a greatly respected citizen, of
high religious attributes. Mrs. Davis died in
1863, during the Civil war, and Mr. Davis married,
Feb. 26, 1868, Miss Phylossa Jane Van Orman a sister
of his first wife; she was born Sept. 5, 1841, in Michigan,
and this union has been blessed with one daughter,
Melvina. Olivet A. Davis is a free silver
democrat in politics and is a member of George L.
Waterman post, G. A. R., Peninsula, Ohio, of which he is
sergeant. He was a faithful soldier, and although
weakened by his prison life is an industrious and
hard-working man, and is highly esteemed for his upright
character and usefulness as a citizen.
Alvin Davis, the father of Oliver A. was
born in Broome county, N. Y., where he grew to manhood, and
while yet in early life came west and settled in Bedford
township, Cuyahoga county, where he lived a pioneer life.
He, like many other pioneers, came with limited means, and
thus experiencing all the privations of life in a new
country. He soon provided himself with a good farm,
which he partly cleared from the forest, being an
industrious working man of that day. He was married to
Miss Lavina Seeley, who bore him four sons and two
daughters, viz: Ephraim, Alvin, Oliver A., William,
Lucretia, and Julia. Mr. Davis was
quite a political worker, and in the fall of 1836, while
celebrating an election in Bedford, Ohio, was killed by a
premature discharge of a cannon. He was a greatly
respected citizen throughout the township and county.
Three of his sons, Alvin, Oliver A. and William
did serviced in the late war - Alvin in the three
years' service; Oliver A. who is spoken of in the
first paragrah, and William, who was in an
Ohio regiment in the 100 days' service. After the
death of Mr. Davis, Mrs. Davis was married to
William Loffin, and to them were born two children,
Earlyhigh and William C., who both served in an
Ohio regiment for three years, showing the patriotic spirit
of the family.
Source: A Portrait and
Biographical Record of Portage and Summit Counties, Ohio -
V. 2 - Publ. 1898 - Page 739 |
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