REV. JOHN L. DAVIES.  During the last century one of the most significant facts in the movements among civilized nations has been the great influx of people from foreign lands to America.  This immigration movement has been increasing from year to year until now the foreign people who are coming to our shores every year are numbered by the millions.  A large proportion of these millions who are coming now and have been coming for the past several years, are from countries of southern Europe and are largely of the undesirable class, and are a menace rather than a benefit to the citizenship of America.  This has brought about a serious problem, a condition which this government is endeavoring to control by the strictest regulation.  But in the earlier period of America's history this condition did not prevail.  The immigration was largely from countries of Europe where a higher degree of civilization prevailed, and the people who came were of an intelligent and industrious class.  It is of these that our best citizenship is composed.  Of the immigrants of the class just mentioned none rank higher for intelligence, industry and sturdy moral character, than the people who come from Wales.  A Welshman is a synonym for character and integrity; a Welsh ancestry is a badge of honor.
     These observations are prompted by a consideration of the character and life history of the gentleman of whom this brief review is concerned, and to whom the native characteristics described in the foregoing paragraph are applicable.
     Rev. John Lewis Davies was born in Abereman, Glamorganshire, South Wales, March 16, 1848.  He is a son of Rev. Evan and Mary (Pugh) Davies, who were also natives of Wales.  Their family consisted of four daughters and one son, namely: Amy Jane, deceased, who was the wife of William J. Davies; Gwenllian, wife of John E. Rosser, of Parkersburg, West Virginia; Rev. John Lewis Davies, of Marysville; Eliza Mary, of Parkersburg, West Virginia; Ann, widow of Rev. D. D. Davies, of Granville, Ohio.  The father of our subject was reared on a farm in Wales and became familiar with the rugged duties and wholesome exercise of outdoor life.   When a young man he began studying for the ministry and graduated from the Neuaddlwyd Ministerial Institute, in Cardiganshire, Wales, was licensed to preach and continued preaching the remainder of his life.  With his wife and family he came to America in 1855 and settled in Blosburg, Pennsylvania, where he became pastor of the Congregational church.  He remained with this charge for two years and then came to Gallia county, Ohio, and took the pastorate of two churches, TyuRhos and Nebo, and continued in this charge until his death in 1875.  His wife survived him and died in 1878 at the age of eighty-three years.
     The paternal grandfather of our subject was John Davies.  He followed various occupations and li\'ed to the age of ninety-six years.  His wife was a very devout Christian woman, but he did not accept her faith and did not unite with the church until he was ninety-three years old.  For the last four years of his life he was blind.  They had quite a large family of children, namely: David, who was a farmer; Rev. Evan Davies; Timothy, who was a man of great literary ability; Thomas, who was a sailor, and three daughters.  The maternal grandfather was Lewis Pugh, a farmer, who died in middle age; his wife survived him and lived to a good old age.  The two children by this union were Elizabeth and Mary; the wife had one son, John Jenkins, by a former marriage.
     Rev. John Lewis Davies was only seven years old when he came with his parents to America.  He grew to manhood in Gallia county, Ohio, and received his elementary education in the district schools of Perry and Raccoon townships, supplementing this with studies in the higher branches in Gallia Academy at Gallipolis and Ewington Academy.  While attending school as a student at Ewington he enlisted as a private in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in 1864, and served until 1865, when he was honorably discharged.  By this ser\ice he manifested his loyalty and devotion to the flag of his adopted country, an example followed by many others of his nativity in the great Civil War.
     After the war Reverend Davies was at home for about a year before he resumed collegiate studies.  Deciding to take up these studies and complete his college course, he entered Marietta College and graduated in that institution in 1872 with the honors of his class, being honored as the class valedictorian.  Prior to this time, before enlistment in the army, he was engaged for two terms in teaching school, starting to teach when he was fifteen years of age.  After his graduation from college he taught for two years in the institution at Marietta.  He entered the theological seminary at Lane, Ohio, completed the course and was licensed to preach.  He was ordained pastor of the Shandon Congregational church, in Butler county, Ohio, and continued in that charge for five years.  Following this he became pastor of the Welsh church in Youngstown, Ohio, for a term of one year.  While there he organized the Plymouth Congregational church in October, 1882, with a membership of eighty-six.  He was pastor of this church for nine years and the result of his labors was an increase of membership to three hundred and fifty, a flourishing congregation of active and influential members.  His next charge was at Scranton, Pennsylvania, but he had only been here about fourteen months when he received a call to the West church at Akron, Ohio, which he accepted.  He remained here for twelve years when he resigned his charge and accepted a call to become the pastor of the South church, Columbus, Ohio, where he remained until 1911, when he came to Marysville and took charge of the First Congregational church at this place.
     March 21, 1847, Reverend Davies was united in marriage with Jane Jenkins, daughter of John and Ann (Thomas) Jenkins.  Their two children are Gertrude Ann and Gordon.  Gertrude Ann is a graduate of the Akron high school and a student in Buchtel College.  Gordon is a graduate of the Akron high school and of the Ohio .State University: he studied law and graduated in the law department of Michigan University at Ann Arbor.  He now lives in Columbus, Ohio, and is in the employ of the state board of health.
     Mrs. Davies was born in Tredegar. Monmouthshire. England, March 21, 1847.  Her parents were natives of England and spent their lifetime in that country. Their children were Mary Ann. John, Thomas, Catherine, William, Jane and Fannie. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Davies was a native of Wales.  The maternal grandfather was John Thomas.
     Rev. Davies' labors in Marysville, as in all the other communities in which he has had pastoral charges, have been highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to the congregation to which he ministered.  He keeps in close touch with his membership, ready with counsel, encouragement and sympathy as occasion requires.  He is in thorough sympathy with every cause that is conducive to the public good and tends to a higher standard of morals, and for the things that promote a better life.  He stands high in the esteem of his fellow ministers and co-workers in the cause of Christianity and enjoys the confidence and respect of the public, irrespective of faith or creed.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 605

DAVID S. DAVIS.  The "Shady Brook Stock Farm" of one hundred and seventy-five acres in York township, Union county, Ohio, is the home of David S. Davis, one of the prosperous farmers of this township.  He was born in this same township and has spent his whole life here.  His grandfather came to this county in the early thirties and was one of the prominent citizens in the early history of the county.  Mr. Davis has devoted most of his life to agriculture, although he was in the mercantile business in York Center for a few years.  His home farm is located five miles east of West Mansfield and is one of the most attractive farms in the county.
     David S. Davis and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church at York Center and have always been active in its behalf.  Mr. Davis is now the treasurer of the church and his wife is the chorister.  Mrs. Davis is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society and president of the Dorcas Society of her church. She is also a member of the missionary society and a teacher of the young ladies' class in the Sunday school.  Mr. Davis has always given his hearty support to the Republican party and has served as trustee of his township in a manner which indicated that he is a man of ability and integrity.
     Mr. Davis and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church at York Center and have always been active in its behalf.  Mr. Davis is now the treasurer of the church and his wife is the chorister.  Mrs. Davis is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society and president of the Dorcas Society of her church.  She is also a member of the missionary society and a teacher of the young ladies' class in the Sunday school.  Mr. Davis has always given his hearty support to the Republican party and has served as trustee of his township in a manner which indicated that he is a man of ability and integrity.
     Mr. Davis and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church at York Center and have always been active in its behalf.  Mr. Davis is now the treasurer of the church and his wife is the chorister.  Mrs. Davis is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society and president of the Dorcas Society of her church.  She is also a member of the missionary society and a teacher of the young ladies' class in the Sunday school.  Mr. Davis has always given his hearty support to the Republican party and has served as trustee of his township in a manner which indicated that he is a man of ability and integrity.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 960

THOMAS J. DAVIS.  The Davis family of Union county. Ohio, worthily represented by Thomas J. Davis, have been residents of Union county, Ohio, since several years before the Civil War.  His father, Finley D. Davis, came to this county with his parents when he was four years of age, and since that time the Davis family have taken an active part in the history of York township and Union county.  Mr. Davis has been a life-long farmer and now owns one hundred and thirty-three acres, upon which he has been residing for several years.
     Thomas J. Davis, the son of Finley D. and Margaret J. McAdow Davis, was born in York township, Union county, Ohio, August lo, 1857.  His father was born in Stillwater, Pennsylvania, the son of David and Kesiah (Dickerson) Davis.  Finley D. Davis came with his parents to Union county, Ohio, when he was four years of age and located with them in York township, where he grew to manhood and married Margaret McAdow, who was born in Union county.  After his marriage, Finley D. Davis settled down in York township on forty acres which his father gave him.  This forty acres was covered with a dense forest and he went to work to clear it up and make a home for himself and family.  Six children were born to Finley D. Davis and wife, three of whom are now living: Thomas J., of York township; D. S., a farmer of York township: and Martha, the wife of Charles G. Morrow.
     Thomas J. Davis was reared on his father's farm in York township and has spent his whole life in the same township.  After his marriage, he and his brother bought one hundred and seventy acres in partnership and later divided and Thomas J. has since added to his share until he now owns one hundred and thirty-three acres.  He has given his attention to general farming and stock raising with the result that he has become one of the substantial farmers of York township.
     Mr. Davis was married March 8, 1888, to Mary N. Fulton, the daughter of Thomas and Hattie (Neil) Fulton.  She was born and reared in York township.  To this union six children have been born: Hattie, the wife of Frank Martin; Lee, a graduate of Bliss College, of Columbus, Ohio, and a bookkeeper in Cleveland; Lawrence, a graduate of the Richwood high school, in the class of 1914; Lucille, a student in the Richwood high school; Fannie, a student in the same high school; and Stanley, who is still in the grades.
     Mr. Davis and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at York.  Fraternally he is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry at Richwood and has always taken an active part in the work of this organization.  He is a Republican but has never been active in its councils. Mr. Davis is a man of sterling integrity and has so conducted himself as to win and retain the hearty approbation of his fellow citizens.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 1034

WILLIAM C. DAVIS.   Since the year 1902, William C. Davis has been a resident of Union county, Ohio, coming to this county from Morrow county, where he was born and reared and had lived up to that time.  He is a man of excellent education and is a welcome addition to the citizenship of this county.  He is essentially a self-made man and the success which has come to him is the direct result of his own individual efforts.
     William C. Davis, the son of Joshua M. and Elizabeth (Dalrymple) Davis, was born in Morrow county, Ohio, October 22, 1859.  His father was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, and when a child came with his parents to Morrow county, Ohio, where he lived on the same farm until his death.  The Dalrymple family were natives of New Jersey and were early settlers in Morrow county, Ohio.  Joshua M. Davis and wife were the parents of four children: Harriett, the wife of Wilbur Thomas; Mary J., who died at the age of twenty-three; George M., who married Rose Sheffer; and William C., of Union county.
     The boyhood days of William G. Davis were spent on his father's farm in Washington township. Morrow county, Ohio.  After completing the education which was offered by the public schools of his home neighborhood, he became a student at the Ohio Northern University at Ada, and later graduated from the commercial course at Fostoria, Ohio.  He did not enter the teaching profession or the business world, but decided to engage in farming as his life's work.  He returned to Morrow county after his college course was completed, married and began farming.  He rented the old home farm until his parents' death and in 1902 sold his interest in the paternal estate and in the same year came to Union county and rented a farm in Washington township for one year.  He then purchased a farm in York township upon which he mo\ed in 1904.  He lived on this farm until 1909 and then sold it and bought the farm where he lived until the spring of 1915.  In September, 1914, he sold the farm on which he hail been living for six years and bought a farm of fifty-five and one-half acres in Claibourne township, on which he moved in the spring of 1915.
     Mr. Davis was married August 31, 1884. to Dora Harris, a daughter of Nathan and Racliel (Ullum) Harris and a native of Illinois.  To this union have been born eleven children, ten of whom are living: Pearl, the wife of Ernest Doudna; Glenn, who married Effie Potts; Orville, who married Lelah Johnson; Ruby, the wife of Benjamin Paugh; Grace, the wife of Grover Dickson; Edna, single; Cebert, single; Clara, single; Corrinna, single; Dever, single; and Walter, who died at the age of seven months.
     Mr. Davis and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Somerville in York township and actively interested in its welfare.  Politically, he is a member of the Prohibition party and firmly convinced that it is the one party which is making a stand against the greatest curse of this country.  Mr. Davis and his family are highly esteemed in the community where they reside and have many warm friends who delight to partake of their hospitality and enjoy their friendship.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 1022