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Benton County, Iowa ~ Biography and Family Information

Jesse Devers
Jesse Devers was known by several variations of his name.

His name was given as “Jesse Daver” in the 1850 Census.
His name is given as “Jesse Devar” in the 1860 Census.
His name is given as “Jesse Devan” in the 1870 Census.
His name was given as “Jesse Devers” in the 1880 Census and in the 1900 Census.
His name is given as “Jesse Dever” in the Iowa State Census, 1895.
His name is given as “Jess Devers” in his brother's 1916 obituary.
His name is given as “Jesse E. Devers” in the 1920 Census.
His name is given as “Jure Devers” in the 1930 Census.

Born in July, 1849, in Polk Township, Monroe County, Indiana, Jess was the fourth (and believed to be the last) child born to Wylie Daver & Rosina Wisely. Wylie’s surname was spelled at least six (6) different ways. Wylie had been born in Tennessee on 17 April 1816. He married Rosina on 30 May 1837 in Monroe Co., Indiana. Rosina had been born 10 December 1810 in Wythe Co.,  Virginia.

The family pioneered to Iowa sometime between April 1859 - September 1860. These dates are based on a land record in Indiana and their appearance on the next census.

They appear on the 1860 Census:
1860 Iowa Census Index, Page 1419, Name: Devar, Willy; County: LINN (Iowa); Township: WASHINGTON; Center Point Post Office; Original Census Page: 317; Year: 1860.

ID#IA23142627.
HOUSEHOLD:
The family is also on the 1870 Census in Vinton, Polk Twp., Benton Co., Iowa.

Wylie died on 21 November 1874 and is buried in the Center Point city cemetery, Linn Co., Iowa. He was 58 years, 7 months and 4 days old at the time of his death. Rosina died on 10 March 1881. On her tombstone the name "Rose Ann Dever" is written. She was 70 years and 3 months old when she died.

About nine months after his mother's death, Jesse married Sarah M. Way (the daughter of David S. Way and Rachael Slauter) on 08 December 1881 in Center Point, Polk Twp., Linn Co., Iowa. Sarah M. Way married Jesse Dever about a week before her twenty-second birthday. He was about ten years older than she. It is interesting to note that Sarah's half brother, Seth K. Way, married an Alfreta Devers, daughter of David C. Dever and niece to Jesse and Sarah.

Jesse and Sarah's first born, a daughter named Jessie Evelyn Dever, was born 12 September 1882. (In 1900 she married Mr. Hugh H. Brody.)

Their second child, a son named David Benjamin DaVar, was born 13 January 1889. (He married Miss Nellie Frances Darland.)

Iowa State Census, 1895, Ancestry.com Iowa State Census, 1895 [database online]. Provo, Utah:
MyFamily.com, Inc., 2003. Original data: Iowa. 1895 Iowa State Census. State Historical Society
of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa. Name: Jesse Dever; Age: 45 ; Race: W ; Birthplace: Ind ; Residence: Polk, Benton.

They appear on the 15 June 1900 Census in Polk Twp., Benton Co., Iowa. Jesse is working as a farmer. They are still in Polk Twp. In the 1920 Census.

In 1930 they are living in Polk Twp., but Jesse is working as a mail carrier.

13 August 1932 Jesse died and was buried in the Urbana Cemetery, Polk Twp., Benton Co., Iowa. Row 3, center section. He celebrated his 83rd birthday just weeks before his death.

Submitted by Terri Rene DaVar-Howard, August 8, 2005



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