Rev. James Davis

DAVIS, HENSLEY, BROWN

Posted By: Dorothy Gosse (email)
Date: 7/8/2002 at 16:49:22

Rev. James Davis, a United Brethren preacher, with is family came to the county in August, 1949, and settled in Dover Township, but in the Spring of 1850 removed to Lightville (now Lima), having rented Harvey Light's place, his son William cutting out the road from West Union to Lightville. During the Summer, Mr. Davis built a log cabin about a mile below Light's Mill, on the south side of the Volga, on Section 19, Township 93, Range 7 (Illyria Township). The only other house in the vicinity was that of Andrew Hensley, built the previous year. Mr. Davis died April 11, 1854, and in 1856 his widow married Rev. John Brown, the pioneer preacher of this region, well known as a United Brethren preacher in Delaware, Clayton and Fayette Counties. Mrs. Davis was his third wife. Mr. Davis was among the earliest ministers to settle in Fayette County, and is said to have preached the first sermon in Dover and West Union Townships.

In the Fall of 1850, after Mr. Davis had moved into his new cabin, his sons William and Ambrose D., the former about 17, and the latter six or seven years old, started to go to the river about a quarter of a mile distant, fishing. Ambrose, the little shaver, was carrying the bait and several rods behind his brother, when he came to a very large basswood tree that had blown down. William had passed around it, but Ambrose clambered over it. While standing on it, he notice a peculiar depression in the bark toward the top of the tree, and running along until he came to the place, he broke through and fell into the tree, which was hollow, and the wood had decayed and fallen away from the bark. In falling, the boy's feet struck something inside that frightened him. The tree was so large that he couldn't get out alone, and he yelled. William came running back, fearing that a snake had attacked his little brother, and lifted him out of the trap into which he had fallen. Upon further examination, the boys found a two gallon jug about half full of whisky, a nice Indian tomahawk, three fishing spear heads -- made of iron and about twelve inches long -- and a large stone pipe, cut out of some kind of red stone and nicely polished, and the fragments of a blue blanket. The boys carried the articles to the house, and Ambrose says his father thought that they had been deposited by Indians who got drunk, wandered off and forgot where they left them. From appearances, they had been hidden in the old tree several years before, and the more probable explanation is that the redskin who left them there took a dose of lead, laid down suddenly and died, leaving his estate to be settled by the Davis boys.

from "1878 History of Fayette County, Iowa", page 347 (history section)